4 Key Tips for Sustaining Mental Health of Online Educators and Learners during Covid-19

“Hope is the one thing that sometimes keeps us going.” – Catherine Pulsifer, Author

Since Covid-19 has halted the “normal” life, at this moment, hope is the only source of faith that the human race can succumb to.

A ‘hope’ those good days will come soon and things will be normal again.

However, the virus has just not hit people physically but it has impacted their mental health as well. As per the National Crime Records Bureau, the suicide rate of Indian country was found to be 10.6 per 100,000 people during 2015. With the impedance of Corona Virus, the statistics have gone higher not just in India but across the world.

Staying indoors all the time may trigger anxiety, restlessness, and other mental health especially, in children & teachers who have to continuously attend & conduct online classes. Being in the education sector, the work of faculty has doubled up as well as it has restricted students to go out.

While the flexibility & continuity of education is a good aspect of e-learning, the mental issues that follow it are definitely not worth it.

So, if you are a faculty, educator, or a student, here are the top 4 tips that will help you sustain mental health during tough times of Covid-19…

#1 Begin Your Day with Meditation

Meditation is hailed as the best therapy for stress & anxiety.

In the present environment, relaxation techniques like meditation can help you focus your thoughts on your priority work & studies.

And by meditation, I don’t mean that you have to sit & follow a procedure of controlling your breath and stuff like that.

I simply mean you should indulge in exercise or listening to music or reading something positive as you start your day. It will create a positive impact on your mind & help you heal against the stressful situation subconsciously.

#2: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner: Eat the Right Food

You must have heard a popular saying- “Good food, good mood”.

Well, that’s true. Most of the studies in the food department have revealed that there’s a direct connection between the food we eat & our mind.

It says the kind of food you eat decides not only your physical health but also it has a vital role to play in maintaining your mental health.

So, the best way to boost mental health is to eat the right food, in the right amounts, at the right time!

Often, during online classes, teachers & students tend to skip their meals due to online video lectures or e-learning sessions.

The best way to beat the odds is to follow the school timetable as per your school management system & have fresh meals at the same time intervals daily.

Bonus Tip: As a teacher, you can even plan healthy meals for your students via the school ERP timetable software & upload it on the portal.

#3: Make Remote Teaching Fun!

This is the best thing you could do to unwind your students as well as your mind.

Take out some time.

Play online games!

Yeah, that sounds so kiddish, but sometimes, maybe once or twice a week, you must spend time with students having fun!

Let your online classes become a fun zone for students.

It will help you nourish the teacher-student relationship and bring a smile on your students’ face!

And most importantly, give them a reason to look forward to e-learning classes.

#4: Set Realistic, Achievable, and Smart Teaching-Learning Goals

Faculty & teaching staff members are under tremendous pressure especially since the inception of online teaching-learning classes.

No, I am not saying that students are not.

But the challenges of faculty are much more than what the students are going through.

Faculty members are expected to prepare an online teaching-learning curriculum that would maximize student learning outcomes, they need to ensure that students are getting proper study material; they need to design & upload e-content like PDFs, books, journals, podcasts, etc to take care of students' academics.

Plus, they are required to strike a balance between the amounts of daily communication with students. Being consistently in touch is the key to crack the deal.

Tremendous pressure!

Here, my advice to teachers would be to set realistic, achievable, and smart goals.

Don’t stress yourself too much into the process all at once!

Move ahead taking mini-steps. Track your students’ progress with the help of AI-BI analytics tools of your education management system.

Analyze the EMIS reports thoroughly.

Read More: Why MIS Reports Are Important For Educational Institutions?

Decide a foolproof strategy first & then go in the direction of accomplishing your goals!

To Sum Up

8-9 hours of continuous e-learning classes may create havoc on the mental health of online educators, faculty & students.

Taking leaves or skipping boring lectures is not a good idea to lessen the burden.

Here, educators need a strong strategy to cope & excel the game.

Please feel free to bookmark, save, and share these 4 tips of sustaining mental health with anyone belonging to the education sector that you feel might be under the stress of online classes.

If you are an online educator and looking for e-learning software or LMS: learning management system tools that would help you through your journey please get in touch with my team today!