Online Class, Physical Class, and Mental Health
Written by N.F.T.
Isn’t it tiring watching those online lectures these days? Since the pandemic started, our education system has drastically changed. From the hybrid version of combining physical and virtual learning mode, education institutions especially universities have fully turned towards applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom et cetera as platforms to proceed with teaching at a distance. Face-to-face learning seems impossible now.
“…this is not to discourage virtual learning at all. Rather, it is to open our eyes on the mental health issues surrounding this matter.”
Moreover, students are now exposed to screen time more than ever just to pursue their studies. Those days when our mothers would yell from the kitchen, ‘’Stop using your gadgets for awhile. Go do your homework!’’ are officially over. This sudden transition of education mode, though flexible and convenient does take a toll on our health especially our mental health, that often enough we may hear people exclaiming that online classes are more mentally straining than physical ones.
The major factor on why they are comparatively more mentally straining is, they feed loneliness, anxiety and depression among students. The big difference is we are taking out the human element here. Educators can only present information and monitor a student’s academic progress via online classes but how about their well-being? Education becomes less personalised.
As we know, school is a student’s second home and teachers the second parents. Without physical presence of a teacher, students especially the shy and quiet ones may feel helpless in studying hard-core subjects such as Maths, Physics, Chemistry etc. When the teachers are unable to keep a close eye, and identify the students’ need for assistance, it makes them increasingly distressed in figuring out things all on their own.
Usually in physical classes, teachers and students also get to engage in a lots of fun conversations and activities together other than just studying. These bonding moments in the classroom encourage students to enjoy learning, not seeing it too much as a chore.
As a matter of fact, it’s not only the students that are having a hard time with virtual classes. The educators are facing mental strain as well. The lack of visual feedback is a common problem for teachers in conducting online classes. They used to rely on the students’ visual response to their teaching methods in order to improve their approach. When a teacher saw the bored expressions of the students when teaching in the classroom, for instance, it becomes an indicator for them to deliver a more interesting activity to catch their attention. Unfortunately, they have to resort to satisfaction polls, which can be inaccurate most of the time compared to pure observation, to find out if their students are engaged during the session or not. Then, they have to train themselves on making full use of the tools available online to get the similar feedback. It can be quite challenging.
“Since the pandemic started, our education system has drastically changed.”
Overall, we can see how online classes affect us all mentally but this is not to discourage virtual learning at all. Rather, it is to open our eyes on the mental health issues surrounding this matter. Online classes are unavoidable given our current pandemic situation. Sure, tech-savvy students may not have any problems dealing with virtual learning or better, thrive in it. Yet, we must understand that there are many who still find it difficult to adapt to this digital learning mode. The educators are doing their best to cater to every student’s needs so just give ourselves some time to adjust and help each other along the way. Plus, remember not to hunch over your desk for too long. Get some sunshine outside, do some stretches in between online classes, drink more water, have a little fun and most importantly, keep gadget usage in moderation.
