Around 80% of parents and/or teachers in the state expressed doubts about their children having used or misused screen time as they had to adapt to online learning.
They also thought that it could have led to a possible gadget addiction, according to a survey conducted by ACT Educational Research Outcomes (AERO).
The study, conducted under the guidance of Gururaj Karajagi, chairman, ACT, showed that a majority of parents had to engage in some sort of learning activities with their children, while 33% of them could flip over to engaging activities when their child was agitated. Only 13% of parents supported their children’s learning by staying in touch with their teachers.
While the pandemic led to a lot of parents and children sharing more time and space, only 15% of parents could remain calm and listen to their children’s concerns.
The findings showed that due to the interactive nature of audio and visual mediums in online learning, there was a 40% improvement in the cognitive skills of children. Many parents expressed concerns about continuous power usage during learning hours and the additional costs of internet packs.
The online research received data from 2,000 respondents from four educational divisions in the state — Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Mysuru.
It aimed to explore the various aspects of online education, including the engagement of both parents and students of primary school (classes 1 to 5) and technological support necessary during the times of the pandemic.