"It is improper to conclude that students are unwilling to learn. The untold truth is that, Every child can learn!"

Many teachers across the globe have moved out of the conventional classrooms to engage their students  with the e-Learning while they're at home. Our beloved nation, Nigeria, is not also an exception to this shift. Although schools have closed, teaching continues smoothly.

This new experience has revealed some interesting things about my students. To say the least, it is improper to conclude that students are unwilling to learn. The untold truth is that, every child can learn!

This new teaching style adopted has opened my eyes to see that students learn and participate actively when the right teaching methods and tools are applied. In order to grab the attention of children, a teacher needs to understand them. And also utilize what they love, to disseminate information to them.

Recently, a directive that schools be shutdown was issued. It was in order to control the spread of Covid-19. My school, Landmark College, Ikorodu, was proactive enough to devise the best means to continue to engage the students.

At the initial stage, it appeared odd, teaching them from home. I thought the students would never take it seriously. How wrong I was with my thoughts. Surprisingly, the digital classes are highly interactive and exciting.

What do I mean by Interactive and Exciting?

Immediately online classes were set up, the students were notified. It was indeed a laudable step taken by the school to continue to engage them. Within a few hours, a larger percentage of them had joined the class. And guess what, they were eagerly waiting for the commencement of the lessons.

Indeed, the volume of membership on the class was commendable. I welcomed them, explained the aims and objectives of the online class. In no time, teaching and learning commenced with a topic in English grammar.

First, a short, self-explanatory note was given on the topic. Then, it was accompanied with an audio-visual material from YouTube. They were instructed to study the note and watch the video.

Subsequently, some questions were thrown to them. I was highly impressed at their pace. Every student in the class answered the questions correctly.

To say that I was surprised would be an understatement; I was overwhelmed by their active participation throughout the classes held so far.

This experience has proven beyond doubts that, students learn when using their favorite tools. Those who seem to be passive in their normal classes in the school made significant contributions during these e-Learning.

Another commendable thing about this experience is the level of orderliness during the classes. When asked to comment about the class, one of them reacted that,
It is an interesting and mature class.

The student corroborated my assertion about orderliness throughout.

Questions?

Were the students excited about this e-learning method for their classes? Was the device a motivating factor?

Call to Action

After having observed the method for a while, I want to urge schools to critically look into this e-Learning to carefully select devices students love. And consider using them to make teaching and learning interesting to them.