Imagine you’re reading a book and you come across a certain word- ‘Abstruse’. Until and unless you don’t have a dictionary in hand, what’s the other way to find out the meaning of the word?
But of course, it’s your cell phone!
This is one of the very small instances of how your gadgets have made certain objects redundant. Let’s take another instance to understand it better.
What’s the answer to 600*7555/.8675? If you have the willpower to do the lengthy sum, that’s amazing. But if you don’t, what do you refer to? Your cell phone!
You have been dependent on technology even without realising it. Ever since the lockdown was announced, ‘Work From Home’ has become the new way of working. School students have online classes as opposed to going to school.
iTunes U and Khan Academy existed long before online classes came into the picture. Online Education has been a norm of the industry for as long as the World Wide Web has existed.
Something as basic as your mobile calculator to your online dictionary has made it easier for us.
However, students cannot learn hands-on skills via their laptops. They cannot learn human skills like emotions until they are not present in class, in person. We go to school to interact and learn. We go to school to form bonds, lifelong friendships and play sports.
Of course, I’m all for online education. However, the challenges that come with online classes in India, are very different from a first-world country. Lack of technology, fast speed internet and lack of digital education are some of the leading factors where online education fails in some parts of the country.
Indians are struggling to understand the concept of online education. Some state governments have been kind enough to give smartphones to students while others have started television channels dedicated solely to teaching.
Albeit unknown to technology, Indian teachers are putting their best foot forward to teach students. Students too, are reciprocating and learning with enthusiasm.
In a public university, where students belong to all walks of life, the differences are prominent. Especially during online classes. Online classes come at a cost- internet. Something as basic an amenity is hard for people to afford.
Lengthy classes, sometimes as much as 6-7 hours at a stretch are a bane to the human body and eyes. However, the thought of those long corridors, friends, and teachers fills our hearts with joy.
But, when so much is at stake- ‘Beggars cannot be choosers.’ We cannot choose to have in-person right now. This is just the beginning and online classes are the way ahead.
Also read: THE EVER-PERSISTENT ACTIVIST GUILT: A CAUTION SIGN TO THE INTERNET
Image Credits: Medium
