In conversation with Rusen Kumar of India CSR, Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance, not-for-profit trust that equips young people with 21st-century skills by enabling self-learning, talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector and the ways to curb the challenges. He feels that Deficits and gender bias in girls’ education impacts their learning and careers in multiple ways. Excerpts as follows:
The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted classroom learning. What, in your opinion, is the way forward for learning and education?
The cornerstone ofQuest Alliance’s work is the belief that individuals will thrive if given the opportunity to build their own learning pathways and place themselves at the center of their own learning journeys. Technology plays an important role in this process because of its potential to create learning spaces, and foster anytime, anywhere learning. While digital learning was gaining momentum in the pre-Covid era, long-established learning ecosystems found it difficult to wholly embrace its full potential.
The enforced shift to virtual spaces in early 2020 has helped counter many deeply entrenched fears and biases towards the concept of virtual learning. Technology enabled a swift, and largely seamless pivot to digital learning spaces, and demonstrated that quality classroom experiences could be quickly and efficiently delivered at scale. These successes have ushered in a new thinking within the sector, calling for more innovation and virtual engagement.
One key learning that has emerged however, is that while technology is an essential tool, it is not a cure-all. While virtual learning enabled educators to stay connected with learners, many struggled to keep them engaged. Traditional teaching approaches will need to transform in order to create 21st-century classrooms to maximise learning experiences.
Access to technology continues to be a dividing force – absolute and acute. Not just the costs involved with procuring devices and connectivity, but more importantly – in the social constructs and mindsets that are at play.Parent and community engagement will therefore be crucial to bridge this gap, if technology is to reach its full potential as an equal access opportunity for better futures.
As traditional learning spaces once again shift to digital platforms in the midst of a second wave of the virus, it behoves us as a sector, to learn from, and build upon our experiences of 2020, if we are to ensure young learners – particularly from marginalised communities – are not left behind.
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