Mumbai: Online education is the new normal, the way forward till the end of this year, claim colleges, universities and higher education institutes. Though a temporary replacement for physical classes necessitated by lockdown restrictions and risks of spread of infection amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, online education is here to stay at least for some time.
Degree colleges have already started virtual classes for students through various online learning platforms to instil a practice for the future.
Bhawna Mehta, a professor, said, “We started teaching-learning through online platforms for the academic year 2020-21 in mid-June. We want both students and teachers to get accustomed to the new methods so that they can cope easily when the academic year officially begins in September.”
Using the college id, students can login and avail courses for free, revealed Anushree Lokur, in-charge principal of Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga. Lokur said, “We have created a college id through which students can login and avail courses for free on online learning platforms such as Coursera. We are also conducting several webinars so that students are busy in lockdown and get a hang of online education.”
Paving the way forward, the University of Mumbai (MU) is creating study material into pdf, presentations, digital notes, worksheets and word documents which students can access online. An official of MU said, “We are trying to convert all the study material into a digital format so that we can share it with students and teachers via email and the mobile applications. We were working on going digital since last year and the pandemic situation has directed us to be prepared for the future.”
Physical lectures seem to be impossible at least till the end of this year, revealed principal of a South Mumbai college. The principal said, “The number of COVID-19 cases is increasing in Maharashtra especially in Mumbai and Pune. Many college buildings are being used as quarantine facilities so we cannot risk the lives of our students and faculty. We will have to depend on online mode of education at least till this year ends.”
