Online learning experiences of social work students in India

Abstract

Summary Ever since the pandemic first broke out in 2020, there has been a swift shift from offline to online mode of education. The present study is aimed at examining the online learning experience among a sample of social work students in India (n = 202) in order to understand the crucial factors that can help improve their learning experience and so that they become effective social workers in the future. Findings The results have highlighted several independent factors such as the mode of connecting to the internet, number of hours of online classes per day, type of field work, rural/urban location of the students, and hours of sleep, among other variables, that are significantly associated with important indicators of the online learning experience of students. Applications The results point to the urgent need to reduce the number of hours of online classes, educate students on the importance of sleep, improve internet accessibility along affordability of learning tools such as laptops, especially for those residing in rural areas, and promote classroom discussion during online classes, so as to improve the online learning experience of social work students in India and to produce effective social work practitioners.

Reviewing the use of technology to manage floods in India

“…The death and destruction caused by floods around the world is well known [1]. This is specifically true for developing countries such as India which was one of the worst affected countries during the pandemic, which led to a significant impact on health care workers [2] as well as the education system, which had to be urgently shifted to the online realm [3]. Floods in India have been a regular occurrence since time immemorial.…”