Merits and Demerits of E-tutoring in Covid-19

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The essay on the topic “Merits and Demerits of E-tutoring in Covid-19” will help in developing an understanding of the concept of online education and e-tutoring and how this outbreak of this pandemic has caused and promoted online education. this essay will also highlight some merits and demerits of online education or e-tutoring in response to the occurrence of this pandemic. Other than these, this essay will also provide relevant acknowledgment of the impact of this outbreak on online education and its systems and what measures were taken to fight the consequences of this pandemic regarding the education industry. 

E-tutoring refers to the process of providing education to children via an online platform using internet connection services. In simple words, e-tutoring refers to online tutoring where students and teachers can interact with each other in an online classroom. E-mentoring, coaching, or tutorings are the technology-driven and innovative forms of traditional mentoring and coaching that have also provided opportunities for learners to get personalized and highly-individualized coaching in the virtual environment. It is similar to the offline classroom where teachers can solve the doubts and questions of children. E-Tutoring provides children with an opportunity to solve and ask their questions as well as doubts to their teachers while sitting at home. Like every coin has two sides E-tutoring also has its merits and Demerits for both teachers and children. E-tutoring is a form of e-learning that has transformed the way of learning and absorbing information as well as completing their education while sitting at home as well. Online tutoring helps the children in building the skills which are required for them in their academic or personal life. Online tutoring is comparatively a cost-effective and convenient than offline tutoring (Maré & Mutezo, 2021). The increasing use, inclusion, and advancement in technology have promoted the idea of online tutoring and have also increased the number of benefits the children gets from being tutored online. Although, there are some negative impacts as well the advantages have covered the demerits. E-tutoring can also be referred to as online tutoring. The scope of e-tutoring has sky-rocketed in recent times and it has created a space for students to learn online and also enroll in other courses other than their academic books or courses. Especially in learning organizations, online tutoring plays an important role. Moreover, learning in a virtual environment can be the most appropriate option for workplace training or development courses as it is the most flexible, accessible, and open mode of learning. Considering that the requirements and educational needs of people have changed over the last few years and along with organizations, society, and individuals. The need to replace the traditional method of teaching is rising continuously with people getting adaptable to the new methods of education. However, this issue is not only with educational institutions but also with learning organizations this issue is rising. Other than that these learning organizations also want to find the most efficient way of providing education to students. Other than this, for the millennials or younger generation or working individuals, or the digital natives, e-mentoring, e-coaching, or e-tutoring can be described as an appropriate and beneficial option for traditional face-to-face or classroom learning. The extensive and comprehensive integration of all the digital tools into the process of education which is combined with the need to redefine the ways of teaching at all levels of education has become extremely important. Also, online learning and this integration have provided various tools and opportunities for collaboration and interaction (Maatuk et al, 2021). However, for the virtual or socially advanced generation, social networks are the most important medium for having real-time communication and also represent the major communication platform.

Digital technologies are not only used for communication but also contribute to their professional and personal lives. Moreover, e-learning, e-tutoring, or e-coaching is not only for working or learning individuals but also for learning organizations. Learning organizations combine the benefits of e-mentoring, coaching, or e-tutoring that is dependent on partnership and an online environment that has made this form of learning easily accessible by everyone around the world. However, people have a misconception that online learnings work on similar or the same kind of systems but learned e-learnings or -e-tutoring can be highly individualized. In addition to this, it is clear that online learning or e-tutoring are mainly appropriate for those who want to develop their professional knowledge or skills but the traditional methods of teaching, mentoring, or tutoring are proving unable to satisfy their needs. However, e-learning can be implemented in the context of formal education, or other than this it can be the spontaneous relationships between two or more internet users (Doukakis, Michalopoulou, & Chira, 2020). Online learning is the current trend, in the present time online learning has various impacts, it helps in improving the accessibility of the student in an organized way, this also increases self-motivation and also provides the proper time management to enter or participate in the online activity. There are various negative impacts also, the screen time of the students also increased which harms their mental and physical health. Due to online learning the students, do not receive the proper environment in the classroom which is not good for their future. Because classroom learning is also very much important (Isaac et al, 2019).

