The Role Of Virtual Learning Around The World

The world we live in is a digital one and every thing seems to be going virtual globally from gaming to entertainment and even money as we know it, today form of money is going digital from cryptocurrency to central bank digital currency (CBDC) to even the internet is being revolutionised with web.3 and even business as even the stock market is traded online things such as oil, gold,rice,beans and even other commodities are openly traded in the digital world so seeing as internet and technology is revolutionising our world it will come as a surprise if something as integral to human society as education does not have a place in the virtual world it would be an error indeed so education yes learning has a place in the virtual world and we will be deliberating about the role of this virtual learning in our place of learning today like the versities, that then begs the question, what is virtual learning.

What Is Virtual Learning

To be able to better grasp what virtual learning is, it would be good to understand first what some of this context mean in the first place like what is virtual and what is learning.

Virtual is an adjective and as we know and adjective is used to describe a noun then what is the meaning of the adjective virtual, well virtual is something which is not material something that is abstract it is something that happens in essence and not actually in the material world as we know it, it does not happen in actuality rather being stimulated on the computer or online thats what virtual simply means.

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Well learning means gaining knowledge of something yes mostly by being taught about that thing by someone who knows better either in school or church or home or anywhere at all, we can learn anywhere and at any place and could also learn from an experienced professional.

Now having understood what virtual is and what learning entails, then what possibly is virtual learning?

Virtual learning to me then simply means acquisition, learning, instruction or skills being carried out or stimulated online or on the computer. It is a form of learning carried out online, being able to teach or to be taught through the computer or online without requiring any physical aid whatsoever it is all done in the virtual world.

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Will Virtual Learning Shape Education As We know It, What I Think?🤔

In many parts of the world today virtual learning is slowly replacing learning in the physical classroom especially in the western world and even in our country today virtual learning is gradually taking root in the heart of the educational system and like I earlier mentioned most countries are keying in to it and there are a host of countries taking the lead in this initiative which are like the driving force, with that said I will like to list the name of the 8 countries in the world taking the lead in this virtual learning. They are;

• United States of America

• China

• India

• South Korea

• Australia

• United Kingdom

• Malaysia

• South Africa

Now this are the countries already taking the lead in virtual learning, now the question now or the issue now is how is virtual learning effecting their educational system or shaping it. understanding that will help us grasp the effect or how virtual learning is shaping or will shape the educational system as we know it today.

Effects Of Virtual Learning

Virtual learning as we know has been able to improve on alot of things in regards to the educational system and learning itself, In many universities around the world who has adopted it and clearly seen how it is shaping education for some for the better while to others for the worse, now it remains to be seen which is actually better per say if it is virtual learning or physical but one thing remains that virtual learning has improved on a lot of things when it comes to education.

Virtual learning has improved the pace of education or speed as there is no need for any meeting rooms booking or any need for printing or shipping materials or any need for arranging travel for participants as individuals focus merely on studying which means it saves unnecessary time used up for other activities which slows learning down thereby increasing the pace of learning and makes it easier to quickly cover the course outline.

Virtual learning has also made it possible for learners to be actively engaged at the same time by annotating, chatting and simultaneous participation.

Virtual learning has also improved education in that it makes it possible for any student who missed a class to easily catch up and refresh themselves on what was previously discussed even to the tiniest detail seeing as materials are easily recorded and readily accessible.

Learning has been made easy as anyone can join anywhere at all from any parts of the world either at home or from the office or even while traveling as the case maybe and we also don't need to travel to get to the place of learning as well reducing the risks associated with high distance travel to get to your institutions, in my school for example in umuahia where lots of student living far off in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun state and in many far off northern and western part of the country have to travel long distances to learn and expected to travel back too after every semester this all would not be necessary with virtual learning as students easily learn from the comfort of their home with considerable lower cost.

Now virtual learning has positively impacted education and has negative effect too as of when Virginia switch to virtual learning they observed according to report that student find it hard to adapt and was very difficult for slow learners to keep up with the pace. Also some of the lectures or teachers also mentioned that while in the classroom it's easier to spot a student who doesn't understand based on only the pupil's facial expressions but that we be difficult to spot virtually.

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In a classroom when a student doesn't get it the instructor could tell from their facial expressions but those things are missing online and according to one data gotten it was observed that students fail more in classes with remote learning some feel also that high failure seen with virtual learning is concerned more with the teachers and nothing to do with online learning as they feel when a good teacher teaches whether online or virtually we don't forget that and it should have same impact.

