Online Learning in India: Boon or Bane

Blended learning is the answer

In India when COVID 19 began to spread, infecting many people, Prime Minister Mr. Modi called for a lockdown. This sudden imposition caused a furore. Businesses closed down; Education system was completely at a loss. There was no transport to take people to their destination and they were completely at a loss to think as to what direction this illness would take.

It became a matter of lives Vs livelihood. In this situation, physical learning turned into machine learning. The learners and the learned were both new to this situation and both adapted themselves to this new way of learning.

Zoom became the most sought-after application for teaching. Many other applications like teems, Google Meet, Skype and others also came up. It became a time for online learning.

This certainly became a new way of learning for students and a challenge for the teachers. However, the skill was soon understood and explored to give a quality education.

The students completed their classes on time and it did not turn out to be a zero year. So, they did not lose a year. Some universities had their exams which were slightly later than in normal years The exams with all the proctoring were not as effective as they would be physically but were conducted and completed.

Other universities slowly began to follow and complete the exams. This was excellent. It can be said that online learning was a boon for India. Who benefited?

Those who had computers. The upper and middle crust with good connectivity. Students from semi-urban and rural areas had problems and everyone knew about it but were quite insensitive towards it.

This was a bane for India that a large population did not get the benefit of online learning and many of them would have to do their exams later and some may even lose a year.

In terms of learning it was a washout. No ‘real learning‘ was achieved. The students in India have still not reached the maturity to understand the value of these classes.

They had a very casual approach to the classes. They joined the classes. There was 100% attendance, but was there any participation? Very few students were active. Most students switched off their videos and audios and when the class ended they became active and gave their attendance.

In nutshell, they found it boring or they were lazy, half-awake, inactive and most of them did not learn anything. The reassurance of a teacher, the discussion with the peer group was completely lost.

There was no communication and it was monotonous. This was the experience of higher education.

The school was also buzzing with online learning. Little kids had to go through online lectures. The first 15 minutes were enjoyable but after that, a lot of them slept in the class. Parents were pressurized.

The computer business boomed as all children needed a computer. The children were lost as attention span was short and many children did not understand completely. One parent had to sit with the child to support the child in the class.

So the boon is that the classes were continuing and children are kept busy and the bane is that this is not ‘real learning‘, it solved the short term purpose of the country during the pandemic but created a big gap in the ‘real learning’ process. Also, a large section of the society could not avail of online learning due to lack of resources and connectivity issues.

To make good enlightened youth in the country ‘real learning‘ is very important. This is possible only through the physical presence of students and teachers.

In online learning, it is one-sided learning. ‘Real learning‘ and enlightenment is through communication and discussion, love and affection, motivation, values and morals, and interaction with people.

Online learning creates solitary space, loneliness, and an attitude of non-adjustment with other people. When the student physically attends class, there is a routine, an active mind, happiness of a new day, meeting friends, the value of time, and the importance of learning.

To live in a society a person has to be a complete human being. The long term goal of a country is to strive to make a person complete in all its respects. This cannot be solely through online learning. It is possible through blended learning as physical interaction cannot be ruled out.

Originally published on my website https://www.preetisinghempower.com/online-learning-in-india-boon-or-bane/ updated and modified and submitted.