- Utkarsh Khandelwal
Online teaching during COVID-19 lockdown
Current scenario of teaching:
The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic has affected education systems around the globe and the education sector is now exposed to an entirely new set of challenges. Online teaching during lockdown is very prominent in the present scenario. In India, currently there are 260 million students enrolled in more than 1.5 million schools, and 27.5 million UG and four million PG students are enrolled in 39,000 colleges. With the onset of the Coronavirus outbreak, colleges and schools all over India are ordered to shut their gates, putting classroom learning and teaching on hold for students and their teachers.
Problems faced by teachers in online teaching during lockdown:
Teachers are facing daunting challenges, from getting accustomed to e-learning - to managing their work-life balance. They feel that teaching online is harder as compared to classroom teaching because of various reasons, the main reason being less hands-on experience with technology.
They have to put in a lot of effort only to deliver the lecture, leaving no time for giving feedbacks to each student. This is very problematic in the case of primary school students, because they need special attention.
Secondly, there’s no face-to-face interaction with students, making it harder to know if the students are grasping the concepts properly.
Thirdly, sending assignments, large files and course videos over WhatsApp is a big hassle. Apart from this, it’s challenging to conduct tests online if the software requirements aren’t met properly.
All these issues are making it difficult for teachers to smoothly conduct classes online.
Online teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown:
The pandemic is forcing educators and students to be supportive, communicate, collaborate, and be creative with solutions. Thus online teaching during lockdown is very prominent. It is also revealing that there is another way to keep the learning curve going. Since 2007, India has had its universities post videos of their lectures online, but the online teaching platforms have witnessed a sudden surge in the number of users in recent times of lockdown. Millions of students and teachers are gradually embracing digital learning apps. Teachers are now using apps like:
to reach out to students. Some of these platforms enable video conferencing, while some help in uploading of assignments, each is accompanied by their advantages and disadvantages.
What's needed more in online teaching during this lockdown?
Although everyone is confined inside their home for many months, it doesn't mean we should stop the learning-teaching process. Instead, we need to adapt to this trend of online learning and teaching by finding more solutions. Online teaching is very effective and efficient even in such unfortunate times. Teachers can teach while staying at their homes and students can learn from the comfort of their home.
Right now, we need softwares that can provide complete solutions and can act as a virtual classroom. And that’s where RootWorkz comes into the picture. From video conferencing to conducting tests online, RootWorkz aims to offer complete solutions to keep your learning curve going. One of the key challenges faced by institutions to embrace digital platforms is the cost associated. RootworkZ comes as an affordable software that can provide a lot of features without causing you a fortune.
As we can see that different people have different preferences, RootWorkz PecanLearn is compatible with multiple devices such as Laptops, Desktops, PC's, Tablets and Mobile Phones, giving user the flexibility to access anywhere, at any time. RootWorkz provides an ultimate combination of detailed and drilled methodologies that will eventually compliment your skills and grades. It’s easy to use, provides a highly interactive environment and our dedicated team provides splendid support 24/7.
According to the Global Teacher Status Index by the Varkey Foundation in 2018, India was among the top-10 in the world in respecting teachers, though was in the last-10 in paying them, and we are here to take care of that. RootWorkz is going to be a helping hand for the teachers and the institute as a whole!
Conclusion:
There comes a point where educators cannot continue to use the same methods that have been in place for the last 20+ years. The same is true for online learning for higher education which I would say is still very new and there is still much research to be done in terms of student engagement, instructor presence, new platforms, etc. The time of lockdown is vital to improve our skills, and this can only be possible if we adopt online learning as fast as possible. On the other hand, educational institutes should start adopting online teaching software to ease the burden of the teachers. Companies should focus on providing quality content while being affordable and flexible.
From students to CEOs of big firms, we all need to join hands during these hard times, in collaborating to build a more adaptable and inclusive approach to learning, improve online teaching during the lockdown and keep the learning curve going up.