E-learning has continued to help people achieve their dreams by empowering them with programs that offer them knowledge, skills, and even certificates at their own convenience and most times at affordable rates.
The goal of Online education is to make learning accessible, flexible, and affordable for all, in that one could joggle a 9 to 5 job with a college course or stay indoors for months while taking up a new skill. Importantly, it affords the learner a certain degree of control over how they want their courses to run and when they want their classes scheduled.
However, despite all this, E-Learning comes with a major drawback, a reduction of social interaction among learners. Since online classes are mostly personalized, it is most of the time difficult to engage instructors and other learners in conversations that would help achieve the learning goal.
Meanwhile, this interaction between students and instructors is usually very instrumental in effective learning.
A study in the thick of the pandemic last year showed that E-learning – which became the alternative way of learning during the lockdown – had led over 33% of learners into some form of depression.
To avoid this Social Isolation, instructors may need to improve their course contents to increase interaction between students. This could be done by assigning online learners group work and by encouraging meaningful discussions and contributions on online learning platforms. This tends to make room for contributions from people who would not even speak in traditional classrooms.
Also, Instructors can go a step further to check on their students to ensure that there are no signs of social isolation.
The atmosphere that comes with traditional classrooms cannot be absolutely replicated in Online learning platforms. However, these platforms can be made to be more interactive and people-friendly with the mental health of learners as a top priority.
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