by THERIZ LIZEL R. SILVANO
MILLIONS of silent complaints about online learning in the midst of a pandemic are bottled up at the back of each students’ mind—no worries about feeling alone in this struggle.
Students and parents think that studying amid the pandemic is somehow inappropriate for various justifiable reasons. After overcoming the challenges of the last school year’s adjustments to continue the semester, however, students are now able to adapt to the online learning environment.
Although other students have experienced homeschooling, some are not born with that kind of privilege, making it hard for them to adjust to the new way of education.
Despite knowing how wearying the country’s problems today, Education Secretary Leonor Briones believes that education should continue.
This may seem challenging for students, but there is a key to overcoming difficulty.
The Flame had a talk with the UST College of Education Student Council president Hector Armando Sarion regarding the struggles and setbacks of having online education amid the pandemic. However, every problem is temporary, and a set of solutions will always come to the scene.
Here are some of the most common day-to-day challenges students encounter while having online classes and gives tips on how to address them:
1.Technical glitches
Sadly, poor WiFi signal is the most troublesome issue for both students and professors, especially during online classes.
Technical hitches could occur in surprising times, whether during a quiz or during submission of requirements. This issue, however, will not restrict both instructors and students to connect with each other.
Solution: Sarion suggests gathering reading materials for students that are available offline. Internet glitches may be inevitable, but providing “offline-friendly materials” will minimize the students’ use of internet connection.
Sarion also mentions that professors could observe the students’ performance by having evaluations for learning.
“Professors must conduct constant assessments for learning to keep track of the students’ performance and extent of learning,” he said.
2. Sudden waves of lethargy
Tired, sleepy, or drained–whatever one may call it, there will probably come a point when students will experience exhaustion due to their daily activities and circumstances.
Online learning at home will somehow turn students into night owls who also need to wake and prepare in the morning for online classes.
Sarion refers to the lack of a “conducive space for learning” and internal factors, like mental health issues, as reasons why students feel unmotivated and lethargic to study online.
Solution: Having a proper space for learning, a scheduled sleeping time, and a learning mindset will help students focus on their online classes.
Sarion also suggests being engaged in absorbing applications to avoid being bored by the discussions.
“Some applications may be engaging for students if the topic may be boring or uninteresting, such as Kahoot, Padlet, and interactive PowerPoint presentation,” he says.
3. Unavailability of technology
“Integration to technology is what our country could adapt right after we address the never-ending problems in the education sector, like lack of teachers, classrooms, and learning materials,” Sarion says of effective learning in different environments.
For students in public education, this is one of the greatest problems they encounter when crises arise. There are students who may not have access to online education for personal and financial reasons.
Solution: When no technological tool is available or one is unable to enroll for online classes, a student can shift to other types of learning materials, such as newspapers, television, textbooks, and other traditional means.
Moreover, this problem in attaining education has yet to be addressed by the government by expanding the country’s resources and establishing a feasible plan to support online education.
The future of education is uncertain, but both students and instructors can adapt to new ways to learn and teach. Moreover, a healthy mentality is an essential part to effectively learn during these challenging times.
“I believe education must [also consider] discussing the importance of taking care of one’s mental health. This helps students [maintain] a healthy mind and engage them more in learning,” Sarion says.
Pursuing an education in hard times is one of the battles everyone must face, but to lessen the stress and burdens, everyone must help each other to conquer the battle together.
“Education is an essential sector for our nation because it is one of the keys to building our nation and lead it to a place of peace and unity,” Sarion says. F
