The pandemonium of an unprecedented pandemic has rendered us helpless within a span of just a couple of months and we are grappling with our new realities, trying to figure out new mechanisms to cope with the global crisis. Not only our businesses and enterprises worldwide, but also the education sector is hugely impacted, comprising a huge chunk of the global workforce.
Online Learning: The New Reality
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare it for today.” Malcolm X had famously quoted.
But the current worldwide closure of schools, colleges and universities all over the globe in preparedness for the lethal COVID-19 has taught us a hard, unforgettable lesson. LIFE has to be prioritized. Hence, education should be moulded to suit the demands of the troubled times, as the world prepares, copes with the crisis and plans for future recovery. How are students and their mentors, teachers and professors dealing with something as vital as education in such troubling times? The answer to all this is the ubiquitous Online Learning, blessed with the tools of technology, which institutions worldwide have adapted and implemented rapidly, making it the ‘new normal’ for all ages.
The Timeline of School Closures and Online Learning:
Only a few weeks ago, at the end of February, only China and a handful of schools in other affected countries announced school closures. Did we hear the alarm bell ringing then? A little over two weeks later, it became an imminent reality as 120 countries closed schools, impacting almost a billion students across the globe. In the United States, which has record cases of Coronavirus patients in the current scenario, schools and universities announced closures in rapid succession. Online Instruction has been enforced officially since then, ditching face-to-face classes to endorse ‘social distancing’, the new buzzword.
In the United States, University of Washington was the first institution to start exclusive online learning. The authorities announced in early March that they would have students on all three of its campuses take their classes and exams remotely. Within the same week, more than 200 institutions in the nations moved to 100 per cent online learning, following the spring break, and renowned institutions like Harvard University instructed students to leave campus. Moreover, on-campus resident students were promptly instructed to vacate their dormitories. No wonder, as health experts started emphasizing on the need of ‘social distancing’ to minimize the spreading of the virus. In the current scenario, experts at the CDC (Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) are still trying to find out how fast and how exactly the coronavirus spreads within communities. Hence, such decisions have been instrumental for the health and wellbeing of the students and the teaching community worldwide.
The Online Learning Strategies Implemented Worldwide:
Does Online learning in the changed situation work as a pertinent, strong alternative to in-person learning on campus?
Today, with strong functional online platforms like Zoom, Webex, School Management Systems, the focus is on collaborative, interactive learning in the digital environment which the students can access from the comfort of their homes. As the pace of digitization in education is accelerating rapidly every day, virtual classroom devices like weConnect and other technologies are emerging as essential tools to provide quality education to students.
The question remains however:
Are countries worldwide equally equipped to harness the benefits of Online Learning?
Implementing e-learning, particularly in countries with limited access to high bandwidth internet poses a challenge for such educational intervention. Different countries are reported to respond uniquely to this question. For instance, remote learning has been implemented fully in nations like China, Italy, France, Germany and United States, among other countries. Schools in Lebanon sent kids home with lessons as homework, in Bulgaria. On the other hand, more than 800,000 accounts have been created for all teachers and parents, with emphasis on creating digital textbooks and learning materials for grades 1 to 10. In India, remote learning has been in effect in urban schools, and TV channels have started broadcasting educational TV, following the model of other countries.
Finally, let us embrace some words and thoughts of faith as we collectively try to tide over these trying times. As humans, we have been stronger after every epidemic—the polio, Spanish flu, ebola or H1N1 flu pandemic. For the moment, young, enthusiastic minds will have to hold on to their study abroad travel plans, their graduation parties and proms for a while. If this sounds disappointing and intimidating for now, please remember that together in spirits, ‘We Shall Overcome.’
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