All about the disturbed equilibrium of the Education Sector due to Coronavirus pandemic: the new era of Digital Education

From the beginning of this year, there was a breeze of suffering all across the globe. By no time the deadly coronavirus was able to strengthen its roots deep into the land of humans. The deadly virus just didn’t infect the human bodies but also caused harm to the economic sector, livelihood, and most importantly the education sector. The social distancing gift of COVID-19 forced the world to pull its shutter down, whether it be markets, schools, or offices. The noise of silence has become intolerable these days. 

The education platforms like schools, colleges, coaching & training centers are all closed in this era. The wake of COVID 19 has made this ‘no school‘ life feel the new normal. Its been long since students have been provided with the classroom environment and the proper way of preaching education. 

The world where the parents were not willing their wards to stay engaged in digital gadgets for a long time, is now the new crucial world for the children, the virtual world. Be it shopping, working, or even education, the digital platform has become a one-stop destination for everyone. The education sector has put in a lot of effort into its development in the last 50 years but coronavirus has proved to be a very difficult challenge to overcome. 

The imagination of digital education becoming real!!

It was always in the minds of the education analysts that the education sector is in a need for transformation. The old-school style of offering knowledge must be transformed and it needed to use progressive technology‘s advantage. The emergence of Coronavirus pulled the future closer. 

The problem is the concept of digital learning was kept for an indefinite future because of coronavirus, this was the only option available to adopt if there was any will to continue the education but the world was not ready for the same. Earlier, the education system was not permitting innovation to enter into its premises because of the belief that it must stay untouched. But till then none saw this pandemic situation coming. This situation has pushed all of us to permit new ideas to gain an education. 

All the e-learning business companies are making the most at this time. Their success stories must become an inspiration for this sector and some of the similar methods can be adapted. 

Video conferencing has become a new way of communication and the sector chose this to be a way for making distant education possible. The advancement in technologies is capable of planning, managing, and supporting the digital transformation the education sector needs at this hour. 

This situation can be used as a trial phase for the transformation of the traditional method of schooling. The era is much suited to assess the digital model of education and remove its focus from the traditional model. The adoption of a new way of offering education might also motivate immersive learning experiences. 

How far is the digital environment helpful??

The COVID-ERA has made it inescapable to involve the digital tools for delivering knowledge and education. Hence when the learners and students are away from their accustomed traditional classroom environment, this digital environment did become a challenge in gaining an education. A Home definitely doesn’t provide an environment where one can feel the urge to learn more because its more of a comfort-driven place. And between all this comfort, the minds of these young learners become lazy. And one cannot blame the students for this.

In the online classes, the understanding of concepts becomes a prolonged process because the students or learners are not used to grasp this type of education at a fast pace. But some students are lagging in this race because they are finding it too difficult to adopt. 

When it comes to digitalization, there always lies a concern. A concern about how is this virtuality impacting in one’s midset. A classroom environment with mates around eases the stress of intaking and processing the knowledge but in this digital model of education where students have to quietly just sit and listen might make it a boring process. Somewhere down the line, the process is lacking interactiveness.

Difficulties in opting for digital education…

•  Content Curation

In a classroom setting where an educator or teacher offers education does not only read out the bookish content. But they use practicality to make the concepts understandable. Communication becomes complete with the involvement of gestures, hand movements, and body language. The traditional model of education uses these things to make the educating process effective. The digital model of educations lacks the involvement of the above-mentioned things. Hence a non-blackboard home-like comforting classroom needs to include more than just audio lectures from the teachers, lecturers, or professors. To utilize all the advantages the platform has to offer the involvement of dynamics and interactive curated content is must needed. But the inclusion of such things in the teaching methods needs time and effort. The announcement of digital teaching adaptation was done suddenly and there was not sufficient time to pull out these things smoothly. 

• Unavailability of adequate internet facilities     

Due to the heavy usage of internet facilities these days, there are severe problems generated in its network accessibility. Not only that, but there are also many unprivileged learners and students who are not having access to internet facilities or even technology that can access the internet. At this hour, where the economic breakdown has already shaken the stable grounds of many, even thinking of having these new advances makes them feel as they are doing a sin. Many areas are deprived of these advanced technologies and this situation is forcing them to step back in this race. 

To add more to this, the network disturbances between the ongoing lectures beaks the rhythm of understanding and sometimes students face difficulty in hearing and communicate their problems because too much noise disturbs the understanding process. 

• The disabled learners

The students who are handicapped are facing this challenge on a very different level. These are the learners who already face difficulty in coping up with the regular educational settings and the pandemic has definitely shaken their will to learn in such uncertain and difficult situations. This situation has turned out to be the most challenging barrier between them and their intention to grow academically.  

• The strains on the physical body

 We have all heard from the beginning that indulging too much into techno devices affects our bodies. And it truly does. Hours and hours of digital classes not just strains human eyes but also frustrates the human mind. The in-disciplinary use of tech devices harms body postures as well. Parents who were strictly against the overuse of such devices now feel helpless.

The battle is not just for students but for the educators as well!!

Of course, the students are facing difficulty in adopting this livelihood where gaining education is a task. But it is nowhere less a task for the teachers. Even they are not used to preach education in this manner. They got no time to prepare themselves to give their best in this way of teaching. The distant way of education which relies completely on network accessibility has turned the tables. 

Everyone these days are questioning the inability of the teachers because the students are not satisfied with the new way of learning. The light should also put on the demands of people where they are asking to cut the salaries of these educators. No one is focusing on how they are putting extra effort to make the concepts and education understandable. It is easy to point out when there a loose end in service but it is difficult to fill the gap of incapability as the service provider. 

 Educators are working really hard to make this process appreciable through video lessons, PPTs, and whatnot. Many educational institutions that have opted for this digital platform to offer education have also offered to provide extra time if students feel like taking so. 

  Many arguments stated that pausing education for the meanwhile won’t hurt anyone. This is completely disagreeable. It is rightly said time and tide wait for none and nobody knows how long this situation is going to stretch, therefore wasting time waiting for regular days to arrive would really be a stupid step. Hence the decision of opting for digital education was the best step taken to continue the process of learning.