CONTENT
First section: Policy Center and Gender Lab in Miranda House
Second section: Purpose of the survey
Third section: Responses and Observations
Fourth section: Way forward
Fifth Section: Conclusion
ABSTRACT
The survey conducted by the Policy and Gender Lab, Miranda House, to understand the impact of online learning on students and the challenges confronting them, showed that despite acknowledging the online medium as the best possible alternative in the current context of the pandemic, an overwhelming majority of students are concerned about the impact of online learning on their physical and mental well being. The digital divide and lack of accessibility were other prominent misgivings shared by students.
SURVEY ON CHALLENGES OF ONLINE LEARNING
The Policy Centre and Gender Lab conducted a survey to analyze the impact of online learning, an inherent feature of the ‘new normal’ heralded by the pandemic. The objective of the survey was to give voice to the thoughts and opinions of students, whose lives are directly affected by the rapid shift of the learning process to online platforms. While we had no choice but to adapt to the change brought by the pandemic, were we equipped for it? The survey tries to look into this question.
Method
Google Forms were used for the creation and circulation of the survey.
The survey link: https://forms.gle/sYAoHEda1d4RiKM2A
Participants
The participants are categorized into three categories based on their age group. These are as follows:
1. Below the age of 18
2. Between the age of 18 and 25
3. Above the age of 25
Assessments and Measures
1. To authenticate the responses received, the email of all the respondents was recorded.
2. To avoid multiplicity of data, extensive rechecking was done.
3. The outcomes have been cross-checked by multiple people and multiple times.
4. To minimize copying of responses, the responses were not shared with the other participants immediately.
Policy Center and Gender Lab
Policy Center and Gender Lab began its arduous task of equipping the students with promising research skills on 4th February 2020. We have also taken a keen interest in keeping the young researchers up to date with the current political scenario and encourage them to develop perspectives that can open up new dimensions. Policy Centre & Gender Lab is to provide education and training in research and related skills, especially for undergraduate students and young scholars, thereby assisting flowering learners to explore the arenas of academia and the power of knowledge. No social structure is exempt from the penetration of gender dimensions which serve as an excellent lens for scrutinizing society, public policies serve as a course of action that guides a range of related actions in a given field. They rarely tackle one problem, but rather deal with clusters of entangled and long-term problems. An optimal rational and development-oriented public policy is the need of the hour and the center shall serve as a creative space where students, faculty, and other stakeholders can develop the knowledge and skills to develop policy in a more open, discussion-oriented, and research-based data-driven, digital and user-centered way with implications for society. To conclude, Policy Centre and Gender Lab is the first attempt of its kind in the University to engage with our students- young women who are leaders in their own right to discover, design, and evaluate public policies. Through the Lab, Miranda House shall be giving its students roots to stay strong and wings to fly on.
Purpose of the Survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only exposed structural fault lines of our society but also left lasting imprints on how affairs are conducted. Overnight, the landscape of education witnessed a sweeping change, as educational institutions all around the world shifted to online platforms to continue the teaching-learning process. While the potential of digital learning is being efficiently harnessed, what are the adverse effects of this e-learning boom in the wake of the pandemic, that we can't afford to overlook? Policy Center and Gender Lab, Miranda House conducted this survey as an initiative to understand how students perceive the impact of the adoption of digital learning and what are the realities confronting students in their pursuit of education in the post-pandemic era.
Responses and Observations
‘Out of adversity comes opportunity,’ Benjamin Franklin’s words strike true today though he could not have possibly envisaged a world forced to shut doors and lock itself within homes due to a microscopic positive-stranded RNA, the COVID-19 virus. Staying true to the old adage of ‘life must go on,’ the world witnessed a rapid shift of human activities to online platforms, and the field of education manifested this change. The Internet-connected the world and kept social interactions and business alive. Education was continued through online mediums, and now, almost a year into online education, it is high time for introspection- to look into the pros and cons of online education and what can be done to make our only alternative better. The Policy Centre and Gender Lab conducted this survey with this objective in mind.
It was evident from the responses that everyone is aware of the safety requirements of COVID-19 and hence online education at home has been considered as the best possible alternative. Several benefits of online learning were acknowledged. Apart from safety, online education benefitted the respondents by saving their travel costs and accommodation charges, particularly for outstation students. Alongside, the respondents have been able to attend online classes and lectures in the comforts of their homes while giving ample amount of time to their families as well as to develop their own self-study pattern and hobbies. The flexibility of classes enabled students to attend pre-recorded lectures and presentations, and attendance was easily registered. Multi-tasking is promoted, online education is inexpensive and is the need of the hour.
On the same note, respondents also acknowledged the drawbacks, the biggest being the digital divide and the physical and mental strain associated with digital learning. The statements of facing continuous eye pain, headaches, migraines, and various other bodily lacunas, along with the mental stress, especially on those with prior cases of anxiety and depression, formed a similar narrative throughout the responses. The reality of the digital divide restricting the benefits of online learning to an advantaged few was acknowledged by the respondents, who called for measures to be taken to address these challenges.
