COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call for Paradigm Shift in Learning Methods

Abstract

With the outbreak of COVID-19, all the educational institutions were shut down globally resulting in teachers and students staying out of their classrooms. This resulted into a transformation of education system which incorporated e-learning as basic tool whereby teaching and training is largely conducted on digital platforms. The colleges and universities came under intense pressure to conduct online classes as they were left with no other choice. The present study is an attempt to find out the strengths and weaknesses of online learning system in meeting the challenges posed by the unprecedented pandemic. It also highlights diverse ways to improve the online learning and the desired paradigm shift in the education system. The present study was conducted in the form of a survey which was designed for students based on online learning and was carried out with the help of google link during a period of one month i.e. 15th September to 15th October, 2020.Seven hundred responses were received and analyzed. The responses covered the entire length and breadth of the country and involved students from wide and diverse streams. The survey suggested students’ readiness to online methods but majority favored an optimal mix of offline and online modes. Additionally, they were worried about the safety and security of digital world. The evolving paradigm needs to be strengthened as the online component which is technology dependent requires proper set up, support and regular update which many students and institutions are unable to afford.