Education in the post COVID-19 era

Education in the post COVID-19 era

From the old Gurukula system to the current study from home phase, education has evolved dramatically. It has been a couple of decades since the first computers and internet marked their entry into Indian classrooms. But we yet  have to unveil the tremendous potential that this technology has to offer. In the present scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICT has drastically changed pedagogical approaches across the globe, especially in India. In the pre-COVID times, ICT was more or less optional, but now it has become a necessity, and also one of the best choices.

In midst of all the chaos created by the pandemic, teachers have embraced ICT like never before. The number of online courses offered to equip teachers in this COVID-19 era using ICT has increased. Teachers are now using google classrooms, moodle and various other platforms to impart education to their students. They are now employing various types of audio-visual technologies, virtual classrooms, virtual meetings, podcasts, ...such as OBS, audacity, google meet, zoom, etc. just to name a few.

Of course digital classrooms will never be the same as real classrooms and it comes with its own disadvantages - the biggest challenge being building the student - teacher relationship. The role of teachers is also going to change as they are no longer going to be the only source of knowledge but rather facilitators guiding students in their journey to gain education. Also, digital classrooms are more student-centric when compared to real classrooms which are centered around the teacher. Nevertheless the role of teachers can never be undermined, in fact, it now becomes even more important as the teacher has to make sure that the students are kept interested, engaged and inspired through technology.

The arrival of COVID-19 has surely accelerated digital education in India. However, in these trying times, we still face challenges in terms of accessibility to technology, internet speed in rural areas and definitely financial hiccups. Hopefully these challenges do not overshadow the right to education of citizens belonging to a certain socio-economic strata.  Let the administrators and authorities turn this COVID-19 calamity into an opportunity by creating a revolution in education thus transforming each individual into productive citizens.