Pros and cons of distance learning in this COVID-19 pandemic

It has already been more than a week for our combined teaching and learning situation in the midst of this difficult time where everyone is challenged to cope with different tasks.

So as a classroom teacher now online guide for my select lucky angels, well the daily hurdle has been difficult, challenging and at times taxing on the psyche. Yes, not all of my students can cope simply because they don’t have the necessary technology like an Android cell phone, iPad, desktop, laptop, or any of those educational tools that some of the lucky few have.

Well, given the above situation, I, for one, believe that parents could do something worthwhile for their children’s education by doing their best to have a functional cell phone suitable for an online class. However, there are several reasons why some parents do not have the ability to provide for their children simply because of poverty, unemployment, lack of education, or the motivation to keep up with current trends in education and child care delivery. learning, especially this COVID-19 pandemic. .

Still, there are pros and cons to distance learning, especially blended learning, for both kids and parents.

PROS

1. Kids can now have plenty of time browsing the different apps to absorb the lessons and apply them in their daily routine.

2. Parents can see how their children are using their learning time. They might even help them manage their time to get all the tasks done without leaving other tasks behind. Teachers, like me, are sending home guides for their students, serving as a reference, so that their subjects are taken in a certain time, with a number of minutes included.

3. Children can show their skills in the use of the Internet, for example, researching a story to read, a photo to write an essay and facts about important events in history, especially during the holidays and other commemorative exercises in Science topics Social, to mention. a.

4. Parents have time to help their children with their reading and writing homework, as well as the difficulties their children encounter in arithmetic, science, etc.

5. Kids also have time to be more talkative on camera as they answer questions, share stories, and other activities where talking is the goal, especially about how they express themselves, with confidence minus face-to-face interactions.

6. Parents, for the most part, also have the opportunity to learn, as if they had a review of their previous education; of course, with updated information where the irrelevant ones had been changed to a more appropriate one, particularly with Science topics, say number of planets, etc.

7. Children also have the opportunity to become citizens of the world by learning all about the Internet of Things and collaborating with other students from around the world. Yes, teachers should have a partner teacher from another country, for example a science class in the Philippines learning together with a science class in the US about the different landscapes during the winter and of course the sunny weather In Philippines. With videos, photos and the like, students from these two countries could learn a lot from each slideshow shared through Google Meet, Zoom Meeting, among other technological tools suitable for this purpose.

CONS

1. Kids who don’t have a reliable internet connection are left behind when it comes to learning online. However, with available modules around; well, everyone gets a chance to learn the concepts, samples, and deep learning once a conscientious teacher implements enrichment or remedial programs for those who need them. Yes, creativity is key to providing every learning opportunity for kids facing technological challenges in online learning. In addition to the lack of those devices like android cell phone, lappie or desktop computer, the burden of internet also becomes a hurdle, for who can afford them when the parents are unemployed, in dire poverty and you know what.

2. Parents suffer more stress when their children cannot keep up with their peers, neighbors in competition with their children and other scenarios of unequal opportunities, a sad reality the majority in my class belongs to this situation in which to keep up with Los Juanes is impossible to do

3. Kids, entrepreneurs and all, resort to online cheating. Yes, there is a group chat where answers to modules are uploaded and a lazy bone will just copy and paste those and violate, get the perfect score, subsequent recognition as highest honors, etc. Oh, this sorry state of education could be a training ground for future leaders who will do no sensible thing except to aggrandize themselves, and so on.

4. Parents bear all the burden when their children have not yet mastered time management, discipline, and honesty in doing their homework, eg reviewing lessons before going online, answering modules with integrity, and the like.

5. Children have more time to be distracted by different things on the Internet. Yes, some are good at browsing different sites and might be in great danger when they open some dangerous websites inappropriate for their mental age, corrupting their innocent minds with garbage and other ideologies that might harm them instead of helping them improve their literacy and learning challenges. arithmetic.

6. Parents have problems getting their children to answer the modules, especially when they have more than 10 in a week and have 4 children with this type of modality. Still, in the online class, when an Android cell phone is available, how could they have the same time participating when they could barely cope with the low internet signal, charging, and other challenges present in a necessities house?

There you go. If you are free from such challenges, you are lucky to face all these challenges and you will come out victorious with the continuity of learning in the midst of this difficult time. However, courage, resilience, and perseverance can be our saving grace as we face these obvious realities. No matter what challenges come our way of teaching/learning, we always expect the best result through our best effort. Keep your head up, always. Stay safe, healthy and holy. Health!