The pandemic has caused much distress and disruption in the field of education. The functioning of schools and educational institutions literally came to a standstill. The school managements took resort to online classes and completed the syllabi to finally promote students to the next levels. The same thing repeated for the present academic year also.
The Covid-19 will remain in history like so many other crises that people faced in the past. This too will pass and it is doing so and with great efforts. It is mandatory that studies for students should go on in an uninterrupted way and educationists and researchers are putting their minds together to overcome the crisis.
To some extent, the present generations are better when compared to our past ones in terms of technology. Today, technology has a sway almost on every facet of our lives. The integration of technology with traditional methods of learning began around the year 2000 and has continued its journey in leaps and bounds. In the present pandemic situation, when schools were closed down, it was technology that assisted the flow of education in the form of online classes. the school managements tried to grapple with the sudden change and so did the students and their parents.
After the second wave and with the forecast of a third, the school managements are looking at more substantial solutions. Wiser with the past experiences they are now trying to go ahead in a planned way. They are focusing on the hybrid mode of learning which accommodates both; online and physical modes of teaching and learning. The blended form facilitates students to have both, the online classes and the physical classes.
Many schools in India have also organized online training for teachers for them to upskill their computer skills. This is an important step for teachers to possess the required readiness to smoothly teach, through the integration of technology. Many of them have already begun taking online classes and have also incorporated new techniques to better the learning experience of the students. It is for the teachers to become resourceful and many have started integrating household resources to explain concepts. Some of them are also taking the help of the next-gen apps. For example, a teacher has to teach a difficult concept online, he/she can always make use of these resources by giving them practical tasks that can be done at home. Through this process, students are engaged better and their learning abilities are heightened and there is an improvement in their capacities for retention.
An English teacher from Bangalore, asked her primary class students to look around the house and name things and use adjectives that suit them. Some teachers engaged students in virtual trips and conducted speaking sessions about their experience. A physics teacher has been successful in teaching some difficult concepts by using authentic material which the students can lay their hands on. It may be difficult for all students to get used to online teaching, but with some creativity and innovation, teachers and students can overcome this problem. There is an access to great content and effective tools and so there is no dearth of the required domains.
There are enterprising and creative entrepreneurs who wish to take the teaching-learning methodologies to a more sophisticated level. Indgiants Pvt. Ltd. has come up with its educational products namely, Mindhosts and Lecuturersclub apps. The former meant for schools as a whole and the latter for individual trainers who wish to make a mark nationally and globally. Both come with unique features which guarantee smooth functioning of educational institutions and delivery of instruction.
Mindhosts, a hybrid learning model has everything that teachers and students need. The virtual experience and the in-class mode help students to focus better and also help institutions handle the present crisis effectively.
The new packages offer ample scope for teachers to rethink and readjust themselves and their classes and make them more captivating and interesting.
