Can Digital Learning Become the New Normal?

While countries are at different points in their COVID-19 infection rates even today in 2022, billions of students were affected worldwide by school closures due to the pandemic in 2020.

With this sudden shift away from the classroom since 2020, many education institutes are considering the adoption of online learning to persist in the coming years and how such a shift would impact the worldwide education market.

COVID-19 Pandemic has Led to a Fundamental Shift in Almost Everything

Everyone’s lives have been affected in a certain way due to the coronavirus pandemic, be it in a positive or negative way. The format of things we had been carrying out or practicing in a certain way has been seeing a shift, for example, in-store shopping is being taken over by online shopping. Similarly, working from the office has majorly been shifted to working remotely. Digitization has taken a major lead in all these segments and has also impacted the education sector by the introduction of digital learning or online education for all age–groups.

Gradual Change in the Mindset of Students and Teachers

Most of the teachers were comfortable, and acknowledged the traditional style of teaching which is classroom teaching or teaching in person; and did not really trust online sources of education for all age groups.Similarly, internet usage for students, teenagers and kids has mainly been for entertainment, social media platforms, gaming, etc. They never sincerely considered a different source of learning apart from books.

However, when the pandemic left no option but online sessions for education, it made the teachers and students realize that by using the ever growing technology and tools, digital learning can be adapted for teaching as well as learning.

Pros and Cons of Digital Learning

Like other educational methods or teaching methods, digital learning also has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Understanding both sides will help us and institutes in working towards more efficient delivery of digital learning solutions for the students.

Pros/Advantages of Digital Learning:

Efficiency

Digital learning offers teachers an efficient way to deliver lessons to students, with various tools such as videos, PDFs, podcasts, etc. which can be used as part of their lesson plans. Beyond traditional textbooks, by including online resources, teachers are able to become more efficient educators. Similarly, students are exposed to various formats of learning apart from books, which widens their learning scope.

Accessibility and Flexibility

Another advantage of digital learning or online education is that it allows students as well as teachers to attend and conduct classes from any location. Similarly, it also enables institutes and schools to reach out to a wider network of students, instead of being restricted by geographical boundaries. Lecture timings can also be adjusted easily. Furthermore, these online lectures can be recorded, and shared for future reference, allowing students to store the knowledge and learning material shared by the teacher and refer to it whenever needed.

Affordability

Digital learning and online education is far more affordable as compared to physical learning. This is because it eliminates various price points such as student and teacher transportation, meals, and real estate. Creating a paperless learning environment is definitely more affordable, while also being beneficial to the environment.

Adaptive to Variety of Learning Styles

Every student has a different learning capability, journey and style. Some students are visual learners, while some learn through audio. Similarly, some like to learn among other students in a classroom, while some are solo learners. Digital learning offers a wide range of options and resources, and can be personalized in many ways to create a perfect learning environment suited to the needs of each student.

Cons/Disadvantages of Digital Learning:

Difficulty to Focus on Screens

Focusing on screen for long hours to learn and pay attention to what is being taught is one of the biggest struggles for students, about which even parents complain often. Here, it is easily possible to get distracted and engage on social media, online messaging etc. Therefore, it becomes the teachers responsibility to make the online sessions engaging and interesting for students to stay focused.

Teacher Training

Digital teaching is also new for teachers who have been used to classroom teaching, as this requires a basic understanding of using digital forms of learning. Teachers might not be well-versed with new technologies and tools available to teach online. And therefore to overcome this situation, it is important for schools and institutes to now invest in training teachers with the latest technological updates so that they can conduct their online classes efficiently.

Technological Issues

Another obvious challenge of digital learning is internet connectivity. Even though the quality of internet service has improved over the past few years, in smaller cities and towns, a consistent connection with decent speed is still a problem. Without a consistent, high-speed internet connection for students or teachers, there can be a lack of continuity in learning as well as teaching.

Sense of Isolation

Being around their peers, understanding competitions, and public interaction are all aspects which get missed out in digital learning. This often results in a sense of isolation for the students, and hence it is imperative that the school allows other forms of communication between the students, peers, and teachers which can include video conferencing, online group interaction sessions etc. that will allow for face-to-face interaction (via screens) and reduce the sense of isolation.

Managing Screen Time

Now-a-days kids are seen engaged in devices and internet usage such as laptops, mobile phones, ipads etc. even when they are not studying. Hence parents are concerned about their children spending extensive time in front of the screen. Increase in screen time is one of the biggest concerns and disadvantages of digital learning. Students also develop bad posture and other physical problems due to staying hunched in front of a screen.

Sufficient breaks and exposure to outdoor activities is the best solution to manage their screen time.

Digital learning is Here to Stay

We do agree that digital learning has its own disadvantages too, however, as parents, students and teachers have started adapting to this new way of education, it is anticipated to take over the routine of classroom sessions. Also, the coronavirus and it’s variants are still a threat to the world, and hence fully returning back to the education system we had in 2019 before the pandemic seems difficult. Also, the growing technological innovations are offering new and convenient ways of digital learning.

Increased Demand and Need for Unlimited High-Speed Internet

As work from home has led to a tremendous increase in demand for unlimited high-speed internet, digital learning and online education has also raised a high demand for uninterrupted high-speed internet for teachers as well as students.

Therefore, finding a reliable, as well as affordable internet service provider is essential to enjoy a seamless online session.