This pandemic situation has brought in many new challenges in every walk of professional life and so also in the educational sector.  If we consider particularly, in recent months, we come across many new digital technologies involving faculty and students for enabling knowledge sharing. As one step further, many successful Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have innovated and developed new Learning Management Systems (LMS) to position themselves in a competitive scenario.  The need for upgrading to the new technologies is higher for Tier 2 & 3 universities than the other ones.

Digital Technologies at a glance

Digital technologies and the internet affect how the knowledge base is created and shared.  The technologies used in the HE can be broadly categorized as - one for delivering and another for managing.  For hybrid-mode (aka blended approach) in delivering lectures, a university needs to invest in multiple tools for the creation of e-books, simulations, and gamification along with flipped and active learning classrooms, MOOCs, etc., Additionally, for managing solutions like LMS to consider Assessment, Evaluation and Feedback and much more.

The online mode also has got the advantage of connecting experts across the world with students for experiential learning.

Many of us think that we may have to go back to the traditional approach of off-line based education, once the pandemic situation is relieved.  But the reality differs. The new technologies which are being used today would get multiplied in the future because of the fact that students find hybrid learning exciting due to obvious reasons such as, simplified access to educational resources, self-learning & enhanced learning experience, ability to demand learning for their future career.  The online mode also has got the advantage of connecting experts across the world with students for experiential learning.   Hence, it becomes a mandatory investment to go for automated tools like Kahoot, Trello, Nearpod, and so on.  In other words, it is time to upgrade the infrastructure in general and particularly for the on-line scenario. As tools enable the students to interact with technology off-campus, those tools must be incorporated into the learning process. Technology also simplifies the teaching-learning process, which would also strengthen the relationships between the students and teachers or institutions.

Why Tier2&3 institutions are important?

The T-2 & 3 based universities need to take up such upgradations in an aggressive manner due to two valid reasons.  Firstly, as per the CSI-IMRB report, growth in the country's luxury market will be driven by those living in T-2 & 3 cities, and secondly, as per an earlier analysis by McKinsey, about 77% of India’s economic growth till 2025, is expected to come from 49 clusters of districts with metropolitan cities at their nucleus.  This clearly indicates the need for the academic institutions belonging to T-2 & 3 cities to upgrade at par with the T-1 institutions. Moreover, because of the recent ‘Make-in-India’ movement, leading institutions belonging to T-2&3 need to transform their institutions into a ‘start-up friendly’ environment.

Hybrid Learning - Need of the hour

In the recently introduced New Educational Policy (NEP) Indian institutions are highly encouraged to develop their own online programs and mutually recognize the credit award for on-line programs offered by ours as well as foreign universities. While this increases huge potential across the globe, it also indicates that institutions that are technologically upgraded to support hybrid education will have a good growth opportunity in the future.

According to a survey conducted among the HEI in Gujarat, the majority of the institutions are well equipped in terms of basic infrastructure requirements such as, internet connectivity but not so in terms of LMS or CMS (Content Management System) which are to be part of their e-learning platform. Technology without a trained faculty is like a train without an engine.  Hence, one more dimension getting added here is to train the faculty members to make them comfortable with these technologies.

“Technology is just a tool.  In terms of making the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important”– BILL GATES