December 5, 2020

Education is an essential part of living. Every person needs to have a good education to end up successful in life. Without education, developing children are deprived of knowledge and they tend to cultivate a bad lifestyle over time without them knowing.

Recently, after the outbreak of corona virus, students have been requested to stay indoors and schooling has been done online.

Online learning has quite a few differences from the usual way of learning. Different software such as Zoom and Google Meet are used to hold classes through scheduled meetings. Communication of teachers and students is also done online through messaging. Exams have also been conducted online.

There are many advantages of studying online. The routine of classes is more flexible. A student has enough time to study whereas earlier the student would spend this time in the school ground. Students are not spoon fed. They are expected to do their duties such as completion of notes and revising for tests without the fear of physical punishments. In other words, they do it as their duty for their own good. Students aren't pressurised as much as they were in school. They have enough time on their hands to do activities of their choice i.e. taking walks, playing, talking to family members instead of spending their whole day at school and using all the remaining time doing homework.

A student learning online for exams can enjoy the study where questions are asked in multiple choice format instead of being forced to memorise lengthy pages from the notes. In this way, the student puts his/her MIND to the test, not his/her MEMORY alone. The student imagines and understands the study material instead of finding ways to mug up the set of answers given to him/her. This can be defined as real learning.

Online learning is not perfect. It has its disadvantages too. One main issue is the network connection of both the student and the teacher. Many students are unable to join classes due to poor network connection. Classes are ended early sometimes due to software errors. Teachers are locked out of the meeting sometimes during the middle of the class which causes students to panic. Hackers sometimes invade the class and fill the chat box with abusive words and disrupt an important ongoing class. The teachers and staff have made earnest efforts to solve these problems.

Now, we are uncertain when regular classes will resume. Till then online classes will be held at scheduled timings. Though online learning is very creative and useful, there are some things which aren't the same. Interaction among students is lacking. There is no time to crack jokes, express yourself or communicate other than the topic or subject. Many students miss the bonding with friends at school. This cannot be done online. Also, there are no extracurricular activities like music, art, and dance. These activities are essential for the cultural development of the student. However, nothing can be done to change this at such a difficult time.

Last, but not the least, I would like to thank our principal, teachers and all the staff who made this pleasant way of learning possible for us at this tough time. It means a lot to us, students. They have taught us that "where there is a will, there is a way". That is why we should learn from them and as students, continue to shine bright.