The closure of educational activities in the mid-march 2020 in India as well in Kerala due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic resulted in unplanned shift from traditional class rooms to a set-up that exclusively involves digital teaching and learning. Within this context the present study aims to explore the perspective of school children regarding the effectiveness of learning online as well the difficulties or hurdles faced in remolding themselves to meet the requirement of the pedagogy

Devan NV, Neetha

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Winter 11-28-2020 Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India Neetha Devan NV neetha@rajagiri.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac  Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Devan NV, Neetha, "Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India" (2020). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 4692. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4692  Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India.   Abstract: The closure of educational activities in the mid-march 2020 in India as well in Kerala due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic resulted in unplanned shift from traditional class rooms to a set-up that exclusively involves digital teaching and learning. Within this context the present study aims to explore the perspective of school children regarding the effectiveness of learning online as well the difficulties or hurdles faced in remolding themselves to meet the requirement of the pedagogy.  Objective of the study:  1. To study the pros and cons of “The online movement”, and the student reaction to it 2. To study the impact of online learning on students 3. The response of the educational institutions towards the pandemic  4. The change from the traditional teaching -learning methods to the blended method. 5. The impact of online teaching on different age groups of students, to the unplanned and rapid shift in the format. Methodology:  With the view to study the preference of different age group of students to the online classes, a study was conducted among school Students in Ernakulam district. Four different sets of questionnaires were prepared with regards to different age groups of students. For the primary and middle school students, telephonic interview method was adopted. A short questionnaire comprising of five open-ended questions were asked. The high school and senior secondary students were given a questionnaire of ten questions on google docs to answer. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed of which received 185 responses back. The students were chosen from selected public and government schools in Ernakulam district. Introduction: The outbreak of the deadly corona virus has had an enormous effect on the global economy. This tragedy has also shaken up the educational sector, and this fear is going to last for a while. Several factors effect the educational sector such as accessibility of dependable internet connections, affordability of the same and gadgets needed for the online classes, flexibility to change from the traditional pattern of teaching- learning to the blended mode, the learning pedagogy had to be altered, the challenges were numerous, not only for the students but also for the teachers. Though many institutions in India had practiced the blended learning culture, the traditional format was always the preferred choice. Initially shift from the traditional method to the online platform was full of challenges for both teachers and students.  The alternative medium to traditional face to face learning has shown us some stark realities existent in our society in terms of social inequalities and inaccessibility of essential resources among students coming from a section of the society resulting even in some suicide cases and tragedies in some families. The digital initiatives brought out the digital divide in the society more evidently. The digitalized education common in the elite schools in the society showed the much larger inequality among the rural and urban population as well as the rich and the poor.  There has been a dramatic change in the field of education, remote forms of teaching primarily through digital platforms having gained the upper hand over traditional forms. Students in Ernakulam district, nursery to senior secondary are undergoing schooling on a digital platform from June 2020. Even though blended learning was a part of their curriculum since some years the full shift from traditional classroom teaching to online classrooms has created a lot of anxiety issues among the children in various age groups.  The first category, Primary students: The primary students were asked on a few topics about their reaction to the online classes. They in general seems to have a very entertaining two hours of daily classes. The general consensus in children, especially younger ones, the attention span is very low as they get distracted easily.  So, its much more difficult for the teachers and parents collectively to make them attend the class regularly and also to concentrate on the subjects.  Category of students Satisfied Unsatisfied Primary School Students 90% 10%    Projects and assignments were given out mostly to finish the portions in the curriculum. It was also noticed that parental supervision was required in almost 98% cases among primary students to ensure class participation among this age group. Another factor observed was the DD channel broadcast for students in the government school is a huge success. Children are keen to attend these broadcasts and the replay of the same at different times too. Teachers in both government and public schools are trying their best to engage their little students in different activities online, which even grabbed high accolades from our state government of Kerala. Another major advantage of online schooling especially for this category of students is cutting down of tiring travel time and exposure to sapping heat and pollution. Among the primary students 90% of the students were happy with their online classes.   