Reading Time: 9 minutes

Overview

The pandemic has rocked the world, people cannot leave their house without the fear of contacting the pathogen. At the same time, parents and children are facing a problem of the virus and the digital challenge it has led to.

It has been about 20 minutes and Sunita has not been able to log-in yet. Staring at the ‘still loading’ sign displayed on the screen has an almost hypnotic effect on her brain. She feels sleepy, but chooses to stay put at her place; what if the connection resumes while she is gone for a glass of water? Here is a small look into the Pandemic and the “Digital Challenge” it has caused.

Elsewhere, Mahesh, a School teacher at a private school in Delhi has had an increasingly bad start to the day today. Strange usernames like ‘Rakhi Sawant’ and ‘Jetha laal’ had disrupted the otherwise complete serenity of the online class. After finally gaining the connection, making sure all were present in the stated time slot and the camera angles were adjusted; someone logged in with the strange username only cause a ripple of disturbance among the students present online. This took another 10 minutes to settle before the discipline could finally resume in the class. Meanwhile, it was time to end the session, as the next class was already waiting to start.

The invasion of the deadly pathogen has brought about a new “normal life” into being, one with a digital challenge. One had never anticipated the hardships and the challenges that one would face to ‘deal’ with the situation. As the ‘online’ is the new most used word around, the challenges one faces with it is just as real as well. To get a clear picture of the hardships one faces with the online school session, we have below an interview we conducted with Mr. & Mrs. Khanna.

The couple is parents to two children aged 6 and 11, who are studying at a school in the city of Mumbai. Being one of the worst affected cities in the world by the pandemic, the people have resorted to near-complete isolation. They have faced some problems with their children’s ‘online schooling’ recently. Let us find out about their experience of the virus and the digital challenge:

Interview

Interviewer: Hello Mr and Mrs Khanna, thank you for speaking to us and sharing your valuable opinion. How have you been lately?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: Hello, yes, thank you for having us with you. We are glad to be able to help.

Interviewer: You have two young children. How has the new situation of online classes been treating you?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: Yes, Ajay is in class 1, and Priti is in class 5. At, first it was a challenge to be able to analyze the situation and come up with a proper routine. As we have two children who need access to the online classes, to be able to sort out the schedule was the first of various challenges.

Interviewer: So, how were you able to deal with the scheduling in the first place? Were the school authorities helpful? Were they able to rectify the issue?

Mr. & Mrs. Khanna: Well, it was not easy to start with. Our younger one, Ajay had to miss out on quite a few sessions, because Priti had her classes going on at the same time. We got the issue to the attention of the teachers from both the classes. There was no solution in the beginning, but after repeated requests, they managed to help us.

Interviewer: What was the solution to your problem like? Surely, many such parents might be facing similar issues? Were the school authorities not aware of the complications?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: The time slots were assigned class-wise, however, some mismanagement occurred and this overlap occurred. This was rectified with newly revised timings and we were able to get things to fall in to place. Yes, there have been other parents from other schools who have been suffering the same kind of a problem. The teacher does help, but it takes time before a solution is found. As the teachers themselves are facing a lot of similar problems, coming up with proper solutions at the right time has been a challenge. We can only wait patiently.

Interviewer: Well, I am glad you could deal with it. What have the online sessions been like, especially for Indian Parents?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: The sessions were chaotic. Especially for the younger ones. As Ajay is not fully aware of the situation, getting him to sit at a place in front of the screen has been our biggest challenge. Earlier on, the PC had always been a place for online games, and now having to stare at his teacher talk to him from the screen is a strange experience for him. Also, the concentration span has reduced greatly, as having his friends ‘pop’ on the screen gets them to have their talk sessions. It is more like talking to family and friends over ‘IMO’. They do not understand that this is their new school and they have to take it seriously.

Interviewer: True. And how were you able to deal with this? Any tips for the readers?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: It is tough in the beginning, but you soon settle in, or rather your child settles in. You need to get them to stay at a place and listen to the teacher. It is also tough for them, as there is confusion online with various people talking at the same time. Especially as the children are not yet accustomed to the ‘online’ version of the classrooms. But, eventually, with the rightful handling of the teacher and us, together we were able to place some kind of order.

Interviewer: How about the other challenges that you might be encountering lately? As there are people from other parts of the country who have been dealing with connectivity issues. Has the Internet been treating you well?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: Yes, we had to switch out internet provider to a smoother and faster one. This is one of the leading problems in online classes. Good internet speed makes all the difference. We had to deal with the sessions ‘hanging’ in the middle and waiting-it out. This led to a loss of information before the connectivity could be resumed. Meanwhile, our children were lost. This also led them to quit the classes altogether as it was boring to have to wait while the connection resumed. Getting a new Internet provider especially under the lockdown situation was a huge problem, as we are in the Red zone. This was soon resolved over time and now things are smooth.