So that being the case we have our different opinions regarding virtual learning

Will My University Incorporate Virtual Learning And Why

Am a student of Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU) and honestly based on what is applicable here I don't know what the future holds though but for now I don't see it happening really. ofcourse, things can change over time but looking at the nigerian universities today which suffer immensely from poor funding and lack of adequate learning infrastructure I wonder how plausible it would be for my school being one of the many schools in the country majorly affected by lack of development to adopt the virtual learning.

We are so used to physical classroom learning and I wonder if such move would be likely, they are so many factors to put into consideration before venturing in to virtual learning and I must confess we seem to be lacking so I must say I don't really find it plausible for my school to adopt this method.

During covid-19 era when many in the western world switched to virtual learning my school at the time also contemplated virtual learning but when they came together they saw it will be very unlikely and they won't be able to reach many students I mean even if the school have the material and data for it what about the students who is to be taught, high cost of data in my country makes it hard for the average student, to be able to burn that much data on the daily basis, is something most students can't afford.

Also lack of steady power supply in my country as it is virtual learning then we need electricity to power our computer and other devices in other to always be online but since in most part of the country we suffer from lack of electricity this means the greater number of students will be left out, this and other factors makes it difficult. So my school has to kill any idea of virtual learning then, I mean virtual learning is supposed to be used to reach everyone at the comfort of their homes, of what use then is virtual learning if it fails to reach the greater number of people it kind of defeats the objective of it in the first place.

So due to the country we live in and lack of essential things needed for this virtual learning like electricity, data and even the computer still needs to be purchased so I don't think for now virtual learning is plausible in my school but ofcourse anything is possible and in the future we might just be ready as the rest of the world moves toward technology we will surely not be left behind, it's better late than never.

My Experience With Virtual Learning

I haven't really had much experience with virtual learning I must say when it has to do with school but in other areas of life and other form of learning I have atleast once that is when a free crypto class was held for one week which I joined it was through zoom and it was a very interactive one, that was my first experience with virtual learning and I must say with that experience it was kind of nice and easy, stress free and all that but then I feel there is a certain level of seriousness we have when learning physically than virtually but at the end of the day it depends on the individual.

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To me virtual learning is good and I believe should be a part of learning and I am kind of against the idea of it completely replacing physical learning for now because we don't just go to school to learn from our lecturers not at all we learn from our environment as well also from our friends and others and learn how to behave and interact as well as survive on the real world things I don't know if it could all be achieved virtually that's why after graduating it says on our certificate that we have been proven worthy in learning and character yes not just learning but our behaviour and the way we conduct ourselves this is all we learn in school.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Virtual Learning

Well just like we would expect in everything else virtual learning do have it ups and downs and I would be breaking it down below.

Advantages	Disadvantages
1). Distance students can easily avail education	There is no relationship of pupil teacher, student has to learn alone
2). There is no age limit of learners	Concept cannot be understood without the help of instruction
3). It saves time of the learner	Slow internet speed is the biggest failure of online learning
4). It is not expensive	Classroom interaction is missing
5). Virtual learning has no geographical barrier	Internet package are so expensive today
6). Student can take the help and use resources anytime	Rural people/students cannot access computers
7). Virtual learning tends to be more effective because it is accompanied by various teaching aids	Online learning require smart phone or computer and not everyone can afford it

Tips For Success In Virtual Learning

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• Building a schedule

• Always choose the right place and time to study

• Always be ready to use your available resources

• We should try as much as possible to create a direct line of communication with our faculty and other students as well

• We should be kind to ourselves

• Always ensure we have a strong and reliable network

• We should try to stay focused during virtual class as we would in a physical class, which calls for discipline.

Difference Between Virtual Learning And Classroom Learning

I will be listing some differences between classroom learning and virtual learning as the two forms of learning while aiming to achieve same objective has some notable differences

Classroom learning	Virtual Learning
1). Curriculum based( syllabus + extra curricular)	Curriculum based (Only syllabus based)
2). Social Interaction	No social interaction
3). No technology	Technology driven
4). Structured schedule	Flexible schedule
5). Wasting of time to reach	No travel needed

Conclusion

Well having highlighted the above even though virtual learning has it ups and down I feel with time as the whole world and everything in it is going virtual, education can't be left behind even money as we know it today is being revolutionised and gaming and other things I know eventually e-learning will probably replace physical classroom learning though I wouldn't want it to completely replace it and feel some things are better left to be discussed in person, well time will tell.

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