Covid-19 forced institutions to make immediate changes that no one would have thought possible. Considering how the global pandemic forced educators to adapt to digital education overnight, will schooling be ever the same? Is India ready to use technology in their existing curriculum even after the crisis is over? Yes, there are challenges associated with it but the nationwide lockdown proved the potential of the Indian education system to change and commit itself to unconventional methods of learning. So, what does the future look like?
Recently, a few states like Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Punjab have allowed schools to reopen for half the strength of total students from classes 9th to 12th. The online classes will have to continue along with offline and no student will be forced to come to schools. Does that mean that the teachers will be expected to host the same lecture twice? No, this is where the concept of hybrid learning comes into the picture.
In its most simple terms, hybrid learning is a concept where some students attend classes in-person while the rest attend the same class online from home. The Educator streams the class live using video-conferencing tools and platforms the involves interactive, virtual elements and hence students are not just merely watching the lecturer online.
While ensuring social distancing is in place, hybrid learning is certainly what the educators are preparing the institutions for and the task in hand is to blend hybrid learning with technology to boost student productivity and performance. You may have also heard of the term ‘blended learning’, and it’s quite easy to get confused between both, hybrid and blended learning.
Blended learning involves combining technology with traditional learning systems to reduce physical attendance and find a unique blend which works differently for different students. Till now a student had to be time-bound for learning, the 6-hours of school time was all they had to learn and ask. Blended learning turns it completely, and gives access to all information from the lectures at school, to teachers’ notes and real-time access to live classes and recorded sessions.
To unfold the genius within a student, some sense of freedom and liberty is needed, and that is exactly what blended learning empowers students with, to find their own way of learning and developing their own method to get there.
This is what we think the future looks like. A synergy of hybrid and blended learning where both the concepts meet and complete each other. A platform for hybrid model uses blended learning as its cornerstone to tackle limitations like accessibility and students are no longer expected to learn at an equal pace.
Education without technology is outdated, education solely with technology is incomplete, and to combine the two for a unique learning experience is what makes them the future of professional education.