Online education involves an electronic mode of learning and teaching. Specialized media has been used to ensure that education reaches out to all students and that they are taken care of during these difficult days of the pandemic. Commonly, online education occurs outside the physical classroom space and also incorporates aspects of in-class experiences too through the use of innovative technologies such as zoom, mentimeter, padlet, google classroom, etc. While to enable students to acquire educational experiences through technology it is possible of course with a human touch that comes with teachers and peers.
In the modern world, online education has become very popular with people interested in pedagogy. Learning is a lifetime process that keeps our world dynamic, so the students are always looking for a good education that comes with the use of technology. There’s no denying that we’re moving toward a technology-driven society. Technology skills learned early can support the growth of students in their careers. Online learning engages the student through activities and discussions that reinforce concepts. It helps students draw connections to real life. Additionally, it gives them a better understanding of their place in the world and facilitates important skills such as analysis, evaluation, and collaboration.
Schools, Colleges, and Universities have generally been quick to adopt new technologies. Throughout its history, higher education has experimented with technological advances as diverse as the blackboard and the personal computer. In the 21st century, technology is inevitable to our life. Even kids as young as three to four are familiar with using electronic gadgets.
There are various benefits of online learning. It gives us a chance to enhance and develop technological skills for teachers and students. Secondly, It also gives us access to world resources and experts. Thirdly, it states an increase in access to education for those who otherwise have no other chances because of the labor, family, or financial constraints. In addition, it gives us a modality of instruction best appropriate for certain students. Fourthly, It enables better maneuverability to students to schedule education as per their convenience. Sixthly, it facilitates greater learner instructor interaction, it also increases interaction with classmates. Finally, it facilitates greater learner instructor interaction, student interaction, and all the students get equal attention.
Most importantly online education benefits all types of students especially those deprived of the school environment. It provides all students individualized and interactive education. It gives them a chance to boost their morale for better education. The influence of the internet is growing incredibly and becoming more powerful every day, as it affects all spheres of our lives. People have become so dependent on the internet that life without it looks unbearable. Knowing how to make the best use of it and exploit its infinite resources positively will increase the pace of development in education and all the areas of scientific research.
With the advancement of technology, the world is developing constantly with incredible speed and it is a necessity to keep pace with it. Ample opportunities should be made available to the students to remain in touch with their peers around the world to enhance their learning capacities by interacting with different cultures.
To foster the skills needed to become a global citizen, we should develop the skills through collaborative and group-discussions on empathy, cultural appreciation, ethnic and gender identities, and general knowledge of current world affairs and challenges. Students should be encouraged to access the material with the motto of future development. Students should be taught to have innovative and creative approaches to develop the ability to look at the task not only to see the outcome but also to prepare themselves to develop the imagination for achieving it in different ways.
Breakout rooms are one of the best ways to let students get in touch with their peers and at the same time explore their individual capabilities. The students of this age are full of curiosities and are eager to explore and add to their knowledge. For both grade XI and XII, I have used breakout rooms to let the students have a discussion or prepare a presentation which turned out to be very effective and helped them achieve better outcomes. I saw student interaction group dynamics, teamwork, understanding of the topic, all adding up to the learning of the students. We are at a moment that requires out-of-the-box thinking. Online education definitely brings to us varied perspectives to the conversation and is less beholden to the various dogma read fields that shapes and limits our own thinking.
By
Ms. Bisma Fayaz
CMR-NPS
Grades XI- XII ENGLISH
