"SEC | S19W5 | Effect of Digital Classrooms on our Educational System"

2019 was a bloodbath year, so to speak. For the first time, a pandemic shut down schools, churches, marketplaces, businesses, etc. Everyone was happy. Thank God for technology used for communication, e-learning, buying and selling, business, work, school, etc. COVID-19 made everyone aware of the usefulness of phones and online work.

Things were explored from this space then, as people were indoors. Many lost their jobs and had to look for means of sustenance online. The online space was crowded with people looking for ways to improvise despite not being able to go out. Everything in the world is digital. Classes were held online; churches, business meetings, etc. were done digitally.

lockdown

For this assignment, I'll be talking extensively about how digital classrooms have improved the educational system.

As highlighted at the onset, the world was highly digitally inclined, exposing sectors to remote ways of working other than physical. School can't be paused when there's a pandemic, epidemic, or natural disaster. There must be an alternative means of learning, and that is when the digital classroom comes into play.

Digital classrooms, as the name implies, are virtual spaces where academic activities, learning, and teaching can be done other than in-person or physical meetings in a classroom. This digital classroom allows students to learn online rather than physically. This is very essential on land where there is a natural disaster or on war-torn land.

A digital classroom is more like a physical classroom in that there are differences, advantages, and disadvantages. One of such differences in the digital classroom is that the person teaching gets to see you on the technological devices used for the classroom, whereas the physical classroom has a building where you are expected to show up for lessons.

Digital classrooms are an alternative form of learning, and they serve a lot of purposes and reduce the stress of transportation and other pressures. You learn in the comfort of your home, and you get to see your fellow learners virtually. The COVID-19 pandemic made this form of learning through digital classrooms popular. I got to know about this during that time.

The integration of this into the educational system will help facilitate learning remotely and keep learners in touch with educational concepts in terms of crises other than total shutdown. This digital classroom also provides room for the elderly, who find it difficult to attend physical classes due to disabilities, the cost of transportation, the stress of school, harsh weather, and other exposures that come with physical classrooms.

I'm working on a research project on how this form of digital classroom can enhance the academic achievements of students and aid retention as well. To me, physical learning is actually preferred, but online learning is much more preferable as everything now is technologically based. In the next 10 years, there may be no physical academic establishments in Nigeria. Learning would be done virtually, just as other countries provide both physical and digital classrooms to aid both the able and disabled.

When I saw this topic, I was reminded of the stress I passed through while providing a project topic on campus to be approved. I actually chose something close to this. So I'll be using a lot of references for my research project from Steemit users here. It's as if Steemit knew what I was looking for.

For an effective digital classroom, there are gadgets that must be used to enhance teaching and learning. These gadgets are used mostly by everyone. I'll be making specifications for both the learners and teachers.

• Laptop: This is one of the best gadgets used for learning effectively compared to phone usage. On this gadget, you get to position yourself in a way you'll be seen, and you can multitask as well. Let's take an instance where you want to join a digital classroom on the Zoom app. The laptop would be very comfortable and easier to use, and you get to see things broadly as the laptop is more like a television screen. In the absence of a laptop device, you can use your mobile device.

• Phone: The use of a mobile phone for attending classes digitally gives you that comfortability to move about with it as it's very portable. The advantage that comes with using this gadget is that you may not be able to multitask while still viewing the class.

	mobile phone

• Headset: This is very essential, as it's used to amplify the volume of what you're learning or who you are learning from. You get to hear audio and video displays very well, and you also get to interact with people in the space without needing a speaker, which may be a disturbance. Everything done in the classroom is confined to your ears alone.

Pexel

These are the three major gadgets you'll need for an effective digital classroom. For those teaching in these classrooms, they'll need to buy this electric white board for visuals or probably do it virtually.

As I pointed out earlier, there are a few benefits that come with using digital classrooms for learning. Let's take a look at this scenario. You're disabled and can't walk; the university space is fast-moving, and you may not be able to attend lectures. How will you learn? That's when the digital classroom comes into play, where you get to learn in the comfort of your home what others are learning physically.

Remember, you're disabled, and this has proven useful; otherwise, you wouldn't have dreamt of going to school and coping with the stress therein. Another benefit that comes with a digital classroom is that everyone gets to be a part of the classroom and hear what the teacher is teaching. You stay in your space without being disturbed or getting to drag the front seats so you can hear the lecturer clearly.

This is a case seen in Nigeria, and this would help control that in terms of crowds. Just imagine all these students wanting to learn in a small classroom. Transportation expenses would be reduced as people come from faraway places to be in a physical classroom. If the digital classroom is integrated, the expenses would be curtailed.

The challenges of this digital classroom are getting the focus and understanding of who you're teaching virtually. You don't get to see the people you're teaching in close range, and another factor is that, as a teacher, you can only use audio feedback to assess your students understanding of the subject matter. A test would be easy to do with websites.

Another challenge is getting interested in learning. Not everyone loves looking at their screens for long hours, as their vision may be affected after all. Another challenge is that teacher-student relationships are not effectively enhanced in a virtual setting. These are the challenges of learning in digital classrooms or spaces.

In conclusion, the integration of digital classrooms will help the educational system in retaining learning among students in times of crises or pandemic instead of shutting academic activities for quite a long time which may affect students ability to remember lots of things. Says yes to technology as it has made the evolution of such a learning and teaching alternative possible.

I invite @enamul17, @artist1111 and @sahmie