The pandemic created a big impact in the education of our learners. In order to protect our students from the deadly virus, schools found a way to continue the education by using different distance learning modalities that enable the students to access and engage with quality education from the comfort and convenience of their home. Synchronous and asynchronous activities are given to the students which they need to comply with based on the deadline set by their teachers. More so, students will have ample time to do their homework and activities.
However, e-learners also face challenges that can arise in virtual settings that need an immediate action on part of the teachers. Based on the report, some of the problems faced by our learners in online classes are ineffective time management, lack of instant communication, unclear instruction, lack of technological devices, and other distractions present in the environment of the students. Many of our students really find it hard to balance their studies and their day-to-day lives; thus, resulting in ineffective time management that can greatly affect their concentration and focus in their studies and even can increase the levels of stress because of the deadlines and submissions that they need to meet. Another is the communication problem between the teachers and students. E-learning creates a gap in terms of communication in the learning process.This problem can cause misinterpretation and confusion on part of the learners particularly in doing their activities. As a result, students might submit wrong output or poor quality of work. Moreover, availability of technological devices is another serious problem for our students. Some of them are not capable of buying gadgets that can be used in their online class and even do not afford to have a stable internet connection; so, the local government must work hand and hand with the educational sectors to meet this problem.
As an educator, it is imperative that we should not only understand and empathize with the challenges of our online learners but we should take part in finding effective solutions to ease the difficulties of our students in attending to distance learning. We should help them in creating positive views about e-learning and make this an exciting opportunity for them to learn in more diverse ways. Maintain a constant communication to your students and make sure to check and monitor them regularly so that problems can be addressed immediately. Teachers play an important role in the lives of their students especially in this time of pandemic.
By: Catherine L. Jongco | Master Teacher I | Bataan National High School | Balanga, Bataan
