The Leap into Digital Education
If you are reading this, you will agree to the fact that in just months the world was brought to a standstill, but then not pulling the brakes of the wheels of education and work. To a high extent, work was halted and saw many employees being sent home either indefinitely or for the purpose to continue working from their homes.
Education, on the other hand, as a crucial part of every human’s life could not be automatically halted, especially in tertiary institutions. Thus, the only way to keep it running was by fully maximizing the means of technology, in other words, taking a leap into digital education.
The education system, which was previously carried out in classrooms with face-to-face interactions, had to take a complete turn by being carried out online. This should have been no news as the digital means of educating was subtly being introduced into the system. The COVID pandemic, therefore, provided that leap to the education system needed. Some private schools, for instance, began to engage students from their homes by creating new schedules to engage the learners and connecting with them mainly through video forms.
Teachers especially in Ghana resorted to using Google Meet and Zoom to meet with learners and provide their various lessons. Other platforms were also used for interactions such as WhatsApp and the TV. Messages, assignments, and other resources were communicated via email.
The Technology Enhanced Learning
Traditional classrooms, previously, were mainly focused on in-person delivery of teaching and learning, with less room for creativity for the learners. Indeed, you and everyone else can attest to the fact that traditional classrooms involved standardized curriculums and contained the usage of voluminous textbooks and reading resources for use.
However, with digitizing traditional classrooms, learners get to explore and discover creative skills by which they previously did not know. This new method of education also enables learners to be productive and sharpen their critical skills.
The New Method of Education Has Come to Stay
Here’s a research conducted by the Research Institute of America:
Students retain 25 to 60% more materials when learning online as compared to 8 to 10% in the traditional classroom. They also discovered that students using the online method can learn at their own pace, go back and re-read and accelerate through concepts as they choose.
Digitized education has proven to be flexible to enable students to easily retrieve the information they need to learn and fully grasp whatever they are taught. Given the benefits that digitized education has over students and tutors, it is clear that digital education is here to stay and will play a significant role in education in the coming years.
