Impact of Online Learning on UKM Student’s Mental and Physical Health
COURSE: LMCR3613 TEKNOLOGI MAKLUMAT, PERSEKITARAN & GAYA HIDUP
SET: SET 1
SESSION/SEMESTER: 20202021/2
TITLE: IMPACT OF ONLINE LEARNING ON UKM STUDENT’S MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH (ICT AND EDUCATION)
LECTURER: DR. SABRINA BINTI TIUN
GROUP: GROUP 6
GROUP MEMBERS:
NURAIN NABILAH BINTI ASMADI (A181385)
NADRA RAIHANI BINTI JELANI (A181546)
NUR ERNA SARI BINTI SHAHARANI (A169946)
1.0 Introduction
SARS-CoV-2 virus which started COVID-19 has first emerged from Wuhan, China in late 2019. Deeply concerned about the alarming levels of spread and severity of infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) has finally identified COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Furthermore, the Director-General of WHO has called every country for urgent and aggressive action as this pandemic might affect all sectors. Malaysia as well has already taken measures to change the course of this pandemic by imposing a Restriction Movement Order on all states. Despite that, as of 27 June 2021, current cases are over 5,586 whereby cumulative cases now stands at 734,048. Furthermore, with the finding of new variants from South Africa and India which are considered more severe, adds to the worrying state of the country.
From the education sector, students globally have also been affected with the closing of schools, colleges, and universities as a step to curb spreading of COVID-19. As a result, most institutions have stepped into the digital world for education and opt for e-learning systems. For instance, classes are now being done virtually via Microsoft Teams, Google Meets, Zooms and other applications. Moreover, assignments are now submitted online either by email or specific platforms instead of printed hard copies. This has indirectly allowed the education system to incorporate more innovative alternatives into their learning curriculum which aligns with the government’s effort that encourages more ICT usage. However, the sudden switch to online education has taken a toll on most students, especially on their health. Most of them faced difficulties adapting to this new way of studying which inevitably affected their performance. Thus, this study aims to discover more on how online learning impacts student’s physical and mental health and how they overcome it.
2.0 Objectives
The objectives of this study are as follows:
2.1 To examine how online learning has impacted UKM’s students’ physical and mental health in the midst of COVID-19 outbreak.
2.2 To understand and discover how each student overcomes their difficulties in online learning.
3.0 Methodology
The methodology adopted for this study is by distributing an online survey among UKM students. A thorough analysis is produced by data collected from four survey questions that have been answered by fifty respondents. The questions produced are to enhance and strengthen objectivity of findings.
SQ1: What device do you use for online learning?
SQ2: How much time do you spend each day on average for online learning?
SQ3: How does online learning impact your mental and physical health?
SQ4: Based on your answer in question 3, how do you handle it?
4.0 Results
Based on the survey, 78% of respondents are eighteen until twenty-one years old and 22% of respondents are twenty-two until twenty-five years old.
We made a survey on what devices UKM student’s use for online learning. 74% of the students are using laptops for online learning, 52% of the students are using smartphones, 6% of the students are using computers and 2% of the students are using tablets. Most of the students are using laptops and smartphones for online learning. Some of the students are using multiple devices such as laptops and smartphones.
Next, we made a survey on how much time they spend each day on average for online learning. 40% of the students spend five to seven hours, 30% of the students spend three to five hours, 20% of the students spend more than seven hours and 10% of the students spend one to three hours each day on average for online learning. Most of the students spend five to seven hours each day on average for online learning.
We also made a survey on how online learning impacts UKM student’s mental and physical health. 88% of the students get body pain, 80% of the students get eye strain, 78% of the students say that online learning increases stress or anxiety and 44% of the students get burnout. Besides that, they do not have quality time with their family and get wrong body posture. Most of the students get body pain and eye strain. This is because they sit and look at the screen for a long time since some of them have four to six hours of class per day. Some of the students say that online learning increases stress or anxiety. This is because of the load of work such as assignments, presentations, projects and quizzes. They need to complete all the tasks and submit within a short time. They also get burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands. Physical signs and symptoms of burnout are frequent headaches or muscle pain, lowered immunity and frequent illnesses.
Last but not least, we made a survey on how they handle their problems. 84% of the students choose to sleep, 72% of the students take frequent breaks, 44% of the students do exercise and 26% of the students use time management apps. Some of the students scroll through social media and surf the internet. Most of the students handle their problems by getting enough sleep. As we all know, getting enough sleep is very essential. We should sleep at least seven to nine hours per day. The quality of our sleep at night directly affects our mental and physical health and how well we feel during the day. People who do not get enough sleep perform worse. This is because they do not have enough energy, lack of alertness and impaired memory. They also take frequent breaks. Frequent breaks are important. We can take a five to ten minutes break and then continue. If we do not take a break, we will feel tired easily. Besides, they do exercise. We should do exercise at least three times a week. Exercise has many benefits such as improving blood circulation, reducing blood pressure, helping you control your weight and improving your mental health and mood. Some of the students use time management apps to manage their time. This is because some students have trouble with time management and use time management apps to help them manage their time more effectively.
5.0 Conclusion
With the ongoing fight against COVID-19, students are doing their best to adapt with online learning for the sake of their future. From body pain and eye strain to increased stress and anxiety are among others which occur from sitting too long in front of their computers during online classes. Amidst all the challenges faced by students in adapting to online learning, we believe that students will be able to get used to remote learning and will perform better over time. This is possible as long as they prioritize their health by getting enough sleep and ensure that their mind and body are well rested.
We also believe that increasing the usage of ICT is extremely vital in elevating our education system. Currently, most students are using online applications in completing their online assignments and through this they managed to acquire new skills which they would never know existed if not for online learning. Furthermore, digital education is definitely a must in aiming for a green country. Since most assignments are done online, less printing is required which in turn significantly reduces the usage of paper.
References
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