LETTERS:"Teacher, my mother uses a laptop because she works from home, I can't go online."
"Cikgu kamu bagi kerja berapa muka surat ni? Banyaknya! Bagi kat WhatsApp je?"
"Sorry Sir, saya tak dapat join class sir sebab data internet dah habis."
"Maaf cikgu, saya share handphone dengan adik. Jadi, saya tak dapat jawap Quizziz hari ni."
"Out of 28 students, only seven entered my Google Classroom this morning!"
The above represent a portion of the hundreds of concerns and criticisms regarding online learning that are continually voiced by students, parents and teachers. This situation happens as a result of the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, society in Malaysia and across the world has seen a significant shift in routines, lifestyles and behaviours. As a consequence, the community has begun to adjust to the new life norms in order to stop the epidemic from spreading.
A total of 203 million students were impacted by school closures globally as a result of the Covid-19, according to a report by Unesco. Educators from preschool to higher education institutions in Malaysia began to shift to online teaching and learning in March 2020, rather than face-to-face in the classroom or lecture hall.
To ensure that students are not left behind in the learning process, new standards in online teaching and learning continue to be adopted through various platforms such as Google Classroom, Zoom, Microsoft Team, Whatsapp, Telegram and so on.
Unfortunately, the major concern is the presence of students who follow PdPR. Both parties, teachers and students participating in PdPR encounter obstacles such as a lack of internet facilities, a shortage of devices, a lack of coverage and computer equipment restrictions for online teaching and learning, all of which have an effect on the overall performance of online learning.
This in turn will have a serious effect on the learning process and their engagement, in addition to causing psychological and emotional stress.
In a study conducted by the Faculty of Education at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), student participation in the PdPR process did not exceed 80 percent. What causes this to happen?
Is it more enjoyable for students if they do not have to get up early in the morning to go to school? Is it more enjoyable to stay up late watching TV and playing online games and waking up late?
According to Datuk Dr Amin Senin, the former Director General of Education, students cannot devote their full attention if teachers teach online within 30 to 40 minutes of the usual class timetable.
It is proposed that the time of online teaching be reduced by enhancing and varying teaching approaches such as producing short videos of no more than 10 minutes. It has also been found in studies that some teachers provide extra homework to their students.
This will indirectly stress the parents since they will be required to assist their children's work. Teachers, on the other hand, are constrained since they must cover the syllabus as well as produce a report as proof that the PdPR is being administered.
All of this may have had a role in the students; failure to attend PdPR lessons. When schools begin to operate, the Ministry of Education must also undertake rehabilitation for students who are unable to engage in PdPR.
There must be a systematic way of making sure that no student falls behind because they are unable to follow PdPR online.
ZURIANI YAACOB
Senior Lecturer
Akademi Pengajian Bahasa
UiTM Raub, Pahang
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times