COVID-19 To Fuel Next Wave Of Innovation For Education Sector

Technology is an integral part of this new reality, upending current educational practices, models and processes.

Close scrutiny will show that most ‘crisis situations’ are opportunities to either advance or stay where you are – Maxwell Maltz 

Coronavirus has radically transformed the world in a matter of months. Schools and businesses have moved to new ways of working, making the pandemic as life-changing as it is unprecedented. As an educator, it makes me wonder about the future of education and the sheer scale of the impact that coronavirus has had on the education sector. Online schooling has given us a glimpse of how education could change in the coming years. 

Technology is an integral part of this new reality, upending current educational practices, models, and processes. Digitization of education was already underway before the pandemic, but the crisis has accelerated the transformation. Perhaps, education is the only sector which holds the maximum potential for such a transformation. 

In India, teachers who were used to traditional classroom methods have had to shift rapidly to tech-led holistic solutions, which were earlier part of the long-term plan. Having said that, for teachers and students to adapt successfully to the technological solutions that are available right now, we need to address some challenges. 

Dearth of digital content for online teaching

In the current situation, school leaders and teachers have come across many difficulties, especially when it comes to sourcing ready-to-use digital content and compatible digital tools for online classes. Content that fits with the curriculum, but can be easily adapted to online teaching, is not readily available and certainly not around the time schools first closed. Developing informative content that is easy to access, disseminate and evaluate is the need of the hour.  

During this period, it was obvious that schools that were already embracing technological solutions were better prepared for the new reality. Many of the international schools associated with Cambridge International had started developing online resources and using online platforms well before the lockdown.  

These schools, we realized, were better prepared to move learning online and easily adapted the available tech-solutions. One such school is Chettinad Sarvlokaa Education International, a Cambridge International School in Tamil Nadu. The schools have made their online and web-based learning platforms diverse by providing content relevant for different age groups. What is highly commendable here is how even a subject like physical education has not stopped being a part of the students’ daily timetable. There are many other examples of schools doing the same. 

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