Digital Learning vs Conventional Classroom

Education plays a pivotal role in the life of many. A big piece of new and necessary information appears every minute. Nowadays, online learning turns out to be more and more practiced. Many educational institutions started to show their courses online for free especially during the former pandemic. Online education helps to solve the problem of time. It is a great alternative to traditional or conventional schools, especially for people who cannot afford time and place.

The impact of pandemic covid-19 has been observed in every sector around the globe. The education sectors of Indonesia as well as the world are badly affected by this. However, the impact of covid-19 in education has few positive outcomes apart from the many negative aspects of it.

Covid-19 has accelerated adoption of digital technologies to deliver education. Educational institutions moved towards blended mode of learning. It encouraged all teachers and students to become more technology savvy. The pandemic situation induces people to learn and use digital technology and resulted in increasing the digital literacy. Learning materials are shared among the students easily and the queries are resolved through e-mail, SMS, phone calls and using different social media platform like WhatsApp and Facebook.

Another plus point, students are able to manage their time more efficiently in online education during pandemics. Teachers have also adopted new methods of teaching like through PowerPoints, videos, zooms and google meets which are considered as one of the best and fast learning media of teaching.

Unfortunately, Education sector has also suffered a lot due to the outbreak of COVID-19. It has created many negative impacts on education. Classes have been suspended and exams at different levels postponed. Even worse, unemployment rate is expected to be increased due to this pandemic. Other problem is also that not all teachers and students are good at it or at least not all of them were ready for this sudden transition from face-to-face learning to online learning.

Digital education might be the best option for some; however, online learning has also been a problem to poor or lower middle-class students who do not have any internet facilities. As many students have limited or no internet access at all and many students may not be able to afford computer, laptop or supporting mobile phones in their homes so that online learning may create a digital divide among students.

According to various reports, the lockdowns have hit the poor students very hard in Indonesia as most of them are unable to explore online learning. Thus, the online teaching-learning method during pandemic COVID-19 may enhance the gap between rich and poor, urban and rural. As the schools were closed so there is no subject classes available and they lack of food, the rural poor considering their girl child a burden to the family. They choose to get them married keeping 2.5 million more girls around the world at the risk of child marriages in the coming five years.

Somewhere, students are missing their school life where they used to enjoy a lot with their friends apart from studying and other extra-curricular activities. An emotional relationship is created between teacher and students who is not there in the digitalized learning.

We believe we all agree that 2020 has been the most remarkable period of 21st century with millions of deaths all over the world and degraded economy of countries which are worst affected. Education sector is also one of the most affected. In this pandemic time, regular hand washing, wearing mask and physical distancing are all that we can do.

It is unpredictable that how long it will take to reinstate to the normal situation but till then we have to follow every single precautionary measure, we all know that digital education can never replace traditional education or in other word conventional classroom system. Moreover, digitalized learning gave birth to a new kind of discrimination between those who have access to internet and those who did not and the main important thing is the interaction between students and teachers have also been affected. But apart from the certain challenges and looking at current situation, online learning is still the only option available to students in this new normal life. 

Let's hope everything will be better soon.