Online education is a form of education where students use their home computers through the internet staying away academic institutions. In recent time online teaching learning has become a buzz word in the field of education as finding no other alternatives to providing education to the students in the class. Due to the emergence of the pandemic of Covid-19, the whole world is experiencing huge death toll along with widespread panic and uncertainty. Countries of the world are trying to shun the gap and minimize the losses of students caused by the ongoing pandemic. Like other countries educational institutions in Bangladesh have been shut down where social distancing matters. To ensure uninterrupted education among the students, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has encouraged the teachers to conduct online classes and apart from this,for the free flow of education the concerned authority has started telecasting distant learning programs for the students of schools and colleges.Online education has been mainly focused at higher level of education in the country.In Bangladesh there are 46 public and 105 private universities offering higher education for the students. Besides almost 1500 colleges affiliated to national university of Bangladesh are offering a wide range of courses and programs in higher education. In these unprecedented days online teaching learning is the only way of solving academic crisis happening across the globe due to the pandemic of corona virus.
Role of Online Education:
Online media can ensure multiple benefits for both students and teachers in supporting teaching and learning. Different studies reveal that online courses have been found to be conducive to students who favor self-regulated learning. The most important thing to discuss that there is an ample opportunity to make students have cognitive and metacognitive strategies to accomplish their learning goal.Besides they need not have additional preparation to get themselves connected online and so at any circumstances they can be ready to attend class disregarding their time and place. As there is an uncertainty everywhere in regard to reopening educational institutions, the minimum outcomes can easily be found that can make students keep standing in the right track of learning.
Students in Bangladesh who attend classes online giving their opinions that attending class online has helped them finish their courses timely getting them confident to appear at online examinations though for the first time they are heading to online class and exams. Online class amid the crisis has established a strong communication between students and teachers that creates good impression rendering a positive result which helps students to avert from all kinds of anxieties they have usually while passing the unprecedented corona crisis.
Challenges:
Data reveal as expressed by students and teachers regarding online classes that they are experiencing a number of challenges. First of all, it is their first experience to get connected with online class, so they are found to be struggling with the proper adaptability with this trend as switching from traditional classroom to computer-based training in a virtual classroom makes the learning and teaching experience entirely different for them. Secondly, during the shutdown most of the students are staying home in different areas of the country as still in the rural areas internet facilities are hardly found, students use mobile internet which interrupts the online connectivity due to poor internet signal.Thirdly, there are some technical issues like poor literacy on handling computer and smart phone.
Conclusion:
Despite a number of challenges encountered by students and teachers in case of teaching learning online, the great news is that no doubt conducting online classes is a praiseworthy initiative taken by the present government to minimize the loss of students’ academic activities. For the proper implementation of this task students and teachers should be encouraged and take it as a challenge to implement in a befitting manner. Students should bear in mind that they are the key stake holders and so they should be self-motivated to have greater interest getting response to online classes with their all efforts.
