Q1. Write a letter to the editor , Times of India , showing your concern about
the changing education system in the world and how not only children but the
teachers also have to face this challenge.
(5)
Answers
Answer:
With online classes running seamlessly during lockdown restrictions, can school principals afford to sit back and relax? Are there any felt or expressed concerns regarding the effectiveness of online classes? How will the school heads address the challenges of the quality and effectiveness of online learning? Do they need to create new protocols of online curriculum transaction and monitor teachers’ performances?
Covid-19 struck us without a warning and left head of all educational institutions scrambling to respond to its exigencies. It has also created a need to creatively deal with such unforeseen and once-in-a-century catastrophic events that are being predicted as the ‘new normal’. School principals deserve nothing less than a pat on their backs for a swift response to the pandemic amid the lockdown restrictions. Their alacrity has resulted in a spate of online classes for learners of every level ranging from scholastic subjects, co-scholastic areas such as fine and performing arts to mental wellness and physical fitness.
However, it would be overly simplistic to sit back and relax assuming the job to be well done. There are serious challenges to quality and effectiveness in online learning which largely remain unaddressed due to overflowing self-congratulatory and feel-good sentiments. Will the school leaders be willing to think out of their box to recognise, understand, and address these critical issues?
Challenges in Online Learning
Comparing face-to-face learning with online learning brings forth significant deficiencies in the online mode such as lack of human connect, absence of opportunities of collaborative learning, teacher supervision and the most glaring being lack of opportunities for hands-on learning in complex subjects such as science and mathematics. Besides, amid the rush of hosting online classes the best teaching practices such a addressing learners Multiples Intelligences (MI), VARK Learning Styles and providing a differentiated learning experience have been relegated to the backburner. So how does the head of a school address the challenges of quality learning in online mode and is it possible to harness technology to provide a rich, immersive and holistic learning experience to the students?
Quality On-line Learning
What is ‘quality’ in online learning? The definition of Quality education has undergone a metamorphosis in the online mode, and now it includes the ICT components that help overcome all the challenges have resulted due to the physical distance between the teacher and the learner. ICT has the power and potential to help the users overcome not only these challenges but also make some unexpected value additions to classes that could result in an improved teacher and learner performance, leading to an enhanced learning experience. Here are some ICT integrated teaching-learning strategies that can ‘up the quality’ quotient of an online class.
Explanation: