CONDUCTING SURVEYS TO ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ON STUDENT COMMUNICATION AND SELF-ESTEEM

The Covid-19 pandemic has distorted human lives and disrupted global economies. This research evaluates the hypothesis ‘Virtual learning has impacted student communication and self-esteem’. An online survey was conducted among 115 students from Delhi, India, originating from financially secure as well as unsecure backgrounds, to examine if virtual learning during the pandemic had a positive or negative impact on student communication and self-esteem. The survey responses indicated that the pandemic distorted student communication skills as there were limited online interactions between peers and teachers. The inadequacy of digital devices which served as a primary communication tool during the pandemic, technological impediments - data service connectivity and hasty attempts to design online teaching strategies augmented this communication gap. Furthermore, the inability to accurately judge students' scholarly performance and academic loyalty proved to be an immense obstacle to carrying forward a smooth communication channel. Students’ self-esteem seemed to have also waned during the pandemic. The lockdowns and self-isolating, work overload received from instructors, the unfamiliarity and inability to adapt to the new online teaching strategies, stressful home learning environments and financial glitches, overutilization of smart devices, uncertainties in educational and future career plans led to depressiveness, emotional disorders and mood swings among students.