Online education programmes have become a distinctive feature of our new education policy. They are a great tool to disseminate facts and information to pupils though the use of knowledge infotainment and greater participation. Contrary to the earlier upheld values and opinions, e-learning today is seen as a step towards boosting the morale and courage of student through which they can build their own perspectives and insights.
Fostering critical thinking and thought process is essential for the utilisation of creative and constructive strengths and potential. As more and more countries have been locked down due to the pandemic, schools and educational institutions around the globe have started to witness great shift towards online classes as a preferred model for imparting lessons to learners. I find online learning interactive and engaging for a student, as the teacher gets to play the role of a facilitator that offers conceptual clarity wherever required.
But this doesn’t imply that traditional methods of learning cannot co-exist in the advent of online learning. In fact, both are relevant and likely to stay as school is also a place of socialisation where pupils learn to sit in one place, practice and learn communication techniques and etiquette et all. But now, with more and more thrust towards online learning, teachers in near future will start taking up the role of education minders, as more and more schools will start putting up the study literature online.
Through online apps such as Smart Classes and Hangouts available on Google Playstore, a lot of students are getting benefitted from online leaning. This is apart from the learning from various webinars and web conferences taking place at frequent intervals. But merely shifting pedagogic practices online amid the prevailing challenges cannot serve as a long-term solution as we do need to acknowledge the intricacies involved in online education.
How can we bring the entire classroom on the Zoom platform, what about the slow internet speed and lately, the access to internet that makes an impact on our learning processes? Secondly, even if one is able to aggregate and disseminate preparatory material to students, how will they conduct tests and examinations?
In India relevant infrastructure to support a total overhaul of education online is inaccessible. Supplemented by the lack of electricity and proper internet connectivity, apart from financial resources to invest in expensive tablets, laptops and PCs, teachers are being left out on their own to navigate through their own subjects.
Recently, an uproar began after one of the announcements made by the Delhi University administration for holding open book online examinations. The protest was held by teachers as well as students as this policy decision was totally uncalled for. This policy should have involved reflecting the will of the majority of stakeholders as I sincerely believe that this episode calls for special symposiums on blending classroom teaching with the online method of learning, thus making it simpler for the stakeholders by taking along their interests and aspirations into consideration