Online learning no matter how productive is full of distractions now that every student has a device directly connected to the internet. And the increase in these devices being used leads to major concerns about student distractions. Some of these distractions are covered below.
List of distractions in online learning
1. Online games
Due to the presence of the internet on these devices, students now have full access to all types of online games, which is one of the biggest distractions for students; for the past few years, the Fortnite game has ranked quite high in this regard. Some of the school-issued gadgets, such as iPads, are vulnerable to app downloads, which may distract students during lectures.
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2. Social media
Over the years social media has been the top distraction for this generation of students. They tend to spend most of their lifetime on social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This has offered nothing more than huge distractions to learning that are not only provided by school-issued gadgets but also gadgets present at home.
3. Personal devices
During online learning, students are always connected to various gadgets, including mobile phones, handheld games, and even approved school computers. Having all of these gadgets present during online learning is one of the most significant classroom distractions; having a notification pop up on these devices or getting messages during online learning pulls the student’s concentration away.
And yes, it is distracting even for teachers, because when a student who is supposed to be focusing on the medium of learning is making contact with his devices, it takes away eye contact from students on their learning platform, and the noises from these personal devices take teacher’s attention away, especially when expanding on an ideal or teaching.
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4. Communication with friends
We all know how important it is to stay focused when we’re learning online, but sometimes it’s hard to resist the urge to chat with our friends. Whether we’re messaging them on a chat platform or social media, catching up with friends can be a big distraction from our studies.
While some student tends to ditch their online learning when they feel like they need to communicate with their friends. This is not just an ineffective technique; they are also missing out on vital knowledge that current learning may provide. The strategy is harmful since students miss out on key facts that they will undoubtedly need later on for study as the deadline for submitting assignments, quizzes, and examinations approach.
5. YouTube videos and videos platforms
Some teachers choose to use this medium for educational purpose for their lessons; it is still a major distraction to students because of the feature that allows users to see suggested videos that might not be what they need at the moment. Also when a teacher is done with the teaching using this medium, students might get to see other videos from the list of suggested videos that pique their attention and interest away from subsequent lessons.
Streaming services is another major concern that tend to distract students, with platform like Netflix which are also accessible and compactable with the devices issued by the school authority as well as their personal devices, though they are suppose to be entertaining and are to be engage on during free period, students often engage in them even during online learning which serves as distractions to them.
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6. Online shopping
With the introduction of shopping sites such as Amazon students now spend time browsing their favorite stores, finding the latest trends at their fingertips, which is another distraction from learning, on the grounds that concentrating on study is impossible until they are satisfied with their search.
7. Unrelated learning
Though there are other avenues online which a student can gain additional information by engaging on free time, student engages in these sites even during their online learning which at that moment contribute to the concern for student distractions during learning. Though these platforms are entertaining and informative, they serve as a diversion from classroom-based online learning.
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8. Television
Everyone is familiar with this gadgets and the distraction it offers, mostly if you are engaging in online learning, this is quite different from other gadgets because is not carry about, unlike your Phones and Laptops, in as much as is different from other gadgets, television and studies do not get along together with interesting activities display on the screen like movies, series, songs, videos, wrestling, mostly series videos which can be time wasting including movies which is also a big distraction during learning.
Not until enough discipline is imposed on the student either by parents or self discipline, as long as television set is present during online learning, then distraction is inevitable.
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Conclusion
When it comes to learning, everyone has its own method, but online learning comes with distractions some avoidable while some unavoidable, some students may not be distracted by these devices but distracted by some things different. But no matter where the distraction is coming from, when it comes to online learning, the distraction associated with it is enormous, and so, it is important to identify these distractions and sniff them out in the bud, so as for those student that prefer online mode of learning to the classroom style, they can study efficiently as possible.
One of the most important strategies to reduce the distractions associated with online learning is to add a variety of activities that enrich the lesson, such as interactive activities or group activities that need collaboration following their online learning. If the school officials do not decrease the number of distractions today, it will become hard to deal with the diversions connected with online learning.