Six Reasons Students Aren’t Showing Up for Virtual Learning

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, virtual learning was gradually becoming a part of the education systems around the world. There is no denying that students were moving forward towards joining online classes. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and online degrees were gaining momentum. 

From elementary level to high schools and colleges, teachers started introducing technology in the classroom. We were all getting aware of the many benefits of online learning. But no one could imagine how things would be if online learning was the only option, isn’t it? 

Nonetheless, when students had to sit back at homes and take online education for full-time, the real problems surfaced. Because of these problems, online classrooms today are hardly witnessing students. Here are some common scenarios found everywhere:

• Teachers are trying their best but are still unable to build up the enthusiasm and the ‘magic’ that physical classrooms had. 

• Some teachers are still struggling to get used to the technical environment. The traditional classroom learning has proximity due to the presence of a teacher and an appropriate learning environment which vanishes somewhere from behind the camera. 
• The announcement of results, the motivation to learn, the competitive spirit amongst the classmates. All these things are found missing in the flipped classrooms during the pandemic. 
• Sometimes it is not only the technical environment that makes it difficult for students/teachers to adopt the new methodology of education. It is their circumstances that hinder them from being able to come online and learn/teach. 
• Teachers have their own children to take care of. Some might have elderly family members to look after. While students have their siblings and parents all being there in the house which could be very distracting. 

There are many obvious reasons why online education could be difficult during the pandemic. But many important concerns are never discussed anywhere. So we compiled a list of the top six reasons why students are not showing up for virtual learning. 

• Accessibility Issues 

The most common issue that many people never consider is the ability to access online classes. It is easy to assume that taking online classes is a piece of cake for a student. What about the internet connectivity issues or other technical faults that may arise during an online session? Research suggests that almost 5 million households in the US do not even have broadband service. 

Moreover, many students do not have their own laptops or tablets. They generally borrow it from their parents or siblings. Now, during the pandemic when everyone has to work or study from home, not all can use the same laptop together. Also, it is practically impossible for some households to have separate laptops for each of their children. 

• Lack of Motivation 

The traditional classroom learning system had various ways of motivating students. One of them was the grading scheme. Students worked hard to achieve the best grades. They submitted assignments on time. They studied day and night for the exams. 

There is no such incentive in online learning today. The educational institutions suggest that they do not want to impose the burden of getting good grades on students at this time. This is because not all students can put the same efforts into online learning. We cannot deny the concern of these institutions but many students are now finding it hard to motivate themselves to attend online lessons. 

Some educators are now suggesting to introduce project-based learning in the online classrooms but who knows when such systems will be implemented in reality. “Students should be taught to be a self-motivator now. They should not be in the habit of doing something when the teacher suggests. They should be capable enough to do so on their own. They should be asked to take responsibility and check their class portal regularly, work on their assignments on time and complete all the suggested readings, “ says Samantha, one of the academic writing experts who provide assignment help Melbourne. 

• Family Circumstances 

Studying online when your whole family is at home can be very difficult. Not every household has separate rooms for the children. Many students might not feel comfortable attending a class in their bedroom. Many might feel that their parents are always watching them. 

Sometimes, students have younger siblings to take care of. Especially, when their parents are essential workers and have to go to work despite the pandemic. In such cases, students might prefer to attend only the ‘required’ online sessions and might skip the rest. 

• The Many Distractions 

The online world is full of distractions and we cannot deny that. As now students are always online they might easily move to social media platforms during a session. Moreover, as students are already experiencing a lack of communication with their friends and classmates. They might just want to chat with them and care less about the online classes. 

One of the other reasons why students get easily distracted in online classrooms could be the presentation and lesson plan. If a teacher is simply reciting lessons in the virtual classroom, students might lose all interest. On the other hand, if there is group work, competitions and debates in the online classroom, students might cheer up. 

Students should be encouraged to speak up during the online classes so that they can vent out their thoughts and feel good. They should be given a reason to look up to their online learning session every day. 

• Unwillingness to Participate 

As we were discussing above, students often get distracted because of the lack of human connection and the inability to participate. Another problem that might arise here is their unwillingness to participate in the online study session. You might have observed that even in a physical classroom, not every student feels comfortable to share their ideas. Many students require a little encouragement from the teacher to participate in the class. 

Nowadays during online classes, when students are unable to connect with a teacher they might feel that their presence or absence just does not matter. They may think that they can easily skip the class and no one would notice. 

Teachers have to be very careful with such students. These students should feel comfortable asking questions or giving their opinions. Instant message support could be helpful in virtual classrooms. The teacher might also share a common email id where students can send their queries and ask all their doubts without any hesitation. 

Also, the teacher should provide clear answers to all common questions that a student might ask. If required, teachers should not hesitate in taking feedback from the students.  

• No Self-Discipline 

One of the major requirements of online learning, no matter before or after the pandemic is discipline. The learners need to create a schedule of their own so that they can take regular classes and keep up with their learning. 

Students often struggle with time management issues. We have often seen them juggling between classes and assignments. Online learning and staying at home all the time has made them quite lethargic these days. Many of them just want to go outside and play. 

What students need now is a fully planned schedule of their online study sessions. They must be given complete advice from their teachers and parents on how to organise their time. They should have alternate plans of what to do when the internet goes down or when they are unable to attend an online class so that they do not panic and still find the motivation to study. 

In a nutshell, we cannot just blame the concept of online learning for the absenteeism of students from the classrooms. Many unfavourable circumstances are restricting them from putting their best foot forward in the online classes. There is a strong need to build better student-teacher relationships these days and teachers are the most reliable person in student’s lives. 

Teachers are their eyes and ears to the outside world. They must hold themselves accountable for every student in that online classroom. We cannot ignore the limitations that teachers are facing these days but at least we can boost them to try a little harder to make the concept of online learning pleasant for the students.

Guest article written by: Jessica Jones is an academic writer at Goassignmenthelp, a company based in the Australia which provides all kind of academic help to the students. She loves to write about technology, education, marketing, digital marketing, life, traveling, home improvement etc. His company not only helps children living in Australia but also helps in the study of children all over the world.