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Japan, Hong Kong academics say virtual learning no match for real thing

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I do agree that online classes cannot truly be a substitute for face-to-face learning. Instead, I feel as if we can learn and gain something new separately from the situation. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened our eyes to the virtual world. I think after all that has happened, there are so many cost-effective ideas and new methods and procedures that companies, departments and even schools have developed and put into action. I know that for some people virtual learning is not their strongest suit, and it is unfortunate that they had to struggle to adjust. Professors, bosses and any other type of instructors are really out here trying their best so we have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Just like it is hard for us to adjust to learning, it must be so hard for them to teach with this new technology and outlines of the class. We’re all in it together though. The social aspects of education are really hard to replace, and groups like incoming freshmen or the younger generation are at a super big disadvantage. Really the younger group though because I feel like those years of development are so crucial to their setup in the road to the rest of their education. Missing out on social development skills, hands-on learning and learning manners and boundaries with others is all missed when behind the screen.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

CCP member Mr Cheung promoting a communicating app ? promoting exchange students? Yeah, Na, tell there the door tell your story walking

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Online classes =/= virtual learning. Online classes are worse than in-person classes, which are in turn way worse than self-driven software-assisted learning (spaced repetition etc).

I love how these "academics" shared their "beliefs" and "sentiments" and vaguely-related survey results, but there isn't a single reference to an actual study and research paper backing up their claims in the entire article. Tells you everything you need to know, really.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Lumping all types of tertiary education together and claiming that online learning is ineffective is a ridiculous premise. In Japan, the vast majority of students in liberal arts programs are there for a four year break before starting their working life. University here is well known as ‘the summer of ones life.’

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I guess these people must be 'education experts' to have figured that out. wow!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ridiculous statement.

Distance learning is just as valid as the university which provides it.

Maybe their universities are not much to begin with?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

He added he hopes Japanese universities will offer more courses in English that are popular with students in Asia, such as manga and animation.

so they want to target all the slackers? may i suggest something else like Japanese philosophy

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If anything the dramatic and game changing challenges that this pandemic brought to education was a much needed chance for change, in a change averse nation, where what was happening in many a classroom was so dreary, outdated and in many cases meaningless. A once in a lifetime chance to reset, reboot and upgrade. Those that went online with their dreary contents are now exposed, even to themselves( has to be a good thing ) and those that took to the challenge with a bit of zest are thriving. Personally like the small zoom groups, 4 or 5 students and the best part of it is getting these bleeding masks off. The fact that students have to submit work every week to get attendance has been a nice kick in the but for many university students who thought like their predecessors they could sleep for four years and end up with a degree and a job. Now the hybrid style timetables are on I reckon things have changed for the better.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I attended zoom classes during pandemic and classmates interacts online with each other and professors just fine. There are even more writing assignments to do for online classes. But it also helps students who needs to continue to work while attending school. The only plus of going to school in real life is able to experience a different country/city and travel/party for fun on the side. Not sure how these professors teach online but it works out fine in other countries' university courses.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

When your definition of online learning includes fax machines, it's not wonder. If they had skilled people involved and up-to-date tech and a decent infrastructure, online learning would easily surpass the classroom, in terms of academia. The following is true, however:

""Learning does not take place in the classroom, it happens outside the classroom, on campus where students can interact,"

But if that's the only reason, why not just cancel school and have kids "learn" in parks?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Virtual learning is a misnomer - it's a cardboard version of teaching and is an abject failure. The necessity of such is borne of the need to keep school rolling along - as a method it is akin to junk science.

Publishing groups, such as Pearson herald on-line learning not as an advanced educational method or in earnest to improve teaching - but as a means of profit and nothing else - such entities are advancing Charter Schools and the privatization of education because that's another publicly owned resource to exploit aka there is a pile of taxpayer money to latch onto - it has absolutely nothing to do with improving education. Public and private education involves TRILLIONS of dollars. The intent, is basically theft of a public resource, not education.

On-line learning is and was a stop-gap measure and little else. On-line learning emplaced a façade within school systems in order to enhance the pretense that it was a viable option and reflected actual teaching and learning.

One need merely to examine the assertions of disgraced New York Governor Cuomo, re-imaging education along with Bill Gates.  Governor Cuomo, never one to dismiss an opportunity no matter how vulgar and anti-democratic, dismissively questioned why school buildings even exist these days, and announced that he was enlisting Bill Gates to help reimagine education in the Empire State. Gates reduces education to data sets. The Gates Foundation is focused on computer-delivered education. This may seem like just the ticket for a governor who also questioned why his state is still bothering with brick-and-mortar school buildings. Gates has been pushing virtual learning and all his experiments in on-line classroom education has been a failure. Which should be no surprise, he is not an educator, Cuomo is not an educator, neither has taught primary or high school or on the university level. Entities such as the Pearson group is run by businessmen not educators and teachers, which isn't to say they don't hire such and stick them on their masthead.

As well-stated above by GBR48 online classes are not just troublesome but produce adverse effects.

Education is a social endeavor and one can read numerous tomes that bespeak of the process. Gaining knowledge and becoming 'educated' has a long history reaching back into the paleolithic and has been explored by a wide range of scholars, academics, scientists - it is based in biology and culture and does not adapt well, if at all to 'virtual learning' which is not learning, it is programming.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Please. Japan is only whinging about how online learning is ineffective because their IT infrastructure for it is pathetic and outdated. That and the fact that a lot of their teachers are unable to properly conduct classes online because they just don't know how to use computers. Wakey, wakey, Japan. You're going to have to start incorporating tech into all aspects of society at some point or risk falling even further behind than you are now.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Hybrid classes are borderline impossible for teachers unless the classrooms have been set up specifically for them.

Coming from Australia - where remote learning has been a feature of Education for over 100 years - I have to say that the technological infrastructure in the Japanese universities I have taught in so far is woefully underwhelming.

Cheap laptops with substandard accessories and poor Internet connections make it nearly impossible to teach students online. Couple that with having to juggle some students being online while some are physically in the classroom and you have a recipe for a fractured lesson with little to no chance for the teacher to engage with the students in any meaningful way.

Either all in the room (ideally) or all online - NOT a combination of the two.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

During COVID-time I taught online in two ways: a portion of the students on Zoom for direct conversations/ interviews; and the school internet system for homework including students uploading audio. Worked out quite well.

Other teachers did the same plus Zoom lectures with PowerPoint and live demonstrations. Also worked out quite well.

What is this teacher doing?

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Globally, virtual learning came up short. It increased disparities in achievement, increased mental health issues and loneliness, reduced social skills and engagement, gave teachers a nightmarish overload of work with diminishing educational returns, trapped vulnerable kids at home with abusers and wrecked exams.

For the majority it worked badly, but It did work well for kids who were self-motivated, had a lot of parental support and were suffering from bullying or other problems at school.

The 'hybrid' that we should take from this, is to get kids that need to be at school to learn, back into classrooms as soon as possible, but make additional provision for kids that don't cope well in classrooms to learn at home with dedicated educational support.

If it helps, school pupils have all gone back in the UK and university students are going back this week. As soon as your fully vaccinated levels get high enough, this should happen where you are too. Teachers will then have to make the best of the carnage wrought by the last couple of years.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Anyhow managed to get out of Mali and even pampered with university and easy lifestyle, but still complaining…unbelievable.

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

He added he hopes Japanese universities will offer more courses in English that are popular with students in Asia, such as manga and animation.

Have to ask. Outside of that industry what employer is looking for people with degrees in cartoons? Lawsons, Family mart. Not a skill that’s cross employment agile.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

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