Exploring Online Classes
THE ravaging effect of COVID-19 in Nigeria is not after all about woes alone. It has challenged the country’s education sector, though positively through the introduction of electronic learning.
WITH the nationwide closure of tertiary institutions, primary and secondary schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it became necessary for the governments to ensure that learning is not disrupted as a result of the lockdown.
IN response, the federal government initiated and launched a free-e-learning portal for the students to continue their education in their respective homes.
THE Ondo State government like their counterparts have since commenced a well packaged curricula for all primary and secondary schools in the state through electronic learning beamed to their homes and door steps.
UNLIKE the conventional method of chalk and board form of impacting education, e-learning is more exciting, simpler and more effective thus completely transforming education into a new culture of education acquisition.
NOT to be outdone, the Ondo State Government recruited and trained 25 teachers for the purpose of keeping students in the state busy during this lockdown period.
THE private sector has not also bought into the online classes, as a number of them such as Successor Generation Community WhatsApp have developed online initiatives to cater for their students.
THEREFORE, The Hope commends the federal and State Governments and other contributors to education for seeing the immense possibilities in online learning and engaging students to continue studying at this period of national health crisis.
ELSEWHERE, the trend may be towards shifting large amounts of teaching online after the coronavirus pandemic, as educationists are seeing unexpected possibilities in online classes as a tool for study.
WE hope that the federal and state governments nationwide are attuned towards this trend, as a foundation has been laid unexpectedly through the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
WITH the pandemic, students now have opportunities to interact with their teachers through digital devices as computers, smart phones, tablets, and other peripheral devices such as modems, adaptors, printers, scanners, microphones and routers.
WE feel this is one of the benefits of the lockdown, as both primary, secondary and tertiary institutions are keying into it, with students kept busy during the sit-at-home period.
NEEDLESS to say, teachers across the country will experience a reduction in the time they spend in classrooms when they eventually meet students after the lockdown.
IN addition, they will be encouraged to be more proactive before and after lectures, as their preparation will be made more efficient through the possibilities provided by online study, since they would have become more experienced in terms of technology.
ALSO, online classes would have made students to be proficient at sourcing for online materials themselves, and we hope this helps to curb such negative practices as plagiarism.
OF course, we are not unmindful of the fact that there would be challenges such as network failures, but with determination the federal and state governments would tackle the obstacles.
SOME might argue that online classes are not suitable for a large class, but a way has to be found around the challenge.
INDEED, online classes has the ability to expand the educational opportunities of Nigerian students, as through online platforms, students can engage in all kinds of classes, particularly during periods of emergencies.
EXPERTS say it is cheaper and more cost-effective to strengthen education through online classes, as activities such as exam revision, downloading of needed materials and other key activities are made easy through online classes.
THROUGH online classes, teachers are enabled to deliver lessons through videos, as well as monitor, assess and evaluate learning outcomes of students, by giving appropriate home works at the end of each virtual learning session.
WHAT’S more, online tools can be augmented with face-to-face video instructions to help continue study outside the classroom, thus providing a revolutionary way whereby Nigerian students can study?
IN sum, we commend the development of online classes, and call on the stakeholders in the education sector to sustain the momentum after the coronavirus pandemic.
PARENTS have a role to play in the initiative, as they should be advised to supervise their children/wards while participating in the online classes to prevent them from prying into unproductive information that could contaminate their minds.