The infamous pandemic has changed the very face of education, shifting from the traditional f-2-f to an online environment. Without a doubt, it was challenge to shift from the traditional methods, albeit an important one. Pandemic has forced the new normal where we are needed to stay indoors yet move ahead with our lives.
In response to bridge the gap between staying at home without having the need to stop learning, various apps and online learning platforms have seen a tremendous growth. Since COVID 19, there has been a significant surge in learning tools like language app, virtual tutoring, video calling tools, online learning software etc. According to Wang Tao, the Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Tencent Education integrating information technology in education will be further accelerated and online learning will become an integral component of education.
Stakeholders in government and private sector alike are assisting and investing in each other to grow their already existing online learning software to provide optimum educational level, the world has seen a tremendous need to up-skill teachers and trainers to make sure they cope up with the cutting edge eLearning system. The Central Government has PM-e VIDYA platform, with 12 DTH channels to reach all levels of the society which has eventually successfully helped the target audience.
There are concerns and debates that have risen with the new paradigm of eLearning. Aspects like accessibility, affordability, flexibility, learning pedagogy, life-long learning have been discussed at a length. With use of technology will give way to issues like registration or login issues, or downloading errors or connectivity or hardware or software issues. Online learning can create social isolation and become boring or disengaging for students. But, no such obstacle that cannot be solved.
But with a surge in the usage of online learning, online resources like articles, blogs, vlogs, websites and other related resources were used extensively. This transition has reduced mollycoddling for the learners. Due to the transition to online learning platforms like Moodle gained quite a lot of limelight. Universities and training centres had to upgrade and buy licenses for their online learning platforms and Zoom video calls.
During the lockdown time that threatened the education system of the world EdTech startups like Byju’s, Adda247, Alolearning, Board Infinity, ClassPlus, iStar, Jungroo Learning, GlobalGyan, Lido Learning, ZOOM Classroom, ZOOM Business, Toppr, Unacademy, Coursera, Kahoot, Khan Academy, e-pathshala has come to the rescue for millions.
In the last couple of years, online learning has gained popularity in India. Many platforms give us the opportunity of using affordable courses via MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). It took some time in India to gain momentum, but the challenge brought up by the pandemic acted as a catalyst and the instructors, trainers and teachers indulged in the plethora of online learning tools like Google Hangouts, Skype, Adobe Connect, Microsoft teams, ZOOM was the obvious winner here.
To conclude, although the pandemic did bring a standstill on many accounts but online learning sector saw this as a golden opportunity and a took a leap. It is without a doubt that after gaining such a superb momentum, it will be difficult to go back to the traditional methods of learning.