Satisfied90%Unsatisfied10%Primary School StudentsSatisfiedUnsatisfiedCategory of students Clever integration of games Entertaining two hour classes No tiresome travel time Online sessions more interactive Low attention span Requirement of parental guidance Primary students 40% 45% 30% 25% -30% -25%     The second category, the middle school students: The middle school students have a mixed reaction to online schooling. Unlike the primary students, middle school students were mostly unhappy with the homebound situation.  Category of students Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very Unsatisfied Middle School Students 5% 15% 10% 40% 30%  40%45%30%25%-30%-25%-40%-30%-20%-10%0%10%20%30%40%50%Cleverintegration ofgamesEntertaining twohour classesNo tiresometravel timeOnline sessionsmore interactiveLow attentionspanRequirement ofparentalguidanceIssues faced -positive and NegativePercentage of students facing that particular issuePrimary students More than half of them were struggling to understand the subjects taught. The amount of assignments given were making them spend more digital time searching on the internet. They were easily distracted because of unreliable internet connectivity and lack of atmosphere at home. Most of them complained about boredom at home and how they missed their school and friends. Due to the lesser class hours students are not getting adequate time for clearing their doubts during online sessions. They have to wait for a response to their queries through WhatsApp and other medium. The overall preference to the traditional face to face classroom learning was more than 80% when compared to online classes. The only advantage of online schooling to this age group is being able to dedicate more time towards their hobbies and other activities at home.  Highly Satisfied5%Satisfied15%Neutral10%Unsatisfied40%Very Unsatisfied30%Middle School StudentsHighly SatisfiedSatisfiedNeutralUnsatisfiedVery UnsatisfiedCategory of students More free time at home Issue of bad internet connectivity lack of power backup Lack of gadgets  Need to share them with siblings boredom at home / mssing friends Struggling to understand subjects More digital time for assignments Easily distracted due to home atmosphere Inadequate time for doubt clearance due to shorter hours Middle School students 20% -20% -15% -10% -10% -25% -20% -30% -30% -15%   The third category, the high school students: Among the high school students it was observed that they have their share of household responsibilities too along with attending online classes.  Category of students Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very Unsatisfied High School Students 20% 30% 5% 25% 20%  20%-20%-15%-10% -10%-25%-20%-30% -30%-15%-40%-30%-20%-10%0%10%20%30%Issues faced -positive and NegativePercentage of students facing that particular issueMiddle School students The lack of learning atmosphere is an observation made among this category of students too. Many of the students complained about the lack of gadgets available and the need to share them with their siblings. Though most of them claim that teacher’s presence online ensures learning, not able to see and mingle with fellow classmates are making them depressed. Time consuming assignments is another issue faced by many, though the teachers pitch in, but communication with teachers online and doubt clearing is not easy. Among the advantages of online mode as quoted by some are the time flexibility to learn subjects at their own pace as well as the freedom to choose which subject to work on. They also have the freedom to research more on a given topic if it wasn’t comprehendible in class. The preference to online mode of schooling was chosen by more than 55% of the students in this category.  Category of students Time flexibility to learn at ntheir own pace Freedom to choose which subject to work on Research more on a difficult topic Online sessions more interactive Issue of bad internet connectivity lack of power backup Lack of gadgets  Need to share them with siblings Lack of social interaction Time consuming assignments High School students 35% 25% 20% 25% -20% -15% -10% -10% -25% -20%  Highly Satisfied20%Satisfied30%Neutral5%Unsatisfied25%Very Unsatisfied20%High School StudentsHighly SatisfiedSatisfiedNeutralUnsatisfiedVery Unsatisfied   The fourth category, the senior secondary students: Senior secondary students mentioned about the freedom to learn at their own pace, managing school syllabus along with their preparation for various competitive examinations. Online classes are providing them the opportunity to research on their chosen topics without any inhibitions.  Category of students Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very Unsatisfied Sr Secondary School students 30% 40% 10% 15% 5%  35%25%20%25%-20%-15%-10% -10%-25%-20%-30%-20%-10%0%10%20%30%40%Issues faced -positive and NegativePercentage of students facing that particular issueHigh School students According to them the classes are more interactive and students and teachers are getting more time to interact in online sessions. Unlike traditional classroom, the notes and classroom events are updated regularly in the google classroom, MS Teams etc. which results in accessibility of the same 24/7.   