The global pandemic COVID-19 has resulted in every sector to shut all across the
world. This also includes one of the worst-hit sector i.e., education industry.
Globally, over 1.2 billion students in 186 countries are away from their
classrooms. The lockdown situation has forced the schools, colleges, and
universities to remain shut and the students to stay at home. Both parents and
students are suffering emotionally and psychologically due to this shutdown.
Academically this was a valuable time for students as many schools and
universities conducted the final examination in these months only. To cope up with
this situation most schools and educational institutes have come up with the idea of
online classes and learning so as to prevent the wastage of valuable time instead
of waiting for the situation to get back to normal.
Current scenario of online education:
There has been a significant rise in the online mode of education such as video conferencing tools, online learning software etc. In a country like India, there is still no hope for students getting back to their classrooms soon. Therefore India is seen as a hub for a surging online
education sector.
Online learning options available for students and teachers :
Today, there is no shortage of online platforms for students to study and get
appropriate material for the topic concerned. Teachers can easily connect with
the students through platforms like Google Classrooms, Zoom, etc.
In response to the significant demand, many learning platforms are offering wide access to their services. It has become very feasible for teachers to teach
students and keeping them busy with homework and assignments. The Imperial College of London in collaboration with Coursera started offering a course on the Science of Corona Virus, which is now the most enrolled class of 2020.
Why online learning becomes important?
COVID-19 has completely changed the lifestyle and routine of every generation.
Before lockdown students had a routine and time fixed for every activity. Usage of
mobile phones for online gaming and social media has increased drastically which
in turn is causing a lot of distraction to students and they are diverted from their
goal. Establishing a routine becomes crucial for children, especially while staying
indoors the entire day to which they are not used to. A routine will keep the child
engaged. Online teaching came as a boon in these disrupted times. Not only
students can now attend the online classes arranged from school, but they can
remain in a routine also. The online environment offers unprecedented
opportunities for people who would otherwise have limited access to education,
as well as a new paradigm for educators in which dynamic courses of the highest
quality can be developed.
Advantages of online learning:
1. Easily accessible and budget-friendly
The basic requirement of online learning is a good internet connection and a
computer or mobile. It is much easier than a classroom session. The
online sessions could be even recorded for later reference and better
understanding. During the lockdown, most of the online courses and classes
come free of cost.
2. Flexible timings
Mostly the timings of online classes are kept flexible and students can
adjust them according to their routine and thereby learn at his or her own
pace and time. Teachers and students can interact with each other any
time without any limitations for clearing doubts.
3. Comfortable Ambiance
The students can create a perfect environment just in their room for the
online classes. Headphones can be used if the surroundings are noisy.
4. Social distancing can be exercised
Online learning is the best way to practice social distancing among
students. Social distancing would be very difficult in the classrooms and it
would be very tough to control the students from playing and touching
each other.
5. Time-saving
A lot of student’s time is saved due to online video lectures. Since the
students do not require traveling to a particular class for learning they can
save the traveling time and use it for other constructive activities.
Keeping in view all these points we can thus conclude that online teaching
is a major development in these times, if used properly it can become the
biggest boon of the decade. Online learning has become part of ‘new
normal’. What has been made clear through this pandemic is that online
learning is a potential model for a resource crunched country like India and
a personal tool for self-development. Online learning technology has the
power of disseminating knowledge across the borders, companies, and all
parts of the society and now it is incumbent upon all of us to explore its full
potential.