This year of Covid-19 Pandemic has specially been a very tough year for the education sector that still seems to be bearing the brunt. It has been ages since students last properly attended in-person classes or took exams on a paper. But are things going to remain like this forever?
Israel Figa answers how the concept of education has changed and for how long teaching and education would remain like this.
How has education been affected?
Well a big concern among the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that followed was education in countries across the world. In the initial stage of the Coronavirus education had come to a standstill whether it was schools, colleges, universities, placements or entrance exams etc. The situation was very grim following the closure of schools and higher education institution across the world and governments did not know what to do as they did not want to put the lives of teachers and students at risk. According to a UNESCO report last year it was estimated that 157 crore learners/students would be affected by the pandemic.
Students have been affected at various levels, for instance when we talk about school students they had been effected because their exams had to be postponed so there was no medium of assessing these students’ progress. College and University students had a bigger issue to deal with because everything had gone helter-skelter.
What changes were brought about?
Knowing that the education institutes were going to remain for a while or until such time that a hack to the virus was achieved, education sector introduced some innovative methods to continue the process of learning. Israel Figa notes that the innovative take on education changed the way we learn and teach. Countries reconciled effective learning with the concept of digitization and schools and universities went virtual. Schools introduced distant learning, online classes and prepared proper systems for online lectures to be carried out.
Many schools around the world have opened and are entertaining students physically, keeping in mind certain restrictions and social distancing etiquettes. However, some parents still don’t feel that confident in sending their children to school and prefer the online mode of learning. This has resulted in the concept of online tutoring taking over as people now prefer learning from home.
Are online classes working?
Online teaching has widely been accepted and students and parents alike have taken a liking to this form of teaching. However, the question remain whether this is practical way of teaching and learning?
Initially online classes were a pain but gradually teachers and students adapted to the technology and warmed up to the concept. Some teachers were not well-versed with technology and therefore it was a problem for them but gradually they got the hang of it and we all know technology is not that hard to learn. It is also true that necessity makes one do things they never though they would do. Students with who have concentration issues find online classes a bit difficult but slowly these students are adapting to it too because everyone knows education cannot be halted.
Is Online Learning More Effective?
Israel Figa believes that online learning is more effective and better for the environment as well. Research suggests that students learn five times more through online courses that thet do through traditional learning techniques. This is because digital and multimedia content is easier to grasp. Israel Figa notes that retention rates too are higher with online learning as students have more control over how they engage with the digital content without it clashing with other commitments.
Is it safe to go back to school?
While it cannot be said with certainty that when it would be safe to go back to school, there are countries that have opened their schools. These schools are following proper guidelines like mask wearing and ensuring a six feet distance is maintained at all times. Some countries have issued regulations like alternate day schooling which means 50% students come one day and the reimaging 50% the next. Some schools have even introduced hybrid schooling which means online classes one day and traditional in-person classes the other.
These times are uncertain but education certainly cannot be ignored, thus unprecedented times call for extraordinary measures.
