Long term impacts of this new online scenario on the field of education: Nimisha, IMI

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The education sector is the one that has enhanced or upgraded its roots consistently over the years rapidly. Today we talk about bookless libraries, online video lectures and digital education; often referred to as Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), all such amendments are need of the hour in the coming years. In India, such methods of education is prevalent only in the field of CA, CS, ICWA where there is a trend of taking satellite classes but due to the coronavirus crisis, this direction has been deviated from its extant path for a new beginning to change the plot of other streams.

Coronavirus impact has not only to lock down the country but also the old teaching methods. Today if we look at the colleges and universities, be it their destituteness, they all have welcomed this tone of education.

If we talk about its long term impact, it is something that is preordained. The concept of virtual classes is already prevalent in the field of education then why not in the whole apparatus of education. As of now, for few, it may be an onerous task to convert in-person curriculums into online courses but slowly it will be integrated.

Educational institutions have been an avid adopter of advanced techniques for online learning. Consumeristic approach, the impact of social media and the growing popularity of flipped classrooms and conflated learning have led to the increasing use of technology in education.

The overall online education can be made sustainable by supplementing it with offline mode, as once this coronavirus crisis comes to an end; teachers no longer will feel taking virtual classes as onerous.

Online classes can be made compulsory for a few subjects so that the teachers can focus more on course content which will open the scope for further discussion in classroom learning. This way students will get to know about the subject matter and will understand it well.

Teachers can take online lectures for revision classes, problem-solving sessions (doubts raised in classroom learning) or in case if the teacher wants to deliver some extra content apart from the course outline. This way virtual learning can be made more interesting and sustainable by aligning the objectives of teachers and students i.e saving time and delivering relevant content.

Online education can be made more interactive by video conferencing-based remote learning which keeps students alert and engaged in virtual classroom through annotation, group chats for instant doubts and attention tracking feature to get students indulged in a classroom (virtual).

Teacher (visiting faculty) should address their students once in a week in live session, where students get a chance to interact with the teacher and discuss their concerns and subject-related doubts. Earlier, conferencing technology was complex and costly to operate but now it has become easily accessible for all educational institutions.

About the Author:

Nimisha is a second-year student at IMI, Bhubaneswar. She is currently a member of the Corporate Relations team at IMI Bhubaneswar wherein she deals with campus placements. She has also presented a research paper at an international conference.