Panoramic view of digital education in COVID‐19: A new explored avenue

Abstract

The Covid‐19 pandemic has forced restructuring in several sectors to ensure the delivery of services are accomplished to the greatest possible extent. The Indian Government has imposed rigorous lockdown regulations, which has had an impact on all aspects of the economy and promotes the adoption of digital technology. The lockdown has accelerated adherence to online platforms for effective accessibility of the teaching and learning process without compromising on quality. Democratisation of technology has been a significant critical issue of the hour. In the closures since March 16, 2020 ‒ from nursery school to university level ‒ all scheduled examinations during this period were postponed. The teachers and students are in a dilemma with regard to current academic sessions and with upcoming semester examinations. The Covid‐19 pandemic gave momentum to the digital teaching‐learning mode with a transformation from chalkboards to Google Meet, Zoom and WebEx, etc. The study is based on primary data of 750 respondents in West Bengal, India, which includes teachers and students from school to university level. The effectiveness, accessibility and quality of this virtual mode of education have been investigated with the application of the Friedman test, and Wilcoxon signed‐rank test and effect sizes. The present study is an attempt to assess and understand the impact of Covid‐19 on the teaching and learning process in developing countries. The study reveals that students from school to university level are significantly affected by the novel digital teaching and learning modes resorted to during this pandemic crisis.