The recent covid19 outbreak has left all of us in a strange situation, a situation in which our normal day to day life is adversely affected by the pandemic and the resulting quarantine. The global teaching fraternity has also been working round the clock to come up with changes in the academic schedule so that the students and their education are not lagging behind.  Educators have unanimously opted to go online with teaching and to conduct classes with the students in a virtual environment. Online education has become a new norm nowadays and even with minor issues here and there, both the teachers and students alike have adapted seamlessly into this mode of education. While some still remain hesitant when it comes to online education and question its effectiveness, the rest has first-hand seen and experienced the pros of online education.

While there are plenty of advantages for online education that showcases why it will be in high demand even after the pandemic, lets’ take a look at how online learning will impact the learners of today.

1. Improving Student Engagement: While traditional methods of learning have been constantly evolving, many classrooms still operate in a one-way medium kind of approach where there is little to no regard given to personalized education or student engagement. Education is fun when students get to engage in their learning process and it helps them to become more interested in learning which, in turn, makes them stronger learners. Poor student retention is also a downside of traditional educational models and studies have shown that online education does a better job of engaging with the students and on some occasions boosting the retention rates to 60 percent. The recent pandemic situation has just boosted the practice of online education and with the opportunities to deliver content in new ways constantly coming up, it won’t be a surprise to see educators opting for online education post-pandemic.

2. Offering Personal Assistance: It is normal to have students who may be less involved and interested in classroom activities. The one size fits all approach followed in traditional models of education is not tailored in such a way that the personal needs and requirements of a student are given the ample care. While at the same time, when it comes to online education, teachers have the ability to have a clear understanding of the needs of an individual student which will help them to cater to those students and offer them added guidance or assistance. This allows the teachers to create a deep connection with each individual student that will allow the teacher to help students reach their fullest potential. Offering personal attention to students will also help them to be more involved in learning which will help them to be inspired learners.

3. Equipping the Students: While traditional methods of education have also the ability to impart top-notch education and make their students employable, in this modern world where being tech-savvy is crucial, online education offers a much better outlet for students to improve their digital literacy. The fact that students who are familiar and knowledgeable with online tools have an edge over their traditional counterparts in a workplace is also true. So online education not only helps students to be better learners but it also helps them to be equipped with the needed skills required to thrive in the modern world.  Going forwards where digitalization is going to be the new norm, students who are comfortable with working in the online space has a far better chance of surviving in the market which makes the argument for making online education the new standard even after the pandemic more convincing.  

The current scenario, where online education is our best bet to offer quality and meaningful education to the students has shown the world the capability and effectiveness of online education and if educators can build on this, the opportunities for growth in the online education strata is anyone’s guess.