Online Abacus Education: Pros & Cons.

The future generations now have a catastrophic scenario to face. They didn't get to enjoy the time spent in the classroom to its maximum, as they had online classes instead. Everything became online, even the parent meetings, competitions, assemblies, etc.

The pandemic has instigated a transition among students and teachers to online teaching-learning. Being physically present in the classroom is no longer a necessity. Before the pandemic, handling the kids was way easier, as in the morning they left for school and returned in the evening. But now they have a hybrid mode of learning, they have an abundance of time. This leisure time has inspired them to explore a wide range of prospective after-school subjects like coding, spelling-bee, abacus, vedic math, and many more.

Among these, the abacus is the most fascinating as it improves the natural affinity and muscle memory of students. Abacus, being an essential part of the learning process, had to be conducted online. It also improves visualisation and concentration skills.

Let's start positively. 

1. A pause or break didn't occur in the learning process of the children due any pandemic situation.It helped improve mental sharpness, even in the worst scenario when they were idle and had nothing to do. That's when the abacus came to the rescue.
2. It's a time when people lack confidence in themselves, and the abacus has helped boost morale in such situations.
3. Many have started learning Abacus in the pandemic period, thus learning a new life skill.One of the most significant advantages of online classes is that they have flexible timing, so they can be taken even at your spare time and from any location.
4. Mental development. It is critical to maintaining stable mental health during the most difficult times in life, and the abacus aids in this process.
5. Interaction and the attention one child gets through the 1-1 session and small group sessions may not be available in a class of more than 40 students
6. Sometimes the teacher is also connected with the parent and can give some direct feedback after every class. This may not be possible in an offline class, which conducts parent-teacher meetings once in a while and may not be able to give the correct guidance.
7. With the advancement in the abacus industry like interactive learning portals, digital abacus, assessment modules, etc., learning online has become fun. If these features were not there, then the classes would not be as effective and interactive.
8. There are self-learning modules that are beneficial for both children and adults, which is lacking in an offline class where you are more reliant on the teacher.And nevertheless, online learning portals are fully equipped with infinite worksheets, videos, and mental accelerators to nurture us enough, which may be less available in an offline class.
9. Last but not least, it is more cost-effective than traditional education.

Now let's be negative for a while.

1. As always, the feeling of sitting and learning in the classroom is absent.
2. Sometimes a bad connection can cause you to lose something crucial, which happens less frequently in a direct classroom setting.
3. Even though it is done online, the process of learning together approximates but does not exactly replicate the feeling of learning with friends.

Interim physical gatherings for online students are recommended. That may help to reduce the gap between the students and increase their friendship.

So let's conclude our points.

Learning the abacus online or offline has its effects. The only issue with learning abacus online is the same as it is with any other online class. There is no classroom effect and no sense of learning together. To be precise, learning abacus online doesn't have cons of its own; it's just the cons of the online classes in general. But every coin has two sides.

The schools are proceeding apace, and the best part is that many children have already completed all levels of Abacus and are ready to astound their classmates and teachers with their magical math ability.

This will undoubtedly spread faster than any contagious disease among parents, who will immediately seek online abacus training for their children. This massive increase in Abacus learning among children will ensure that Abacus becomes an unavoidable part of our educational curriculum one day.