Impact of Online Learning Platforms on the Learning Process - Assignment Example

Impact of Online Learning Platforms on the Learning Process During This Period of

COVID-19 Pandemic

Devonta Daniels

Concordia University- Nebraska

LITERATURE REVIEW

The world is facing a major crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new coronavirus. In education, the scenario is no different. Thus, the time has come to rely even more on the use of technology, so that this scenario does not harm the education of students who are under quarantine. Classes are being held remotely to avoid agglomerations and the risk of contagion during the pandemic as a result of the new coronavirus. According to Reimers & Schleicher (2020), online learning platforms are solutions that have made education more accessible, dynamic and flexible. More companies and educational institutions are learning about this model and having positive results when implementing technology in their daily lives.

Education and Technology

Most people - especially generations X, Y and earlier - are very familiar with traditional teaching: spending hours sitting in a chair, copying explanations from the teacher / instructor and, hopefully, from time to time a video was proposed, music, debate or work presentation. However, even consolidated, the truth is that this model has never been as effective as it has always been desired. Several scholars questioned this style, researching how learning can be different for each person due to the most varied factors, whether due to their age , ease with certain formats, way of relating to the content and even the level of motivation in the studies. Basilaia & Kvavadze (2020) emphasize that currently, traditional education is increasingly in check: with the development of technology, both children and adults are looking for more active and dynamic ways to do everyday activities, especially when studying - which for many is not the most pleasurable action the world, especially when associated with the classic model of education. Research shows that people's ability to concentrate is decreasing every year and, with all these factors at stake, new barriers for teaching are presented.

Impact of COVID-19 has been immensely felt in the education sector. That is why is crucial for learning institutions and students to embrace the virtual learning environment. Besides, technology allows us to cross borders, and with teaching it is no different. The vast majority of Higher Education Institutions (already have online education platforms that allow distance learning. Due to the quarantine scenario imposed by public authorities as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face classes needed to be replaced by distance learning through online platforms. The use of tools that assist in the teaching-learning process are necessary so that the academic calendar and the education of students are not harmed. This virtual environment allows the integration of tools and resources that are of great value for both teachers and students, allowing the continuation and optimization of the teaching-learning process.Generally all content is online, stored in the cloud, and available to be accessed at any time, day and place on the planet, as long as there is an internet connection. The teacher has the possibility to schedule the classes, following the same face-to-face educational calendar. Moreover, students have access to the content provided by teachers. Ideas can be debated in the environment forum and students' doubts can be taken away by teachers in real time. better still, Monitoring the progress by both students and teachers is done remotelyThere are other resources that enable interactivity in this type of learning environment. They include:

• Quizzes;
• Videos that can be sent to students;
• Chats that the system allows;
• Feedback exchange

While Setiawan (2020) is of the opinion that group work within the environment also improves the relationship between students and teachers, it is vital to note that there are other ways to communicate and share content in this environment, which enhance teaching, even when students are not online. This is because they can receive push, SMS or email notifications about what is happening in the digital environment. The following are common online platforms that have gained prominence during this period of COVID-19:

• Blackboard
• Canvas
• Moodle
• Google Hangouts Meet in Education
• Google Calendar to organize education!
• Lyceum: Educational Management System
• Lyceum Chatbot for attending students

Blackboard

When exploring a virtual learning environment, it is worth talking about Blackboard, a leader in educational technology, which offers a connected and data-oriented learning experience. The platform offers resources that enable the teaching-learning process on an ongoing basis. The learning solution allows to boost academic effectiveness, promote student engagement and enable continuous improvement through the generation of educational insights.

Canvas

Another important educational platform is Canvas. Native to the cloud, it offers digital and content creation tools so that teachers and students create a more intuitive and, at this moment, more connected learning experience Hu, Y. (2020).. It allows educational institutions to build their own virtual learning environments in a customized way.

Moodle

The free software to support Moodle education has also been used to support classroom courses, study groups and teacher training, as well as, of course, as support for distance education (Popa, 2020). It is vital to know the three main VLE platforms and now you know that the Lyceum educational management system is integrated with the institution's virtual learning system.

Google Hangouts Meet in Education

The tool has free and paid versions. However, given the current scenario, the Google team made the Hangouts Meet platform available free of charge until July 1, 2020. Google Hangouts Meet is a tool that makes it easy to participate in video work calls. The user can create meetings and share the link with his colleagues.

Educational management guide

In the case of education, teachers are able to transmit the classes on video calls with their class of students. The platform has a fast and light interface, allowing the intelligent management of participants (Hu, 2020). As it is integrated with G Suite, it is possible to attend meetings from an event created in Google Calendar or through an invitation sent by email. The Meet applications created for the iOS and Android platforms make it possible to view the meetings of the day. Applied to education, students and teachers are able to program themselves for the day's classes.

Google Calendar to organize education!

Another platform, previously mentioned, is Google Calendar (or Google Calendar). It is a free calendar and calendar service offered by Google. In this scenario of work in the home office and distance learning modality, this tool is very useful for planning classes, educational activities and content distribution. Through Google Calendar, the teacher can add and control activities and appointments; share the schedule with your students; and add other public agendas to your agenda.

COVID-19 in education

Focused on the use of cutting-edge technology aimed at the educational sector, the Lyceum educational management system provides greater fluidity in the processes of educational institutions. It allows, for example:

• Management of students' entire academic life;
• Virtual academic secretariat;
• Dissemination of notes and absences;
• Assistance to students, even with more bureaucratic demands;
• Unification of information;
• Access to all performance indicators of the institution by managers.

However, Sahu (2020) observe that the solution also provides responsive portals for institutions of basic, higher education and open courses to capture students over the internet. Including an e-commerce course, ideal for capturing students online. It is important to note that Lyceum also has portals for students, teachers and coordinators; virtual secretariat, in which it is possible to deal with matters such as enrollment and re-enrollment, movements and assistance; and module aimed at academic, financial and administrative management. The Educational Management System, Lyceum, is integrated with the educational institution's virtual learning system. Therefore, we list the three main platforms that are most used by educational institutions.

Digital transformation during the COVID-19 Period

According to Popa (2020), the digital transformation that we are experiencing since the last times, has enabled the growth in the offer of quality services and its assistance in an integral way to the user. In education, artificial intelligence is a great ally and is present in several platforms and applications that assist in the teaching-learning process and also provide support to students and / or their guardians.

ChatBot

ChatBot is a robot that talks to people via chat. It represents a great evolution between people, brands and technology. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic scenario and the quarantine imposed by public authorities to prevent the spread of the virus, the application of service via chat is an extremely viable and useful alternative. Lyceum has the Lyceum Bot integrated into its system. It can be used both to answer simple questions and to perform more complex functions. Features of the tool include:

• Assistance in choosing the course and enrollment;
• Student assistance in understanding their performance based on the grades obtained;
• Verification of financial pending issues;
• Making payments.

The Lyceum Bot was developed using IBM Watson, a platform that uses human language and Artificial Intelligence as a resource to analyze large volumes of data, guaranteeing machine learning, which generates accurate responses to demands.