Write an article in your notebook (500 words, in 4 to 5 paragraphs) for the school magazine on the following topic:
‘The New Normal of Learning’
Answers
Answer:
COVID-19 is bringing about a whole set of new challenges in every possible realm; higher education being just one. Given the rapidly evolving situation around the pandemic, has this forced shift from offline to online mode of teaching-learning given us a peek into the reality ahead? How will COVID-19 transform the future of teaching-learning?
Technology-enabled teaching is definitely the future we are looking towards, but will it be easy to make this transition? How should different stakeholders contribute to ensure a smooth transition?
It is important to identify key challenges for students and teachers in the current scenario. Once identified, academic leadership and the government can address these through innovations in focus areas. Here is a list:
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EDUCATION
EDUCATION
The new normal
Purushottam Basava and Smarthveer Sidana
02 MAY 2020 22:07 IST
UPDATED: 02 MAY 2020 22:08 IST
With the pandemic set to transform higher education as we know it, there are huge challenges before us, as well as room for innovation
COVID-19 is bringing about a whole set of new challenges in every possible realm; higher education being just one. Given the rapidly evolving situation around the pandemic, has this forced shift from offline to online mode of teaching-learning given us a peek into the reality ahead? How will COVID-19 transform the future of teaching-learning?
Technology-enabled teaching is definitely the future we are looking towards, but will it be easy to make this transition? How should different stakeholders contribute to ensure a smooth transition?
It is important to identify key challenges for students and teachers in the current scenario. Once identified, academic leadership and the government can address these through innovations in focus areas. Here is a list:
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Semester completion
Challenge: Since neither students nor teachers were prepared for this sudden lockdown, it has become difficult for them to continue as per the original plan.
Focus area: Emphasis should be given to develop a robust plan in order to complete semesters and ensure degree completion of final-year students. The academic plan needs to be modified in order to suit the current situation, changing both teaching and assessment methods. Shift from offline to online methods should be encouraged — building technology infrastructure to deliver content, strengthening the existing Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) content platforms like Swayam, along with promoting innovative personalised teaching-learning platforms, teacher training and student awareness will be key. As a short-term solution, allowing course completion via Swayam as a substitute for course requirements within universities can address this crisis.
In the long run, these investments will help ensure personalised teaching-learning in the classroom, along with reducing the workload on the teacher. However, ed-tech models pose a huge scalability challenge given the limited Internet penetration. Hence, a blend of traditional and online methods of teaching-learning could emerge as the more feasible and scalable model.