with the entire world in the lockdown phase, there’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lifestyles overnight. Majority of the countries are still under lockdown to combat the virus, people are bound to their homes in an attempt to stay safe and stay healthy. This has affected many industries, professionals, students, workers thus bearing the effect of the pandemic with no idea of when normal lives will be restored, so how will remote education keep students learning during coronavirus pandemic?
-With the rise in e-learning Education for children has changed drastically through digital platforms and remotely.
-Research study shows that online learning has increased the retention power in students and takes less time, this effect of coronavirus might be here to stay.
-Over 1.2 billion children are out of their classrooms as COVID-19 has resulted in school shutdowns from all over the world.
There are currently around 1.2 billion children in around 186 countries affected by lockdowns due to the pandemic. While many countries are at different stages of dealing with the pandemic, we will be seeing the rise of Remote education which will be helping children during this pandemic in form of E-learning videos, video transcription, educational apps, that also brings to animation companies with their video style services such as, 2d animation Storyboard, 2D Animation video, E-learning, Storytelling videos and much more. We will be seeing more resources available online these days.
Dozens of countries are showing their efforts in utilizing educational technologies of all sorts to provide remote learning opportunities while the world bank is playing an active role in support with the ministry of education with various countries.
Various Apps|Portals for remote education that are taking Effect in India
Children’s Education
-On March 21, 2020, the union HRD minister in a press conference shared various free digital E-learning platforms for children’s education. “Likewise, it will help a student to capitalize on their learning during COVID 19 closures “.
-Under the direction of the national board of education (CBSE) and NCERT, The Diksha portal is made which contains e-learning content for students, teachers according to the curriculum, which includes worksheets, video lessons, assessments, and textbooks. Content digitalization is also created for more than 250 teachers who teach in multiple languages. The app is available to use offline.
-E-pathshala is an e-learning app by NCERT that aims at parents, students, and teachers. It is for students who are from class 1 to 12. It is also available in multiple languages, this app has audio, video, and books
-Another portal that provides teachers and students resources in multiple languages is the National Repository of Open Educational Resources ( NROER). It includes interactive modules, books, videos, and videos including STEM-based games for classes 1-12.
-Swayam has around 1900 finished courses, including exams, weekly assignments, teaching videos, and credit transfers. ‘it aims at schools and higher education’. Subjects included are social sciences, humanities, engineering, law, and management courses.
Have you heard of this group that has 32 direct to home channels!?
they are swayam prabha, devoted for telecasting education like programs around the clock. Which are available around the country. They teach courses for school ( class 9-12) higher education ( postgraduate and undergraduate) as well as for students who prefer homeschooling and teacher training. Their subjects include science, commerce, arts, social sciences, humanities, engineering, medicine, law, technology, and agriculture. The schedule for their television broadcasts is available on their website.
Education Technology
Due to the adoption of online learning because of shifts from classrooms many countries are left in wonders, whether it will persist post-COVID-19 crisis and how it might affect worldwide.
There are data which states that even before COVID-19 there was already a steady growth in education technology with investments reaching around US$ 18.66 billion in 2019 and it was projected to reach around $350 Billion by 2025. It can be through various ways virtual tutoring, online software, video conferencing, or language apps and there has already been a surge since COVID-19.
Impact of COVID-19 On Education Sector
in response to lockdown being imposed on various countries, the demand for online learning rose significantly one such platform is BYJU’S. According to the company’s chief operating officer BYJU’S has seen a 200% increase in the number of students using their product after they announced free live classes on its think and learn the app. BYJU’S is an online tutoring firm based in Bangalore.
However, This Chinese govt during mid-Feb instructed over a quarter of a billion students to resume their studies from home. This was possible through Tencent classrooms. Where approximately 81% of students from (class 1- 12) started attending classes via the online school.
Likewise, several other companies are showing their support in providing a one-stop platform for both teachers and students. One such company is a lark. That offered students and teachers smart calendars, unlimited video callings, auto-translation, co-op work features
Ding Talk, Alibaba’s distance learning solution supports large on large scale. Within 2 hours It tapped the Alibaba cloud to deploy more than 100,000 new cloud servers setting the fastest record for capacity expansion.
How E-learning platforms have helped students and teachers?
Pause-play
since different students have the individual pace to learn, this helps students learning in their comfort of time and understanding. A study made by IBM reports that students learn 5x more through online classes than in normal traditional classrooms. Online learning allows them to take the time they need to cover up their topics.
Better interaction with teachers
with plenty of time and space, this has helped students to interact with their teachers in a better way. Students can message or use any other digital means when they are uncomfortable interacting in front of others. The retention rates from online learning increased from 25 – 60% while in a traditional classroom it’s 8 – 10%, According to the Research Institute of America,
Individual learning experience
In a classroom filled with 30-40 students, teachers won’t have the freedom to look after each and every one. This leaves many students unattended. Online platforms remove those barriers and provide an individual learning experience to students. All necessary tools are available on Online platforms that enable students and teachers to have better education experience.
liberty for teachers
Traditional classrooms didn’t have enough time for teachers to make every student understand, with limited time-frame. It was difficult for teachers to put up their best effort. The online platform gives teachers absolute access to design courses based on their preferences for efficient teaching experience.
Future of Learning
Many universities have been successful in shifting education online through education video/education videos for kids/modules. For example, at the same time, Zhejiang university put more than 5000 courses online just 2 weeks into transition by using “DingTalk ZJU”. On the Coursera platform, the imperial college London offered a course on the science of coronavirus. It was one of the most enrolled classes in 2020.
while these rapid moves across online learning might result in a poor learning experience others believe in a new future model. Many are already reaping its benefits, a professor at the University of Jordan who uses lark to teach their students he says “it has changed the way of traditional teaching. It has enabled him to reach out to his students more efficiently and effectively through their chat groups, document sharing, voting, and video meetings, especially during this pandemic. Just like his students also find it easier to communicate on a lark and that he will stick to lark even after COVID-19, he believes traditional learning and online learning can go hand in hand”.
Pitfalls of learning online
Internet access and computer systems can pose a threat to online learning. In Indonesia, only 34% have access to a computer according to OECD data. Even in developed countries like the USA, nearly 25% who are from disadvantaged backgrounds have no access to computer systems.
Students might find ways not to attend classes.
Accessing online learning websites with a bad network connection might not be possible at times.
Students skipping Homeworks.
Tech problems like mixing up accounts of various services.
Conclusion
As COVID-19 has led many countries into lockdowns, this has led the education industry into a grave situation. Different platforms like distance learning have been supporting students across these times. While this may be true, online learning has improved the content for both teachers and students.
