Concerns over the transmission of COVID-19 have closed schools and colleges across the globe, and millions of students are unable to physically attend their classes due to high possibility of reinfection. Virtual learning which brought a revolution in the field of education provided the only alternative to move forward during the pandemic, however, there are both merits and demerits to it which one must adapt and improve on, to ensure that it is beneficial to the concerned society we are a part of.
COVID-19 CALLS FOR GOOGLE
As an individual and as a student I have experienced how helpful Google can be, as well as how threatening it can be to virtual education. I have learned and realized that if someone wants to destroy a country, he can destroy its education system. That’s what was happening during the lockdown period. It overhauled the entire process of learning and teaching. It affected almost every corner but somehow as human beings, we had to adapt to the dynamic environment of learning and teaching as it’s a fact even if it is Covid-19 the world will not wait for any one of us; it keeps on moving.
Online learning is efficient. Online learning has a lot of tools that can be useful for teaching. Online learning is also accessible and less time-consuming. It also allows organizations to reach the masses more quickly and efficiently instead of being restricted by physical boundaries. Online classes can also be recorded, archived, and can be seen anytime by the students if they miss a particular class and can be shared for future reference which will help the students to get in touch with their lectures at their time of comfort.
Online learning also reduces financial cost by not letting the students come to college or school as it saves money spent on transportation, meals and other miscellaneous expenses.. Additionally, online learning eliminates the cost of buying books as all the study material is provided online which also helps the environment to be a paperless learning environment which makes it more affordable too.
Online learning also helps the students to be in the class on time as they can join the class from any location of their choice. Thus, online learning suits a variety of learning styles as every individual has a different learning journey and a different learning style. Some students are visual learners which can help them through video classes, while some students prefer to learn through audio. Similarly, some students thrive in the classroom, and other students are slow learners who get distracted by large groups as online classes can help them thrive by taking classes alone at home.
During the lockdown period, we had to learn virtually and everything had been made a click away. There had been an enormous test of character of every individual. Virtual functions and programs have somehow made the students lazy as they know the answers are a click away and they don’t need to be genuinely honest or pretend that they do not know the topics they had been taught because they can easily answer the questions that have been asked with the help of the internet.
Yes, somehow virtual education was necessary during the Covid-19 period. It was helpful but we cannot always depend on it. We cannot guarantee the growth of an individual. We cannot get accustomed to it. As a student, I believe traditional learning is needed. As the whole world has become a modern society, numerous new tools and new technologies are taking education forward. Indeed it was quite helpful, but, to be honest, too much of technology will lead us nowhere as too much of technology will also become a disaster at some point of time or a disadvantage as Google itself is a threat to libraries and books. Yes, education was continuing but it wasn’t the same though in a class almost 90% of the students were present they weren’t necessarily there; they weren’t necessarily attentive as self-motivation among everyone is not truly promised. The main aim of the institute is to be productive as an individual is investing in himself to be a better person, to be certified one. Virtual education is not at all helping a person to be productive which can be said after witnessing students passing with the help of Google during their online examination. It requires honesty, integrity and certain amount of self motivation to be successful. This also makes us ask the question of our value system? Do we students in Nagaland possess the right values and mindset to embrace online learning? As an individual, I have noticed a lot of people, situations, and things I during online classes: there are fewer responses and less feedback given by the students on the covered topics; there is a lack of communication to one another; cheating is done almost whenever a test is conducted, even good students are forced to cheat as everyone is cheating during an assessment or examination; online instruction are all about theoretical teaching; practical things are too hard to teach, thus, no practical experiences are given.
Quality education is required for the growth of an individual as we are losing quality education because we are depending too much on e-learning. Online learning is expensive for the illiterate people who have a low income and the saddest thing is network issues. Moreover, some institutions and organizations don’t have their intranet which causes a lot of problems to the students. E-learning requires a lot of self-motivation which most people fail to have. In traditional classrooms, numerous factors constantly push students towards their learning goals. Face-to-face communication with professors, peer-to-peer interaction, various activities, and strict schedules etc. all work in unison to keep the students from falling off the track during their studies. Online class fails at face-to-face learning. Students face difficulties in asking questions and in clarifying their doubts. Informal discussions about certain topics among students are missing. There are various disciplines of learning and all the platforms of learning cannot be covered by e-learning as some disciplines require different approaches and not all study fields can be effectively done through online education. For some disciplines it seems okay, such as the social sciences but what about medical studies or engineering which require a lot of hands-on experience and practicals. No amount of theory can suffice in this regard. The biggest disadvantage of e-learning is cheating as almost every student had to face the same situation. There are so many methods of using unfair means during an online examination or assessment as students cannot be observed during an online course cheating is convenient and easy as no one is there to check, so, it is not as difficult as during the traditional procedure. So, there is no one to take strict action against the wrong actions. It makes an individual feel like lacking in the discipline as he/she is not managed properly by the management.
As an individual as well as a student, I would like to share my views and want my voice to reach different corners of the world to the authorities to make the world a better place with the remedies that are needed in the present scenario, hence this humble attempt.
Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Rinsit B Sareo, Meren Lemtur and Kvulo Lorin.
For feedback or comments please email: dot@tetsocollege.org