The boom of various e-learning platforms during the lockdown
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. — Benjamin Franklin
In the month of March 2020, all schools and universities were officially closed to prevent the spread of COVID 19. A very small number of universities had online infrastructure ready beforehand and welcomed the lockdown with online examinations and e-learning. Many State Universities and schools gave general promotion to their students on the basis of internal markings. Sooner or later, every educational institution was forced to adapt to the new status quo of work from home and started their online sessions. Professors were to relearn the technological advances required to conduct a zoom or skype meeting.
With the start of the new session in the month of July, Google Meet bridged the gap between professors and batch of students. Google meet provided free unlimited services and allowed almost 100 students at a time. A new hand raising feature was introduced to make meetings flow more smoothly and an integrated collaborative whiteboard that will allow teachers and students to share ideas virtually.
The idea of e-learning was adapted from all blocks of life. While the profitable organization did their board meetings online, some even did their college reunion and batch20' farewell around a webcam with their pre-planned outfits. Many people were new to this way of networking and sharing a meeting link was a task but with freehand and time everyone depicted exceptional resilience. Millennials introduced themselves to sketching, calligraphy, and learning new languages on online platforms. Many colleges across the globe bring forth many business degrees like MBA through e-learning.
The government of India introduced SWAYAM, the online portal to take the best teaching-learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. Courses delivered through SWAYAM are available free of cost to the learners, however, learners wanting a SWAYAM certificate should register for the final proctored exams that come at a fee and attend in-person at designated centers on specified dates.
According to government authorities, nearly 59,000 people are viewing the videos of the SWAYAM Prabha DTH TV channels every day, and more than 6.8 lakh people have watched these since the lockdown began. The unseen gap of technologically backward areas is a major issue.
Expecting online classes in areas with no electricity is completely questionable. While people in urban areas with proper wifi connection and multiple smart devices like iPad, laptops, and smartphones; the majority of people in rural areas couldn’t afford data charges ( Assuming they have a smart device).Equal norms and rules of grading cannot be set and equity should be maintained.
Deadlines for fee submission should be altered accordingly. Such an unprecedented situation, demands co-operative policies and personalization of norms.
Contributed By- Madhvan Dikshit, Content Writer @ Mitti Ke Rang
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