Influence of Distance Learning to students during COVID-19
According to California Community College (CCC) Datamart, to fight the spread
of coronavirus and maintain healthy social-distancing, schools across the country have
temporarily closed and quickly transitioned from on-campus, face-to-face learning to
distance learning. In the last decade, colleges and universities have led the charge
incorporating online, distance education into their programming, changing how they
plan and design their campus. The current rapid and forced adoption of online teaching
and learning will likely lead to permanent changes, generating data that may help to
accelerate and improve online learning platforms and pedagogies.
https://hmcarchitects.com/news/distance-learning-in-the-time-of-covid-19/
Student perspective of classroom and distance learning during COVID-19
pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global health issue and has had a major
impact on education. Consequently, half way through the second semester of the
academic year 2019/2020, learning methods were delivered through distance learning.
Despite some challenges, some students could adapt to the new learning methods of
full distance learning and the majorities agreed blended learning that combined
classroom and distance learning can be implemented henceforth. This current COVID-
19 pandemic, changes not only the utilization of technology in education but the
pedagogy strategies in the future. (Amir, L.R., Tanti, I., & Maharani, D.A., 2020)
https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-020-02312-0
The challenges of COVID-19 pandemic on education
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), some students without reliable internet access and/or technology struggle to
participate in digital learning; this gap is seen across countries and between income
brackets within countries. “It is clear that this pandemic has utterly disrupted an
education system that many assert was already losing its relevance.” (Harari, 2018) The
hasty nature of the transition online may have hindered this goal, others plan to make
e-learning part of their ‘new normal’ after experiencing the benefits first-hand.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-
online-digital-learning/
From traditional to distance learning education
Faculty lecturing in a classroom setting, students listening, taking notes, asking
questions, and getting those questions answered have been the backbone of traditional
academic education. With advancements in communication technology such as the
telephone, radio, television and most recently the internet, new methods of learning,
including distance learning, have emerged. Through the internet, students can now
obtain instruction and learn with ease at home by simply clicking a few buttons on the
computer to listen live or asynchronously to a professor thousands of miles away,
interact with the professor, and solve problems without having to physically be in a
classroom. While a more expensive option for education in terms of set up, distance
education has progressed in concept and practice from an “anywhere” to an “anytime”
education delivery method. Distance learning, also known by various names such as
distance education, e-learning, mobile learning, or online learning, is a form of
education where there is physical separation of teachers from students during the
instruction and learning process. It is also an instructional practice that effectively
utilizes a wide range of tools and technology to enrich the student learning experience
and to facilitate student-faculty and student-student communication. The minimum
technological requirements for successful distance learning include the acquisition of
hardware such as a computer, mobile device (cellular phones), or webcam, some form
of listening device, video conferencing applications. (Armstrong-Mensah E, Ramsey-
White K, Yankey B and Self-Brown S, 2020)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.576227/full
Distance learning strategies in response to COVID-19 school closures
Establishing or scaling up distance learning strategies are a sector-wide response to
sudden interruption of educational processes as a result of unexpected COVID-19
school closures. These strategies are guided by a concern for equity and inclusion and
the need to ensure the design and delivery of distance learning do not exacerbate
existing educational and social inequalities. The planning of more comprehensive
distance learning strategies should, however, be guided by both immediate mitigation
needs and long-term goals. Beyond the response to the current crisis, the efforts to
deploy distance learning at scale across all levels of education provides valuable lessons
and may lay the foundation for longer-term goals of building more open, inclusive and
flexible education systems after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. (UNESCO.ORG,
2020)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373305?posInSet=2&;queryId=N-
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