The survey brought to light various hurdles faced by students in realizing their objectives from institutional education and highlighted various measures that must be undertaken to make this new reality more accommodative to the interests of students as well as teachers. The opportunity to expand education through the use of technology can only be rightly harnessed if we manage to bridge the digital divide and work on securing the mental and physical well-being of its users while adapting to the ‘new normal.’
RESULTS
Outcome 1
The first part of the survey dealt with acquiring an understanding of the background of the respondents, including their academic category and their residential statuses, for in-depth analysis. The observations are as follows,
348 of 412 respondents recognized them as “Female”, giving the survey a feminine bias.
342 of 412 respondents, i.e, a total of 83.3%, categorized themselves within the age group of 18 – 25yrs. Alongside, a total of 16.3% or 68 respondents were aged below 18yrs and 2 respondents were aged above 25yrs, providing the survey a holistic outlook.
A total of 87.1% of the 412 respondents identified themselves as “Undergraduate Students”, 10.2% identified themselves as “School students,” and the remaining categorized themselves as “Graduates and Post Graduates.”
Location of Residence:
More than half of the respondents to the survey came from the urban area, accounting for about 53.9% of the total data. This throws light on the increased technical availability and population of the urban areas with respect to other locations. Conversely, respondents from the rural areas were the least of the group with only 15.8% of the respondents. The respondents who did not fall under both the aforementioned categories formed about 30.3% and recognized themselves to be of the semi-urban category.
Exposure To Online Learning
A significant number of respondents have completely shifted to the online mode of education. But a quarter of them only depends on it to attend online classes. Together, they form 89.3 of the total respondents, with the majority of them fully onto online learning(64.1%). A considerable number of people had no prior online experience and the third majority of them obtained only the course material through online mode. A negligible figure could not attend all classes and was not very much engaged with the same.
Regarding Mode of Accessing Online Learning
Most of the respondents, i.e. at least 363 out of 412 use a mobile phone, whereas 227 out of 412 respondents use a laptop for accessing online classes. It can comfortably be assumed that some of them use both a mobile phone and a laptop as and when suitable for attending online classes.
Fig. A bar graph depicting the mode of accessing online learning platforms by respondents
Accessibility of Proper Internet Connection
The observations are as follows:-On a scale of 1-5, a very few respondents (53 out of 412) have a very high speed and very reliable internet connectivity (with a score of 5), whereas most of the respondents have a moderate to strong internet connectivity.
Fig. A bar graph representing the rate of availability of internet connection at respondents’ residence on a scale of 1-5
Outcome 2
The second part of the survey focused on assessing the efficiency of online learning. The respondents were asked to mark the effectiveness of online learning in terms of enabling effective communication, meeting individual needs, promoting participation, convenience, accessibility, sense of community, quality of education and accountability of students towards teachers. The observations are as follows:
● In all the parameters, online learning was deemed less effective than offline learning. Only a meager few considered online learning as very effective in these aspects. Thus, it can be deduced that online learning is less effective in enabling effective communication, doesn't meet individual learning needs most often, doesn't promote participation much, is inconvenient and inaccessible for most, unable to cultivate a sense of community, has a low quality of education and is less effective in ensuring accountability of students towards teachers.
Figure 1:
The respondents were asked to choose values for different parameters of online learning. The observations are as follows:
● While only 22% of respondents agreed to have been satisfied with online teaching methods and materials, most respondents neither agreed nor disagreed (36%) while about 26% of respondents disagreed.
● Most respondents (39%) agreed on the fact that their ability to study is curtailed by a lack of a productive environment at home.
● An overwhelming amount of respondents (40% strongly agreed and 34% agreed) that the increased screen time and balance of domestic chores with studies were causing overwork and exhaustion.
● While most respondents gave a vague answer about the question of whether the motivation is high for participation in online lectures or not, the values were tilted towards the negative indicating low motivation for online learning.
● A majority of respondents (29%) agreed that because of online learning, they have more time for other things like hobbies, internships, etc.
Figure 2:
Outcome 3
The third part of the survey focused on seeking the insights of the respondents regarding the pros and cons of online classes.
The question of ‘is the home environment facilitating the learning process,’ received mixed responses. While around 38% of the respondents replied in affirmative, an equally jarring number of 35% found home environments to be restricting their ability to study and perform well. The reasons cited for this are as follows:
Background noise and disturbances caused by siblings and ongoing household chores were attributed as one of the biggest reasons.
The expectations of female students to do domestic chores (sometimes even during classes) at their house was exhausting and left less time for devoting themselves to studying.
Several respondents replied not having any private space for studying as they lived in small houses or in a joint family.
The arrival of guests and the compulsion to attend family functions disturbed the classes as well as the self-study schedule of several students.
One of the oft-repeated reasons was a lack of proper internet connection in their hometowns especially in remote areas or electricity glitches.
The classes were considered as non-engaging and a lack of interaction along with constant distractions at home, made students lose their concentration.
