Teaching students either at school, college or university has always imperatively involved significant amount of disciplining, controlling and redirecting their behavior, focus, and responses. For teachers, being able to see students’ faces, body movements, and physical reactions, while teaching allows them to monitor and exercise a certain degree of control and communicate relevant feedback. Hence, face-to-face classes are more favorable compared to online classes, where superintendence of any sort is completely abrogated. Teachers are often heard dissenting the idea of an online class since refereeing through the class to maintain discipline, identify disengagement, and reprimand unacceptable behavior becomes a challenge when a student’s camera is turned off. Research indicate that it is one of the reasons why teachers favor the face-to-face classes more than the online classes.
But by objecting to switched off camera, aren’t the teachers manifestly revoking the students’ and their parents’ right to privacy? Isn’t there a need for institutional online class privacy policy that protects both the teachers’ and students’ public privacy?
The unavoidable shift in classroom location is one of the most significant adjustments we’ve observed with live classes. The location of each student is now fully based on their surroundings and decision, rather than being in a typical classroom setting. It might be anything from your kitchen table to the playground. They have the option to pick, therefore they do so depending on their preferences and availability.
Students’ live class background makes a powerful statement about them. Students are essentially transmitting an image to everyone in the live classroom, whether professional or not. So it’s critical that their physical or virtual environment promotes that image by being clean and clutter-free, well-lit, and possibly with a dash of personality. However, students come in a range of variety in terms of level of IQ, behavioral conditioning, ethnic, social and financial background, but should this imply that having impelled to attend LIVE classes, they should adapt to the shifting paradigm swiftly.
Will the teachers not consider their socio-economic, religio-cultural and traditional status quo? Will the teachers and the institutions not take into account the affordability of the students and their parents?
As per Digital 2020: Bangladesh report, till January 2020, there were 66.44 million (i.e., 40.36%) internet users, 36 million (i.e., 21.85%) social media users, and 163 million (i.e., 98.96%) mobile connections in Bangladesh. This implies that inconstancies in the online education was the only consistent anticipation. About 1.134 million (i.e., 0.69%) used internet over BREN for online education with over 24 thousand class hours, and over 18 thousand classes. Hence, there is a sizeable population of students who live below the national poverty line (i.e., 0.23%) who either couldn’t afford the internet or didn’t attend the live classes over internet let alone the adherence to the instruction of turning the camera on during a live session. The data explicitly shows the status quo of the students, accessibility to internet, and affordability of online education and the related paraphernalia.
Therefore, clearly it shows that 59.64% of the student population lack internet connection indicating depravity, poverty or unaffordability; whereas, Bangladesh being a country of 75% agrarian dependent where a vast majority is making their living directly from agriculture, only 0.69% of the students had the privilege to attend subsidized online arrangement in which at least 0.23% of the students belonged to the poverty or below poverty line. This means neither did they have the ability to afford internet nor decorate their house interior for the live class requirements.
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An insightful and instructive piece that delves deep into a very important topic. The argument is developed with evidence and objective authority. Simultaneously, the stylistic impact also resonates with the audience. Well done Mr. Shamim for this remarkable effort.