Online School and it's Proven Challenges - Daniel Maher

        2020 stinks! I don't think there's any other way to put it. The whole COVID-19 situation has affected everyone's lives differently all across the world. From work, to school, to how we socialize. Each situation comes with its own set of challenges and now, it's online school. Though there are some obvious challenges and difficulties, there are also some that people may not have thought of before.

    The obvious challenges first include the quality of learning. Sitting at a computer screen for over 5 hours a day is not very convenient. With teachers having to sometimes teach from home, they don't have access to all the of the resources they might have in the classroom. In conjunction with that, the students don't have access to all of the resources they may have in the classroom. So the alternative is to access those resources via technology, furthering a students time staring at a computer screen trying to learn. According to brain balance, an online learning center for brain exercise, a 16 year old's average attention span is around 32 to 48 minutes, fitting for a 42 minute class period. But when you have to sit there for 65 minutes looking at a computer, it is much harder to pay attention and hinders a students ability to learn. 

    

    

    Another issue students tend to run into with online learning is the technology itself. Besides running into countless connectivity issues, forcing students out of lessons and losing out on needed information, they may find it difficult to reconnect with their teacher. Even though virtual learning offers students an opportunity to meet and connect with teachers throughout the day, it just isn't the same. Constant technology bugs and google meet glitches turn a 65 minute class, which is already far too long, into a 30 minute lesson, with the rest of a students work being done...on the computer. There's also the constant pausing during a meet for a teacher to attempt to share their screen, wait 5 minutes, and then bug out at the very end, wasting time. Throughout the week, I conducted a little experiment to see just how effective, or ineffective, some classes or days were. Any time a teacher was actually teaching a lesson, via a lecture, presentation, etc..., that counted as an effective minute. Any technology bugs, prolonged attendance issues, etc..., was wasted time. On average, only 45 out of the 65 minutes of class time last week were effective, meaning that we are basically having classes the length of a normal school day, just every other day. This eliminates almost 20 full school days for 2020.  

    Then finally, there's the social aspect of online learning. Teachers have had more difficulty being able to connect with and learn about their students like they have been able to in years passed. Students don't have the opportunity to meet and socialize with their friends everyday, but instead have to sit at home...staring at a computer screen...for 5 hours a day. This could seriously have implications on some students mental health, causing unnecessary stress and anxiety, especially with the potential that when we do go back to school, we'll have to cram 20 missed classes into the remainder of the school year. 

    So that's online school in a nutshell. I do believe that teachers are making the best of this situation and all of the students are doing so as well. For now we'll all still have to deal with online school, but that doesn't make it any better.

https://blog.brainbalancecenters.com/normal-attention-span-expectations-by-age