16. Write a letter to your friend discussing about studies and online classes during the lockdown period. You are Mansi / Manoj
Answers
Explanation:
The thought of skipping college and studying from home has always sounded exciting—until you consider the logistics. How feasible it is to take a class at home while spending time with the family, instead of travelling far to attend college? Though e-learning is not a new phenomenon, the outbreak of Covid-19 and the country going under lockdown shifted the whole education system into a virtual mode.
According to UNESCO, since the outbreak of COVID-19 began, some 1.37 billion students in 138 countries worldwide have been affected by school and university closures. Nearly 60.2 million school teachers and university lecturers are no longer in the classroom. Since the whole country is under lockdown, e-education is the best bet left. University faculties are setting up accounts on online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Skype and Google Classroom, among other to engage with students.
Now new media holds out the possibility of on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital devices but this spontaneous virtualization of education turned out to be challenging for both, the administration and students. Digital education today is a mix between existing cultural conventions like existing reading material and course books and conventions of software- new media like pdfs.
There are quite a few advantages of online classes that are worth consideration. Adjusting learning into the existing schedule is one of the best advantages. The flexibility helps in maintaining a job while working on education. Students of online classes are often given the freedom to complete lessons any time before a set deadline. This allows students to complete their coursework without sacrificing hours at their current job or precious time spent with family.
Online education is often more affordable, the expense of going to college is one of the biggest reasons aspiring students hold back from enrolling in a program. In addition to sparing students the cost of travelling to campus, the flexibility of online learning often allows them to continue earning money at their existing job.
While there’s plenty to like about taking online classes, that doesn’t mean it has reached a state of perfection.
The sudden shift of education to virtual mode comes with several challenges. In a report issued on April 21, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the multi-dimensional agency, highlighted another concern about the online shift.
Giving a global perspective, UNESCO noted, “Half of the total number of learners — some 826 million (82.6 crores) students — kept out of the classroom by the Covid-19 pandemic, do not have access to a household computer and 43 per cent (706 million or 70.6 crores) have no internet at home, at a time when digitally-based distance learning is used to ensure educational continuity in the vast majority of countries.”