National Education Day: From blackboards to digital screens: How technology is expanding the horizons of learning

The current National Education Policy focusses on digital education while encouraging interdisciplinary education. Smart classes, flip classes, and digital learning are also being explored extensively. Government programmes such as ‘Digital India’ and increased emphasis on expanding the ‘Skill India’ campaign has added an extra impetus for schools to galvanize digital learning.

Furthering the National Education Policy focus, a structure for Model Schools has also been developed and is being implemented at various locations across the country. K10 (kindergarten till 10th standard (SSC)) curriculum in digital format has already been introduced in several schools and is now being introduced in government schools.

Various tools of digital learning which includes projectors, screens, radios and other audio-visual equipment are being introduced to the school children. Gamification of the curriculum has also seen a rise in acceptance and implementation.

The shift from classroom -- chalk and board learning to digital education -- has been revolutionary, to say the least. According to a report by the National Statistic Commission, Government of India, India has the largest population of children in the world with an estimated 242 million children between 10 and 24 years. It is imperative then, that education should be optimised to ensure that when this population becomes of working age, they have the requisite skills to ascertain employability.

The state of education in the rural areas has seen a decline due to challenges such as obsolete teaching methods, shortage of teachers, skewed student-teacher ratio and lack of resources. Digital education will help in moderating these concerns while mitigating issues by improvising the methodologies and providing multimedia teaching tools to engage and motivate students to gain knowledge. One teacher can deliver information through remote access across several locations and interactive digital media, this will help address the shortage of teachers in the country.

Efforts are being made in the direction with the help of the government and NGOs who are working towards a better education system. While the National Education Policy focusses on digital learning, NGOs such as Akshaya Patra are implementing digital infrastructure such as LCD screens, projectors and other digital learning equipment through its ‘School Rejuvenation Programme’ under their ‘National Endeavour for School Transformation’ initiative.

Various tools such as smartboards, LCD screens, videos, radio among others, make it sustainable for the teachers to deliver information more efficiently.

Learners today, have access to information and opportunities for extended, and mobile learning. This advantage provides access to give and receive immediate feedback, on the go, while providing higher motivation to engage. The digital platform has also opened avenues for children sitting in remote places to access the information and participate in learning. This increases the engagement of the students and improves their productivity.

While classroom learning is restricted to locations, digital learning expands the horizon and goes beyond the physical boundaries into the realms of expansive knowledge gathering. Remedial classes and remote classes from home have made a physical presence in the classroom unnecessary. The discipline which comes from physical presence can be regulated online as well. There is no dearth of knowledge and exposure to it will only enhance the skills of the children.

Troubled areas or subjects which are difficult for students to grasp can be mitigated through exploration on the digital platform. More exercises, use of different learning tools can help overcome hurdles in difficult subjects with more flexibility of the learning ecosystem.

Online webinars and two-way seminars are already the buzz words in academia but along with that if virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR) are included, the learning experience will take transformation in the educational sphere to a new level in government schools. The inclusion of VR and AR in academia, so far, wherever it has been implemented, has had a massive impact on the efficiency with which it is accessible to the students and their performance management. VR also allows students who use e-learning platform on mobile devices to interact directly with the study material hence increasing their engagement level while continuously motivating them. This hybrid and collaborative online learning experience are revolutionising education in India.

Industrial revolution 4.0 needs the upskilling of our education industry as well. With this transformation, it would be a good idea to align our education environment to new-age learning and unlearning mechanisms. Only with radical alteration will digital learning enhance the nation’s youth as a collective. This is the generation which will constitute our future workforce, it is imperative that today’s children be allowed to explore and be encouraged to learn independently and engage themselves in the knowledge available to them at the tip of their fingers. Entire paradigm shift including the rural level is a vital step towards nation-building.