When the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world and threw it into chaos and disarray, masks signified safety and sanitisers a necessity. Businesses moved online and into homes. schools and colleges went from classrooms and building to virtual.
It took several months of confusion, disruption and discontinuity in education for society at large to turn to what was once considered a ‘second-class education’ aka online learning. Providing online education was a sudden calling in a world where utmost importance was given to in-person/campus education.
Digitisation gave a boost to the prospects of distance learning through online avenues as new paths of learning. Most institutions were unwilling to capitalise on it due to the public's prejudice in considering unequal to incampus education.
It wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the world and threatened the discontinuity of education for school students that the world wholeheartedly adopted the course of online education.
Even while you read this, the online and the internet is evolving, developing, progressing and birthing new interactions, connections and experiences. Life online today has met life on Planet Earth at an equal platform. The internet has largely been more a boon than a bane for more than one reason.
The Boon
There may remain a certain ambiguity on the importance of physical and social experiences that differ between online and offline education. Virtual/ distance learning has definitely helped bridge the unequal gap that exists in terms of the denial of education due to geographical, physical or financial factors of an individual or child. It brought classrooms home and expanded the reach of education like never before.
It has also changed how parents and students viewed education and helped them recognise the need for continuity in education.
Online learning has created programs that help development of other soft skills to further career opportunities and more. It has also proved that distance learning is at par in quality and content and could become a major source of education going forward. It has created opportunities not only in terms of learning for learners but for professionals as well.
The beauty of the internet is that today one can teach from anywhere to anyone. It has made education convenient, and brought learning home when people couldn't leave their homes.
Online education does not restrict students to one syllabus/ board or curriculum. It allows space for exploring and learning something beyond the syllabus. Students have unlimited access to learn new skills, languages and subjects from global experts. They have opportunities to discover and experience niche subjects which is something that is otherwise not affordable or imaginable for many.
Online education also allows people of different age groups (young or adults) to learn at their own pace, without restrictions or without compromising on their other responsibilities. Over the last two years, teachers have tried making the best of the situation by exploring new methods of teaching and assessment.
Other benefits of online education:
1. Flexible system: Students now have the flexibility to learn from the comfort of their homes or from anywhere around the globe. One may study indoors or outdoors, in a room or while travelling by subway. It also saves time, energy or money to travel to a particular destination to acquire knowledge.
2. No language impediments: Given that online education is accessible in most vernacular languages, language barriers are not present. Students are not bound to learn a particular language or to follow a particular text. Online they are able to read the language text, or see a video related to it in whatever language they prefer, giving them a multiple intelligence based approach which contributes to a better sense of understanding.
Information technology has emerged as a superpower in these days of sudden curfews and long spanned lockdowns.
We were disconnected from life but connected online.
However, there is no boon without a little learning, lesson or difficulty. It has been the same with the world venturing online to substitute in-person learning and working.
The Bane
Going digital is a double-edged sword and the usage of the Internet for entertainment is common, but online lessons can be a big challenge. Teachers may not be well-versed in creating digital content and conveying it effectively online. A sudden expectation from them to upgrade, and from students to adapt, can be a bit unfair.
Body language and eye contact, which are important cues for the teacher, are difficult to perceive in an online class. Teachers also don't get continual feedback in the form of students’ reactions during online sessions, which in turn reduces the effectiveness of teaching and the surety of students' understanding.
Some questions that are always on the minds of teachers are - How many students have paid attention in a class? How many have actually understood what has been taught? These questions arise even in traditional classrooms, but they are harder to address in online classes.
Parents of younger children are generally of the opinion that kindergarten and nursery aged children don't benefit from virtual learning as they believe their concentration span is smaller and they are easily distracted.
College students also seem to value the in-class physical learning experience much more than an online one. Many agree that phones can be very distracting. To top that, science and technology courses often include hands-on laboratory sessions, dissertation projects and field trips to understand theoretical studies. This aspect of learning is severely stunted due to online education.
Lastly, education is not just about understanding the subject but also about developing social skills and sportsmanship among the students, which is built-in in offline schooling. Depending only on online education may dampen the overall growth of children, and this may affect their professional and personal lives in the future.
Is online learning really beneficial?
To a great extent we can say yes!
It has bridged existing gaps, expanded the sphere of learning and was available when the world needed it most.
However, it's crucial to note that physical isolation affects the mental well-being of a student as it diminishes the real-world experience.
As a country, however, it might be beneficial to adopt and preserve an alternate stream of learning. However, it might never replace an in-person educational experience but it certainly can be supportive to it. The future is fast changing and we need to secure access, continuity and certainty of education at all times.
(Aishwarya Rao, Director, The Vivekalaya Group of Institutions)
