Menaces of Digital Education
The emergence of a new era of teaching and learning has been revealed through the current situation with the pandemic taking a hold of the entire world. Though certain areas of digital education had been previously explored with the coming of digital classrooms and interactive audio-visual learning, the new change was completely unexpected and took the education community by a whirl. The “work-from-home” style which was prevalent with the working population has now been introduced to young minds. However, this exciting change might not be all that good for the future of said young minds as well as the teachers and the educational institutions.
Vision is affected in the long-run
The constant staring into a digital screen is not advisable in the long run, especially in cases where students use smaller devices such as a mobile phone or a tab. Squinting into the surface and trying to learn from videos or online classes can affect the eyesight of young children negatively. A child’s vision is exposed to more LCD and LED screens, which though do not emit any harmful radiation, can be damaging in the long run. Children also tend to get closer to the device while not maintaining proper distance unless under supervision for the entire time. Even teachers get adversely affected by the longer duration of screen time.
Mental strain — Students and Teachers
The stress that is faced by both students and teachers is not to be underestimated. Even though one is learning from the comfort of their homes, the time invested into education is actually higher than what was. The lack of classes or reduced hours has been overcompensated by increased workload and assignments. The assumption is that children don’t have anything better to do at home and free the entire time, which implies that increased homework is doable. However, this has led to a situation where students are struggling to cope up with the large amounts of stress from submission dates.
The teachers, on the other hand, experience pressure from their respective educational institutions. Since everything has to be conducted from home, there is no “time-out”. The teachers have been working around the clock for 24 hours not excluding Sundays. There have been multiple changes where teachers are supposed to be readily available to clear doubts of students, irrespective of the time. There is also the added stress of checking exam papers that have been uploaded by students — downloading all the papers and squinting them into the screen to correct the handwritten papers of students is not an easy task by any means. The personal time of teachers has been completely destroyed through digital education.
Difficult to maintain discipline
The digital sphere is a difficult space to handle and control children. Since distance is a major factor, it is harder to maintain discipline in a classroom. The screens provide students with a false sense of confidence which could translate into pranks or disobedience. This is especially seen in online classes where students are anonymous and have access to the controls. This is disheartening for the teacher and can make the other students upset as well, distracting the class from their lesson. But there is no solution to such a problem as it cannot be easily found out, especially by teachers who are still getting familiar with the online platforms and digital teaching.
No inculcation of useful habits or routine
The routine that had been once followed by the entire student, teaching, and non-teaching population was erupted and changed overnight. Such a routine was, in reality, helpful to inculcate certain habits within students that could help with their overall growth as a person. However, with digital and online education this has been completely absent. Students wake up just in time for classes and spend the rest of their time without much thought. This could affect their future selves as they are skipping a crucial process in their life. Even if waking up early for school or having timed eating habits is not preferred by children, it can be good in the long run.
High level of distraction
The distractions that surround the digital space are innumerable. When everything is just a click away, it is easier to get distracted by multiple other spaces. An online class might be boring as it mostly a monologue by the teachers with reduced interactions. Students are more likely to go searching for more fun and engaging media. It is not a well-hidden lie that majority of the students merely open classes for the sake of attendance and then watch other content. This affects the students themselves as they do learn or understand properly.
Educational institutions lose out on infrastructure
The infrastructure that has been put into place for the purpose of education would go to waste if digital education is adopted. The entire space of a school including those intended for extra-curricular activities could rot away if left alone for too long without proper maintenance. The huge amounts of monetary funds invested into creating the infrastructure would be completely lost. Also, students would lose out on spaces such as football fields, basketball courts, open spaces, etc. In the long term, even though more space would be free, it might hinder and break into the safe spaces available for children.
Unsafe cyberspace
Cyberspace is known for its anonymous features and can hide identities behind a screen. However, introducing young children to such a space when they still might not know the repercussions of their actions could have far-reaching effects. They could stumble into unwanted and unsafe spaces where cyber-bullying might be prevalent. Constant supervision is required in order to ensure that children can have a safe space inside their digital spaces. However, it might not always be possible for working parents or even stay-at-home parents to always be with their children as they study. Thus, digital spaces could be traumatizing if not used properly.
Digital education might be the next step to integrated and comfortable learning but at this point in time, India is not yet ready to make this complete shift. There needs to be more practice among students and teachers and prevention measures taken to prevent any mishaps.
-By Mariya Joseph, SDF Batch 14, St Joseph College, Bangalore Karnataka
Click on the following links to find more information regarding our work and career counseling session video.👇
Facebook :
https://www.facebook.com/ShashiDream/
Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/shashi_dream_foundation/?hl=en
Twitter :
https://twitter.com/shashi_dream
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/shashidreamfoundation
Keep supporting us by contributing!🙏
You can donate here👇👇
https://gocrowdera.com/digitaldreamclassroom/
Shashi Dream Foundation
A Non-Government Organization (NGO) that Educates 📚 &Empowers 👩🎓 Underprivileged kids.