Effectiveness Of Online Education Compared To Offline Education

In the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, people worldwide have been forced to change their lifestyles, including students. With the help of advanced technology, we witness the rise of e-learning. E-education or online education is changing the way we approach teaching and learning. Many educational institutes have shifted their base from physical classrooms to virtual classrooms to conduct the classes.

 

Even before the covid-19 crisis hit the world, there was a high growth and adoption of virtual technology. Students were learning through numerous online classes, but there has been a significant demand for virtual learning since the pandemic. The effectiveness of online education has shown a number of advantages due to increased flexibility and learning opportunities: easy access to experts, exposure to educational environments, a wide range of types of courses and joining student communities.

 

Online teaching provides a technological backbone to the education system, latest technologies, quality, affordability, convenience, and reach. The emergence of online education has opened new methods for the education sector to grow. It has made education more interesting, easier and removed the boundaries of time and distance. The technology has added to the potency and is becoming a crucial part of the education ecosystem.

 

On the other hand, in schools, students not only interact personally with their teachers but also with fellow students and support staff. Students learn discipline, teamwork, public interaction, gender sensitivity, empathy, and many other such things during their time in school, generating soft skills which are instrumental for overall personality development.

 

Online education and offline education systems need to co-exist to provide efficient and effective education to students. The two need to complement each other rather than compete against each other. 

 

Technology can help foster learning, no matter what medium.

Online education to become mainstream by 2025

As the world continues to adjust to the hybrid norm, education is entering a new age of teaching and learning. Advanced technologies are paving the way for students to experience immersive learning with real-world applications, and empowering educators to help students continue learning through new and different methods, wherever they may be.

The online medium is gaining traction due to the reasons outlined above and a study from Lenovo and Microsoft shows enormous opportunities in e-learning. The National Education Policy, 2020 also laid emphasis on EdTech solutions and online learning which furthers the scope for this medium to get accepted as a favourable stream in a few years. 

Struggles of students and teachers in online education
The biggest barriers to success in online learning have not been a lack of technology access, but low use of available solutions and social challenges stemming from extended periods of remote learning. Lenovo has been addressing these challenges through its EdTech solutions and promoting the use of smarter technology. In 2020, Lenovo’s collaboration with eVidyaloka to launch SmarterEd, a student-teacher matching program, secured registrations from over 11,000 volunteer teachers. Nearly 15,000 students from across India had opted to learn for free via the Lenovo-designed one-on-one platform – a clear indicator that such platforms are needed to simplify the online education process. 

Lenovo has also taken steps toward furthering STEM mindsets in students and teachers through mobile science labs and teacher enablement programs. We have seen phenomenal success in these programs that shed light on the demand for integrating technology and education. 

Identical Real-life benefits of online and offline education 
The slate should not be drawn at online vs offline– the focus should be on how to optimise learning, especially through technology-embedded learning models. Technology can help foster learning, no matter what medium. According to the Lenovo and Microsoft study, students in India had mixed opinions about the effectiveness of e-learning. 40% found that their learning performance improved through e-learning, while an equal amount thought the opposite. In such a situation, we must turn to technology to facilitate hybrid educational models. According to the Lenovo and Microsoft study, across Asia Pacific, more than 80% of students and 95% of educators increased their use of technology in 2020-21. New subscription models, smarter collaboration platforms, AI-enabled devices, and virtual reality can unlock future potential for both online and offline learning. Enabling teachers and students with powerful, innovative devices is just one part of the story. Systems should provide end-to-end management and support services that help get more value from online and offline learning platforms. 

Continuity in adoption of hybrid mode of learning by physical institutions
The gaining popularity of hybrid-everything is an indicator for us to better our education systems with a smart, engaged classroom method where we implement IT tools, promote hands-on experiential learning and use technology to provide a comprehensive learning environment. As India strives to bridge the digital divide and digitize education, offline learning must be paid heed to and steadily transformed into a smarter medium.

Hung Chuan Khoo, General Manager & Director, Education Transformation and Development, Lenovo Asia Pacific

 

 

Offline and online learning have their own sets of distinct advantages
 

The rise of education technology has revolutionized the way teaching and learning happen and this revolution is only expected to see an upward trend in the coming years. While the COVID-19 pandemic pushed learning to a remote environment, schools were prompted to be more adaptable towards incorporating newer technologies into their teaching process. To some extent, this was similar to the adoption of digital payments during demonetization, and it won’t be reversed now that its true value and convenience have been realised. With continuous innovation, technology has enabled students to learn from anywhere, anytime. Affordability and accessibility of high-quality education are key aspects that education technology brings to the table in a country like India.

Tech enablement in education is helping efficiently combat the learning loss caused due to the pandemic through flexible learning environments that rely on improving students’ learning outcomes. With the help of technology, students are able to expand their horizons and extend learning beyond physical textbooks and classrooms. Today, in a post-pandemic world, we’re seeing educators, parents, and students embracing technology, but leaning more towards a hybrid learning environment. New-age technologies such as AR/VR, AI/ML, cloud, facial recognition and data-driven technologies are leading the way to build unique and personalised learning experiences for students. Further, technology is also paving the way for greater collaboration and opportunities for students and teachers globally by helping them connect across geographies.

Offline and online learning have their own sets of distinct advantages – while offline learning will continue to happen, the mix of digital and offline or the hybrid approach to learning will be the way forward in education. Regular training to acquaint teachers and students with the usage of latest technological tools will be important to overcome the challenges faced while adopting newer tools. Edtech will aid teachers and parents to track students’ progress and personalize learning based on their specific needs. 

The modern learning environment needs more reinforcement of technology in a way that it helps in a better understanding of the curriculum to drive better outcomes. Tech-enabled learning will help maximise the value of instructions by providing educators with a predictive and engaging way of teaching. It will also help calibrate the pace of teaching wherein students are able to grasp what they are learning. Hybrid classrooms will provide students the best of both worlds by providing in-person teaching to intuitive personalised learning. This will facilitate a deeper understanding of subjects, contributing to greater learning outcomes. The focus of educators going forward will be to enhance students’ performance by uniting education with technology, data, and connectivity. 

Vivek Sunder, CEO, Cuemath