The issue of bad internet connectivity, lack of power backup, technical issues in the gadgets used etc. are the major set backs in online learning. Many students have also complained of persistent headaches and vision issues due to long hours of screen time. A normal class hour for a senior secondary student can be of five hours of normal class accompanied by a couple of additional hours of online coaching or private tuitions. Majority of the students, almost 80% are happy with the current online mode of learning. Some students complained about the lack of personal attention that they are used to in the traditional classroom from their teachers and mentors. And stated that they were missing it enormously.  Category of students Preparation of competitive exams Adequate time for thorough studies Learn at their own pace Online sessions more interactive Availability of classroom material online 24/7 Issue of bad internet connectivity lack of power backup Technical issue in gadgets Persistent headaches/vision issues Lack of social interaction Sr Secondary School students 20% 15% 20% 15% 10% -15% -15% -5% -5% -15%  Support is a crucial element for keeping the learners motivated in an online teaching learning atmosphere. Keeping the mental sanity of the learner, providing a positive ambience and retaining a productive, healthy atmosphere is very essential. In this digital world where things are surreal, its essential to keep a healthy balance between the screen and real times. It is very important for the student to create a connect with their teachers and the peer team or one can feel easily dejected or Highly Satisfied30%Satisfied40%Neutral10%Unsatisfied15%Very Unsatisfied5%Sr Secondary School studentsHighly SatisfiedSatisfiedNeutralUnsatisfiedVery Unsatisfiedunhappy in an online environment. Lack of physical activities outside and more screen time resulting in depression and internet dependency and even obesity among school children. Online access for children is now no longer as tightly supervised as before and has become a more personal and private pursuit.   Findings: This is a crucial time for the educational institutions right from the Nursery school to the conduct of Board exams. The structure of schooling practiced in India so far including teaching and assessment methodologies was first to be affected by this closure. The school students with the sudden closure of schools missed out on their educational opportunities as well had to face a lot of unprecedented challenges too. Untested and unprecedented scales were used to conduct online assessments on a trial and error basis, some missed out even that opportunity due to bad internet connectivity and other similar issues. Teachers had to develop the digital content of the whole course for online teaching. The limited access to internet, lack of uninterrupted power supply, ill equipped teachers and students with the online mode of teaching-learning, absence of a robust monitoring system, hindrance in establishing a healthy rapport between the students and teachers, bridging the patchy and impersonal connect in an online atmosphere , unavailability of tools to create content in regional languages , are all still few of the many challenges faced on a daily basis.  20%15%20%15%10%-15% -15%-5% -5%-15%-20%-15%-10%-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%Issues faced -positive and NegativePercentage of students facing that particular issueSr Secondary School studentsConclusion: The use of digital content in education was not a very common feature in many parts of the world so far, though Indian education sector had accepted the blended form of learning at least in the urban areas in the country. Access to internet, a quite ambience in the household to pursue online classes, families with multiple children, accessibility to gadgets for all still remains a major hinderance. For those who have access to the right technology and other facilities, online learning journey has been smooth. After the initial struggle of both students and teachers of dealing with accessing these online platforms like zoom, google meet or MS teams, the connectivity issues, the gadget issues for the smooth and effective conduct of online classes, the scenario has come to an amicable equilibrium.  This pandemic situation could develop an innovative teaching-learning practice in education. Due to the digital divide it could also result in creating even larger inequality in education.   References:  Barbera, E., Clara, M., & Linder-Vanberschot, J. A. (2013). Factors Influencing Student Satisfaction and Perceived Learning in Online Courses. E-Learning and Digital Media, 10(3), 226–235. https://doi.org/10.2304/elea.2013.10.3.226 Bozkurt, A., & Sharma, R. (2020). Emergency remote teaching in a time of global crisis due to CoronaVirus pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3778083 Girardi, T. (2016). Lost in Cyberspace: Addressing Issues of Student Engagement in the Online Classroom Community. In Ruefman D. & Scheg A. (Eds.), Applied Pedagogies: Strategies for Online Writing Instruction (pp. 59-74). Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado. Male, T., & Burden, K. (2014). Access denied? Twenty-first-century technology in schools. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 23(4), 423-437. DOI: 10.1080/1475939X.2013.864697 Miller, M. (2014). Is Online Learning Here to Stay? Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology, (pp. 1-18). Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press. Patrick, S. (2011). New Learning Models: The Evolution of Online Learning into Innovative K–12 Blended Programs. Educational Technology, 51(6), 19-26. Ray, J. (2009). Faculty perspective: Training and course development for the online classroom. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 263-276 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2020). COVID-19 Impact on Education. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse       

Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
Winter 11-28-2020 
Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: 
a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State 
of Kerala, India 
Neetha Devan NV 
neetha@rajagiri.edu 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac 
 Part of the Library and Information Science Commons 
Devan NV, Neetha, "Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a descriptive study 
of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India" (2020). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-
journal). 4692. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4692 
 Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a 
descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of 
Kerala, India. 
 
 
Abstract: The closure of educational activities in the mid-march 2020 in India as well in Kerala due to 
the ongoing covid-19 pandemic resulted in unplanned shift from traditional class rooms to a set-up 
that exclusively involves digital teaching and learning. Within this context the present study aims to 
explore the perspective of school children regarding the effectiveness of learning online as well the 
difficulties or hurdles faced in remolding themselves to meet the requirement of the pedagogy.  
Objective of the study:  
1. To study the pros and cons of “The online movement”, and the student reaction to it 
2. To study the impact of online learning on students 
3. The response of the educational institutions towards the pandemic  
4. The change from the traditional teaching -learning methods to the blended method. 
5. The impact of online teaching on different age groups of students, to the unplanned and rapid 
shift in the format. 
Methodology:  
With the view to study the preference of different age group of students to the online classes, a study 
was conducted among school Students in Ernakulam district. Four different sets of questionnaires 
were prepared with regards to different age groups of students. For the primary and middle school 
students, telephonic interview method was adopted. A short questionnaire comprising of five open-
ended questions were asked. The high school and senior secondary students were given a 
questionnaire of ten questions on google docs to answer. A total of 200 questionnaires were 
distributed of which received 185 responses back. The students were chosen from selected public and 
government schools in Ernakulam district. 
Introduction: The outbreak of the deadly corona virus has had an enormous effect on the global 
economy. This tragedy has also shaken up the educational sector, and this fear is going to last for a 
while. Several factors effect the educational sector such as accessibility of dependable internet 
connections, affordability of the same and gadgets needed for the online classes, flexibility to change 
from the traditional pattern of teaching- learning to the blended mode, the learning pedagogy had to 
be altered, the challenges were numerous, not only for the students but also for the teachers. Though 
many institutions in India had practiced the blended learning culture, the traditional format was 
always the preferred choice. Initially shift from the traditional method to the online platform was full 
of challenges for both teachers and students.  
The alternative medium to traditional face to face learning has shown us some stark realities existent 
in our society in terms of social inequalities and inaccessibility of essential resources among students 
coming from a section of the society resulting even in some suicide cases and tragedies in some 
families. The digital initiatives brought out the digital divide in the society more evidently. The 
digitalized education common in the elite schools in the society showed the much larger inequality 
among the rural and urban population as well as the rich and the poor.  
There has been a dramatic change in the field of education, remote forms of teaching primarily 
through digital platforms having gained the upper hand over traditional forms. Students in Ernakulam 
district, nursery to senior secondary are undergoing schooling on a digital platform from June 2020. 
Even though blended learning was a part of their curriculum since some years the full shift from 
traditional classroom teaching to online classrooms has created a lot of anxiety issues among the 
children in various age groups.  
The first category, Primary students: The primary students were asked on a few topics about their 
reaction to the online classes. They in general seems to have a very entertaining two hours of daily 
classes. The general consensus in children, especially younger ones, the attention span is very low as 
they get distracted easily.  So, its much more difficult for the teachers and parents collectively to make 
them attend the class regularly and also to concentrate on the subjects.  
Category of 
students Satisfied Unsatisfied 
Primary 
School 
Students 90% 10% 
 
