Shreya Charaya (MBA 2019) and Chitrakalpa Sen (Associate Professor, JGBS)
If an answer to a question is a
click away, why can’t an educator be? When the world is fighting the global
pandemic, the students are struggling with termination of exams,
extra-curricular activities and graduation. Since we know the impact of the
virus will be long-term, students as well as academicians are wondering about
the future of education, to be more specific, the way it will be delivered in a
post-covid world. With social distancing becoming a part of our daily lives, will
the traditional classroom soon be a concept of the past? Universities around
the world are preparing for a scenario that could possibly and even
fundamentally re-imagine higher education for the future. Many opportunities
for new app developers will arise keeping that in mind.
Inevitably, the exchange of ideas
and knowledge between the educator and the learners will be made increasingly
through advanced platforms. A new moulded structure could bring up a change in
how distant learning was viewed earlier. The idea is to expand the boundaries
of education and turn it into a fruitful learning process. More and more online
degrees and courses will be introduced and would be opted by the students in
order to gain knowledge and stay safe.
In the last decade, we have seen
the rise of social media influencers and YouTube bloggers who fascinate people,
and in that process attract a large number of followers. In a similar way,
educators are forced to rethink how e-education can bring upon effective ways
of communication and delivery of lectures. Creating a new robust system
requires the technology to be used in a way which the learners find interesting
and are curious to learn. The continuous feedback from the students is a must
in order to test the effectiveness of a certain innovation.
Most of higher education institutes
all over the world as well as many schools have taken their classes online from
last March. While the increasing reliance on online education can't be overlooked,
it comes with its own set of problems, especially in a developing country like
India. The problems are myriad and they run deep in a country like India.
Running online classes require certain IT infrastructure which many schools and
institutions lack, especially for the underprivileged and marginal students. It
needs good internet connectivity and a smartphone for both the teacher and
student. With about 70% of Indian population earning less than $2 a day having
a smartphone can be a luxury for many. Schools are often source of the only
meal for many underprivileged students. The temporary closure of schools has
taken that away (with some welcome exceptions where schools sent the meal to
the students’ homes). Lack of a proper distraction-free learning space in their
houses, and sharing the only smartphone with siblings can also cause serious hindrance
to learning [1]. In developing and
underdeveloped countries, the digital divide is real and this has a possibility
to widen the inequality in access to education. Even for students from
well-to-do families, online classes can pose a serious challenge. The average internet
penetration in India is only 36% [2]. India
ranks 130th internationally when it comes to mobile internet speed
and 71st for fixed line broadband speed [3]. So a large majority of the students are not able to attend the
online classes even if they have the means (smartphone, laptop etc). Even if
they can log into the sessions, there will be audio visual problems, stunting
the learning. Even for students who have good connectivity and can attend
classes online, staring at a computer or cellphone screen for six hours a day can
be strenuous. This will result in a drop in participation in the class, and the
primary learning objectives will remain unfulfilled. Not only the students but
the teachers all over the world are also facing difficulty to migrate their lectures
online. Many are not comfortable with technology and their struggle with classroom
apps are hampering the teaching. Finally, and probably the most importantly, there
are certain advantages of in-classroom, face-to-face teaching. Students can see
the teacher and the teacher, students; and this creates a connect. Establishing
that connection online is not easy. Teachers can implement a number of
innovative pedagogical tools in classroom which might be difficult to do online.
Online learning is here to stay,
but I think it cannot replace in person classroom learning. The classroom can
be at times loud and crazy but is a sanctuary and students belong there. In the
post-covid world, we should take the goods from online learning and have it as
a faithful sidekick to the superhero, physical classroom learning. It may be
old, but not yet obsolete.
References
[1] R.
Chanchal and A. K. Lenka, "Online learning and the marginalised,"
www.telanganatoday.com, 7 May 2020. [Online]. Available:
https://telanganatoday.com/online-learning-and-the-marginalised. [Accessed 7
May 2020].
[2] IAMAO.
India, "India Internet 2019," 2019.
[3] Speedtest,
"Speedtest Global Index," Speedtest, [Online]. Available:
https://www.speedtest.net/global-index. [Accessed 5 May 2020].
