Online learning, a boon or a bane?

“Online classes aren’t real education: House panel,” reported Times of India, Mumbai edition dated 07 August, 2021.

This was the conclusion made by the parliamentary standing committee on education. The committee said that disruption of physical school activities would likely to impair the cognitive capabilities of the students. The committee’s report observed that lack of digital facilities and adaptation either due to the inaccessibility of technology or the educational backgrounds of the parents to guide the students had contributed towards learning loss among students of all classes and regions. The report added that due to continued cessation of classes, learning loss had acquired critical dimensions.

The report titled, ‘Plans to Bridge the Learning gap and Plans for Reopening of Schools,’ further reported that the learning loss of more than one whole academic year certainly would have weakened the foundational knowledge of the students in many subjects like mathematics, science and others. This learning loss could be a big deficit and might impair the cognitive abilities of the students.

All most all the universities which conducted the term end examinations online, have reported an ‘exceptional increase’ in the passing percentage. The MCQ model used in the examinations had resulted in the increase of passing percentage of almost 25%. Many students who couldn’t pass in the previous years have not only passed, but also obtained unbelievable high scores. Senate members of many universities even demanded the conduct of offline examinations, so that the quality and standard of examination could be maintained.

While countries across the globe are affected at different levels by the pandemic, it is estimated that the studies of more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries and in India 32 crore children have been impacted

There is no doubt that Covid-19 pandemic has badly disrupted the education system which has already lost its relevance. The pandemic has forced the education system to shift completely online, which has further added to its woes.

Many stakeholders believe that the abrupt and the unplanned move to shift to online learning mode with no proper training, inadequate IT infrastructure and little or no preparation have resulted in poor teaching / learning process.

 Challenges of online learning

Students in remote areas and in villages would have struggled to participate in online learning due to lack of reliable internet access and / or technology. The learning loss may prove to be detrimental to the disadvantaged students subsequently. This might have a debilitating effect on vulnerable sections of the society like poor and rural students, marginalised sections of the society and the young women who might have been unable to connect to any form of digital learning during the pandemic.

Though the ministry of education claimed that around 85% students were connected with online classes and the remaining students were connected through other modes, the ground reality could be completely different. The clear digital divide between the rural students and the urban students is an undeniable reality.

 Is learning online is as effective as classroom learning?

When the students have the right technology, there is evidence that online learning can be more effective than the conventional classroom learning. Some research findings claim that on an average, students retain 25 to 50% more learning compared to classroom learning. It is also proved that online learning requires 40 to 50% less time than the conventional classroom set up. Another advantage of e-learning is, students can learn at their own pace.

The above results are possible when the surrounding environment of the learner is conducive and the scope for distraction is minimal. Since the attention span of a student is limited to 15 to 20 minutes, it is necessary to use different online tools to ensure engagement and interest towards learning.

 The way ahead

The conventional class room teaching and online teaching have their own inherent advantages and disadvantages. Physical presence in the classroom alone doesn’t guarantee effective learning. The phenomenal growth in the internet and IT have made the online learning a new learning experience. The traditional classroom and the supporting infrastructure have cost implications, limited reach and the delivery mode is inflexible. On the other hand, online education is flexible, comes with a wide choice of courses, more accessible, provides a customised learning experience, economical and more cost effective than the classroom learning. Due to these favourable factors, online education is bound to become an integral part of the education system.

No single system can adequately meet the varying needs and expectations of the students and other stakeholders. It is necessary to have a new hybrid model of education which incorporates the best features of both the classroom and the online methods.

  

Dr. C K Sreedharan

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