STEP 4

 DEEP ANALYSIS FOR THE SOLUTION

Problem During Online Classes

Reference : https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/education/costly-data-poor-connection-key-challenges-online-classes-public-universities

     From my opinion and observation, there are a solution that can be applied. Firstly, lecturers should provide more teaching materials to the student. This is to overcome the limited resources problem. Some students are not motivated and passionate to do their own research about a topic, especially if the subject has complicated elements such as calculation, reaction, etc. Thus, this solution helps students to study more effectively to gain knowledge and good grades. 

     The other solution is the University need to do a survey from students about the education provided. The gained information is very useful and can be used to improve learning aspect. From learning aspect to environment aspect. The university might as well get information about how well the lecturer is teaching the students. Doing analytical data about students’ grade are also helpful to improve teaching techniques as so many ideas and solution can be developed with the data. Over time, the effectiveness of the teaching and learning can be achieved to a new level.

Learning Environment

Reference : https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.4985498

    In my perspective, I can say that most of us already have been studying in a well prepared learning environment which is essentially needed in order to improve our learning outcome. However, there is some student that still lack of the preparation as mentions above. So in my opinion, to improve our learning environment we should find a place that suitable for study that provided silence environment and also conducive such as library or if we didn't want to go somewhere else, we can ask our family to make sure they didn't disturb us during our learning schedule. We can also ask our parents to provide a suitable desk and also better internet connection for the online learning classes. 

    In addition, I also suggest that in improving our learning environment, we should prepared everything before the classes start. I'm mentioning this because when we prepare everything such as notebook, pen internet connection, and also good sitting posture before the classes start, we can pay a lot more attention to the lecture and we can train ourselves to appreciate the time.

Mental Health 

Reference : https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/suicide

    Generally, we know that every problem has a solution. We just need to discover it. So, we want to share the discussion of the solution about mental health problem. There are two great solutions of the mental health problem especially for students which are establish a routine and practice self care.

Establish A Routine :

    Routines and schedules represent expectations and patterns that are an important component of good mental health. The pandemic has disrupted many people’s daily routines especially students resulting in a lack of structure that can contribute to stress, anxiety, and even clinical depression. Establishing daily routines is great for forming healthy habits and contributes to good mental health. Everyone’s routines look different. You may want to establish a daily routine at points throughout the day such as morning or bedtime. Weekly routines are nice because they allow you to have something to look forward to, such as a movie night. However, your mental health problem will increase if you make the ineffective routine. You need to establish daily and weekly routines properly. You (student) may ask the counseling teacher or personal advisor. They will help you to establish a great routine.

Practice Self-Care :

    Without the need to go out in public (meet the teachers and peer friends), our behaviors drastically changed. Studies show that the pandemic has had significant emotional, behavioral, and psychological impact that has affected our everyday behaviors. It’s not uncommon to see a decrease in hygiene practices and other forms of self-care throughout the pandemic. Neglecting self-care tasks can be a sign of poor mental health and is a common symptom of clinical depression. The actual act of doing these tasks is beneficial, and motivation is the driving force. It’s not that there is no need to put yourself together in the morning, it’s that you are simply doing it for yourself and no one else. Your body and mind still deserve to be taken care of regardless of how you spend your time in self quarantine.

Social Impact

Reference : https://sooke.pocketnews.ca/a-portrait-of-social-isolation-and-loneliness-in-canada-today-survey/index-on-loneliness-and-social-isolation-angus-reid/

     In this COVID-19 pandemic, it is beyond the bounds of possibility that students are able to meet each other physically and social isolation among students will become increase due to the lack of communication between them. Social isolation makes the bonds of friendships loosen owing to the fact that unavailability of connection between one another. Hence, what should we do to prevent social isolation keeps rising?

 

Online Class Meeting :

 

     Lecturers should conduct the online classes through any live platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams or any other platforms in light to the fact that students can interact with each other via the live sessions. Throughout the session, lecturers must encourage the students to be active in online classes with asking questions about the related subject or anything that is not beyond the limit. With that, students will be more interested in studying the materials since there is no barrier for them to speak out.

 

Online Event :

 

     Students can get more attentive in class by organizing online events such as group discussions or watching lecture videos. Students will be able to engage and gain knowledge from one another as a result of this. Following the event, lecturers should encourage students to discuss what they learned or what they think about it. Holding a live event through online meeting like sharing sessions with alumni or lecturers also a way to deter social isolation arise among students. 

Reference : https://learnsafe.com/5-ways-to-prevent-isolation-for-distance-learners/

Online Distance Learning (ODL)

COVID-19 CAUSE ONLINE LEARNING ?

     The COVID-19 has caused educational learning suspensions all across the world. Over 1.2 billion students worldwide are not in class. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the notable development of the e-learning, in which lecturing is done remotely as well as on online platforms.

     According to researchers, online learning has been demonstrated to boost learning process and take less time, implying that the changes created by the coronavirus are here to stay. With this abrupt movement away from the school in many regions of the world, some are questioning if the acceptance of online learning would remain post-pandemic, and how such a move affects the global education system.

Reference : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/

ONLINE LEARNING NOT EFFECTIVE ? WHY ?

Online students feedback is limited

• Students struggle with feedback in online learning. Students who frequently complete their evaluations get unsatisfied when they do not getting individual feedback. 

Social Isolation From Online Learning

• Students who are now enrolled in online learning face a lack of critical thinking and engagement. As a result, students and lecturers who spend an increasing amount of time online may begin to experience social isolation as a result of a lack of interpersonal interactions in their lives. As a result, social isolation causes mental health problems as well as increased stress, anxiety, and negative thoughts.

