How Has COVID-19 Changed The Perspective Of Education
COVID-19 Changed The Perspective Of Education
When was the last time you sat with your classmates? Or your teachers coming to your classroom and your class wishing good morning in unison?
Yes! Long past those days of classroom education. COVID-19 came and changed the dynamics of conventional education to online and blended learning. Students from all backgrounds irrespective of their caste and economic status have been affected by the change of the education system.
COVID-19 has crossed borders and has affected equally from developed countries to third world countries. Around 1.6 billion students have been affected by the pandemic in more than 190 countries. The pandemic has exposed the many deficiencies and inequities of our education system. This resulted in our authorities taking and upgrading many existing educational norms, changes in syllabus, adopting blending learning systems, online exam portals to many more.
How is our education system adapting to the pandemic?
The COVID-19 crisis is far from finished. Though in some countries the number of cases is decreasing. In countries like India, the second wave of Coronavirus has again disrupted normalcy. Some countries are trying to re-open educational Institutions based on prioritizing exams. But the majority are still inclined towards online education.
There is a debate going on around the globe whether online education will sustain even in the Post-COVID era. The shift has affected the global market value of the education sector. The market value of the Education sector pre-COVID was around USD 1,411.03 billion in 2018. Now with the adoption of more online technologies & software, it is estimated to grow to USD 1,949.99 billion by 2025.
With so much market value how our Education has been adapting to the changing dynamics? Let’s dive to see what are the changes dominating the era of COVID in our education sectors.
Digitalization of learning
Waking up and rushing to your school bus days are gone, now waking up and sitting in front of your laptop or desktop is the new normal. Teachers are forced to learn and get familiarized with the different ranges of online platforms. From just making hand notes with pen and paper, teachers are now compelled to make presentations.
Although making presentations isn’t that big a deal, it surely is a dramatic change in the way teaching is done. To their help were free PowerPoint templates that make learning more attractive for students and keep them engaged.
Various online platforms like Google classroom, zoom, blackboard became online classrooms. The development of online classrooms has increased the feasibility and accessibility to a larger section of students.
In the wake of COVID-19, the EdTech companies have bloomed thoroughly. Online platforms like BYJU’S, an EdTech company based in Bangalore are providing free classes. This has resulted in a 200% surge of students. Platforms like Coursera, Udemy are collaborating with different Universities, and colleges to provide free certificate courses for students. These have resulted in more engaged learning for students than the traditional classroom teaching methods.
Lark, a Singapore-based company has developed ByteDance as an integral part of their growth. During the onset of COVID, they have started offering unlimited video conferencing calls between learners and educators. They have options like real-time co-editing features to work on the same project, and smart calendar scheduling. With the coming of technology to the rescue, schools are adopting cloud-based management systems. They are time effective, more organized, and time savers. Software like Go Schooler, Edunext, and EDRP is becoming the next favorite of every school.
Economic considerations and technology-driven education
Among other sectors of a Country’s economy, the Education sector plays a major role in bringing the overall cash flow. COVID-19 has disrupted the education sector in many ways. The closing of national borders resulted in a dip in admission for many foreign students. With the implementation of nationwide lockdown, students started returning to their homes or postponing the places of their colleges. The hostel’s accommodation and other revenues from a normal University campus stopped overnight bringing doom to many doors.
But like every coin has two sides, with technology playing a close-knitted affair in the 21st century with humans, EdTech companies became the next big thing. With technology taking over the conventional methods, soon, the education sector will be dominated by AR & VR. A simple example of virtual reality can be that teachers will be able to optimize their lessons to make them more realistic, they can optimize their voice, recreate historical places, etc.
This increased amalgamation of technology with education will make students more creative. More students will be able to perform a project together sitting from their comfort zone. A startup like Repel.it is already leading the game. For a seamless environment for both the educators and students. Big Data, the Internet of Things are coming with more creative effort than ever before.
Different Governments across the Globe are making great amendments to their existing educational policies to adapt to the new pace of digitalization. In India, The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 came with some major changes focusing more on the integration of education with technology. With the set-up of the National Research Foundation (NRF), advancement in research in AI, and Big Data applications and software will lead the path.
How are the students reacting to this educational shift?
With the hassle of changing the education system around the Globe, have we thought about how our students will be reacting to this? Unicef took into account some real thoughts of students and how their normal education has changed after COVID hit.
According to Mate Dvalishvili (15 years old), Kutaisi never had trouble falling asleep during her classroom school days. But now as she doesn’t get tired during the day, she often faces trouble in falling asleep during the night. The communication gap with her friends and the feeling of doing nothing for months has become very difficult for her.
In another account of a student Keta Tkhilaishvili (10 years), Batumi said her schedule is more organized now. She has more free time and does her extracurricular activities like German classes, circle dancing, etc. But sometimes she doesn’t understand what her teachers are saying in class. She also pointed out the problem of internet connection which might lead to disruption in online learning.
Conclusion
With the shift in conventional education to a more technology-driven one, students are adapting to the growing phase. Though physical education has been said to be the more interactive and easy learning method. More schools and colleges are converting to e-classroom mode. What this pandemic has taught us is that education is the key to our future. The product of education is any mode that can protect and equip us with the best to lead a safe life amidst the pandemic.
