All across the world, schools and universities have shut because of COVID-19. Globally, all children are out of the classroom. Consequently, education has dramatically transformed with the rise of e-learning, in which teaching is done remotely and on digital platforms. Although online learning provides lots of new learning opportunities to students, the quality of education is utterly dependent on the level and quality of digital access. It is easy for the developed countries to choose online platforms as the people have required resources such as internet connection to implement the system. However, it is very tough for Asian countries to continue online, and students are suffering a lot. Moreover, the experience is different for different age learners. For example, for elementary kids, they need assistance from their parents to complete the tasks assigned by the teacher and what if the parents are not tech-savvy or they do not have time to help children in doing their assignments.

For adults, online learning is very flexible. Learning from home gives them opportunities to learn more innovatively. They can learn at their own pace. Teachers are using different synchronous and asynchronous ways to engage students in the learning process. I have observed that smart integration of games in teaching gives higher engagement and increased motivation towards learning among adult students, making them truly fall in love with learning. However, the most critical threat to online learning is the social isolation and lack of our relationships with the outer world as we have become slaves of our homes.

According to (Miami Herbert Business School, 2020), a transition to an online educational system will result in fewer students on on-campus courses; it will force university management teams to struggle with facilities and complex infrastructures that are not scalable. So, there will be a need to determine flexibility and adaptability in adjusting and deploying resources. In my viewpoint, after the pandemic, education should be a blend of online learning as well as face to face classrooms because a teacher is more than just a facilitator of knowledge. A teacher plays the role of a mentor, a guide, and an inspiration for all the learners, which cannot be replaced by technology because technology cannot teach us personal skills such as decision making, time management, etc. Teachers are who transfer the knowledge and positively influence the students. Most of the duties and responsibilities of teachers can be automated by using AI techniques in a better way than human teachers, for example, self-updating on subject matters, automated course material preparation, applying student-specific teaching methods, automated assessments and so on. However, AI cannot motivate and influence a student and cannot assess the creativity of a student. Thus, technology does not have the power to replace teachers, as computers cannot exchange human interaction, and social skills cannot be imparted by technology.

References:

Miami Herbert Business School. (2020, April 6). How COVID-19 Will Change Higher Education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4SZ8AezUgs