Post Corona Virus aka Covid19, the world has converged to Remote Working and Remote Learning. While in the Corporate world, Remote Working had not been any issue with adoption of Technology and Security tools, Remote Learning has taken a new dimension with Online Classes and Online Tutorials. However, there are not many takers of the same in the world. For instance, I received a message on a Social Media Platform that was copy of an article that highlighted the negatives of Online Teaching. (please see the picture below –
The article challenges the lack quality in Online Teaching, Lack of personal touch from Teachers, Lack of Security, Nuances of studying alone and Nuances of aspects where adequate Internet Connectivity is a problem. The article also states that there are remote areas where the road connectivity as well as water & electricity has not reached, how the Online Teaching will be aided.
Apparently, the author of the article forgot that the technological advancement has helped made things very much possible. It helps take away the burden of books & notebooks from the students. With Virtual / Online classes, it is very much possible to provide better quality education than what we have seen with physical presence. How to achieve that and ensure adequate Security is imposed is not a rocket science in today’s world.
Consider the following aspects:
The students can be issued Home Tuition Tablets that would restrict the use of these Tablets to identified learning tools only.
The Tablets can be configured with policies that would restrict use of Open and Public Wi-Fi restricting them to use only allowed Wi-Fi networks only
The Tablets can be configured with Tools & Technologies that would restrict students trying to over-use these tablets. That is restrict the total Screen Time Allowed in a single seating. Say a particular topic is f 1 hour and once that topic is over or 1 hour is over (whatever happens first), the student is forced out with a screen lock to take 10 minutes break or so before resuming the next session
Marking of grades to be associated with the topic coverage and the time taken to cover the topic apart from the test of knowledge. This will draw attention of parents towards their wards to ensure that the students have better focus and align with the new format.
Its not that the things can’t be achieved, they certainly can be. With the way mobile networks have traversed to the remotest possible places, the internet connectivity can also be provisioned. if restrictions are needed, then such restrictions can be imposed on use of Social Media Platforms on such tablets and only these tablets can be registered for the regional network to allow them provide requisite content. Regional Proxies by Government can also be setup dedicated to e-learning content spread.
For higher education where the students need a laptop to provide more coverage, the tablets can be replaced by Laptops with similar controls and the laptops can also be centrally controlled as well as provided access to the requisite content distribution network.
The examinations can also be moved online if required be along with timed assignments and timed learning process. there can be counter to this that the student might refer to books to find answers and there would be lack of control over examinations. Well, consider, if a student doesn’t know which chapter a particular question belongs to, how would that student answer that question? Moreover, if times questions are there with option to skip if answer is not known and then later come back to attempt that question, it would be easier to control the students’ action of referring to any book.
We all have seen how the Industries specifically IT industry has managed to adopt to the current pandemic situation with remote operations aka Work From Home, so with similar adaptations and a bit more measures to be deployed, it is certain that the online teaching / e-learning / remote learning will also be a success. There always would be areas of improvement, but negating the advent of technology in Learning Space is certainly not a path we would want to walk.
