By: Hadia Mukhtar
Based on the experience and observational studies, it is concluded by the leading educationalist that the learning institutes in response of the COVID-19 closure of schools and universities were practicing Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) and not E-learning. It is because ERT is a practical, temporary and a short-term transition of delivering education to deal with the crisis situation without much change in pedagogy. On the other hand, E-learning requires careful deliberation and the formulation of institutional policies and frameworks for course design and specialized training of teachers to become familiar with state-of-the-art online teaching tools and sites so that they can execute a good quality and engaging outline for the students in the academic year and semesters. More than that, it requires an effective and streamlined collaboration with the IT department and the pedagogues so that the education delivery and term assessments are not compromised at all.
Many educational institutes in Pakistan are already familiarizing and assisting their teachers with interactive teaching tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Jamboards and Google Classrooms ensuring that education and learning is not disrupted at any cost. More than that, they are also conducting digital assessments on forums such as exam.net through comprehensive training and assistance to the teachers and the students thus bringing into limelight that in the midst of challenging times, teachers can become facilitators and responsible educationalist who strive to preserve the future of their students by ensuing that they do not slack at any point.
Even though it is undeniable that the rapid shift to the use of technology is classrooms is without difficulties and obstacles for instructors, embracing e-learning and not ERT is the code of future education and learning. Even if the schools have physically opened, the possibility of future lockdowns still loom over us. As the future of education stands blurred before us, it is imperative that the government and the private sector collaborate over the implementation of E-learning that requires careful design, planning, research, prioritizing investments and resource allocation, training and assistance to faculty members, hiring learning designers who are responsible for integrating pedagogy with technology and relearning the modes of teaching and instruction. But what is more important is that students should be engaged in the process as student learning experience must be at the core of all pedagogies.
The writer is a geo-political and foreign policy analyst with a strong background in International Relations. She can be reached at [email protected]