 
 
Projects and assignments were given out mostly to finish the portions in the curriculum. It was also 
noticed that parental supervision was required in almost 98% cases among primary students to ensure 
class participation among this age group. Another factor observed was the DD channel broadcast for 
students in the government school is a huge success. Children are keen to attend these broadcasts 
and the replay of the same at different times too. Teachers in both government and public schools are 
trying their best to engage their little students in different activities online, which even grabbed high 
accolades from our state government of Kerala. Another major advantage of online schooling 
especially for this category of students is cutting down of tiring travel time and exposure to sapping 
heat and pollution. Among the primary students 90% of the students were happy with their online 
classes.  
 
Satisfied
90%
Unsatisfied
10%
Primary School Students
Satisfied
Unsatisfied
Category of 
students 
Clever 
integration 
of games 
Entertaining 
two hour 
classes 
No 
tiresome 
travel 
time 
Online 
sessions 
more 
interactive 
Low 
attention 
span 
Requirement 
of parental 
guidance 
Primary 
students 40% 45% 30% 25% -30% -25% 
 
 
 
 
The second category, the middle school students: The middle school students have a mixed reaction 
to online schooling. Unlike the primary students, middle school students were mostly unhappy with 
the homebound situation.  
Category of 
students 
Highly 
Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied 
Very 
Unsatisfied 
Middle School 
Students 5% 15% 10% 40% 30% 
 
40%
45%
30%
25%
-30%
-25%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Clever
integration of
games
Entertaining two
hour classes
No tiresome
travel time
Online sessions
more interactive
Low attention
span
Requirement of
parental
guidance
Is
su
es
 f
ac
e
d
 -
p
o
si
ti
ve
 a
n
d
 N
e
ga
ti
ve
Percentage of students facing that particular issue
Primary students
 
More than half of them were struggling to understand the subjects taught. The amount of assignments 
given were making them spend more digital time searching on the internet. They were easily 
distracted because of unreliable internet connectivity and lack of atmosphere at home. Most of them 
complained about boredom at home and how they missed their school and friends. Due to the lesser 
class hours students are not getting adequate time for clearing their doubts during online sessions. 
They have to wait for a response to their queries through WhatsApp and other medium. The overall 
preference to the traditional face to face classroom learning was more than 80% when compared to 
online classes. The only advantage of online schooling to this age group is being able to dedicate more 
time towards their hobbies and other activities at home. 
 
