Bryan Walker
Bryan Walker BSc MSc PhD CBiol FRSBiol FRSM has followed careers in industry, hospitals, academia and education, the civil service and humanitarian work. After being Head of a UK University Department of Pharmacology for 15 years he was appointed as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Further and Higher Education. With the University of London Teaching Methods Unit, he provided training for new teachers and organised many other workshops in Africa, Asia and Europe. He has given more than one hundred invited lectures around the world and been elected to Life Fellowships of The Royal Society of Biology and The Royal Society of Medicine for his research.
For three years he set up and directed the Birth Research Unit in Sri Lanka; over half the communications to learned societies received national or international awards. After working for people with disabilities in Uganda he relocated to Thailand to continue his humanitarian work.
Abstract
During the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown of organisations, schools and universities has forced people to spend more time at home. For business necessity, occupational therapy, education and entertainment adults and children spend more of their waking hours using the Internet. Of longer-term significance we do not know what the job market will look like in future years; today we have little idea of primary and secondary learning needs. Much of what is currently taught may be irrelevant for future occupations. This review exemplifies what can be achieved in confinement with only a computer and connection to the Internet.
Although the high cost of hardware and software for connection to the Internet may be offset by reduced transport and travel, there are other risks associated with increased hours spent looking at a screen. The many intellectual and social skills, such as team working, leadership, debating and problem-solving abilities, earlier acquired through school playground games, social working and other communal situations, may become underdeveloped. Inadequate attention to appropriate ergonomics can result in damage to or impairment of posture, sight and other physical and mental health characteristics.
Traditionally, life has been divided into two main parts: a period of learning followed by a period of working. Soon the traditional model may become obsolete, and the only way for humans to stay in employment will be to continue learning or to re-school themselves repeatedly. Limitations of finances and time will increase the demand for low-cost or free Online Learning courses.
Keywords: Online Learning, Covid-19, Internet, Education