Which is better: Virtual or In-Person?

Which is better: Virtual or In-Person?

Srijan Agarwal

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the whole education system upside down. Two or three years ago, who would ever have imagined something called “virtual school”? In the 2020-21 school year, almost every student was studying from home because of the dangerous situation. This year, since the vaccine was released, the impact of the pandemic has decreased. Hence, some of the students are attending the school “in-person,” and some are still attending school “virtually”--i.e, from home. But, the question is, is it still advisable and safe to go to school physically?

NOTE:

The following people were interviewed by Srijan Agarwal. All their opinions are presented as is. This article is published with their consent. The author has not tampered with any responses.

 Which is preferred: virtual or in-person?

Novi Virtual School principal Emily Pohlonski believes that it really depends on the student. “Some kids do better virtually, while others do better in-person.” Some students struggle while learning in their home, while they do better when the teacher is right in front of them. However, some thrive while they learn in their own space and struggle while they’re in school, face-to-face.

The Novi Community School District (NCSD) recently had Fall Conferences. What feedback was received from parents and/or teachers about virtual/in-person learning?

Mrs. Pohlonski assured that the parents are very happy with the teachers. They believe “that the teachers are organized and that they are empathetic towards [the] students.” This tells us that the level of love and support of teachers hasn't lessened one bit and hence is not impacting the performance of the students.

Are the virtual students getting the same amount of work and practice opportunities as the in-person ones?

Some parents are still worried about things such as the mask mandate and are not sending their children to school. According to experts, those parents should surely not be worried about the level of education their children are receiving virtually. Superintendent of Novi Schools Dr. Steven Matthews says that the virtual setting is very much similar to the in-person one, hence not impacting the students. “I am not worried about the [level of] education our virtual students are getting…I am confident that they will perform at a high level just like our in-person ones.” That’s a good thing. Virtual learners should surely not have any problem understanding the material which will impact their knowledge. What will help them even more is perhaps asking questions in case they missed something. That’s why video-conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet have a “hand raise” button.

Are students doing as well virtually as when COVID wasn’t there? Any significant grade changes?

The grades of K-6 students of Novi Schools on iReady (an assessment program) were very impressive, Dr. Matthews reported. This shows that even though a lot of kids were attending school virtually the previous school year, there has been no impact on students’ performance and it also tells us that they were somewhat comfortable learning from home.

What are the repercussions of long hours of wearing masks? Have there been any complaints from parents in that regard?

“I have some parents that are worried about the time in masks and some that are concerned that masks be worn with great fidelity,” says Principal Robert Baker of Novi Middle School. Some students are comfortable wearing masks, keeping the pandemic in mind, while some think it could prevent COVID but lead to other side effects.

Does being virtual lead to eyesight problems? Will the amount of screen time affect students? Any complaints?

There was some thought on giving students screen breaks, and perhaps not having a full period of class, Mr. Baker informs. “My kids are in elementary school and there was some discussion between the parent forums about screen breaks.” And, there is evidence of that. Last year, a lot of the teachers used to dismiss the classes after the instruction was done, so that students could work off-screen.

There isn’t a specific answer about which one is the best! Just like Principal Pohlonski said, it all depends on the person. There are repercussions to both options, but it is upto the student and the perspective he/she sees it from. Some might not like the mask mandate while others might prefer face-to-face learning no matter the consequences. All these responses from such experienced and wonderful persons give a detailed idea about the positives and negatives of both the ways of learning.

Which is Better: Virtual or In-Person © 2021 by Srijan Agarwal is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0