The world is suffering from a pandemic with no immediate or effective solution at hand. But, even in these dire situations, life does not come to a standstill. The pandemic has forced us to shift our ways and rethink how we work, teach and learn.
COVID-19’S staggering Impact on Global Education
The traditional school model for education is being replaced with eLearning or online learning. It is rightly said, “necessity is the mother of invention.” eLearning software development companies have been in the market for a few years. But, they were only seen as side learning or value-adding services. However, the pandemic has shifted gears in the education field. According to UNESCO, close to half the world’s students are still affected by partial/full school closures. It has forced eLearning solution companies to create a one-stop solution for students and teachers alike.
Elearning does not simply mean uploading assignments, teaching through video conferences and remote learning, but it requires a rethinking and reshaping in the teaching/learning pedagogy. The teacher and the students are under a lot of pressure, and creating a learning environment is a difficult task.
What is the Future of Learning?
There is a need to balance the online and offline tasks while designing the timetable and lesson plan for eLearning. elearning software developments help to learn beyond the four walls of a classroom helping students to be flexible in learning, creating more opportunities for collaborative tasks, and providing opportunities to the teachers to rethink the modes of assessments & feedback. Introductory topics from multiple niches will allow students to explore their options before committing to any specialization. The learner can curate the learning process based on their preference, hence being more inclusive and diverse in approach.
There is, however, a need to create an infrastructure that supports this type of learning. It is beneficial for students who cannot afford regular schooling or for students who are too far from a place of quality education. Thus eLearning solutions companies bring the experts to the comfort of their house.
The Challenges of Online Learning
There are many challenges that we are facing concerning online learning at the moment, about infrastructure, unfamiliarity, and the fear of health issues among the kids. Some of these are:
- The inability to focus on screens: It is not a healthy habit for students to sit in front of a screen for a long time.
- Technology Issues: Parents are struggling to equip their children in the virtual learning space. They are struggling with internet connectivity issues as the smaller cities and towns lack a decent internet connection.
- A sense of Isolation: Kids need to interact and play with their peers to understand and learn social behavior. Due to the rise in the pandemic, the students have minimal physical interactions with their classmates and teachers.
- Undertrained and underpaid teachers: Elearning requires teachers to have at least a basic understanding of the digital medium. However, many teachers don’t even have the necessary resources and tools to conduct online classes. They require to set up things with their savings and are being paid half the amount, given the pandemic.
- Disturbing Households: Parents have to actively equip their children in the virtual learning space. Creating structures and routines that allow their children to be successful and support their learning journey while considering their emotional well-being.
Learning from the screen has its pros and cons, but it is the best solution to cater to the needs of the students in the current situation. It is safe, efficient and gives the students some relief from all the stress and boredom in their daily routines.
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Is learning Online as Effective?
E learning is effective in several ways. Research shows that students retain 25-60% more material on average in an eLearning environment as compared to a traditional classroom where they only retain 8-10%. It may be due to the ease of access and the user-friendliness offered by the eLearning platform. However, the effectiveness will vary from person to person as it is a service that can only be beneficial to you on how you make use of it. Since the concentration in students is rapidly decreasing, it is essential to keep the video lectures short, with some activities or quizzes, or a video conference to keep the student interactive during the eLearning module.
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Traditional schooling methods have been challenged over the years and can be seen losing their relevance with more and more people moving towards home education. The current situation has completely knocked it off the ground, and it is impossible for learning institutions to completely negate the growing influence of eLearning and going back to its old ways. Moving forward, it will be interesting to watch how eLearning collaborates into the new world of teaching/learning pedagogy.
