E-learning and Conventional learning: An overview

India’s education system is frequently the subject of heated debate due to poor learning quality, obsolete curriculum, an over-reliance on rote learning, and a lack of suitable infrastructure. Even as our formal education system returns to physical campuses, e-learning is increasingly finding its way into our classrooms. An increasing number of educational institutions are warming up to the concept of embracing new digital tools to develop a future-ready education system, much as much else in our life, from shopping to entertainment, from investment to travel, goes online.

Schools and colleges around the country are finding significant value in the digital format of education and want to continue with some of its elements, from flipped classrooms to continuous feedback, virtual labs to discussion forums, online assessments to live sessions by industry experts. Technological tools are not only finding a place in the realm of online education, but they are also collaborating with traditional institutions to produce new kinds of education. Challenges in education have always existed; however, because Google knows everything, we need to shift our focus from knowing to learning. Because simply pouring more money isn’t working, metrics must change from inputs to outcomes.

Differentiation and personalization are about making learning accessible to children by tapping into their motivations and skills, not about making things easier for them. Annual exams must give way to ongoing feedback in terms of assessment. Teachers’ content knowledge is not the same as their capacity to influence student learning. A continuum of preparation, repair, and upgrade is required for lifelong learning. Several flaws in classroom education can be mitigated with the use of educational technology.

The government’s recent initiatives, such as making universities multidisciplinary, using an academic bank of credit to store credentials, promoting various MOOC platforms, overhauling the examination system to introduce a more inclusive continuous assessment system that tests students on their ability to apply what they’ve learned, teacher training on the use of digital teaching tools, and the launch of India Skills Online for skill training, all encourage students to improve their grades. Traditional learning and online learning are becoming increasingly blurred, with online resources such as e-exams, e-tutorials, live online projects, peer group discussions, online assessments, online mentorship, and internships being utilised to supplement classrooms.

Institutes are utilising technological platforms to offer new disciplines such as digital marketing, cloud computing, cyber security, AI and machine learning, data science, and digital forensics in order to develop future-ready workers. Learning is becoming more engaging and immersive thanks to the use of gamification in many ways such as quizzes, leader boards, badges, and online games. Learning is more exciting and engaging when students use online learning technologies that encourage peer-to-peer learning by sharing learning materials, working on collaborative projects, exchanging ideas, and participating in group activities. Schools and institutions will be able to create tailored learning journeys for distinct learners based on their talents, preferences, and performance using data science and AI powered intelligent tutoring systems.

Since providing hands-on learning for large groups of students may be difficult and expensive, the use of AR and VR within classrooms will dramatically improve immersive learning experiences. The use of technology to automate mundane duties would free up teachers to focus on tasks that are uniquely suited to humans, such as coaching, mentoring, and motivating learners. Because of time and space constraints, physical classroom systems frequently made this mistake. The promise of online education, which promised to break the tough trinity of cost, quality, and scalability, was not realised. With the widespread adoption of online learning in traditional classrooms, this is about to change. Finally, we can have an educational system that allows equal and great students to not only coexist but prosper.