“Through technology, we have the power to make learning a lifelong and accessible journey for all.”

The advent of digital technology and increasing demand for flexible yet accessible education paved the way for online education. Moreover, the landscape of education has been changed by Covid-19 pandemic, it brought challenge for professionals in educational field and unorthodox learning for students during the academic year 2020-21.

The teaching methodology was modified & students had to cope with the sudden change. Consequently, online learning was fully integrated into teaching and learning which was considered a separate learning system then. Let us parse the benefits of such changes pertaining to student’s learning followed by some factual information of e-learning in India, the detriments of the online education and its overall impact on student learning.

DIGITAL LEARNING IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY IN TIME AND SPACE

Online education enables a student to learn even from a remote area and being ‘off site’ as well. The learning can happen at the pace of the student without the hassle of travelling to the institution. There is plethora of the available digital learning resources all over the world; a kid sitting in India can get an idea of how the topic of ‘Electricity & Current’ is taught in UK. The topics can be explored sitting in the living room that too free of cost most of the time.

E-learning enhances educations access to disadvantaged groups in the society like people with disabilities, migrants and minorities as they can open the learning apps on their devices, rewind and listen to the content multiple times. The retention of the topics learned can be more, thanks to the attractive visuals & graphics used in the learning apps. The big players in online learning apps like Byjus, Vedantu, Meritnation and Digital Teacher.

SKIMMING THROUGH HISTORY OF ONLINE LEARNING IN INDIA

The emergence of online education especially in India can be better understood with some factual information given further. The e-learning platforms were always there way before covid-19, at the time of limited reach of the internet in the early 2000s. Online education may have been an alien concept for school level teaching or learning but premier universities like IITs, IIMs offer online courses for business management, engineering and healthcare.

The National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) launched in 2003 impacted the education sector significantly in India as it provided free online courses and study materials I engineering, science and humanities. It was a joint initiative of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

In 2017, The Study of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) was launched by the Ministry of Education. Swayam currently offers over 1900 courses developed by faculty members of premier institution of India.

Same year saw launch of DIKSHA, i.e. Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing is ‘One nation: One digital platform’ for school education in India. Created by Ministry of Education is a storehouse of a large number of eBooks and e-Contents created by States/UTs and National level organizations.

A GLANCE AT THE DETRIMENTS OF ONLINE EDUCATION

·         Every bean has its black, there is a clear digital divide in education in India as per the survey conducted by Development Intelligence Unit (DIU). The findings reported that 49.3% of students in rural India have access to smart phones. Only 34% use the gadgets for study downloads, and 18% accessed online learning via tutorials.

·         The above figures are alarming as kids are glued to the screens of mobile phones or tablets most of the time and may end up feeling lethargic, prone to backache due to bent posture, the strain on eyes, bad posture & more.

·         Online classes at times can be overwhelming & feel boring as there is time limitation, network connectivity can be disrupted and power cuts in some areas can take the online learning downhill.

·         There is lack of real connection or bonding between the pupil & teacher, especially if the mode is asynchronous, no interaction, no doubt clearance can be carried out in the given time. The problem solving capacity may minimize as too much time is utilized in taking attendance, the focus time period becomes shortened.

·         The authenticity of the online resources cannot be guaranteed, moreover student may be unable to limit his online research for a particular topic and indulge in unnecessary reading of irrelevant material.

·         The writing skills of the kids may be jeopardized in the virtual world and undoubtedly notebook making is still the preferential form of learning  in India irrespective of the digitalization of schools, handful of schools are successful in doing otherwise.

THE REAL ANSWER LIES IN THE BLENDED LEARNING

Without any dissent, I would promote the platform of blended learning where in the chalkboard can go hand in hand with a 3-D video clip that keeps the learner on the winning streak every single time the learning has to happen.

Blended learning or hybrid learning is where face-to-face classroom learning meets the modern virtual learning and has become a new normal as it offers best of both the worlds. Students will be familiarized with the topic before hand as they can also access their lessons from home. It gives a sense of independence to students in terms of creating their own learning space.

The role of the teacher is momentous here as they are the only human touch to guide the students about the various online programs, motivating them to explore more on a specific topic. Reaching the above scenario would require teacher training to conduct effective online classes with maximum utilization of the resources at hand along with teaching students for safe & optimum usage of technology.

‘’The key to an environment congenial for learning is possessed by the teacher at all times.”