HUMAN SIDE OF ONLINE LEARNING

TEACHERS, peer connection, informal conversations, and campus life are essential to a student. However, when we think of online higher education, it is not uncommon to face one pertinent question: do online students miss out on experiences that campus environments provide?

- MAMIDALA JAGADESH KUMAR

Critics of digital education warn that students may become disconnected from peers and become isolated learners in virtual classrooms. Are these apprehensions valid, or is there a more hopeful way of addressing such doubts?

Cognitive research suggests that group cohesion—the sense of belonging within a learning community—remains intact when classrooms transition to virtual learning. Carefully designed digital programmes can create new kinds of bonds. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong found that students in online collaborative projects exhibited levels of trust and participation comparable to, and in some cases even stronger than, those in physical classrooms. Psychologists refer to this as ‘group efficacy’.

Team-building activities play a central role in technology-enabled programmes. Debates, solving problems together, or making shared notes are easy to integrate into the online activities. These help students feel connected, more confident, and responsible for their part in the group. Studies in Taiwan have shown that when students work closely in such structured online groups, each person’s performance improves. A sense of “we can succeed together” often translates into the personal belief of “I can succeed too”.