The education field could not be more affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. With half of the world being put on lockdown, schools, colleges, and universities faced dramatic interruptions in the curricula.
To lessen the effect of such a halt, educational institutions and policymakers started massive digitalization of the learning process. Under normal circumstances, it could have taken years for students to adapt to this new educational environment.
Having no time to waste and acting through trial and error, the 2020 academic year was finished. Those who were about to graduate, graduated. Those who'd applied were selected and enrolled. However, the major changes are only about to happen.
Together with the educational gurus from the Paperwritingservice team, we discussed in what ways the pandemic is reshaping education. Here are our thoughts on the matter:
Homeschooling
With half of the global student population being advised to stay at home, it is obvious that homeschooling would witness a major rise. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, homeschooling was either a privilege of the rich or a necessity. Today, homeschooling is a conscious choice.
Online education has been available for a while, but it was mostly chosen by adults seeking a career change. Currently, this is the only opportunity to continue educational programs with little to zero disruption.
Hybrid models or traditional classroom instructions are pretty much unreliable since there can be an outbreak at school at any time.
Tutoring
Teachers had been struggling to pay enough attention to everyone in the class when students went to school. With all the things moving online, this task has become even more challenging. It will, probably, improve in the following years since teachers will get some experience working online. But for now, the best way to meet the individual needs of students is to hire a tutor.
Those who had private practice before the pandemic struck are very well aware of how to keep student attention when working online. Also, such teachers should only share their knowledge and pay attention to a few students working in the group.
This type of education is being chosen by many parents, who may not believe in distance learning.
M-Learning
Here are two factors that may bring about a boost in mobile learning. First of all, many students already use their mobile devices to access learning materials whenever they want. This trend will only continue to rise.
However, most importantly, smartphones will be the only way students from rural areas and less developed countries will be able to access online education.
Getting a computer can be a problem as it requires finances and resources (electricity, for example). Moreover, every child in a family needs to own a separate device. Buying a used mobile device is more reasonable from that point of view.
Collaboration
Both public and private educational institutions were hardly prepared for the events the year 2020 had in store. However, this crisis pushed everyone involved in Education to collaborate on a new level.
Trying to survive and keep going, governments, educators, software developers, and technology providers have agreed to cooperate in every way.
Here's a quick example: Coursera and other MOOCs opened access to their courses to students for free. The world's leading universities offered their libraries to documented students worldwide. Lots of tools for education and online collaboration were made available free of charge. Such unprecedented cooperation gives hope for a better future of the whole sphere.
Technology
Should or should not we introduce modern technologies into the learning process is no longer a question. All innovations must be implemented as soon as they become available in the market. No one knows what future challenges await us. And this year's experience proves that it is better to be prepared than sorry.
Teachers and students should embrace digitalization. Even if we get a chance to study in classrooms virus-free, technologies are something that can keep us from such major disruptions in the future. Education has moved too far now from what it was in 2019, and it is not going backward.
Teachers
The role of teachers is also changing everywhere. They are no longer seen as the ultimate source of information. They are rather guides who direct students through learning. Self-education is growing; teachers only monitor the process.
The consequences of such changes are hard to project. There are both supporters and opponents to the transformation of teachers' duties. However, searching for information and self-learning had been common long before the crisis hit. Today, we simply see that such a way of studying becomes a new norm.
Final Words
Covid-19 has affected lots of industries, including Education. However, students continued their studies regardless of all disruptions. Were it to happen a decade earlier, such lockdown would definitely mean a total halt for global development.
Seeing all of it, our duty is to keep fighting for the implementation of innovations in Education. We do not know what the future has in store. Therefore, we should do our best to prepare for the next hit whenever it comes.
