All the Weaknesses that Online Education Needs to Start Work on

This year we saw a surge in online education like never before. Zoom is enjoying the newfound popularity. We’re assuming the term ‘Okay Zoomer’ will soon gain the spotlight and online dictionaries will add a new word, serving the purpose as a proper noun and a verb, both. Alongside everything else, this particular software has anchored the sunken ship of online education. Regardless of hundreds and thousands of schools and universities closed due to the Pandemic, if the students are still getting to keep up with their curriculums, then let’s just give Zoom the credit it deserves.

However, as we are relying more and more on Zoom to meet with the educational requirements, it turns out the education system needed a lot of work, which was being ignored all of this time. Even though students are using Mediacom internet packages to stay on top of their learning game, because, let’s face it, Mediacom makes all of that possible. Mediacom Internet offers download speeds up to 200 Mbps, which means you can download e-books, lectures and attend video calls, without worrying about your connection dropping.

But, a good internet connection does not solve the problems faced by the online education industry. Let’s face it, the year 2020 has put the online education industry to a test. There was a time when no one talked about it or gave it enough attention, but now, look at it! With the overwhelming response, which the online education system has gotten lately, several points have started to surface where this particular facility could use a little scrutiny. Let's discuss those pointers in details:

Getting the Right Equipment Along with Parents’ Supervision

First of all, schools need to realize that ‘online’ is the new place where everything will inevitably shift to, sooner or later. The basic reason why young school-goers are having trouble is that they don’t have the right access to it. Many parents sacrifice their work hours by lending their kids their own laptops and computers, but this can’t go on. This should be the school’s responsibility to let the parents know of the change in priorities and how kids need to have their own tablets or netbooks to work. Parents will have to provide 100% supervision to their kids whenever they’re using the devices, besides checking their progress. This does seem like a lot of work but if it’s allowing your kids an opportunity to learn in a well-monitored environment, then why not?

Teachers Must Know Their Way around the Latest Techniques

Secondly, teachers must be trained per the latest trends happening in the educational realm. If the teachers aren’t well equipped with what goes on in the online education sector and what the ins and outs are, then chances are, they’ll fail to deliver quality education to the students who are unfortunately locked out of their schools. Schools must use this opportunity to train their teachers into using the latest teaching software, along with operating the needed video-making equipment. For instance, instead of just keeping the lectures verbal and boring, teachers can maintain virtual blackboards and explain things more compellingly to students. Of course, once again, just as we mentioned above a while ago, the need for a speedy and reliable internet connection is what we can’t stress enough. When there is a good internet connection at hand, there’s no way teachers will ever be able to experience lags in communicating their lectures to their students.

Ensuring to Minimize the Excessive Screen-time

Finally, this one’s for students. Ever since the lockdown, schools are conducting classes online and students are spending a lot of their time in front of their computer screens. No matter how important it is to sit endless hours for the sake of knowledge, the dangers of increased screen-time will always lurk behind. To combat this issue, schools need to devise a plan that would make it easy for students to juggle lectures + assignments, along with ample time for a break. This will check off one massive risk of sitting in front of devices’ screens for endless hours, and students won’t get bored with this new normal, too quickly.

The Abridged Narrative

Online Education has a bright future. But, that can only happen once the students and the teachers know their way around it. Of course, this sudden switch towards online learning is getting too overwhelming for the students and teachers alike, but that doesn’t mean things will remain like this. Just one step at a time and online education can ensure itself a bright future in no time.

Nathan John is a well-known content writer and he has been working for seven years in the same field. He writes for internet access and communication.