The pandemic has changed the face of the education system.Covid-19 has catalyzed the process of digitalization, resulting in a digital leap of years across all parts of society.State and Central governments, NGOs, religious and educational institutions have spent a huge sum of money to make smartphones and smart devices available to the children of the underprivileged sector of the society so that their education doesn’t suffer a break.According to a report by World Economic Forum, over 1.2 billion children are a part of the virtual learning space as a direct consequence of the closure of schools due to the pandemic.There has been a distinct rise in e-learning and remote teaching ever since the pandemic.
Montessori to higher educational institutions has made changes in their curriculum to incorporate virtual learning owing to the pandemic.Students can retain 25-60% of the information in online learning compared to 8-10% as seen in physical classrooms, as suggested by the WEF report.
However, schools are not about academic learning alone.It should enable various kinds of learnings – how to interact with people, teamwork, leadership skills, discipline, and more.
These critical life skills can be inculcated only in physical classrooms.Everything starting from sharing and caring to creativity and innovation can be brought about in students in a collective ambiance wherein the students are present in person.
Hence, physical classrooms are irreplaceable because of the role it plays in the holistic development of a student.
A few tips that will help in a smooth transition from virtual to offline classrooms are as follows-
● Maintain a routine – Online learning has distorted the daily routines of students.
One can cultivate a habit of waking up early at a certain time in order to accommodate the time of grooming, breakfast, and travel which was not required to be scheduled in an online setup.Cultivating this habit will make it smooth when offline classes actually begin and will also bring discipline to a student’s life.
Waking up early will also ensure that the student is up and active for the day.
● Attend classes regularly – Online classes give the students the comfort to be lazy and the liberty to skip classes.Students often sleep during class or give an excuse of network issues to skip a class.These excuses will not be of help when physical classes resume.
Hence, one must cultivate the habit of attending classes regularly and be updated with the lessons to ensure proper learning.This will also enable the students to get back to the drill of being physically present in the class for 7-8 hours.
● Be present mentally – It is natural for students to zone out in front of the screen and be unaware of whatever happens in the class.Students can put an effort to be mentally present in the class to know the syllabus and their peers.
Only if one is aware of the daily study material and puns happening in class, only then can a student know their peers better.This will help in getting along with classmates when everything is back to normal.
● Keep safety measures in place – Meeting peers after a long duration of virtual interaction can be very exciting.One must not forget that the pandemic is still out there.
Hence, being mindful of keeping safety measures in check will help ensure a smooth process of getting back to the offline space.
Students and educators are looking forward to offline learning because as human beings, people tend to look for a companion at the end of the day.The memories and learnings that personal interactions and the physical classroom provide are irreplaceable.Hence, educators can give the virtual space the benefit of the doubt and incorporate it into the offline learning space to ensure holistic learning.
There are chances that the transition from virtual to offline classroom be overwhelming but taking cautious steps one at a time will help smoothen the process.