Especially, the outbreak of Covid-19 has increased the use of online tutoring and made tutors responsible for delivering education to students via a mode of online platforms. This pandemic has brought along various challenges for the education sector, the world, and people as well. The students were forced to be at home and not get out to prevent the risk of getting infected with this deadly disease. The movements were also restricted in the countries rather and people were only allowed to get out when they have to bring or buy essential food accessories or when they want to go to the hospital. The gathering of a large number of people at one place was also restricted and strict rules and regulations were made during that period of lockdown (Pragholapati, 2020). All these restrictions resulted in the closing of schools and other educational institutions which for a certain period stopped the education of children until an idea of online education and proper infrastructure to provide classes online was developed. Moreover, connectivity between students and the outside world was also lost due to the occurrence of this pandemic which created a lack of exposure among students. After days of not having any classes finally a system of online classes was developed and the offline mode of taking classes was shifted to the online mode so that the educational interests and mental well-being of students are being protected (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021). Although, theoretical subjects were taught effortlessly the negative consequences were seen with the provision of practical subjects which requires physical infrastructure that was not available in online education. However, it has been observed that covid-19 has impacted adversely the education of children but the development of various digital information and communication technology tools has saved the children from getting their future and life spoiled (Tarkar, 2020). 

During this pandemic time, there have been various sources have arisen to get online education and learn while sitting at home due to the restrictions of lockdown rules. In addition to this, the governments and educational institutions of countries have provided relevant support to conduct online learning and not let this pandemic influence and destroy the future of students. Also, while working from home working professionals have gotten the time and resources to enhance and work on increasing their additional skills and knowledge which will help them in achieving their personal professional goals and also reduce the financial gap which they have experienced. Many working professionals have enrolled in various online learning courses such as personality development, some technical skills courses, or more according to their interests of study (Soni, 2020).

Some of the qualities required in teachers to provide effortless online education are that they have to be efficient in dealing with technologies and must know the ways to handle and run the technology, communication skills are another very important quality that the teacher must have a clear and proper communication is essential in online education. in addition to this, the teachers providing online education must also be empathetic and have the enthusiasm to adapt to new and challenging situations. However, providing online education is as difficult as easier it looks to gain. Teachers or learning providers must need to update themselves every day to provide the best-upgraded knowledge to the learners and do not let them waste their financial resources. Educators must be very well integrating themselves with the pros and cons of using the internet and at the same time also learn how to effectively manage people from a distance and by not having face-to-face interaction and communication with the students (Rahayu & Wirza, 2020). However, not only the teachers but the parents or other family members must integrate themselves with this concept of online learning and provide constant support to the person who is getting involved in e-learning. They must be self-confident, and resourceful and must consider that students can have problems as well so they must be considerate enough to understand their situation. Online education has provided a lot of benefits to society and also helped in saving the future of the student.

E-learning or e-tutoring, mentoring, or coaching organizations are mainly involved in giving three types of learning which are (i) inter-institutional education which provides space for new learning opportunities as a result of the cooperation between various organizations. However, it is based on communications with each other regarding the innovations and sharing information along with some examples of good practice. (ii) workplace training which can be in the form of a structured educational program that can be executed or taught online with some form of blended learning. However, in some scenarios, only some segments of educational program that corresponds to the needs of an organization are taken. (iii) the third one is the involvement with professional educational networks, which consists of some virtual communities of specialists from a specific educational field and they help in providing discussion forums to exchange professional knowledge and experience with the learners. Moreover, it can be described as a way of intended learning that helps individuals to achieve their professional objectives.