Highly Satisfied
5%
Satisfied
15%
Neutral
10%
Unsatisfied
40%
Very 
Unsatisfied
30%
Middle School Students
Highly Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Unsatisfied
Very Unsatisfied
Categor
y of 
student
s 
Mor
e 
free 
time 
at 
hom
e 
Issue 
of bad 
intern
et 
conne
ctivity 
lack 
of 
pow
er 
back
up 
Lack 
of 
gadg
ets  
Need 
to 
shar
e 
them 
with 
siblin
gs 
bore
dom 
at 
hom
e / 
mssi
ng 
frien
ds 
Struggli
ng to 
underst
and 
subjects 
More 
digital 
time 
for 
assign
ments 
Easily 
distract
ed due 
to home 
atmosp
here 
Inadequ
ate time 
for 
doubt 
clearanc
e due to 
shorter 
hours 
Middle 
School 
student
s 20% -20% -15% -10% -10% -25% -20% -30% -30% -15% 
 
 
The third category, the high school students: Among the high school students it was observed that 
they have their share of household responsibilities too along with attending online classes.  
Category of 
students 
Highly 
Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very Unsatisfied 
High School 
Students 20% 30% 5% 25% 20% 
 
20%
-20%
-15%
-10% -10%
-25%
-20%
-30% -30%
-15%
-40%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
Is
su
es
 f
ac
e
d
 -
p
o
si
ti
ve
 a
n
d
 N
e
ga
ti
ve
Percentage of students facing that particular issue
Middle School students
 
The lack of learning atmosphere is an observation made among this category of students too. Many 
of the students complained about the lack of gadgets available and the need to share them with their 
siblings. Though most of them claim that teacher’s presence online ensures learning, not able to see 
and mingle with fellow classmates are making them depressed. Time consuming assignments is 
another issue faced by many, though the teachers pitch in, but communication with teachers online 
and doubt clearing is not easy. Among the advantages of online mode as quoted by some are the time 
flexibility to learn subjects at their own pace as well as the freedom to choose which subject to work 
on. They also have the freedom to research more on a given topic if it wasn’t comprehendible in class. 
The preference to online mode of schooling was chosen by more than 55% of the students in this 
category.  
Categ
ory of 
stude
nts 
Time 
flexibi
lity to 
learn 
at 
ntheir 
own 
pace 
Freedo
m to 
choose 
which 
subject 
to work 
on 
Resear
ch 
more 
on a 
difficul
t topic 
Onlin
e 
sessi
ons 
more 
inter
activ
e 
Issue of 
bad 
internet 
connect
ivity 
lack 
of 
pow
er 
back
up 
Lac
k of 
gad
gets  
Need to 
share 
them 
with 
siblings 
Lack 
of 
social 
intera
ction 
Time 
consu
ming 
assign
ments 
High 
Schoo
l 
stude
nts 35% 25% 20% 25% -20% -15% 
-
10% -10% -25% -20% 
 
Highly Satisfied
20%
Satisfied
30%
Neutral
5%
Unsatisfied
25%
Very 
Unsatisfied
20%
High School Students
Highly Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Unsatisfied
Very Unsatisfied
 
 
 
The fourth category, the senior secondary students: Senior secondary students mentioned about the 
freedom to learn at their own pace, managing school syllabus along with their preparation for various 
competitive examinations. Online classes are providing them the opportunity to research on their 
chosen topics without any inhibitions.  
Category of 
students 
Highly 
Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied 
Very 
Unsatisfied 
Sr Secondary 
School 
students 30% 40% 10% 15% 5% 
 
35%
25%
20%
25%
-20%
-15%
-10% -10%
-25%
-20%
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Is
su
es
 f
ac
e
d
 -
p
o
si
ti
ve
 a
n
d
 N
e
ga
ti
ve
Percentage of students facing that particular issue
High School students
 
