Technology made it possible to go beyond classrooms amid Covid

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 30

Now that all students and teaching fraternity have become well-versed with the new normal in education, majority of academicians believe that technology has turned out to be a breather.

With the re-opening of schools post lockdown, the offline classes did manage to bring normalcy back to school experience, but with the current threat of the new variant of Covid-19 looming large, educators feel that adopting digital learning tools such as computers, projectors and starting up smart classes, along with the conventional classroom teaching, would definitely help in safe continuation of the learning process.

Meenakshi Sial, educator and supervisor, Bhavan’s SL School, says that digital tools of learning have proved to simplify concepts of the most difficult subjects also such as maths, biology, chemistry and physics.

“Despite the reopening of schools for senior classes, we are yet to consider the impact of new Covid-19 strain and health safety of students from primary and middle classes. Regardless, the school education system has to adopt digital learning as a permanent feature. The technology is user friendly, self-explanatory and makes the learning process more fruitful. Technology made it possible for teachers to reach out to students like never before, with virtual classrooms now becoming extended classroom communities for discussion.”

She says that education has moved on from the traditional ‘chalk & talk’ method. “The Indian Government has also come up with various digital platforms for learning such as Diksha and Swayam app. Those platforms provide the learning opportunities not only to the students but also to teachers to upgrade their skills. In such a platform, classroom courses at one place can be recorded in the real-time and can be used for teaching the students who cannot attend their classes. This can definitely serve as a viable option for spreading literacy in rural areas to achieve the dream of the educated India.”

Though, this new normal still needs to cater to a wider audience, she says the only possible way for this is promoting the use of technology in education to prepare students for the future. “In education, technology can be a game changer,” she said.