While remote learning is often approached as an innovative method of mastering and processing new information, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed students and educators in a totally different learning environment. It strongly impacted how students had to approach unknown methodologies and battle an emotional disconnection from the typical classroom and teachers always by their side. As a rule, most students have also faced technical challenges. Since it was almost impossible to calculate this type of damage, teachers did not have an opportunity to address the issue and focus on each student’s problems, which affected student performance negatively.
Impact of Remote Learning on Student Performance and Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic
– Posture Issues and The Eye Strain.
One of the most apparent impacts on student performance during the pandemic is related to the healthcare issues faced by the learners. Here we have the time that most learners had to spend stuck next to the computer and tablet screens. It posed certain issues with posture and brought in the problem of headaches and increased eye strain. As a rule, it decreases the cognitive skills of a person and affects student performance negatively.
– Emotional Isolation.
Another serious issue is related to the emotional aspect of remote learning. Many students cannot feel the right connection to the subject they are approaching since entering a virtual platform feels just like browsing through social media or yet another website. Likewise, students with learning challenges or exchange students find it even harder to study remotely. If you are facing the problem of isolation or belonging to foreign students, you may require the best translation service to help you address things like grammar correction or getting your documents and presentations adjusted by the experts.
– Technical Issues and Perception of Information Remotely.
The well-being of students is also related to a plethora of technical challenges that have been faced as the learners had to fight poor Internet connection, sudden breakdowns during the remote video lessons, and a necessity to learn how the new virtual platforms work. It placed an additional strain on the learning processes and allocation of available time.
– Lack of Focus and Control.
Remote learning has also affected student performance in a significant way. It became clear that most students, especially the younger ones, faced a lack of focus. They seemed to skip what was said during the virtual conference and could not follow the instructions that were provided remotely. It is one of those issues that have been virtually unknown before the pandemic world came to be. The teachers did not have any prior experience or the means to control each student remotely other than checking their online presence or asking questions. Unlike the classroom experience, it became much harder to control the students and check whether they are focused or not.
– Poor Adjustment of Learning Materials.
For some reason, this factor is not often mentioned in the lists of things that have impacted student performance during the COVID-19 period. As we take a look at the academic results of the pandemic period, it becomes clear that the low grades and the decrease in literacy have also been affected by the poor quality of the learning materials and the lack of proper structure and systematization. The academic community simply became unprepared for the challenges and had no time to provide students with proper instructions and adjustments.
Virtual Learning Environments or Modern Means of Control
If there is one positive thing that we can learn from the COVID-19 pandemic situation, it is the use of LMS platforms like Google Classroom, Blackboard, or Socrative, to name several widely-used examples. It must be noted that the methodologies like progressive grading and a personalized approach to each student are only starting to become accepted among educators, which has not been the case during the pandemic times. The reason for that has been related to the modern means of controlling the students virtually and trying to evaluate the progress and perception of the learners. Since there is no social isolation and students can meet and communicate in person as well, the use of a learning management system has also undergone a certain shift and has finally reached some well-needed progress to connect the virtual and physical learning environments. Although many lessons have been learned the hard way, there is still hope that they will help us to push the boundaries and take learning to another level.
BIO
Mark Wooten is a trained expert in the field of technology and remote education. He loves to explore the challenges faced by students and educators by reviewing various solutions and offering helpful tips. Follow Mark to discover new ideas and take your learning experience to another level.
Also read: The Reopening of Franchise Sales during the COVID-19 Pandemic