Lack Of Flexibility

• Putting together an efficient online learning system with increasingly complicated abilities and competences is more difficult. The finest part is when students figure out the solution on their own. With a typical class, clarification may be obtained by asking questions, but this might be harder to acquire in online learning.

Reference : https://ambilms.com/online-learning-why-online-classes-are-not-effective/

CHALLENGES TO UNIVERSITY's STUDENTS

     Online learning environments or e-learning are commonly in place and used every semester in universities, but a complete transformation to online learning would present some difficulties. If the physical semester is completely online, students may be unable to acclimatize to the usage of online learning, lectures, tutorials, and assignments.

MOTIVATION AND INTERNET CONNECTION

     Certain students may lack motivation and interest in following through with online classes due to inadequate of self-discipline or because they preferred face-to-face learning more. Online learning is more equivalent to self-learning in where students can skip an online class and start quoting a bad internet connection as an excuse. However, certain students have problems accessing the internet and online learning will decrease learning efficiency as compared to face-to-face learning. 

     At the same time, there is a major problem with internet access, particularly for students living in rural regions, where the line is extremely poor and connecting them by phone would be impossible. This has led in university lecturers putting in additional effort, with some lecturers, for instance, extending submission deadlines for student assignments according to the internet connectivity difficulty.

     According to Saifullah Baiduri, president of Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (Gamis), the executive summary of online learning adoption required both university students and academic staff to acclimate to the new norm. Face-to-face learning is the most effective since it is more accessible and comprehended by students. They will have difficulty asking questions as a result of the adoption of online classes, particularly those who have difficulty speaking out in a crowded setting, using both face-to-face and online approaches.

WORKLOAD STRESS

     With this MCO and CMCO periods, most students acclimated to the usage of e-learning and were usually performing well, except during the initial times when they were familiarizing themselves with the platforms and forms of communication. 

     Some students, nevertheless, stated that they struggled with the e-learning method owing to pressure, as lecturers tend to provide more tasks in the e-learning format. The university must provide students the option of selecting their own grading system, allowing them to study at their own pace and avoiding semester extensions due to learning challenges.

     The major problem is the lecturers' teaching effectiveness; students got feedback and judgments on particular lecturers' inability to comprehend the technique to conduct e-learning during previous times. Furthermore, it is said that some lecturers do not conduct online sessions but merely send students with materials and tasks, and that other lecturers give students too many tasks that they are unable to meet the deadline.

Reference : https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/05/30/reality-for-malaysias-university-students-online-learning-challenges-stress/1870717

ONLINE INTERVIEW

ONLINE INTERVIEW WITH EXPERTS

Regarding our chosen topic for our Current Issue Discovery Project, we had interviewed two students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia asking for their opinions about the topic. 

EXPERTS' BIODATA

First Panel :

Name : Nurul Aisyah Binti Mohd Nasri

Age : 20 Years Old

Address : Tanah Merah, Kelantan

Study Place : National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)

Course Field : Bachelor of Education with Honor (Special Education)

Second Panel :

Name : Nurnisa Raihana Binti Mohd Jamil

Age : 21 Years Old

Address : Dungun, Terengganu

Study Place : National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)

Course Field : Bachelor of Education with Honor (Special Education)

EXPERTS' ANSWERS

These are the questions that we have asked the two panels throughout the interview session :

1. Have you heard about Online Distance Learning before?

• Yes. Our first panel have heard about ODL before due to the pandemic COVID-19 . Our government has conducted an Online Distance Learning system to help students with their studies. Hence, students should adapt with it, like it or not. 

2. What do you think about Online Distance Learning during this pandemic COVID-19? Is it necessary or not?

• Our second panel said ODL is very necessary. Despite the obstacles, the education system should continue as usual because we do not want the Malaysian education system to be disrupted and will affect the quality of students. As we can see, most local universities, both public and private, including schools in Malaysia, have no choice but to use virtual teaching and learning methods to ensure that the teaching syllabus can be delivered as well as possible and learning sessions are not delayed. Besides, The implementation of online learning has long been practiced in developed countries because it is believed to be able to provide various benefits and advantages. In the meantime, this is the perfect time for Malaysia tries to improve our education system.

3. Online Distance Learning gives a lot of impacts to students mentally and physically. what do you think about it?

• She really agreed with the statement. Since ODL started, students missed social interaction between each other. Students have overloads of assignments and with lacks of social interaction, it can lead students to get anxiety and stress. Some say that students are now learning for the assignments but not the courses. Thus, ODL can affect students' mental and physical. 

4. Could you please share with us what kind of experience you have faced?

• Our second panel said she have been going through this online learning for a year. Various challenges and obstacles she needs to go through. One of the biggest challenges for her is getting internet access. She lives in a rural area and it is very difficult to get good internet access, and this sometimes affects her works especially when there were presentations and quizzes online. Besides, learning online things become a challenge to her when it comes to group work. since it was only a virtual discussion, some of her groupmates took this opportunity not to participate and this gives her a burden to settle up everything and complete those assignment. She also had a difficulty to understand what she's learning.

5. Does Online Distance Learning help students with their study? If not, why?

• She has no exact answer for the question. She said, some students can adapt well with the new norm learning but some might be not. Students that can adapt with ODL can stay focus during the classes while others cannot due to the gadget interference and other interruptions. Thus, she has no exact answer for that. 

6. As a student, what you want to convey to all the learners out there who are facing Online Distance Learning?

• As a student who is also facing ODL, she hopes that her fellow fighters, fellow friends out there to continue to be patient and keep fighting. Don't despair, our journey is still far. Take good care of our mental and physical health. Do not forget to do activities that we love so that we are not too stressed with ODL. We also need to be good at managing our time and daily routine