Web learning is the need of the hour!

Any global catastrophe or fallout leads to various crises and hardships to deal with. On the other hand, they leave us with a lot of learning and innovation. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused way more damage to mankind than anticipated.

Every industry, globally or nationally has taken a hit during these testing times including the Education system. The schools and universities are non-operational due to the nationwide lockdown which will surely have a negative impact on the academic curriculum.

Certainly, no one could have foreseen this calamity but we can be prepared for any such future events and cope up with the current situation. In times like these, smart classes are something that would be beneficial; through digital learning students and teacher can continue with the classes in a regular manner and avoid jeopardizing the studies.

Digitization of education

It is imperative that digitization of education is considered a priority especially in India, where very few schools are equipped with the hardware and don’t have the technical skills to conduct smart classes. Web learning can be an efficient way to continue the curriculum without any delay in a situation of crisis.

Other than fighting and coping up with difficult situations web learning also has other added benefits for both teachers and students. Smart classes help the teachers to turn boring lectures into fun and interactive sessions with the help of a visual display of data. Mentioned below are a few advantages of web learning:

Information sharing: Following the social distancing protocol, sharing and broadcasting study material is more convenient and faster with web classes.

The study material can be uploaded and shared amongst the educators throughout the world from anywhere which can be referred to while conducting lectures. This information sharing tool provides notes and study material from multiple teachers in order to avoid duplication of efforts in creating study material for the same topic. A few web learning software have their resource bank which can be used by the educators to teach the students at any given point.

Mobility: One of the main advantages of smart classes is that they can be accessed from any part of the world. Essentially in times like these when everyone is supposed to be indoors, the teachers can conduct live lectures from their residence and the students can join the lectures online and match upto the curriculum.

Even if the student or teacher is traveling, they can catch up to the scheduled lessons and avoid any delays in finishing the course. There are no time restrictions attached to web classes, the student can access notes from anywhere, all they need is an Internet connection.

Ease of accessing the information: The live lectures that the teachers conduct digitally can be recorded and saved for future references which can be of help to the students who might have missed the live session. These recordings can also be used by students and teachers later to review the lessons.

The recorded lectures can be stored on cloud-based storage accounts, to be used whenever required. Uploaded study material can also be edited and updated anytime the teacher wants.

Digital tools enhance learning: Teachers can conduct lectures using visual illustrations like pictures, graphs maps, etc. The visualization and graphics make studying fun and interesting, it is a universally acknowledged fact that lessons have a higher impact on students when explained visually. Lessons are grasped better and remembered for a longer period of time.

Saves time: Web classes consume lesser time than traditional classes, for both teachers and students. Students don’t need to make elongated rough notes while in class, they can refer to the lecture recordings and presentations shared by the teachers. Even the teachers can share feedback online in lesser time.

Enhances productivity: Data shared in a visual format with the students will keep the students gripped to the lessons. Web classes not only keep the students interested in the class, but they also help in better understand in a lesser time frame. Web classes are usually more interactive since the students tend to pay more attention to the lessons being taught.

Eco-friendly: Smart classes are also a way to promote the ‘go green’ concept. Since all the data and study material is shared online there is no wastage of paper, pencil, printouts etc. This is just another added benefit of switching to web classes, it helps and promotes keeping nature green and clean.

Digital education is transforming how today’s generation learns and retains the lessons at schools and universities. Gradually classrooms are being transferred into interactive rooms for learning and teaching, traditional ways are being replaced by the latest digital technology making education unique and interactive. It is believed that learning through digital tools will ensure better participation from students.

• Muneer Ahmad
• The author is Business Head, ViewSonic India.