​The Effects of Virtual Learning

By Ryan Bernard-Amico
 
Virtual Learning has become very popular since the beginning of the pandemic and that was turned into the new normal of learning for students around the world. It started off steady and then the grades and attendance in students declined gradually because of lack of motivation and making millions of students fall behind in the learning process. A majority of students feel that learning virtually was a waste of time and nothing new was learned but others actually like it and feel like it is an easier and more laid back way of learning. 
 
The facts and data about this really show how much academics have declined from 2019 to now. This has become a really popular topic in many news articles. One of the many is NBC and they said “more than half of public school K-12 teachers said the pandemic resulted in a “significant” learning loss for students, both academically and from a social-emotional standpoint.” Students also lost touch with their interactive skills while remote like conversing with others which is important especially for students who may need more attention than others. Also the younger kids who are just starting school and don't know the basics it is even more difficult to teach it to them when online.
 
The teachers' experiences are very similar but teachers have a drastic impact from this difficult time as well. Some teachers say they feel like they were looking in a “mirror “because of the students with their camera turned off and either sleeping or not paying attention. The biggest issue of virtual learning is the big gap of loss of internet connection. Many students and teachers were getting kicked out of zoom classes and had trouble with loading assignments or with glitching while teaching a class. This style of learning really came to surprise everyone and really impacted everyone negatively or positively. Virtual Learning has impacted many students and teachers that have experienced it and are still experiencing it every day.