The Covid 19 or we can say that the pandemic of 2020 has made everyone in their homes for about 2 weeks. People had a lot of time to reflect, which is something they never had the time to do before. This time home has left for everyone with much time for reflection and even prayer. During this lockdown and for those who are quarantine, technology has become like a boon to everyone. Technology has gotten a bad rap over the years, particularly in the realm of Education, no doubt there is the use of technology in every field, but today in this critical period, it is the technology that is allowing many people to continue to work, and keeping people connected with this time of isolation. It’s allowing students and the professionals to continue to attend classes and to do the work from home so that both of them may not lack behind in completing the task and studies. Not only the students but the Professionals are utilizing the time and up skilling themselves by using the technologies. According to UNESCO, since the outbreak of COVID-19 began, some 1.37 billion students in 138 countries worldwide have been affected by school and university closures. Nearly 60.2 million school teachers and university lecturers are no longer in the classroom. But salute to the technologies which is keeping people sane and connected in a way that wouldn’t have been possible in the past. It is not limited to only students and faculties but the working people of different fields are too benefitted from this technology. Another amazing thing happening with regards to technology right now is that many companies are offering free access to their sites and tools during the pandemic. Right now, you can go online and take a free exercise class, learn ballet, meditate, or attend a museum right from the comfort of your own home. Not only in completing the task or teaching even you can have coffee over video chat with whom you have wanted to talk.

Benefits of Online Education

1. Flexibility
   Students have the freedom to juggle their careers and school because they aren’t tied down to a fixed schedule. In a traditional classroom setting, class meeting times are set, and the student has no power over this, forcing them to work their schedules around these dates.
2. Reduced Costs
   Online education can cost less due to a variety of reasons. For example, there is no cost for commuting. Assorted costs that are related to transport, such as fuel, parking, car maintenance, and public transportation costs don’t affect the online student.
3. Networking Opportunities
   Online education also provides students with the chance to network with peers across nations or even different continents. This often leads to other opportunities in terms of collaboration with other individuals in the implementation of a project. At the same time, it makes them culturally sensitive and able to fit into other environments easily given their exposure to other cultures.
4. Documentation
   All the information that you will need will be safely stored in an online database. This includes things like live discussion documents, training materials and emails. This means that if there’s ever anything that needs to be clarified, the student will be able to access these documents fast, saving valuable time.
5. Access to Expertise
   An online college education might give students access to specialized degree courses that may not be available in an easily accessible or local institution of learning. Online classes allow the sharing of expertise that helps more people have access to education that is not readily available in certain geographic locations. This type of education has grown over the last few years and has experienced mainstream acceptance. With an online class, you get to control your learning environment, which ultimately helps you develop a deeper understanding of your degree course.

Conclusion

So, to conclude, while yes this is a scary time for everyone, you can still find the positive in the negative. As Online learning is a greatest revolution in contemporary education to make a huge change in the system and grasp the great opportunities of learning something. Online students not only encounter all mandatory coursework, but also gain experience with new technology as one of the advantages of online classes. At the very least what we need to have is hope. Hope that we will all get through this a little wiser, a little kinder, and a little better than we were before.

Author –
Assistant Professor
LBEF Campus