At the onset, let me confess, I feel online learning is a Boon. Why would I say that!
In my view, online learning makes studying incredibly interesting and intimate. You might not even feel like you are studying. Online learning is the best use of computation, pedagogy, and technology. It is affordable in comparison to conventional schools and colleges. It is scalable.
Millions of students can be reached via this mode. Anyone who has access to a connected device can learn. A student can set his / her own pace. It is interactive, sequential, and mastery-based learning. It is delivered via a mode that the millennials are most comfortable with.
Lectures are replaced with learning sequences: The student watches a video, follows it up with an exercise, watches the video again. There is active learning as the student engages with the content as he/she progresses.
Instant feedback: Technology is used to give students instant feedback on their progress. Some of these online learning platforms even offer both students and parents a dashboard. They get to know areas where more effort is required and areas that they are good at.
Mastery-based learning: Keep trying something until you get it right. Modules or individual exercises are designed in a way that unless you have understood the concept properly, you will not be able to move on to the next level.
Self-paced: Videos can be paused, reviewed as many times as required until you get a clear understanding of the concept.Gamification: To quote Byju’s founder Raveendran “educational personalized movies” or as EdX CEO Anant Agarwal describes “game-like experiences” stimulators, gamification, etc. The student engagement level is very high. Where there is engagement, there is retention.
Peer-learning: Discussion forums, Facebook study groups, greatly facilitate peer-to-peer learning.
Last but not the least, flexibility and the ability to pursue it without having to physically commute to a given location. The Covid-19 has added a new dimension to education. Online learning seems the only viable and effective mode of education.
Online learning is definitely a boon especially in an age and time where you have to constantly keep learning to stay relevant. It is definitely a boon for people who for different reasons could not and cannot pursue conventional education.
