As COVID-19 has changed the way we live through a lot of different measures, the one field that is greatly impacted by the pandemic is online education. It is estimated that nearly 1.2 billion children from 186 countries are operating out of the classroom. As a consequence, the quality of online education has amped up greatly. The situation has given a rise to e-learning, wherein teaching is facilitated through digital platforms and undertaken remotely. Research shows that online education can increase information retention, and take less time- which means that this trend may continue partially if not fully even if schools do reopen. In the following article, we will look at the different aspects of how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed education.
A global perspective
The biggest advantage of the tech revolution is that children from different parts of the world can access online education. So, in Denmark even though children at the age of 11 have started returning to nurseries; on the other hand, South Korea has become used to answering roll calls from their teachers in an online setup. The quality of online education is best reflected by edtech investments reaching a value of billion in 2019. It is estimated to reach an amount of $350 Billion by 2025. This includes various forms of online ed such as language apps, online learning software, video conferencing apps, virtual tutoring, coding, and much more. Let’s look at the different aspects of how this field is prospering and the potential it holds for a post-pandemic situation.
One-stop solution for all stakeholders
The best part about online education at this moment is that both students and teachers can maintain safety measures and continue their roles in education. In fact, to keep evaluations in place, entities are constantly on the lookout for a secure browser for online exams. So, authorities can replicate the traditional structure for their students. After completing online courses, teachers can set up ways to evaluate the students. To keep up with the exponential growth of the industry, the developing industry is offering students and teachers unlimited video conferencing time. The education industry has restructured itself with features such as auto-translation capabilities, smart scheduling of calendar, real-time co-editing of project work, and much more. Doing so in a time of crisis has helped all stakeholders keep up with changes and increased the quality of online education.
Future of learning: Potential of online education
While certain people criticize the rapid and unprecedented move to online mode without any training and insufficient bandwidth, other people are looking at the potential optimistically. A hybrid model of education is going to be beneficial for the face of education globally. The integration of IT in education will further improve and these online initiatives will become an integral part of conventional education. Additionally, with the number of investments in edtech, the future is looking quite promising for the education industry.
Transitions amongst universities
One of the most welcoming changes for the edtech industry has been that universities have been accepting of it majorly. For instance, Zhejiang University managed a feat of transferring over five thousand courses within the first two weeks. The Imperial College London on the other hand launched a course based on the science of coronavirus. Similarly, the transition of online classes has also been quite beneficial for students as it has kept them safe and education going. A Professor at the University of Jordan, who’s using online tools to talk to his students has the following to say. Online education has changed the way of teaching. It helps teachers reach out to different students more effectively and efficiently through different chat groups, voting, document sharing, and video meetings. This has helped universities combine offline learning and the convenience of e-learning.
Measures to keep in mind
But, we think that to take full advantage of online education- there are certain measures that we still need to pay heed to. For instance, research shows that a structured environment is required because the younger ones get very easily distracted. There also needs to be a concerted effort that can help in providing this structure and go beyond the replication of a physical class or lecture through different video capabilities. Instead, we use it as a range of collaboration tools and engagement methods that promote the three fundamentals of – “inclusion, intelligence, and personalization”. This can help bring in all stakeholders to take full advantage of online education.
Key takeaways:
With technologies like Android and Windows 10 for education being easily accessible, e-learning in a major world event like this has proven to be quite the base for rapid innovation. We need to pay heed to the fact that investment in education is increasing greatly. It has been made clear that disseminating education across companies, borders, and all parts of society can take advantage of global accessibility through these times. There is plenty more to do in the field of online education and entities are exploring the different means to increase the quality. The complete potential is yet to be seen but we are heading towards a more progressive approach for sure.
