Why online classrooms make perfect sense in a post-pandemic world (and why they don’t) – part 2

In the previous article, we had enlisted the positive aspects of switching permanently to online schooling. However, certain typical attributes of virtual classrooms can give headaches to educational institutes. The problematic aspects are:

Lack of a reliable network infrastructure

The lack of students within school premises has brought radical changes in the traditional educational systems. Schools have had to adapt to challenges posed by the global pandemic with nearly no time to adjust. Many schools lack the requisite digital infrastructure to execute online schooling with minimum interruptions. As a result, the initial months of remote schooling were chaotic, with technophobic teachers being forced to conduct lectures from their homes. Many schools have switched to platforms such as Google Classroom to make the video lectures coherent for students and educators.

Connectivity issues during online lectures

A lack of digital infrastructure is not the only technical issue hampering online learning. As you know, video calls and conferences need reliable assistance from a few factors (device compatibility, uninterrupted internet access) to work seamlessly. It is common for students or teachers to abruptly go offline during a virtual lecture due to problems related to either of these factors. To mitigate such niggles, teachers and students can use alternative devices, different online class applications and more than one internet source.

Conduction of virtual examinations

Conducting exams virtually is challenging for school authorities during the best of times. Apart from the usual planning and delegation requirements, schools need to maintain a level of vigilance to prevent test-giving candidates from engaging in any unethical practices. Therefore, schools may be understandably reluctant to let their students take exams remotely.

Schools can partner with online proctoring service providers to make their online exams cheat-proof. For example, uLearn’s AI-enabled proctoring tool prevents candidates from cheating in exams while ensuring their privacy. Moreover, uLearn’s proctoring software for online assessments is compatible with all PCs, laptops, and Chromebooks, making it easy to adopt.

Boring online lectures for students

It is not uncommon for learners to nod off in the middle of a video lecture. This happens because students generally find online classes challenging to sit through due to their length and monotony. Such lectures are ultimately useless as students do not learn any new concepts despite their presence during the sessions.

To liven things up, teachers can make their online lectures interactive to boost student participation. Theoretical sessions, especially, can be shortened to prevent them from dragging on inconsequentially for hours. Moreover, if possible, the students’ homework can be designed to encourage creative thinking on their end.

Other issues with online schooling

Apart from the problems mentioned above, managing student discipline and attendance inconsistencies are some of the other challenges schools may face. Teachers can simply mute badly behaved students when they interrupt their video lectures more than a certain number of times. Apps like Google Classroom and Blackboard Learn can help teachers with resolving the attendance issues.

While online education may have a few challenges, all these challenges are solvable — just like how challenges in conducting cheat-proof virtual exams can be solved with the help of uLearn. uLearn’s intelligent online tools ensure that student data privacy is not compromised during an online proctored test. You can contact us to get more information about our online services and tools.

To know more about uLearn: https://ulearn.io/