Disclaimer! Dear reader, the intention is not to lament; what you will read below are merely reflections. In case any of it sounds familiar then it is not a coincidence but understand that you are not alone and that solidarity is within reach. Times have changed, so much so that the most commonly used short form now is WFH. The first time I encountered that brief version, I thought someone had got the acronym wrong!
These days the time-keeping devices on the wall have turned into decorative items and the almanac seems to be drifting into oblivion. Why, you ask? Simply because it doesn’t matter. Work can call you any time, any day or pop up as a message or an email. Sundays and other holidays don’t exist anymore. We, it seems, have been successful in breaking the compartmentalisation of time and space that existed. Things like a time to work and a time to play or a place to work and a place to sleep have become nostalgic memories now. Lunch happens whenever there is a gap between two meetings and bedrooms have turned into classrooms. Even though we were thrown into this chaos, as evolutionarily evolved beings, capable of rationalisation (well, most of the times at least), we are navigating to find that rhythm or create a new one. We have adopted this new way of life. However, how much of it have we adapted to, is something to ponder over.
Among the first institutions to be closed amidst the pandemic scare were the educational institutions. The ones who hadn’t completed their classes and examinations immediately switched to the online system. Even though technology was used in classrooms before all the lockdown scenario, we soon realised that most of us were just touching the tip of the iceberg. The depth of the possibilities for teaching through an online mode was realised only during the lockdown.
How well did it go down with everyone? Like with most new things forced on us—not so smooth. There were lots of articles and memes on how the students took this transition to online teaching and how parents are coping with it. We, at our University, conducted a small survey to know the teachers’ perspectives. These voices came from different parts of India echoing from different levels of school education (kindergarten to senior secondary).
Once upon a time, preparing a PPT was the epitome of technology in a classroom. Gone are those days. Now we have various tools like Jamboard, Padlet, Schoology, Epic Pen, Renderforest and platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Moodle and so on which have breathed a new life into using technology in online teaching. One of the surprising (not surprising if you are a teacher!) insight was that a huge majority claimed it took them more time to prepare for online classes compared to the regular ones. There has been a dynamic shift in the modality of classroom teaching. The plethora of online tools also point towards the need for the teachers to keep themselves updated.
Though the new academic year has begun and classes are going on, the question of when regular classes will resume is there on most of our minds. Interestingly, in the survey, too, a majority of the teachers wanted to conduct classes on campus rather than online. One of the major reasons stated for this, by almost one-third of them, was because they felt online classes were not suited for all subjects. Other issues included capturing the attention and engaging all students, making them work in groups and enabling peer learning. These issues prompt the need to rethink teaching strategies in a post-COVID-19 world. Not only for in-service teachers but the teacher training institutes also need to update themselves to absorb the paradigm shift in teaching-learning. I agree that Webinars and FDP’s have multiplied exponentially. But we do need them, especially the ones which address specific issues related to implementation and execution of the new options available.
Moreover, it is not just the students and teachers who are caught in this shift, the parents are equally curious. We hear teachers saying that some parents are breathing down their necks, while parents say that they are taking in extra responsibility on their part. Let us understand that it is new for all of us. Let us take this challenge and be ready for the future. Let us equip ourselves with the tools and information required to move to the new classroom teaching scenario. Like an eager and enthusiastic child, let us too find joy in learning new things. Chiefly because, even after the COVID-19 scare subsides and life returns to the normal we know of, school education might not be the same again. Online classes with its benefits might become an integral part of our education system and yet another new normal might emerge.
