Is E-Learning Transforming India’s Education Pattern?
India has a rich history in education. It has been the centre of education for centuries now. The world admires and upholds the geniuses produced by the Indian Education System. Today, the Indian Education System is opening up to Online Education.
All reputed educational institutes across India are going online. They have realised the power that online education or e-learning. They enable students to learn without having to travel across cities or in some cases states. Let’s look at the evolution of online education or e-learning in India.
Distance Learning Programs
E-learning finds its roots in the Distance Learning Programs. Educational institutes designed special educational programs to reach out to more deserving students. These programs allowed students to study on their own. The study material was sent to them via mail. But the students had to take the tests at a centre which was near to the student’s home.
Distance Online Education
Even with the excellent study material at hand, students found it difficult to learn. These programs lacked the effectiveness of the lectures conducted on the campus. But then, computers arrived and brought in the magical ‘Internet’. The digital study material replaced the printed copies. The notes were sent to the students via e-mail in seconds. Online tests replaced the manual tests. The video cameras allowed the students to actually watch the lectures online. These lectures were either live broadcasts or recorded videos.
Online Learning Portals
The technological advancements also helped educational initiatives to spring up online. Online portals came up to cater to the needs of the students with innovative courses. Everything was instant, thus caught the attention of the generation. These portals began offering educational, vocational and certificate courses.
Smartphones & E-Learning
Today, smartphones are spearheading the technology wave. Education was accessible to everyone and it could now fit in your pocket. It transformed the learning and one can take lessons anytime, anywhere. Everyone has access to learning at his or her comfort regardless of their time zones. The online education had more takers as compared to the traditional educational setup.
Educational Revolution
The innovations in technology have benefitted education for sure. But it has touched only about 9 percent of the total number of students across the country. The opportunity is big as the untapped 91 percent of the students will soon experience e-learning. It will be a paradigm shift in the educational sector in India. More than 96 lakh students would try online education by 2021. It would turn into an educational revolution.
Future Prospects
Online education shows promise and has been proving fruitful in many ways. And with the concept of e-learning being new to most, it is an opportunity nobody wants to lose. This opportunity will compel the educational institutes to upgrade themselves. They will find better subject matter experts to teach their students. This will improve the quality of education in India.
Conclusion
It is sure that the current educational environment in India will transform. But this transformation will be for good. It will evolve into a much more sensible, personalised and effective learning system. And only then would all the students start learning with their whole heart!
