LEC052037. Rizwana. "Virtual learning experience during the pandemic"

 Rizwana

Dr. Joseph Koyippally

LEC052037

25 Feb 2021

Virtual Learning During the pandemic: Shaping the Reality of Future Education.

Education is always an important stepping stone through which human beings seek success, comfortable life and financial stability. It is deemed as a prime concern and motive for an individual to attend school and graduate but this human criterion got threatened with the sudden huge blow of the  COVID-19 virus spread across the globe. Hence, the virtual mode of education stepped into the academic space of students and teachers and became the new normal. Contrary to the popular lash outs against this virtual reality, the new e learning process could actually create a positive pedagogical change within the literary and creative realm of education.  With the traditional learning method of school encouraging and offering the students a study environment in a closed up four walls of a classroom could be alleviated with arrival of this new mode of learning. A major triumph in the academic performance could be achieved if students focused more on extracting the profound benefits of the new norm rather than whining about its drawbacks. When used to its complete possibilities and potential, online education could prove to be as effective as face-to-face instruction.

The first way to get accustomed to this new way of teaching-learning method would be accept it in its full nature and essence. The reminder that every coin has two sides which metaphorically instill the positive and negative outcomes of different approaches and methods could be used by the students to elevate their optimism and appreciate the remarkable advantages to be exploited through online education. Once the teachers and students familiarize themselves with the virtual academic environment, it automatically becomes an easy process to get adapted to the new normal as humans are known for their adaptability skills since the primitive age.

The COVID-19 paving the way for educational institutions to conduct classes online could be perceived as a smooth and an advance preparation to familiarize the students with a future world overwhelmed by technology and opportunities. The influence of tech-based learning was already apparent with the circulation of learning materials through mails and social media apps. Online learning is one more step towards the complete revolutionization of the academic world in terms of innovation and advancement.  The faculty of education have to learn the functioning of the new medium and comprehend the various methods for the employment of it in their online classrooms. They must step up to the task for this is the medium for tomorrow. Students, learning from the comfortability of their homes or some other preferable place could sit at ease and engage in the online learning activities, by balancing both the responsibilities of home and school. Instead of travelling to schools, students can turn on their laptops and see live lessons and lectures and the teachers could reach out to students more efficiently through chat groups, conference meetings and document sharing.

Flexibility in terms of time and space is one of the major qualities of online learning as the students have the complete liberty to decide their location of study and the works provided by the teachers could be done at their own pace with an effective management of time and proper allocation of academic works. The objection of less interaction between students and teachers is totally unnecessary as it has been increased by Zoom, Google and skype calls for better socialization and connection. “Institutions will realise that this method allows them to retain their best faculty, offering them better control over their schedules and will get over the learning curve and begin to appreciate the enhanced capabilities of the digital medium” (Agarwal). Online classes could be effective in so many ways with the right technology.

Some research shows that on average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom. This is mostly due to the students being able to learn faster online; e-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting because students can learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading, skipping, or accelerating through concepts as they choose. (World Economic Forum).

The sudden shift to homeschooling because of the pandemic sure brought inconvenience to students and faculty but they did cause the need of discovery of new innovations in the field of education especially with the slow pace of changes in the academic institutions and the dependence over centuries-old, lecture-based approaches to teaching, long established institutional prejudices and outdated classrooms. Various countries around the world came up with different innovative solutions to make the online learning experience richer and productive. "In one Nigerian school, standard asynchronous online learning tools (such as reading material via Google Classroom), were augmented with synchronous face-to-face video instruction, to help pre-empt school closures” (World Economic Forum). In china, to prevent the huge spread of the virus, 120 million Chinese students got access to study materials through live television broadcasts. These instances are the very proof that people are ready to turn their tables and remodel it when the situation demands it.

The public private educational partnerships could join hands to provide new learning and broadcasting platforms to upgrade the educational excellence and infrastructure of the student body. The initiatives for better virtual learning were limited before but the pandemic became a reason for a larger scale cross industry coalition created for a common educational goal through which many socially and economically backward students were provided with the necessary online gadgets and other materials for their sound education.

A rich and productive educational system transformed and sustained by the new technology and innovative approach must be established and the traditional method of learning could go hand by hand with it and this hybrid system of learning could continue to persist post pandemic. This rapid technological change within the academic system along with the pandemic could actually revive the resilience and mental strength of the students as they need to learn skills in this unpredictable world such as informed decision making, creative problem solving, and perhaps above all, adaptability. Resilience of such kind must be instilled into the educational system as well for the students to prioritize these skills. The integration of information technology has to be encouraged more with online learning becoming a fundamental element of education. An effective online learning environment could always be achieved with an affirmative boost, a well-prepared learning plan and a little forbearance and the interactivity and opportunities among the students can be enhanced too.

 

Works Consulted

Agarwal, Neeru. “Future of Online Learning”, Higher Education Digest. 11 Sept 2020, https://www.highereducationdigest.com/future-of-online-learning

Agarwal, Rajeev. “Online learning: The Medium of Tomorrow”. The Hindu, 16 May 2020,  https://www.thehindu.com/education/online-learning-the-medium-of-tomorrow/article31602387.ece.

Li, Cathy and  Farah, Lalani, “The COVID-19 Pandemic has Changed Education Forever.” World Economic Forum, 29 April 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning.

Tam, Gloria and Diana, El- Azar. “3 Ways the Coronavirus Pandemic Could Reshape education”. World Economic Forum. 13 March 2020, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/3-ways-coronavirus-is-reshaping-education-and-what-changes-might-be-here-to-stay.