Daily Times

Owing to the prevailing terminal threat of novel coronavirus throughout the globe, universities of Sindh have now scheduled distance learning for students. Various social networking tools like email, Whatsapp and YouTube and so forth have been well-thought-out to be used, at this instant, in distance learning among students by their teachers. Encyclopedia Britannica extrapolates distance learning as a form of education in which the main elements entail bodily distance among teachers and students during instruction and the use of various technologies to expedite student-teacher as well as student-student communication. Distance learning is also said to be distance education, e-learning, and online learning. For sure, the disease has dispersed the gruesome menace in all across Sindh due to which the distance learning plan, especially in universities, has been evolved but the question is; how helpful is the distance learning?

It is a common truth numerous problems are found whenever any positive steps in Pakistan especially in Sindh are taken. Distance learning is also one of those positive praiseworthy steps. Without an iota of doubt, distance learning has multiple advantage to offer to students as well as their teachers like reducing time of commuting – it helps saving the time as well as money, students can learn anytime anywhere – it proffers the convenience, self-paced learning – it helps students of different levels go by their own speed and this will give them the greater knowledge, and accessibility. Contrariwise, it has also some detriments to render among students like the complex and costly purchase of mechanical gadgets like computers, mobile phones and personal computers – for this, all students are not able to afford the expenses, time management is hardly done by the students and teachers, low speed of quick feedback among learners and the teachers as well, not always provision of all the necessary courses and in last the social isolation does the distance learning offer at most.

Financial status of students varies. So to say, a majority of them might be destitute of mechanical equipment, some students may not have the internet access and too less proportion can have access to both gadgets as well as internet. Majority of the students hail from rural areas where there are the multiple networking issues, electricity load shedding, weak home-based study environment as well. Now remains the lesser proportion of the students who can have easy access to internet, but what about the larger proportion of the students who may have the said problems and as a result of these issues they cannot reap the benefits of distance learning. Another problem is that majority of the students are not adept in the proper use of technology, how can this problem be overawed? The distance learning and teaching are not as simple as we are taking.

Distance learning has multiple advantage to offer to students as well as their teachers like reducing time of commuting

A number of research studies paid attention on computer ownership, access, and computer skills subject to the hypothesis that these ingredients contribute to computer literacy that wields influence on the adoption of e-learning.

The premium strategy to launch is to look into the problems which may become the major stumbling block in the ways of some worthy steps are to be taken. For instance, if we have to evolve the system of distance learning, we must doff the blocks barring the system under discussion from being driven. We are admittedly far lagging behind in the sprint of technology, to this end, we must equip all the students equally with required number of the necessary appliances, and then to train them strengthen the skills required to move from traditional to distance learning, and then we can play a constructive role in the world of distance learning.

Not only the students suffer from worrisome of multiple problems in distance learning but also the teachers in almost universities are not trained in e-teaching in that all the institutions in this platform are not at the same level of technological development. To overcome this technical knot, universities must hire dedicated and specialized online training professionals for training the faculty members towards distance education.

The writer is the member of editorial board of a Russian research journal; “Bulleting of Science and Practice”