Coronavirus: Increased E-learning in schools in pandemic

The COVID pandemic has indeed led to an increase in e-learning in schools and colleges.

Rightly has it been said that, innovate or evaporate. In these testing times, 'the survival of the fittest' theory still holds good, but a greater emphasis needs to be put on the essence of evolution.

"Innovate or evaporate. Blending modern technology with education system is the golden key to success nowadays."

The time during which various examinations were to be conducted, is now filled with panic and anxiety. To date, most of the educational organizations are not successful in jotting out a plan to come out of this situation.

Current challenges faced by the education system

1. Dilemmas Students, as well as teachers, are facing many issues that lead to panic and anxiety attacks. The final year students are some of the worst-hit groups in this case. The uncertainty that surrounds their future is certainly depressing for the youth of any country.

2. Less accessibility Most students today, be it school students or those pursuing higher studies have lost access to valuable sources of education, be it the libraries or the reference books and papers of various institutes. It has become very difficult for students to gain access to the practical records of their experiments.

3. Conducting examinations Due to the conventional method of pen and paper, it has now become very difficult to conduct examinations while maintaining social distance. Lack of infrastructure and other resources is the main hindrance in the path of conducting such examinations on a large scale.

4. Tedious result compilation Not only for students, but this pandemic has also proved to be a challenge for teachers as well. Gathering material for students in itself is a tedious task, however, assessing tasks and compiling results is no less of a challenge.

Increasing the use of E-learning in schools

Evolving the education system to a better position is the need of the hour.

We need to adapt our education system and make it blend with modern technology. And we could start this by making the schools adopt E-learning in such a time of a pandemic.

In this ever-expanding world, teaching needs to be upgraded to such a level that it is accessible to all.

Having discussed the challenges currently faced by our education system, one should also be aware of the benefits of blending modern technology with our education system.

• Accessibility Easily accessible sources help both students and teachers to get an insight into any topic.

• Practical experience Practical experience too can be gained from online videos of various experiments. A tutorial video can be used to explain all the nitty-gritty of an experiment. It can be followed by an interactive user-friendly animated demonstration of the experiment, where the student can virtually visit any lab and get the actual knowledge of various experiments.

• Assessment Conducting online quizzes and tests helps the teachers assess the students. Now the teachers will no longer solely depend on assignments to assess the students, but they can also conduct various quizzes and tests too. Apart from that, the semester examinations can also be held online by collaborating with various organizations that have expertise in doing it, as seen in the case of various entrance examinations.

• Results compilation Compiling and publishing results shall no more be a tedious task. With the advancement of technology, the teachers can get the results of students on the vary same portal on which the exam is conducted. Various MS excel based programs can ease this task even further. They no longer have to undergo any sort of hassle related to entering of marks into various registers and then comparing it.

• Better reach Individual as well as group studies and assessments both can be done easily from a single platform.

Benefits of blending E-learning with our education system

1. Online competition The productivity of students can be increased by creating healthy competition among them. All these competitions can be organized by not compromising the health and social distancing standards.

2. Certifications With the advancement of technology, digital education will be promoted to such a level that students will now no longer be limited to their coursework, but can also apply for various online courses and certifications of interest. Some of the platforms that provide these facilities include Swayam, Coursera, Udemy, etc.

3. Increased interaction Interactive sessions with ignited minds and experts in various fields can be held online at various video conferencing platforms. Such webinars help not only students but teachers, professionals, and various industry workers as well.

What do we need to do?

Let us all innovate ourselves towards a better future and utilize the technology in the best possible way. Making use of various digital platforms like Rootworkz etc. and developing new software according to the need of the market will become the very essence of working of any organization, be it an educational organization, any industrial organization, or a business organization. Making these new platforms and software available to each and every stratum of an organization will determine the success it will achieve in the present world as well as the world that lies in the lap of future uncertainties.