Technology has also made deep inroads in the field of education and technology, commonly referred to as Edu-tech and in present times, when many countries have imposed lockdowns and have shut schools due to Corona virus, the worth of edu-tech is felt and utilized across the world and students are found gaining lost ground in learning and skill building. But still, some of the significant habits youngsters should develop to be at the best while receiving education online.
- Tendency To Collaborate:
When classes are taken online, e-tutorials are generally followed by assignments and projects where students are framed in groups and collective learning takes place. As such, inter-group interactions and involvement holds the key to excel in e-learning mode and students are required to collaborate with peers to fetch value for their work, which is also crucial for the overall success of online teaching.
Drawback: Some students are more studious ad ahead in learning than others, especially those from learned family background and hence such may find it difficult to bring other average students to their level. Then, even students with minimal approach to learning may resort to unacceptable ways such as copying the text (i.e. stealing)or assignment of brilliant minds and so forth.
- Passion To Craft Crisp Content:
One should develop skills to craft superb content and textual format from their own. This is also because students’ access to teachers becomes very limited when schools are closed in pandemic and classes are held in online mode and individual writing assessment is not possible. Moreover, in online mode, with heavy influx of study material, one’s assignment shouldn’t be marked as copied or stolen content violating the copyrights while also lacking in learning.
It is advisable that youngsters should be clear and precise about their concepts, subject ideas and requirements and such should be articulated in error-free writing (typing), which is a distinct skill which needs to be honed in today’s era.
Drawback: Students who are not so much into studies, may find it difficult to develop writing skills to draft unique content and are simply into conventional way of mugging things up to write exam and to earn grades required to clear the exam.
- Passion For New Skills:
Clearly, e-teaching is entirely a new experience before a group of students and this makes it essential that a deep hunger should be harboured among students to learn new skills so as to make the online platform and such learning time fully constructive. There should be developed skills and ability to receive inputs from video tutorials and jotting details into text through quick typing. Even though, such is termed as redundant as not linked to technical side of education but still hold a great significance within itself.
Drawback: Students, especially in Asian and African countries, where technology is not so much developed and e-teaching practice is not so common, generally lack focus and their minds can easily get diverted to other things. Thus, it will take time for them, to establish close association with this method of technological learning and to excel.
- Ability To Manage Time:
Not surprisingly, but when one has to remain at home all the time during pandemic and has to attend classes in online mode, students should manage time in optimum way. Children can easily get attracted to other activities like sports, TV, video games etc and have to focus upon studies too. Thus, it becomes imperative that proper time slots should be divided and parents and guardians should take the lead in this case and should infuse proper time management skills among growing children.
Drawback: Easier said than done, children are fond of other activities where they find fun and hence switching from studies to other things and vice-versa may be hard to some students to cope with. This is also because in countries like India, online education is not common and majority of students simply attend classes by going to school or college.
- Search And Re-search On Internet:
New age tradition marked by intense use of internet, makes it mandatory for young learners of today to be able to surf internet in perfected way. In other words, one can easily find the info and details about any given topic on the internet and this is rightly being referred to as information superhighway. But then, deluge of info and data is being fed into the internet server, making it hard for users to verify the truth and validity of the data source. Hence, such type of habit should be encouraged and developed whereby subject and topic details could be fetched from authentic sources and teachers should guide the proper way out.
Drawback: Some students are lazy and may find the task of internet searching as dull and boring. Therefore, it is imperative for teachers to provide tutorials from their side while also try to inculcate upon the habit of internet search simultaneously, whereby authentic platforms and websites and popular persons of the field of study, should be identified.
- Fundamental IT Skills:
When one tries to get educated online, one needs to be completely well-versed with certain computer skills, which are bare minimum to attend online classes and to learn thereby. This is also because in educational technology, one would need to access forums and virtual classrooms for discussion with tutors as well as with other students. Likewise, one should be completely aware of certain computer applications such as word processors, excel sheets, presentation software, PDF, remote logins, usernames, passwords and the security of these, firewalls, malware, viruses, remote connectivity, IP address, email accounts, awareness about hacking practices and so much forth.
Drawback: Unfortunately, in some Asian and African countries, till today, such a towering advancement in edu-tech has not yet arrived and adapted to and children still take classes in real schools and in brick-and-mortar schools and for young children, knowing such tech concepts and to gain mastery over these will certainly take time. Neither is it economically viable for parents to provide such basic electronic gadgets necessary for such networked classes.
As such, governments of such countries in tandem with international agencies, such as UNICEF should step forward to accomplish something to make edu-tech common around the world and to enable people of backward societies to keep pace with changing digital dynamics.
- Passionate About Learning:
As always and for every youngster, it is necessary that students (and so the elders) should become devoted to learning new skills, especially technological, in face of constant tech advancement. Not surprisingly, youngsters ought to be self-motivated and to have self-discipline in life, to manage time and multiple activities while at stranded home due to lockdowns. There should be a proper schedule that youngsters should adhere to and teachers and parents should take lead in this affair.
