Will Classroom Learning shift to edtech platforms in the Post Covid Era?
19 June 2020,
In the post COVID-19 era, there is a growing havoc globally and nothing much can be done until a vaccination is created. The health crisis has completely changed the traditional education system and brought the cycle to an abrupt halt. However, this has given the much needed push to the edtech sector in-terms of acceptance. As a result, this sector is regaining traction and has stirred up thoughts about the digital education system. If we have a look at the recent Google Trends for edtech queries, there has been a 60 percent rise in the last 90 days.
Edtech platforms have been mushrooming over the past four-five years with a new-age teaching system, that is reliant more on technology and research. They have succeeded in creating a traditional shift in the mindset of the audience with a diverse curation of market needed or accepted courses. Riding high on this USP of not being reliant on a physical location , the outreach of these platforms is massive as they only require a smart device with internet connectivity.
The edtech platforms are slowly and steadily crafting a community of teachers, where they can express opinions, solve problems and share experiences that bolster the quality of learning. Moreover, such platforms are also compelling the education governing bodies to reiterate age-old learning methods that now promote advanced education methods. As a result, students today no longer rely on a particular institution for knowledge gathering, rather have access to a pool of world-class trainers from the best institutions in the world. An interconnected education system where students can gather the knowledge they seek, without any boundaries for their curiosity is now possible and addressable. The creation of an online repository of information with public access can be a guiding genie for knowledge seekers in a precise direction.
For long, India’s classroom-based learning has been plagued with traditional practices that leave little room for addressing the curiosity of learners. The knowledge disbursed in even higher institutions, is based on a pre-set syllabus that does not have any or has less practical implementation in the real world. Moreover, this system is incapable of catering to every student’s needs due to overwhelming batch size, a limited number of proficient faculties and high cost of learning.
That said, ideally education should not be confined to an institution or a physical location. Today, the advancement in technology and communication allows us for seamless information sharing. This approach can help reach and connect students who would be otherwise left out due to migratory constraints. The idea that a conventional degree or certification, based on redundant syllabus needs to be a must-have for a successful career is not something that is encouraged by today's leaders and has been stated clearly even by likes of Elon Musk - which interesting wants to get rid of CV or degrees as a criteria in their hiring process.
Edtech infrastructure is not affected by climate change. The information is readily available round-the-clock as per learner's availability. It experiences periodic revamping of the content, to suit relevance and further branches out to industry and department level micro courses. The diversity of knowledge that edtech platforms are offering these days to their users at the click of a button is unparalleled.
At this juncture, the traditional classroom-based education system needs to accept its inefficiency and join forces to refine knowledge and learning in the post COVID era.
With this belief, Grazing Minds is partnering with institutions alike to partner with them to have access to a wide range of study resources, as well as reaching to a masses and making education affordable.