The Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On Education

The Impact Of COVID-19 On The Domain Of Education

The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new learning environment for learners all around the world. Instructors and learners are quickly turning to technology to continue teaching and learning remotely in the face of unprecedented classroom closures and mandated social distancing, as they move away from conventional classrooms. This shift in the learning environment, as well as the concerted efforts toward learning continuity, have led unprepared learners to rely on resources such as the internet, television, and so on, while instructors have had to find newer modes of delivery of teaching while experiencing a shift in pedagogical concepts.

It's no wonder, therefore, that an abrupt change in the learning environment would have a significant impact on education in the long-run. The pandemic's impact on learners throughout the world can be seen in a few important statistics.

Impact Of COVID-19 On The Learning Environment

With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there's been a rapid movement towards online teaching-learning options in order to bridge the learning gap created by the abrupt closure of classrooms. Technology has been an active enabler for learners and instructors to continue on their learning journey. Learners are accessing educational resources and instructors are teaching remotely. The transition, however, has been challenging due to a lack of knowledge and suitable infrastructure.

Hanushek and Woessman shed light on the issue of learning loss owing to the sudden transition from traditional classrooms to virtual/remote learning. In the long run, a loss of learning can be directly linked to loss of skills. Hence , considering skills are directly tied to individual productivity, it's predicted that GDP might be 1.5 percent lower on average for the rest of the century.

The COVID-19 Pandemic And The Indian Educational Scenario

The Indian education scene underwent a drastic change due to the pandemic. With 50% of the population under the age of 25, closure of classrooms  significantly impacted the education scene of the country. With more learners opting for remote learning options, technology has enabled learners to learn online. Hence, the popularity of online learning is growing significantly and this can be understood through the data depicted below.

The E-Learning Global Market Share

We have seen how the impact of the pandemic on the education sector gave a push towards the use of technology and online learning tools. The growing trend of this usage can be seen in the global market share of E-Learning.

Features Of The New Learning Environment

There are a few aspects that keep learners engaged in this innovative experience as they encounter online learning through the usage of growing technological innovations. The few features that learners can enjoy are:

Enhanced learning

• With the advent of online learning learners can significantly cut down on their travel time to the institutions. The saved time can in turn be devoted to learning more and also experience learning additional courses that interest the learners.
• When studying a new topic or beginning a new course, it might be challenging to obtain appropriate resources and clarity for questions. A learner may now interact quickly with instructors or access extra resources to answer doubts using online learning technologies.
• With online learning there is an opportunity for greater personalisation. Learners can learn at their own pace and set their own goals as well as deadlines. This not only makes the learning experience more efficient but makes the learner self-reliant in the long run.

Effective learning

• To decide on a learning goal and working towards the desired goal requires the right guidance and access to reliable information.Through online tools now learners can get personal attention through oline coaching opportunities and programmes catering to the learner's needs.
• It is much easier for students to study for competitive tests given that they have access to a wealth of information with just a click. This is further reiterated through a survey conducted by Statista, wherein, 63% of people regarded elearning to be more beneficial for exam preparation.

Peer learning

• Learners now have the access to interact with their peers as well as get regular feedbacks in order to get a learning that is more effective and holistic.
• By connecting with peers from around the world learners can also obtain different perspectives and gain more knowledge by reflecting and sharing knowledge with each other.

Flexible learning

• Online learning can be very dynamic as learners have the opportunity to choose what they want to learn from the selection of resources easily available and how they want to learn it that is, choose their pace, learning goals as well as deadlines.
• There can be various mediums and tools that could be utilised to learn better. Learning has certainly become more interactive given the fact learers can now watch videos, listen to podcasts or even interact with peers and instructors in live sessions. These resources can help learners work on various skills at once if they desire.
• Learners can now get instant counselling and doubt clarifications with access to resources and instructors in one click.

Trending Tools For The New Learning Environment

Learners are increasingly adopting a few tools to enhance their learning as they use technology to advance in their learning journey. These technologies are fast gaining popularity in terms of improving learners' learning experiences. Some of the key tools being utilised by learners and instructors in the current learning environment are:

Mobile learning

• Organisations are increasingly offering mobile learning for their employees to empower them with knowledge and appropriate organisational skills. Currently 67% of organizations are now offering mobile learning.
• With mobile learning, learners can consume content and get access to resources whenever and wherever they want.
• With the various applications available through mobile learning, instructors can easily keep a track of their students' learning progress and accordingly set their teaching goals.

Artificial intelligence

• With the use of AI in education learning is becoming more personalised with the opportunity to provide learners with more personal assistance in their online learning journey. AI tools can bring instant solutions to your queries, it can also curate resources for your personal learning goals, it can help learners as well as instructors to keep a track of the work, provide feedback and bring in more efficiencies in learning.
• AI tools can also cater to a learners' personal needs according to their learning pace and goals.
• With its rising popularity an estimated growth of 48% is expected in the year 2022 with regard to the use of AI in education.

Interactive video

• With interactive videos, learners are more likely to engage with and consume content,resulting in higher retention rates. As the content is interactive and visually appealing so it makes a lot of diffrence for a learner's learning experience.
• It gives the opportunity to disseminate various types of material and resources in a more engaging manner so that the learning experience is more intearctive for the learners.
• Given the benefits that a learner can get through this feature, instructors are increasingly making it a part of their teaching process which can be reiterated with a survey result that shows that 98% of the teachers surveyed have agreed that interactive videos have become an important aspect of the teaching process.

Immersive technologies

• The immersive technologies can include two main types which are:
  • Augmented Reality (AR): This is the technology that solves the problems in our field of vision, our reality by providing us with information virtually. In the education scene it will deliver a more engaging and interactive learning experience.
  • Virtual Reality (VR): With VR technology a three-dimensional learning environment can be simulated for learners and instructors wherein they can get a learning experience which is interactive, engaging resulting in a potential elimination of distractions.
• 89% of educators according to a survey are open towards using AR and VR to create interactive learning content for their learners.

From classrooms to online, the shift in the learning environment propelled by the unforeseen force of the pandemic has been a turning point for the lives of learners as well as educators. How did the learning environment change for you with the pandemic?