Online Classroom Kids

Online Education in the Covid-19 Process

The pandemic has changed many systems around the world or caused systems to be recreated and all rules to be rewritten. The education system is perhaps one of the branches on which the pandemic has been most effective. The fact that education could not be carried out face-to-face due to the high risk of contamination led to the search for different alternatives and ultimately the continuation of education online. Online education is applied in a similar way not only in our country but also globally and this shows that the education system has been affected and changed globally. Considering UNESCO and UNICEF data, half of the students at various educational levels all over the world have fallen behind in education due to the mentioned practices (UNESCO, 2020a; UNICEF, 2020).

It is known that not all students are in the same conditions and opportunities in the online education system (Can, 2020). There is an effort to continue their education through the internet, tablet, phone or television via EBA TV, within the possibilities of the children’s homes. In this process, the transformation of all the houses in which the children live into a “school” and the transformation of the platforms (tablets, phones, computers, etc.) used while entering the classes into new “classes” both increased the responsibilities of the parents and increased the need of the children for the parents (Can, 2020).

Challenges in the Home Environment

When we consider the attention skills of children, we observe that it is difficult for especially young children to adapt to the online education system that they are not accustomed to. The fact that there are too many distracting objects in the house, the possibility of seeing in the lesson and dealing with other activities by turning off the camera in the online education system attracts children. As in face-to-face education, it is more difficult for teachers to detect and intervene when children are distracted; It may not be possible to see all children at the same time in the programs where the lessons are taught, and even if intervention is made, the child’s attention can be distracted at the same time. It is expected that the self-control levels of a child in a school environment and a child in online education will be the same, but it is observed that this is not possible in practice. In the current situation, children may need their parents to be with them, to be observed and to be warned when they disperse, but again, due to the fact that many parents are working in practice, children attend classes alone at home or there are elders (grandmother, grandmother, etc.) at home and their supervision skills are not sufficient for children.

In this process, most of the rules that were previously set at home had to be stretched. The sleep patterns of most children whose bedtime and wake-up times are fixed have changed; they go to bed later and wake up later, and most of the parents complain about this situation but state that they can no longer intervene. The school also provided an easy-to-follow routine for the children, getting up and going to bed at the same time every weekday, and the schedule of their day was fixed and fixed for them, hardly changing.

The opportunities provided by the school to the children are much more than the lessons. First of all, school is a source of socialization for children of all educational levels. In accordance with the requirements of their own developmental stages, children put their friendship relationships at an important point and get social support from their friendships. The time that children spend with their peers is very valuable to them and should be supported in terms of the development of their social skills. In the existing order, children have lagged behind in their social communication with their friends, and the process spent at home in the pandemic has become increasingly boring. Friendship relationships that had to continue online have also lost their effectiveness for children, or since children are constantly in contact with their friends on the phone, parents have begun to feel a loss of control and feel the need to limit their communication.

What can be done?

During the pandemic, parents also need to make changes or adjustments to their home conditions during online education. During the time that children follow their lessons, it will be beneficial for parents to provide an environment where they can see them and check their presence from time to time. This can be problematic for teenagers, but may be necessary for younger children because younger children have shorter attention spans and can be easily distracted.

There should be as few distracting objects as possible in the classroom environment. If possible, children can pay attention more easily if they attend classes in rooms that resemble a working environment instead of attending online classes in the rooms where their beds are located. The more attention-grabbing objects, the more easily children are distracted; For example, a primary school child trying to listen to online lessons in a room full of toys is very likely to think of his toys and want to play with them the first time he gets bored, and this is much more possible in the online education process compared to school conditions. Environmental regulations are very important in this sense in the adaptation of children to the online education process. Leaving all control to children does not produce healthy results.

Although the hours of the lessons are certain in online education during the pandemic, children cannot provide this follow-up as disciplined as school. In this regard, as much as possible, it can be ensured that children go to bed and wake up as if they are going to school, that they do not attend classes in their pajamas, so that they can change their clothes and prepare for the lesson psychologically. It should be ensured that they have their breakfast not during the lesson, but before the lessons start, to relieve their energy by providing physical activity if possible during the breaks given in online education, and the school routine should be protected as much as possible. Routine has an important place in all of our lives, and disruption of routine has more negative than positive consequences for children. Although children use more screens than previously allowed during online education, compulsory screen use and arbitrary use (playing games, watching videos, etc.) should be separated and arbitrary use should be within the rules set beforehand.

Especially young children’s screen use should be kept under control as much as possible, but while doing this, care should be taken not to harm peer relations.

We should not forget that no conditions are normal during the period, and naturally, our reactions are normal reactions to an abnormal situation. Teaching in “online classrooms” established at home for children is an unusual, abnormal process and it is not easy for them to adapt. As parents, it should be tolerant as much as possible, the rules in the house should be kept as constant as possible and the home routine should be tried to be carried out as before. In this process, it should be kept in mind that parents cannot always keep their calm, their processes are also subject to abnormal changes, mishaps that may occur from time to time should not be magnified, and the peace of the home environment should be the first priority. With the hope that the children will reach their real classes as soon as possible, embrace with their friends and reunite with their schools and teachers, which they miss so much…

Source

Can, E. (2020). Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and its pedagogical reflections: Open and distance education practices in Turkey. AUAd, 6(2). 11-53.

UNESCO. (2020a). School closures caused by Coronavirus (Covid-19). UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse

UNICEF. (2020). UNICEF and Microsoft launch global learning platform to help address COVID-19 education crisis. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-and-microsoft-launch-global-learning-platform-help-address-covid-19-education

Author:

Specialist Child and Adolescent Psychologist Selin Damla ÇAKIR