Ms. Divvya Vij is a teacher at Adarsh Public School in New Dehli India.

Read on to find out what it's like for a teacher during distance learning.

Did you ever think that you would teach your students online? Online teaching is a new experience for both students and teachers. How would you describe your experience of teaching online?

Although it was a new system for both students and teachers yet, both adapted very quickly to the system and the results were promising. In online teaching, we were able to use several digital tools, which we were unfamiliar with before in online lessons, therefore learning something new. I think it was a learning experience for both, students and teachers.

Are online classes affecting your daily life in such a way that your normal routine did not? Do you feel more pressurized or relieved under this system?

Yes definitely it affects my daily routine in such ways that my normal routine did not. I guess that I am feeling more tired than I used to do before. My everyday online school is from 8 am till 2 pm, and it sometimes gets hectic and tiring, especially when I am having continuous periods. I feel super pressurized under this system. We are having screen time for more than 5 hours, which is obviously affecting my vision, and working continuously for 5 hours or more, gives me a headache.

Do you think that students are comfortable under this system of online sessions or are they feeling pressurized and more stressed? And also, what do you think of the increased screen time of students, is it affecting their health in some ways that normal schooling did not?

Yes definitely, students are feeling stressed too. They are getting more work than they used too before which is causing them stress. And yes of course their screen time has increased considerably which may also be causing health problems for them. What I think is that we should decrease the screen time of using our phone, like not playing games for 1 to 2 hours or just scrolling over the phone, this way screen time would also be reduced and children will feel relaxed too.

What measures are you taking for reducing the screen time and coping up with daily life and online classes?

Well, as for reducing screen time, I have set a time limit, that I will be watching the phone only for 15 to 30 minutes a day for leisure. I have adapted many lifestyle changes to cope up with my daily life and routine, like I have made it a habit to walk daily for 1 hour at night and morning to regulate my lifestyle. And as for the online classes, I have increased the take of proteins and minerals in my diet so that my health does not suffer.

Would you please give some advice to students, who are still adapting to this system and giving their best in online classes, assembly’s, hobby classes, etc.

Students, I know that we are going through a tough phase, and it is necessary to keep positive and support others, and thanks to technology, we can do so via many online platforms. Please do not stress about your studies, I know online teaching is no match of the benefits of normal schooling, but education is something that can not be neglected, even during these times and it is also a good initiative by many schools for conducting online assembly’s and hobby classes it is good in distracting students from all that is happening around the world. At last, I would like to say that students please take care of yourselves during this time, do not stress, everyone is together in this. All the best!!’