Photo via Inside Higher Ed
There has been a huge shift in Malaysia's education scene due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as most students are now looking at screens for their lessons.
However, it's not just students who've had to learn to cope with the transition.
Lim Kai Syn, a teaching fellow from the NGO, Teach For Malaysia told Astro Radio News that many teachers are working together, to ensure that virtual lessons are effective and interesting.
"It's not only parents, students, and teachers. It's between teachers and teachers themselves. There is a whole wider community of teachers coming together to share resources online, there are online teaching materials, so you don't have to start from scratch. I find it amazing we have this sense of community among the educators of Malaysia," she explained.
However, online learning does pose some new challenges for teachers.
Kai Syn says she faces a dilemma when some of her students are unable to attend her classes.
"It's a difficult decision between, 'Do I go on with the lesson knowing that some students could not go online should I proceed, or should I stop and help everyone?'"
She adds that a language barrier can also hinder a child from attending lessons.
"A lot of these online platforms' main medium of language is in English so it can be quite a struggle for students and parents alike who are not as proficient in this language to navigate through all this."
But there are some advantages to virtual classes.
Kai Syn says that by using online platforms, teachers can help students boost their digital awareness, as the world moves into a technologically advanced era.
"It has shifted our focus to learning how to go online, of teaching students how to discern between real news and fake news because it's suddenly relatable to them that I'm using this now. Whatever I Google might not be true, and whatever I see might not be true."
Kai Syn believes that there is potential for online lessons to be more accessible in the future, with the help of teachers, students, parents, and the community.
by Elle Firdouz