Some of the benefits of online education or e-tutoring are that it provides the flexibility of learning or getting an education from anywhere in the world, and it is also cost-efficient for both teachers and students. The main benefit of indulging in online learning or e-tutoring is that it make professional communication between learners and experienced personnel irrespective of whatever position they are on. Other than this online learning also offers freedom and flexibility to both learners and learning providers. It also helped to provide education during the most difficult times that the world was facing during this pandemic. Other than this, e-learning is used with the main motive of providing adult education which has advantages for both learning individuals and learning providers. Some of the pros of online learning are that it helps the organization to significantly reduce their financial costs on having education as well as it helps to save time for all the parties involved in the learning (Barnová, Krásna, & Gabrhelová, 2019). Additionally, it also helps in reducing challenges that occur in the process of developing and improving the skills and knowledge of individuals by broadening it to attain more benefits. Another advantage is that people do not need to travel or incur traveling costs and also do not have to face problems in commuting from here to there for getting the education of knowledge. By undertaking online education, they can take part in education programs from anywhere, can attend classes, can perform their work duties, and avoid workplace absents along with avoiding the inability to manage work and time to get the education, also giving proper time to their families and studying. Moreover, online education also offers more individual attention to the students by the teachers and made students open as some of the students have fear of expressing themselves face to face which is not the case in online education (Manea, Macavei & Pribeanu, 2021).

Among the most significant advantages of online tutoring is that it is easily accessible from anywhere and anytime which also provides opportunities for real-time communication. Having discussed the advantages of online education or e-tutoring, it also has some disadvantages like there are high chances of distraction among students, and their concentration is often lost during online classes. In addition to this, the problems related to technology and technological or internet disruption can cause problems for the students and hamper the connectivity in online classes.

With the growth in technology, E-learning is now possible and it has certainly opened a new horizon for students who wish to learn new things without actually stepping out of their comfort zone. But at the same time, there are some disadvantages that are linked to E-learning. One of the concerns is that as the classes are virtual so the student does not see their teachers or even their classmates in real which ultimately leads to limiting the interaction of these students. The exams are also being conducted in a virtual phase which leads to the scenario that there is no one watching the while the students are giving their exams. So, it becomes easier for the online students to share their answers with each as there is no one invigilating them. During the time of e-learning basically, the student is on their own which means that they need to motivate themselves for attending the lectures on time, write down notes, and also gather information. One has to also manage their time efficiently while taking care of their work. Online education does not offer face-to-face interactions and does not offer physical activities to the students which makes them physically and mentally ill and causes them other health problems as well (Palvia et al, 2018). 

After learning about the benefits there are also some challenges that are associated with online learning or e-tutoring is that it lacks social interaction between individuals as it causes individuals to have social isolation as they do not get to see teachers or learning providers face to face and also, they do not get the benefits of classroom learning. Another disadvantage is that it is not accessible to others to others which means that people who are not that privileged or who do not have access to internet connectivity or stable network connection for them online learning is not accessible. To attain education through online mode or e-learning they have to get access to any internet café or use a public Wi-fi connection which becomes very inconvenient every day. Also, academic misconduct in online learning is highly unavoidable as it includes an assessment to be done while sitting at home. Thus, students find some easy ways to score in these exams as there is no presence of an invigilator or teacher to invigilate or look after that makes them indulge in cheating and other misconduct. Other than this, learning through online mode requires a lot of patience, self-motivation, and good time management skills as the student have to motivate themselves to learn there is no particular setting that drives motivation in them to study and complete their course. Students have to learn to manage their time or juggle their time between other things in their life such as earning, work, or household chores. Especially working professionals need to work on creating work-life balance so that they can learn while performing their professional duties (Bahasoan et al, 2020). Also, online learning disables the student to get more practical knowledge about a subject rather it focuses on having a more theoretical approach to learning and study. Students are unable to get hands-on experience with conducting experiments which makes them less approachable to practical knowledge and experiences.

Although, online learning is the modern and more improved way of gaining knowledge and education but being aware of the merits and demerits is extremely crucial to manage their studies and work accordingly. Moreover, this pandemic or the concept of online learning has become the source of idea and information for the entrepreneurs as they have converted this problem into an opportunity and has developed some application that is providing education to people while sitting in the comfort of their homes (Pustika, 2020).

This essay has delivered the meaning and concept of online education or e-tutoring which means the provision of education via online mode or online platforms. Moreover, this essay has provided relevant information regarding the impact of covid 19 on online education and how e-learning has evolved and gained importance due to the outbreak of this Coronavirus. Despite the challenges this pandemic brought along there were some merits that have been discussed in this essay above. After that, this essay will provide information about some of the disadvantages of online education to the teachers as well as to the students. 

 

References

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