Virtual learning: a learning dystopia

By Nathan Kamal Cortes Rojas

With the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, people have started to question the future of education – and whether online learning would be enough for some students who have certain disabilities.

Some students have found it difficult to concentrate in their lessons due to having a disability that either hinders their ability to pay attention or requires specialist equipment that they need to study and is not available at home.

“We are in the big year of 2021 and with even the thought of online learning becoming the main source of institution is disregarding some of disabilities, why should those who don’t have any control of their disabilities suffer more because of a universities decision to stay online and not even have the choice of blended learning or 100% face to face learning.” This is the view of a university student with ADHD, a condition that makes studying and education difficult to do, and views like this have started to come up more often as this pandemic continues.

Educators have done their best in dealing with the pandemic and giving their best to deal with this method of teaching. However, more and more issues begin to arise about it, ranging from connectivity issues to lack of attendance and lack of attention from students who are distracted.

Many have spoken out about having to attend these lessons and feel like it is not the university experience they applied for.

This is echoing the last year when students petitioned to have their tuition fee lowered and the protest over accommodation fees at the University of Manchester, showing growing unrest among students over the conditions they have been placed under during this pandemic.

Some sources, however, say that online learning can benefit students with disabilities. “With computer-based learning, students who are physically challenged no longer have to travel long distances and burden themselves with the possible issues concerning it, such as being pressed for time and constantly dealing with stress,” says BD.com.

LearnFast adds that taking individual considerations into account is key. “Making online learning accessible to people with a range of special needs has become increasingly important in the technological age. Online learners with disabilities have their own set of challenges, so it’s important to be aware of and remove any possible obstacles to online learning so that no-one has to be limited by their disability.”