By: Dr Firdoos Ahmad Wani
Online education has drastically changed the way we study. But all positives aside, attending online classes from home have led to a string of mental and physical health issues for both students and teachers.
Covid-19 caused the world to come to a standstill. Life, as we knew, changed and this change became the new constant.Educational institutions took to online teaching. The start of this change felt rather very enticing for the students not having to rush and get ready to reach the institutions, and being in the comfort of their homes.
But soon it started affecting us on both mental and physical grounds. Humans are social animals and even the most introverted ones also need to see faces and have human interactions once in a while. But this wasn’t happening due to the pandemic.
The concentration levels of students dropped in online learning as the eye meanders elsewhere on the screen. This made it difficult for most students to keep up with the teachings.
The pressure to concentrate and produce the required results added great amount of stress and anxiety. Tasks, assignments and homework slacked.Most children were seen lagging behind and succumbing to the pressure.
Online mode of education also led to a number of physical issues including eyesight problems due to increased screen time leading to more strain on the eyes and resulting in major headaches. This happened not only to the students but also to teachers.
The classroom ethics were compromised to great lengths. The posture, regularity, lack of routine, attentiveness all resulted in health hazards. Constant sitting caused weight concerns as well.No physical activity made the students restless and frustrated and took a toll on the eating habits, thus resulting in damage to the physical health.
Bad ergonomics
Human factors and ergonomics is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems.
Studying online has resulted in poor/bad ergonomics, thus resulting in a lot of issues including back pain and fibromyalgia pains.The lack of physical activities has caused children to become obese. Thanks to binge eating and watching, it’s only gotten worse.Muscle spasms, muscle rigidity, and lack of calcium, etc are all based on lack of physical activity.
Online Education surprisingly has resulted in a lack of Vitamin D. Lack of sunlight, poor diet, and exercise have resulted in more problems than one could anticipate.As weird as it sounds, the lack of physical activity and less calcium has resulted in trivial injuries, thus resulting in extensive injuries further.
One of the biggest challenges of online learning that many students face is the struggle to focus for long durations on screen. Not to mention, there is a plethora of distracting content available online which attracts and distracts the students more often than not. To avoid this and help the students stay focused on the class, the teachers have made strenuous efforts and designed their online classes to be crisp, engaging, and interactive.
Online classes are not completely reliable as internet connectivity plays a vital role. While access to the internet has drastically improved over the past few years, in some parts of the country, people still lack access to decent internet speed and connectivity.
Inconsistent internet connectivity has emerged as one of the top excuses for the students to dodge some important requirements such as an active visual presence which is imperative for due vigilance. With the cameras turned off there is a disconnection between the teachers and students. It is observed widely that students would log into the class and then get distracted with other activities. Given that students are free from the regulations and boundaries of an appropriate classroom environment, it is perceived that the curriculum is not given importance by the students.
There are high chances of the students distracting themselves while learning online. Traditional classroom education offers the benefit of face-to-face interactions with peers which are typically moderated by a teacher. Physical classroom interaction provides children, especially those in their early developmental years, with a stable environment for social interactions, helping them develop skills like empathy and cooperation. It helps them in their overall development and real-life situations.
But, I believe, learning never stops, in fact, it evolves itself not just to survive but to thrive and technology has proven to be the most important enabler of the same which in itself is an invention that is an outcome of learning. Technology has helped in learning and learning has led to the advancement of technology. Students need both parents’ and teachers’ guidance as they navigate through this difficult time to learn more and more.
Both offline learning and e-learning would go hand-in-hand and online education will eventually become an integral component of school education. Somewhere in the future, education is going to be hybrid. During Covid, technology has become a part of academics and is here to stay. Online applications and programs have helped both teachers and students to develop new skills and capabilities that supported them and enhance their knowledge. Online teaching cannot replace the position of traditional classroom teaching and we will need to get back to traditional teaching after the pandemic ends.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that online education initially started as a great advantage but took a drastic turn and didn’t work so much in the same spirit. With the increased screen time, eyesight issues, headaches, and strain have increased a great deal.
The author is scholar, writer, poet and columnist can be reached damhal100@gmail.com
