An educator by profession, Swati is a firm believer in constant advancements in the field. A flag-bearer of academics, she is a resourceful educationist with 25 years of rich scholarly and administrative experience. With a post-graduation in Comprehensive Management of Children with learning disorders, from the Spastic Society of Karnataka, Bangalore; Swati has served as a Special Educator for 13+ years. She also, holds a diploma in Counselling Skills, from Banjara Academy besides being a Certified Auditor from National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET).
There was a time when computer classes were the only form of online education. The Internet and World Wide Web evolved rapidly and bridged the gap between knowledge and the seeker. While WWW was the storehouse for information, faster internet speed enabled the users to send large PDF and other files quickly. Eventually, users could send multiple page notes and even entire books by e-mail or through online messaging apps.This led to the birth and growth of online education somewhere in mid-1990s.
The improvement in internet speed and quality fueled the concept of home-schooling, distance learning and certified online courses. There are many examples that portray the benefits of online education and how it has changed the path of attaining knowledge. Today, students from all over the worlds can attain specialized degrees in MBA, Digital Marketing, Fashion Designing via online education.
Since the onset of the Pandemic, online education has helped students continue with their education seamlessly. Although it has forced the children to change their routines and significantly increased their screentime, the quality of their education remained intact, and in many ways, became better than before. Even the parents have understood the increasing importance of online education.I believe, online education beneficial to both, the students, schools and teachers .
Benefits of Online Education for Schools
- It saves cost on infrastructure and, in turn, also protects the environment
- It opens up windows of opportunities for schools to adapt to advanced coursewares and curriculums conducive for online education
- It makes the school technologically advanced
- It helps the teachers to improve their technological skills
- It empowers teachers to adopt advanced teaching methods
The teachers who taught students using conventional methods of teaching, for years have now become proficient in smartboards, platforms such as Microsoft which offer the schools with the best tech support and other applications which enable online education..Online education has become specifically beneficial for school teachers who began careers in a conventional set-up and are now experiencing the evolution towards virtual set-ups. This change is enhancing the communication skills of the teachers, helping them upgrade their pedagogical approach and hone advanced skills in technology. also, It is safe to say that the development of teachers is, in fact, the development of the students and the entire educational institution.
Benefits of Online Education for students
- It makes students more disciplined and routine-oriented
- It integrates their skills in advanced technology, in turn, prepares them for the future
- It keeps their physical energy intact to help them hone new talents to remain ahead of their times
- It increases their time for self-growth
- It gives the student the choice of picking their safe environments
- It improves communication and collaboration skills in a virtual environment
- It refines their critical-thinking skills and challenges students to think differently
- Online learning programs are cost-effective
The use of technology changes the dynamics of the classroom. Students become more engaged, they understand concepts better, and their performance improves drastically. The whole process of education becomes more student-centric.
The future of online education is very bright in India. This can be understood from the fact that there were 1.6 million users who enrolled for online education in 2016 in the country. As per the new figures available, 6-times more users will have opted for this new form of education by the end of 2021. CBSE’s recognition of AI as a skill subject has also been a page turner and a clear indicator that the education industry is going through a digital revolution.