On the 5th of January 2021 England went into a national lockdown causing schools around the country to close. This meant that students had to move to online learning, for many students this wasn’t the first time but for some students in year 12 it was. This is because last time school moved to online learning these students were finishing year 11 and with their GCSEs cancelled they were no longer being set work to do. Switching from in person school to lessons online has been a struggle for many students and teachers as they learn how to work over the internet.
Schools around the country use multiple different apps and websites to continue teaching students from home. Apps including Zoom, Teams, Satchel One, Google Classroom and Moodle help teachers interact with their students and set them work to do. For many teachers they may have found this difficult using different apps then their used to, not being able to see the progress students are making and how to help when problems arise as cameras are often switched off. However teachers continue to persevere as they switch their teaching styles to work with the lessons now being online.
Students have had a mixed reaction to moving to online learning as all students have different experiences with the new way of learning . Some students don’t notice much of a difference like Rose 16 who said “Remote learning was strange at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly and am able to understand most of of my lesson as if they were taking place in class.” Students like Rose have found positives in their learning from home and have continued to be taught in a similar manner to before the lockdown. This is unlike Emma 11 who said online learning “isn’t as good as being in school” as her class is set to watch videos by teachers they don’t know and that she misses her friends. For many students online may have a negative impact on their education as they are not taught to the standard as in person learning like Emma is.
Problems do not only occur due to the any students are being reached but also by their access to lessons. As lessons are online students are reliant on their electronic devices and broadband for their education. According to ofcom 9% of children in the UK do not have access to a laptop, desktop or tablet meaning between 1.1 million to 1.8 million children are missing out on their education due to the lockdown. Many families also have to share these devices between themselves for work and lessons which makes it harder for them to complete their work.
So although for some students they can continue on with their work similar to normal most people in England desperately need schools to reopen so they can get the best out of their education like they deserve.
