Let me take you a few years back when the world was hit by the most disastrous event in the history of mankind- Corona virus! It literally attacked the humanity with all its vigour and depth. The world came to a standstill. It looked like as if the nature wanted to take back, what belonged to itand get balance back into the planet. However, we being, who we are, retaliated with passion, resilience and persistence to fight back and survive.
Why am I quoting the facts that everyone already knows about? Because the effort of the doctors, scientists, daily wagers, lifestyle changes were noticed almost immediately but we paid very little attention to what our children were going through, not even the educationists till the time the students started facing emotional troubles, loss of learning, social interaction loss and finally actual realisation happened when they started reporting back to the schools yearning for social interaction. The learning deficit of 17% as per the research demonstrating the cognitive loss but humans, the most evolved living being is assumed to be a combination of so many other domains.l
COVID changed the outlook of schools completely in particular. We all have been a part of the digital revolution and knew already that ours would be the last generation to witness many activities/ devices which we had grown up with, but the change would be so fast,this was not envisaged by anyone in the past. It was like we digitalised the learning process, almost overnight, when the teaching started happening through the screens, teachers starting with self- created videos to taking live lessons. Not only that, schools, all over started holding competitions, school events, convocations, collaborative meetings, examinations so much so the sports training as well as annual functions were organized online. Suddenly a new vista opened for humanity to explore and use to the maximum extent. Every day became a challenge as the boundaries of time ceased to exist for the people in various professions and so did for the younger lot. Online training sessions, webinars, admission counselling sessions, extra classes became the norm of the day irrespective of the time on the clock.
We as educationists and parents, who always preached about screen time, scheduled use of technology, video games, all of a sudden became the proponents of digital medium for learning as well as expressing. But was all of this so bad! Not at all, our competence to survive and face adversity developed a notch higher and the unsaid truth regarding why we are at the top of the food chain, was proved once again.
The integration of technology into education became inevitable and this integration revolutionised the way children access and interact with educational content now-a days.
There were many advantages of online learning which are still there as now, educational institutes need not to be closed down in case of any unforeseen incident. As they say, the show must go on.
So, a few of the advantages of technology are flexible timings, accessible education for those who can’t afford or can’t physically make it possible. The learning platforms which are completely interactive with multimedia content, capable of providing immediate feedback through tools like Mentimeter, Quizzes etc, and most importantly – Personalised learning- wherein some online platforms are available to provide customised learning solutions to the learners as per their choice and voice. It also inculcated the feeling of ownership as the programs are usually self-paced.
But this revolution came with its own complexities.
While it is true that we live in a dynamic world and use of technology is imperative, but does that mean the negatives of the technology also need to be embraced? Negative impacts like screen time, limited social interaction distractions in the online space, cyber bullying, frauds, Over-reliance on technology for almost everything , which is in turn reducing our critical thinking and problem-solving skills that come from offline and hands – on experiences, resourcefulness – if server is down, we don’t know what to do, where to find content or material for work.
To conclude, slowly and gradually technology in its current form of easy availability, convenience of use, is transforming into a social evil, which in my opinion, need to be tamed and balanced for the generations to come, to have a holistic childhood and adult life, full of physical, social and emotional well-being.
It is true that, “Change is the only constant”, however, how we address change ensuring balanced choices and informed decision-making is in our hands. The choice is ours!
