Online education went from 0 to 100 in record time after Covid-19 hit across the globe. It became paramount to change the ways we learnt things, right from the study material to even basic cooking. Everything became digital and so did the online learning concept. Many universities and teaching institutes had to adopt the ‘e-teaching’ model to impart education rapidly. The transition from traditional teaching to online teaching had been difficult for many educators. But the challenge it has posed is too great for the students and learners.
Due to the advent of social media and its awareness spreading like wildfire amongst youngsters, the attention span of an average millennial has reduced to roughly six seconds. If one fails to get their attention during this flash of a time, it can be easily assumed that the desired communication to be made has failed miserably to reach its destination. Especially, when the screen time is considered, people want engaging content online. Most people would say that this poses as more of a personal problem for students, but it is a calamity, or it will turn into one if not addressed early on.
Attention deficit is creating a problem for learners and students to retain information and stopping them in using it in a productive way. Educators are facing an issue of teaching online, mostly due to technical reasons and the lack of having physical presence during the class is also proving to be a limitation. What educators did earlier is not working now and although they are welcoming this change from offline to online teaching, the practical application of it has not been quite productive.
If a learner’s point of view is considered, the online teaching model has availed them plenty of free time to do other things apart from just academics. So, it is a plus for them. But whether this free time has been used properly or not is still unaccountable for many students. Again, it becomes a personal choice for every individual in terms of how to use the time saved due to the non-commute to work/school and getting ready to go to work that may include a set of tasks. This is the time when time management skills of people would be tested at great lengths. Efficiency can be derived while going through this phase, only if one is willing to do so.
Other than saving time, online learning would facilitate the convenience of studying from a comfortable space where one can either achieve great things or lose focus. For many of the learners, it is the latter. It is also a challenge for the parents who have children aged between 6 years to 12 years. This age group needs an open environment and requisite social skills to evolve and develop to be a functional member of the society.
So, the answer to whether e-learning is going to be the new normal or not is still in the shadows. But it can be surely said that e-learning will become a crucial part in every student’s or learner’s life. Some things are better learnt the old way, by physically or practically getting involved with the subject. For the time being though, online learning is a great option to steer through the challenges in education and acquiring new skills.
This is the reason, that in the latest edition of Insights Success – The Most Promising E-learning Solution Providers, we are portraying some of the best online teaching or educating agencies that are dynamically contributing towards the online learning space of India. Flip through the pages of this edition to gain insights on the e-learning industry and its dynamics. Also, do not forget to browse through the articles written by the members of our in-house editorial team.
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