Interviewer: Great you could solve it, but we wonder about the many who do not have the right kind of internet access.

Mr. & Mrs. Khanna: Exactly. What about the parts of the population who do not have the right kind of gadgets or connection? I mean, the other day we spoke to our maid over the phone about her well-being and she had her problems with her child. Her little girl studies at the Municipal school and she does not know about the online sessions or how to deal with it. She does not even know if she needs to understand it at all. With problems like getting ration at home, dealing with occasional electricity failures, hygiene, and sanitation at her slum, online classes are the last thing on her mind. Her daughter is a bright student, but now she has had to miss out on any information that her school might be sending to her due to the Pandemic.

Interviewer: Yes, this is a major concern. What about the quality of the sessions themselves? Are they helpful?

Mr. & Mrs. Khanna: Well, we are under severe lockdown. When the teacher gives the kids projects to complete, it is a challenge. Getting materials is tough, as they do not come under the ‘essential services’. We had to miss out on a few, which led the kids to get upset, as the other children from other parts of the city were able to manage it somehow. Also, we do not have a printer at home, in fact, rarely does anyone actually own one, so submitting the assignments was an issue for our elder child. She had to write down the worksheets and click the picture and upload the entire things to get it approved.

Interviewer: That is a valid point. Any suggestions for the same?

Mr & Mrs. Khanna: Well, why not have all the requirements of the session done online itself? As this is an ongoing problem, however, we will surely get back to normal. Meanwhile, let online stay as ‘online’ as possible. Having to access other materials is a task right now, we have other problems to deal with as well.

Interviewer: Yes, that is quite a valid solution. Meanwhile, what can we do to improve the online classes? Any suggestions, improvements from your point of view?

Mr. & Mrs. Khanna: We think a certain degree of modification of the courses is required.

Interviewer: Please Elaborate.

Mr. Mrs. Khanna: Well, online teaching as such, is a task for parents, teachers, and the kids as well. In a country like India, this is very new and still being explored. While the other foreign countries have been able to deal with the issue in a relatively better manner, India is still learning. We suggest less of ‘lecture’ and ‘online talk’ sessions and more informative video-like of sessions. This way the children can study the recorded session and have an ‘assessment sheet’ provided by the teachers to evaluate their understanding of a certain topic. This can further give them the idea of how well the kids in a certain class and session have understood the topic. Later, either the teacher can have another lecture session to specific topics less understood.

Interviewer: Does that not put the teachers out of the picture? Could the same not be done through the various learning apps then?

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: We don’t think so. The teachers know their students personally and there is going to be a detailed assessment of the performances of each child as a classroom. She will then know how to cope with a better understanding of the topic and explain it to them accordingly. This is different from the apps, as no one is personally involved with your progress. It is more like a self-tutor kind of a thing. We would not recommend it, at least not for young children.

Interviewer: That was quite a clear perspective. While the online sessions are chaotic, you still prefer the ‘human’ contact it offers. Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Khanna, for that very enlightening point of view. Surely many other parents will benefit from the knowledge of your experiences.

Mr. & Mrs Khanna: Well, we are glad to help. One last point, we also want the teachers to stop moving from room to room when in session (smilingly) it is kind of distracting. Also, a well-lit background can be helpful as it offers positivity.

Interviewer: Yes, absolutely. Surely an important suggestion. Thank you once again.

Conclusion

The virus has caused a huge digital challenge. While the urban parents have their own set of issues with the online classes, the underprivileged sections of the society continue to struggle. Lately, more and more schools are opting for the ‘WhatsApp’ and the ‘SMS’ mode of instructions to assist the ‘gadget’ challenge. Not all students have access or the resources for the online version of the sessions. As a nation cannot overlook those who cannot access these facilities. We need to come up with a revised manner to be able to impart education keeping in mind the ongoing condition of the pandemic. As every child is special, every need is important too. Though the virus has led to a digital challenge, we need to learn to overcome this challenge.

Our leaders and people in the Education Sector, need to come up with various specialized manners to provide the continuity of education to the parts of our society according to their limits and challenges. The third world nations have various challenges to deal with. However, education seems to be wrongly pushed to the backseat. Thus, finding a solution to the virus’ digital challenge is a challenge in itself. It is one that needs to be looked at immediately so that children are able to learn and grow.

About the author

Education Writer at Edunify

I have a passion for word play and considers language as a tool for much deeper human expressions. I aspire to help the youth 'write a new start ' through this wonderful platform. Currently I am working on learning to enrich my 'Urdu'.


Arshi Tahir

I have a passion for word play and considers language as a tool for much deeper human expressions. I aspire to help the youth 'write a new start ' through this wonderful platform. Currently I am working on learning to enrich my 'Urdu'.

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