There are children who depend on their laptops to get education. This is the case for Huang Yiyang, 18 years old. This is the case following the fact that kids have not going to school for the last two weeks. The kids in China and spending time in front of their laptops watching livestreamed classes from their homes.
Even physical education classes are also conducted online with the teacher taking the lead and the students following.
Students who are learning from their isolated spaces are part of a larger population around the world who learn from remote places.
As you may be aware, China is dealing with a deadly coronavirus outbreak. The virus has apparently killed at least 2,700 people with most of them being in China. In order to control the spread of the coronavirus, schools have been closed. This means at least 180 million school kids are at home.
Media houses have also reported millions of other students in places such as Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Iraq and Italy who are also affected by closure of schools. For a large number of these students, it means they are missing on learning, but others are taking advantage of online education opportunities.
Authorities in other countries such as USA, United Kingdom and Australia have also indicated that they may also shutdown the schools.
Despite the advantage that the students are keeping up with their education during the coronavirus outbreak, they are also facing many other problems such as having to deal with weak internet and of course the challenge of keeping at it and getting motivated to study when no one is watching.
Experience of studying from home
There are a number of things which are needed for you to study from home. That is: a computer, stable internet connection and dedication.
The students who study online also complete their assignments which they submit online.
Chinese media recently reported that the state has started broadcasting lessons on public television for primary school kids. Also it has been noted that the state has also established a cloud learning platform which is actually based on the Chinese national curriculum and an excess of 50 million students are benefiting.
Elsewhere in Hong Kong, schools have already been closed for a month and now the state is doing things quite differently. Schools are already posting video content and other assignments for their students are interacting through a dedicated website. Children are facilitated to speak to each other and interact online with their teachers. The students are also reported to be forming small online groups to discuss assignment and complete group assignments.
The online education is reported to have encouraged a lot of innovation from many stakeholders. Teachers are even working on flexible schedules as demonstrated by one teacher who developed his content on geology from a beach.
Italy
In Italy where isolation caused by coronavirus is happening, online learning is being embraced too. The number of people affected in Italy before we went into press stood at 800. Online remote learning is being embraced at a faster rate than before.
A couple of days ago schools in Veneto and Lombardy were closed. The same also happened in Venice and Milan. The latter two cities are reported to have a total population of 15 million people.
Children have been learning courtesy of live online PowerPoint presentations and also engaging in live chats with their instructors.
This is a new method of learning which many students are forced to adopt. Now the problem is with the parents who are of course forced to find time to be with their children at the midst of their busy schedules.
Exams
The students who are sitting for exams this year also facing additional challenges such as falling behind in their studies and also the fact that they are expected to sit for exams. The students are of course required to perform well in order to move to the next level in their education.
In China many students are preparing to sit for the gaokao exams which are said to be intensely competitive and can decide the fate of many students on whether they will get to university or not. Many students get frustrated as they prepare to sit for the exams. Teachers advise the students to focus the studies and nothing.
In Hong Kong schools are shut until April 2020 but still the exams will happen as scheduled on March 27. When students meet for the exam, they will be required to wear face masks and sit several meters apart.
