Abstract
Educational institutions (schools, colleges, and universities) in India are currently based only on traditional methods of learning, that is, they follow the traditional set up of face-to-face lectures in a classroom. Although many academic units have also started blended learning, still a lot of them are stuck with old procedures. The sudden outbreak of a deadly disease called Covid-19 caused by a Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) shook the entire world. The World Health Organization declared it as a pandemic. This situation challenged the education system across the world and forced educators to shift to an online mode of teaching overnight. Many academic institutions that were earlier reluctant to change their traditional pedagogical approach had no option but to shift entirely to online teaching–learning. The article includes the importance of online learning and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Challenges (SWOC) analysis of e-learning modes in the time of crisis. This article also put some light on the growth of EdTech Start-ups during the time of pandemic and natural disasters and includes suggestions for academic institutions of how to deal with challenges associated with online learning.
Highlights
Ayebi-Arthur (2017) conducted a case study of a college in New Zealand which was badly affected by seismic activities
She found that the college became more resilient to online learning after that disastrous event
Technology helped them overcome the barriers in those difficult times. They suggest that robust IT Infrastructure is a prerequisite for online learning
Summary
Rapid developments in technology have made distance education easy (McBrien et al, 2009). Synchronous learning can provide a lot of opportunities for social interaction (McBrien et al, 2009) Amidst this deadly virus spread such online platforms are needed where (a) video conferencing with at least 40 to 50 students is possible, (b) discussions with students can be done to keep classes organic, (c) internet connections are good, (d) lectures are accessible in mobile phones and not just laptops, (e) possibility of watching already recorded lectures, and (f) instant feedback from students can be achieved and assignments can be taken (Basilaia et al, 2020). There was an overnight shift of normal classrooms into e-classrooms, that is, educators have shifted their entire pedagogical approach to tackle new market conditions and adapt to the changing situations During this tough time, the concern is not about whether online teaching–learning methods can provide quality education, it is rather. The challenge to educational institutions is finding new technology and using it and reimagining its education, thereby helping students and academic staff who are seeking guidance for digital literacy
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