COVID Pandemic Has Made people Realise The Significance Of Online Learning
When all the people were locked up in the safe confines, a teacher like I was driven to thrive on the challenges that lay ahead, constantly trying to reach to my students and ardently following my passion.
The internet has invariably changed how we facilitate, access and share knowledge. After the pandemic hit the world, we have realised the significance of online literacy and its role in the system today.
Online teaching was an emergency response. The world of teaching was completely digitalised overnight. The role of a teacher became all the more challenging and so was mine. When all the people were locked up in the safe confines, a teacher like I was driven to thrive on the challenges that lay ahead, constantly trying to reach to my students and ardently following my passion.
Furthering my idea of teaching online, I ventured into a new style of delivery. It was a shift from physical interaction and classroom teaching to virtual, more interactive and indulging exchange of knowledge. Whoa! It began on 25th of March, 2020.
Putting all inhibitions aside, I launched myself as an online english instructor for the first time. God was generous and I received an overwhelming response from students across the country. From Guwahati in the east to Surat in the west, from Jammu in the north and Coimbatore in the south- a stretch of 3000 kms was all enclosed in a 20 inch screen. Unbelievable! Isn't it?
So the online world became my new road to Damascus. It gave me a more interactive, collaborative approach towards the whole idea of teaching and learning. It has given me an opportunity to explore a whole new world of digitalized teaching.
"Every cloud has a silver lining." It is not an understatement that Covid-19 has brought this catalyzing pedagogical shift in how we teach and learn.
With this, we can not only avail the best teachers available throughout the world as per our convenience but is also a great way for the e-learners to improve their technological skills. Covid -19 will surely be a thing of the past but online teaching is now here to stay.
--Jyoti Bharat Kumar
(The author is a guest contributor and is former head of the English Department at IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., Meerut. She is an English coach and an IELTS/SAT instructor.)