Lessened social interaction with friends and professors leads to loss of motivation and productivity, with boredom and frustration manifesting at home
The respondents shared similar opinions regarding the benefits of online classes.
Time saving - Online Learning was considered time efficient in terms of saving commute time and extra free time was available between classes which could be utilized for self-study as well as for several other activities, hobbies, etc.
Inexpensive - Many respondents found online learning less expensive than offline learning as it saved the cost of traveling and staying in a hostel or PG.
Accessibility- Online Study materials and notes were found to be easily accessible to everyone.
Convenience- Classes could be attended from anywhere and lectures could be recorded and then watched anytime later for better concept clarity.
Several respondents deemed not getting dressed up and their ability to wear comfortable clothes in classes as a benefit.
Many respondents found it easier to ask questions in online classes and found it easier for socially anxious students to partake in class discussions.
Respondents found it beneficial in terms of being able to study at their own pace.
Along with ensuring safety from COVID-19, 3 respondents responded on being able to gain back the nutritional requirements a student requires through home-cooked food and pace back to the proper sleep cycle, which also acts as a benefit of online classes.
A devoted environment without hustle and bustle and enabling spending time with family were some other benefits listed.
The possibility of multi-tasking was explored, better maintenance of attendance allowed, and having leisure time to pursue other activities promote holistic development.
By promoting technology in education, digital literacy is improved.
But despite the benefits, the online classes also had their own share of disadvantages. Respondents were allowed to delve deep into the drawbacks or challenges faced by them during online learning. The observations are as follows :
Most respondents agreed to have a digital divide in terms of having access to a good internet connection and access to electronic gadgets like laptops, mobile phones, etc.
One of the oft-repeated drawbacks was the communication gap created by online learning between students and teachers and between peers themselves. The lack of interaction made classes non-engaging and monotonous.
Respondents stated not being able to understand and being confused during classes and not getting their doubts listened to or cleared by their teachers.
The increased screen time was oft-stated as one of the biggest problems as sitting in front of a screen for at least 5-6 hours for classes and then studying material online put a huge strain on the eyes, caused back pain and migraine to many, and left students feeling tired, overworked, and exhausted.
Respondents found the absence of practicals and hands-on- experience disconcerting. It was reported that online learning didn't facilitate co-curricular activities well either.
Online learning was found to be taking a toll on the mental health of students. Students admitted feeling anxious and stressed most of the time.
As per some respondents, the home environment wasn't conducive to their studies and they found themselves getting distracted and less productivity was achieved.
Lack of digital training of teachers hindered the complete utilization of online learning.
Lack of a social or community experience made students feel left out and many respondents felt that they were missing out on learning and growing from their social experiences.
The final million-dollar question was if the students preferred to continue online learning over in-class learning in the post-pandemic world. 68.7% of the respondents preferred in-class learning to digital learning.
A variety of suggestions and opinions were articulated towards the culmination of the survey. Most of them were related to bridging the gaps between different social classes in accessing online learning and described efforts that must be made to bridge the digital divide. Despite being aware of misgivings, the respondents were aware of the lack of alternatives to digital learning in the context of the pandemic. Some of the respondents suggested measures like giving frequent breaks to students to reduce screen time as well as shorter duration of classes in order to prevent the serious negative impacts on the mind and body. Some (about 10%) of them feel that online mode of classes should completely be stopped and classes in physical mode must start soon with all the preventive measures against infection in place.
THE WAY FORWARD
An assessment of the responses received through the survey indicates that despite sharing misgivings about the online mode of learning, the inevitability of switching to the online platform is understood by all. In the light of the lack of alternatives, efforts must be made to address the challenges faced by students as well as teachers in facilitating the teaching-learning process using online mediums. The government must take measures to bridge the digital divide, and ensure that every student, especially those from poor backgrounds, have access to electronic gadgets and a good network connection for a more enriching online experience. To address exhaustion due to the hectic schedule of continuous classes, the duration of classes can be shortened to 50 minutes, and a 10-15 minutes break can be given between classes. Recordings of class lectures can be made available to the students by the University so that those who weren't able to attend the class because of network issues could re-watch it and seek help to clear doubts and revise topics. Teachers should make the classes more interactive and discussion sessions should be held where both academic and non-academic topics are discussed. Teachers should be given digital training so no time is wasted on technical issues. Study materials should be made available offline so that those without laptops could access them easily and the screen time of students is reduced. In addition, resuming physical classes with COVID protocols in place must also be looked into.
CONCLUSION
COVID-19 has changed the way society organized itself and conducted its activities. The adoption of digital platforms was not completely out of the blue. The advent of the internet and increasing accessibility of adjoining technological infrastructure had promoted digital platforms much prior to the pandemic. But the restrictions imposed by the pandemic have increased the pace of the shift to digital platform manifolds. Online classes have several benefits. But unless efforts are made to address the concerns of students regarding the shift to digital platforms, the productivity entailed in their utilization can be put into question.
Written By- Manjima A, Shallu Jaglan, Medha Nandini, Diya Kirttania, Kunjan, Krishna G
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