According to them the classes are more interactive and students and teachers are getting more time 
to interact in online sessions. Unlike traditional classroom, the notes and classroom events are 
updated regularly in the google classroom, MS Teams etc. which results in accessibility of the same 
24/7.   The issue of bad internet connectivity, lack of power backup, technical issues in the gadgets 
used etc. are the major set backs in online learning. Many students have also complained of persistent 
headaches and vision issues due to long hours of screen time. A normal class hour for a senior 
secondary student can be of five hours of normal class accompanied by a couple of additional hours 
of online coaching or private tuitions. Majority of the students, almost 80% are happy with the current 
online mode of learning. Some students complained about the lack of personal attention that they are 
used to in the traditional classroom from their teachers and mentors. And stated that they were 
missing it enormously.  
Categ
ory of 
stude
nts 
Prepar
ation 
of 
compe
titive 
exams 
Adeq
uate 
time 
for 
thoro
ugh 
studi
es 
Learn 
at 
their 
own 
pace 
Online 
sessio
ns 
more 
intera
ctive 
Availabi
lity of 
classroo
m 
material 
online 
24/7 
Issue 
of 
bad 
inter
net 
conn
ectivi
ty 
lack 
of 
pow
er 
back
up 
Techni
cal 
issue 
in 
gadget
s 
Persis
tent 
heada
ches/
vision 
issues 
Lack 
of 
social 
intera
ction 
Sr 
Secon
dary 
Schoo
l 
stude
nts 20% 15% 20% 15% 10% -15% -15% -5% -5% -15% 
 
Support is a crucial element for keeping the learners motivated in an online teaching learning 
atmosphere. Keeping the mental sanity of the learner, providing a positive ambience and retaining a 
productive, healthy atmosphere is very essential. In this digital world where things are surreal, its 
essential to keep a healthy balance between the screen and real times. It is very important for the 
student to create a connect with their teachers and the peer team or one can feel easily dejected or 
Highly Satisfied
30%
Satisfied
40%
Neutral
10%
Unsatisfied
15%
Very Unsatisfied
5%
Sr Secondary School students
Highly Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Unsatisfied
Very Unsatisfied
unhappy in an online environment. Lack of physical activities outside and more screen time resulting 
in depression and internet dependency and even obesity among school children. Online access for 
children is now no longer as tightly supervised as before and has become a more personal and private 
pursuit.  
 
Findings: This is a crucial time for the educational institutions right from the Nursery school to the 
conduct of Board exams. The structure of schooling practiced in India so far including teaching and 
assessment methodologies was first to be affected by this closure. The school students with the 
sudden closure of schools missed out on their educational opportunities as well had to face a lot of 
unprecedented challenges too. Untested and unprecedented scales were used to conduct online 
assessments on a trial and error basis, some missed out even that opportunity due to bad internet 
connectivity and other similar issues. Teachers had to develop the digital content of the whole course 
for online teaching. The limited access to internet, lack of uninterrupted power supply, ill equipped 
teachers and students with the online mode of teaching-learning, absence of a robust monitoring 
system, hindrance in establishing a healthy rapport between the students and teachers, bridging the 
patchy and impersonal connect in an online atmosphere , unavailability of tools to create content in 
regional languages , are all still few of the many challenges faced on a daily basis.  
20%
15%
20%
15%
10%
-15% -15%
-5% -5%
-15%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Is
su
es
 f
ac
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d
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 N
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Percentage of students facing that particular issue
Sr Secondary School students
Conclusion: The use of digital content in education was not a very common feature in many parts of 
the world so far, though Indian education sector had accepted the blended form of learning at least 
in the urban areas in the country. Access to internet, a quite ambience in the household to pursue 
online classes, families with multiple children, accessibility to gadgets for all still remains a major 
hinderance. For those who have access to the right technology and other facilities, online learning 
journey has been smooth. After the initial struggle of both students and teachers of dealing with 
accessing these online platforms like zoom, google meet or MS teams, the connectivity issues, the 
gadget issues for the smooth and effective conduct of online classes, the scenario has come to an 
amicable equilibrium.  This pandemic situation could develop an innovative teaching-learning practice 
in education. Due to the digital divide it could also result in creating even larger inequality in 
education.  
 
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https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8797&amp;context=libphilprac

Student perspective on online learning during covid-19 pandemic: a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India

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