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The value of education can never be undermined. Had it not been the expertise of health professionals around the world, the coronavirus pandemic would have claimed more lives. Had it not been the effective handling of the crisis by law enforcement officers and highly-qualified bureaucrats, the disruption to daily life would have been more painful and damaging. Amidst all this, the teaching community is playing a vibrant role by enabling education over the internet when the entire country is under lockdown to break the chain of COVID-19 spread.
The emerging trend
Online learning wasn’t non-existent prior to the coronavirus crises. Many apps, including Unacademy and BYJU’S, have had their share of successes in enrolling students to online courses. A majority of school children in metros and Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities have been making the best use of YouTube to learn new things.What COVID-19 brought with it was a total shutdown of physical presence in classrooms. Schools and colleges across India are closed and there is little hope they will resume classes anytime soon. This has changed the landscape and brought every learner online, out of need if not out of want.
And then came the Zoom app. Although there are many other alternatives to it, Zoom swept the market with its easy user-interface that enables video conferencing. Teachers became the host and students the participants in ‘meetings’. These meetings aren’t boardroom meetings but learning sessions where class I students are learning tables, spellings and class XII students are solving tricky math questions. When security concerns arose over Zoom’s usage, a few switched to options like Google Hangout. Even the Home Ministry of India stepped in to make people cautious of Zoom’s usage.
But this entire controversy aside, use of web applications and software has become the cornerstone in the field of education during the COVID-19 crises.
Is something expected out of learners?
A changing landscape demands many changes from all participants. While teachers are adapting to the new ways of imparting lessons, the student community too has a significant role to play. When in the classroom and within the walls of school or college, you abide by a certain code of conduct. Crossing path with any teacher involves respecting her/him with greeting, being in the classroom involves maintaining decorum when the session is ongoing, and a sense of punctuality and self-restraint is ever-present. Now that classes have shifted from the physical classroom to digital space, does it mean the rules that were hitherto being followed can be diluted?
The answer is a resounding no. In order to make teaching over the internet a success, participants have to have commitment and loyalty. Many schools haven’t mandated wearing of school uniform during virtual classes. Despite this, it is expected from all learners to have the same sense of discipline as they used to when going to school or college. In fact, digital learning through video conferencing demands extra. Enabling the mute option when not required to speak, having proper lighting in the background, being in a silent space when attending the class and display of commitment are all required when you face the camera of your smartphone or laptop.
Making online learning a success
Learners have to understand that goalposts haven’t shifted in the times of COVID-19. The world needs the same number of engineers, scientists, doctors and administrators, and hence education will have the same role to play. Shutting of schools or college can never mean a period of vacation. In fact, these times of lockdowns and social distancing will get over some day and the same competitive world would weigh learners on their potential and knowledge.
New academic year has begun in most education institutions through the online mode. This is time to make use of all resources at disposal. NCERT e-books are available on the internet and other e-books can be availed from different sources. Lectures on wide-ranging subjects are also available on YouTube and Wikipedia remains a great source of information. CBSE has also started live fitness classes that are conducted by experts and are available on YouTube and social networking sites.
To make e-learning a success in the times of COVID-19, the onus is on all the stakeholders i.e. management, teachers, students and parents. You have to make the best use of smartphones and internet to gain as much as you can. At the same time, keeping untrustworthy information sources at bay is also crucial. Consulting seniors, parents and teachers before picking any source to learn is important. Education is changing and the shift is towards e-learning, let’s make it a success.
Also read: The New Tax Regime v Old- What’s the Difference
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