Before the onset of the lethal Covid-19, the traditional classroom was the medium of study in every format of basic education. During the pandemic, the education system became totally internet-dependent, and that marked the emerging trends in online education. Virtual online teaching (VOLT) has enabled everyone to study during the lockdown period and it needed was good internet speed and a smartphone.
Initially, it was difficult for everyone to cope up with online courses or online learning processes because virtual vs in-person training difference is huge. The instructor-led training process when held online, gave a clear picture to everybody that the future of e-learning is quite bright and more efficient than the traditional training programs.
Both students and teachers have shown affection for online learning because it is quite affordable and also saves a lot of time. Besides, the academic outcomes have been fantastic since when e-learning has started. High school students have done remarkable jobs under the proper supervision of teachers during the lockdown phase. Thus, virtual higher education is eventually replacing F2F schooling as both teachers and students are getting along with this process.
Has Covid-19 pushed online programs vigorously?
The situation is not the same anymore like it was before covid-19 shook the earth. Though schools and colleges are getting re-opened, yet online classroom training is quite prevalent almost everywhere. From elementary school to high school, online training sessions are getting the hype full-fledged. Had there been no covid-19 there would have been only a few fields where online education was gaining popularity.
Like Shakespeare said in As You Like It that SWEET ARE THE USES OF ADVERSITIES, online educational system and virtual training are the best processes that have emerged due to covid-19. It is true that online education was not easy for primary or upper-primary kids at the beginning but with the introduction of interesting audio-video-based learning, gradually they also started gaining interest.
High school students, on the other hand, are loving this new platform as they are getting ample amount of time to go through what they have learned. F2F schools or face-to-face learning has a different essence where there is direct communication between teachers and students, and among other students. Online education is all about virtual communication but when going out of the home is risky, it is always better to visit the beloved from a distance.
So, the question is that why students, especially the high school ones, are loving e-learning?
Well, the answer is not so complicated, and Let's see why students have fallen for e-learning.
Active participation: Whenever it comes to a traditional classroom session, there are not many scopes to do activities that will increase the engagement of students. However, due to the availability of multiple tools and platforms, online games can be organized, and let me tell you this one, students love games.
For example, suppose the teacher has finished a chapter and wants to assess how much students have learned from it. Organizing a quiz inside a classroom is quite boring because there are several instructions that teachers have to follow regarding playing a video or music. When it comes to online teaching, the use of videos, music, games, etc., can be well organized by teachers, and this, in turn, acts as a catalyst in the enthusiasm of students.
Flexibility: Attending school does not end the responsibility of a high school student. Their academic life revolves around a lot of things like coaching classes, preparation for university entrance exams, different courses, and so on. Each of these aspects requires a lot of time and dedication, while an extra amount of time is being spent on traveling to the location of the institutions.
Due to the existence of online education, students are saving a huge amount of time from traveling. Besides, e-learning makes the entire process highly flexible as students can study by being anywhere, devoid of noise and an internet hassle. Also, there are multiple reasons because of which students often cannot go to schools or colleges. E-learning enables students to attend classes online and hence the process of learning never stops.
Learning with peers: Students are getting a lot of opportunities for conversation, group work, feedback, etc. along with their friends, and those have always been critical to the learning experience. Educational institutions must also focus on these aspects because eventually, these will polish the team-working skills of students, a prime valued skill in every professional sector.
Tracking progress rate: Sometimes students need to go through lessons at home that have been taught in the school. Now then, it is not always possible to communicate with teachers at any hour of the day. Schools these days use digital platforms that have the ability to record a classroom session and keep it stored so that students can access it during any time of the day.
The moderators of these platforms can track whoever is logging into the platform and for what purpose. Generally, teachers have access as moderators and they can have a clear view of who all are sincerely studying on these platforms.
All these reasons are encouraging students and teachers to be ardent devotees of e-learning. Hence, educational institutions have started giving preference to virtual higher education, as a result of which the future of e-learning is brightly glowing.
Written By : Rutuja Badade
