With the closure of schools and universities across China due to COVID-19, millions of students have been affected. But with online classes becoming available, many students are turning to it as a much-needed option.

Shanghai students start taking online classes from March 2

Sun Jiayi may appear to be glued to the television set at home, but she's actually taking online classes ranging from English to public health lessons. Her school is closed due to the coronavirus. But studying at home comes with its own set of challenges.

Sun Jiayi from Jianping High school told CGTN that maybe food, mobile phone, or other things may distract you, but you can put them away when you are having lessons. Although the teachers can't hear your voice, but you can try to answer and talk to yourself.

From March 2, millions of students in Shanghai will be attending online lessons from home. The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission has chosen over 1,000 teachers to pre-record these online classes. Wu Wentao is one of them.

Wu, an English teacher from Jianping high school, said because teachers are quite used to the physical environment of classrooms, they now have to adapt to teaching online. And in today's current situation, she can't see how students are reacting to her lessons, as she is talking to a camera.

Digital classes require more time to prepare

If students have any questions or feedback, they can ask their teachers after class is over. Many teachers say digital teaching requires more preparation time.

Zhang Ju is a music teacher from Shanghai Huangpu Luwan No.1 Central Primary School. She told CGTN that they need to prepare pictures, voices and videos to present lessons in advance. Teachers need more time to search and handle multimedia resources.

Each one of these online classes will last for about 20 to 30 minutes. Students will be offered five or six classes a day in order to limit screen time to two hours a day.

Lu Jing, director general of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, said there are over one million primary and secondary school students. They have to undertake the most effective and direct teaching method. All lessons will be available both on TV as well as on various internet platforms.

All schools and universities across China encouraged to offer online lessons

While this might be easier for urban schools with ample resources, it might not apply to schools from less-developed regions.

After such a long holiday, most students and teachers could not wait to return to their classrooms, but educational authorities say schools will not be back to normal until the virus is fully contained.

Besides taking classes at home, Sun Jiayi also exercise regularly so she can remain fit and return to school as soon as they are reopened.