A computer with a Zoom call is shown above. Public schools across Georgia have switched to online learning practices after closing due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Photo by Elena Webber
As schools across the United States close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some are having to switch to digital learning, which has posed problems for students.
Schools all across the nation are closing due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 1, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced during a press conference that Georgia public schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year. Due to this enactment, schools have had to take up online learning practices anywhere from video call meetings to assigning work through Google Classroom.
The big question that students, teachers and parents, alike, have is whether online learning is actually effective, or will it pose a threat to a structured learning environment?
Using technology to further education is nothing new. Clarke Central High School has been a one-to-one school for four years, meaning each student is provided with their own laptop, netbook, tablet computer or other mobile-computing device. There’s no denying that technology has great benefits and gives students a wide range of opportunities including access to YouTube videos, Khan Academy, Newsela and more.
Technology can also offer classes that aren’t physically available at one’s school such as Georgia Virtual School. Lastly, in terms of our current situation with COVID-19, it’s given us a practical — and to some extent, effective — way to continue our learning and education.
While there are some benefits to digital learning, a virtualized learning environment poses various problems to students. To start off, in an online setting, students have more distractions and less oversight, which can reduce motivation. For students with attention deficit disorders like ADHD, this poses huge obstacles that can inflict on their learning ability.
“I think addressing all the disabilities that we may have right now or the things that are concerning us is where I would like the teachers to start,” University of Georgia Career and Information Studies Department Head Lloyd Rieber said. “I think being aware of the diversity of learning issues — it could be ADHD, hearing, sight — you have to be able to explore ways to help and engage and include those people.”
Another struggle for some students is that staring at a computer screen for long periods of time results in headaches, sore eyes and drowsiness. I have also experienced this. To combat this issue, I’ve had to purchase blue-light glasses. Blue light is a color in the visible light spectrum that can be seen by human eyes and has a high amount of energy. Digital devices emit significant amounts of blue light. Studies show that exposure to blue light can cause eyestrain, fatigue, headaches, and sleeplessness.
However, the most important concern is how online learning might widen the achievement gap and leave some students behind. There are a number of problems that can be present in a student’s home life from lack of internet access to family problems and certain responsibilities at home. For example, some students with multiple siblings have to babysit while their parents are at work.
“You have to focus on the emotional needs that people have first,” Rieber said. “We talk about this thing for years now called the digital divide which is people who have (access to internet and technology) and (don’t) have. And if you don’t have access to the internet, you’re at a big disadvantage in this world. I think people are going to really say, ‘Woah, we need to have the infrastructure in place so this doesn’t happen again.’”
The reality is that students who struggle in in-person classes are likely to struggle even more online. We’ve had a glimpse of what the future might look like for education, and it’s not all good.
