The sudden emergence of the COVID–19 outbreak resulted in turning all our lives topsy–turvy, necessitating a shift in all aspects of life, causing a multidimensional crisis. With an increasing number of countries imposing lockdowns, a myriad of solutions were brought up to face the situation.
Education from West to East is in disarray. COVID-19 has caused unprecedented chaos causing havoc in all layers of education. And we have been thrust, unwillingly, into the future of education. Coronavirus took education into Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. Uniforms, school buildings, pens and books were made redundant and taken on to a digital screen.
Learning is the most important aspect of education. Education can be formal or informal, and in most cases, a person facilitates the process. In the digital age, the paradigm shifts and the role of the educator is becoming less important. This is why one’s ability to understand and apply what they hear and see from formal and informal education is critical in the future. This is a controversial topic, but one must begin to question the role of formal education, and the importance of helping students understand how self-learning can be critical in the future.
Getting cheaper
Online education is becoming cheaper and cheaper by the day. What must be taken into serious consideration is helping children understand how to self-learn in a digital world with unlimited content. Formal education risks becoming obsolete as people begin to truly value learning through informal education structures.
Every situation and its overcoming methods can have its pros and cons. Online learning that gave a quick rise in the COVID-19 crisis has tightened its tentacles in all corners. Online education has been there for a long time; what we need to do is to ensure that educators facilitate learning for students without being physically present.
The supreme benefit of online education is that an individual can connect to the teaching–learning scenario with a click, pulling out the physical presence that was basically considered as the main element in traditional learning. Whereas physical presence is needed, it consumes half of the day for just for travelling. Learning through a screen has the ability to minimise the fatigue gathered throughout the day; thus, learning becomes more appetising.
Online education makes room for teachers as well as learners to adjust to flexible learning hours. It gives the expected convenience for a balanced life. Even if the learner is unable to connect to live streaming, learners can have access to a recorded session of the broadcast lesson.
Monday, which makes us scared to jump out of bed, will no longer bully us if distance learning is going to overtake our education system.
Benefits
Online education can be cheaper than traditional learning in some aspects. In one aspect, online education does not consume any cost in transportation. The other factor is it does not consume stationery and other items such as school bags, lunch boxes, shoes and socks that we panic and pull out every morning.
Also, the Generation Z is a finger click away from the Guru ‘Google’. Many students have cultivated the habit of Googling anything that comes across their path. Because many schools assign tasks through WhatsApp or Viber groups where children are directed to self-studying, and Google becomes the only saviour. But there is a perplexity regarding up to what degree the gathered knowledge will be retained in their memory.
Constraints
Sri Lanka, a middle-income country bearing a 21-million population with 33 percent of the people unable to afford a nutritious diet, leaves us with a question mark on the subject of online learning. Only certain strata from Sri Lanka’s population can afford the devices as well as facilities needed for distance learning. Not every parent can afford its cost, as families are struggling for a meal instead of prioritising distance learning.
Sri Lanka’s economic roadmap is to transform from an agricultural and industrial-based economy into a knowledge-based economy. In a country where 60 percent of the labour force is unskilled and with significant limitations on spending for the development of education due to soaring foreign debts, we must grab the opportunity presented by COVID-19. Attention must be given to offer cheaper tertiary education at distinguished colleges to bridge the gap in education inequality.
Policymakers in Sri Lanka should approach this opportunity with an ironclad resolve to address education equity issues that can trigger another generation of frustrated and vengeful youth if not addressed urgently.
Another side of the coin is how many students will have a peaceful environment to focus on an online lesson. In fact, Sri Lanka reported more domestic violence cases during the lockdown than ever before. Are we really in a state to move to online learning as a country?
Effectiveness
The age of the learner also determines how effective online learning can be. Mostly children below 12 are distracted and continuous attention cannot be expected from them in distance learning, which was a difficult task even in traditional learning. Apart from that, teachers will have to exert an extra effort to keep children on track with enthusiasm. As physical presence is unavailable, multitasking and distraction can undermine the effectiveness of online learning.
Moreover, in a comfort zone like a home or a cafeteria, children have a tendency for texting, replying to emails, chatting on social media platforms or watching YouTube, in comparison to a traditional learning environment.
Additionally, distance learning has the possibility of leading to social isolation. Lack of interaction is observed in an online lesson because students switch off audio and video due to various reasons. Teachers also request to switch off video and audio as there can be distractions in between the lesson. “Children, please put yourself on mute” is the first and foremost phrase uttered by the teacher in an online class.
Interaction, mutual understanding and the teaching–learning scenario has reached a whole new level with COVID-19 and the upgraded technology. Teachers, as well as learners, experience self-isolation due to the absence of human interaction and communication.
Social isolation and lack of communication can lead to several mental issues such as anxiety, depression and negative thoughts.
Social interaction is critical for a child’s development. When online education and learning are considered, it is vital to understand that for young children, physical classrooms are necessary. Social interaction that can have a lifelong effect on the child must be provided at an early stage so that it ensures a solid foundation for their social skills. Teamwork is a skill that can be gained through principles of sharing, communicating and playing, whereas online learning impedes these parameters.
Just as important as any is to provide equal opportunities to differently-abled children. Societal discussions and policymakers conveniently disregard the impact of online education and learning on these children. Evidence-based research should be at the forefront to ensure education inclusivity so as to not discriminate any group in Sri Lanka. Technology overtaking all aspects of lives is inevitable, but inclusivity must be at the heart of all advancements.
Online education and learning are inevitable and will be at the forefront of everything in the next 10 years. It is imperative though that education equity and inclusive education take precedence in Sri Lanka to avoid social injustice to the underprivileged. Progressive education should not only be limited to the elite schools in Sri Lanka, but rather be accessible by all Sri Lankan students. Only across such a spectrum one can truly bring about blissful change.
Taking all this into account, for Sri Lanka to move from a developing country to a developed country, we must embrace the change brought by COVID-19 and comprehensively address the unaddressed issues to create a knowledge-based society.
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| Following an online lesson. |
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| Sometimes physical and online learning can be blended together: A student at a smart board at Trinity College, Kandy. |
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| Can a traditional school ever be replaced? |
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