Online education is inadequate for reasons we have long known

Source– The post is based on the article “Online education is inadequate for reasons we have long known” published the mint on 6th July 2023.

Syllabus: GS2-Issues related to Education

Relevance: Online Education

News- Online education is unable to address core requirements of good education and that is why it has very limited effectiveness.

What are the limitations of online education?

The answers lie at the very core of what education is and how learning happens.

Education is about developing three kinds of things in the learner which are Capacities (reading, critical thinking,), Values and dispositions (Like empathy, non-discrimination) and Knowledge.

Online Education does not develop values and fundamental capacities but focuses on goals linked with knowledge.

Education provides 2 kinds of goals: 1) Know-How 2) Know-what

Know-what tells us the concepts and content knowledge, while Know-how provides the knowledge of how to do things.

Good education is often about developing know-how and not only the know-what. It is because an infinite amount of content is available, but if a student knows how to do things, he will automatically grab know-whats of the thing.

While know-what can be understood without a teacher, know-how is much more difficult to understand and requires a teacher. Online education is unable to cover the know-how system properly.

Why is the teacher unable to provide effective education online?

Attention and focus: In education, it’s about sustained attention which is lacking in online education.

Emotional state: Being excited, bored, or sad has a direct effect on learning.

Motivation: The learner’s desire is affected by a complex range of things in the learner’s immediate environment and life.

To ensure learning, the teacher must orchestrate attention and perseverance, understand and manage emotions and motivation. But this cannot be done online.

Further, different learners learn different things more effectively by listening, talking, doing, seeing and experiencing.

It’s about discussion, questioning, arguing, etc., and all this evolves organically in a group of students with a teacher. This again is nearly impossible online.