Online and offline classes can be conducted simultaneously based on the need of the hour: Nishtha, VIPS

These are first-hand student accounts on how our young population is managing to keep their exam prep or college course work going from the confines of their homes. In case you want to share your lockdown study experience, write to us at publish@shiksha.com.

The lockdown in the country due to COVID-19 has changed our education system completely. I recently saw a meme on Facebook that students were not allowed to use a phone in classes and now classes are happening on phones. The classes now take place over a video call rather than in a classroom. This change is somewhat good for us who have studied in a classroom right from primary classes till college.

The current situation will have a long-term impact on the Education sector as activities like group discussion, one to one interaction and so on that takes place in a physical classroom is not possible in an online classroom. Examinations cannot be conducted on an online portal and this is the main concern of the universities, teachers, and the students.

For a long-time, the schools and colleges will try to resort to the online methods of teaching only as the huge gathering of students could be dangerous for several people attending the school.

In my college, the teachers used to share reading material and study notes over WhatsApp or email but online classrooms were never thought of. However, these online classrooms have proven to be a great alternative in this time of difficulty. Even traditional colleges have adopted the online methods of instructions and it is really helpful for the students. After the lockdown 2.0 ends, we will be in the month of May which is usually the time when the semester ends. Now, that the exams are postponed without any further notice, we will get a break till the time we don’t get a schedule for the exams.

This break will be very beneficial for all of us as we do not have to go out during this lockdown. Coming to the next semester in August, I hope that things will be much better in Delhi and the colleges will continue to function in the same manner. But if need be then I am sure that our college will continue the online classes as they are very careful about the health of their students, teachers as well as the staff.

Now that the teachers, as well as the students, are well versed with this online system of education, they will not refrain from resorting to this method in future whenever required. There are already many portals/apps available through which live classes are conducted for various topics. Also, the students have easily incorporated the habit of attending these classes in their daily schedules, thus attending online classes from college or school will be a problem for the students in future. If the teachers are not able to cover a topic in class and have skipped to another, they can easily conduct an online class on the same without disturbing the pace of the offline classes thus in my opinion online and offline classes can be conducted simultaneously.

For the online classes to flourish I think an app should be developed by the college or school itself as video calls on different platforms can be a bit problematic.

If an app is there then those classes can be saved so that the students can re-watch them in case of any doubts. Attendance can be regulated on such apps so that students won’t take the classes lightly. There can be many other problems that can be solved if an app is made by the school or college itself. Also, a good internet connection should be there, which is one of the major problems faced by the teachers and students.

It is tough to bring the essence of physical classrooms in the online ones. However, I think if the online classes will be regular by following a timetable then it will be somewhat similar to the offline classes. Also, if all the students attend the classes and there is a good deal of constructive interaction between the students and the teacher. As I said earlier, online and offline classes can be conducted simultaneously based on the need of the hour.

About the Author:

Nishtha is a budding lawyer, studying in Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies. She loves to read and research on the topics of her interest. She is also a foodie