– Prof Rajesh Khanna, President, NIIT University

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the Indian education industry. More importantly, the crisis has left a generation of people fearful of what the future may hold. Almost every university, college, and school were compelled to implement virtual teaching models to ensure continuation of education. Furthermore, students had to adjust to new learning models on digital devices. The traditional education industry was completely unprepared for a paradigm shift to digital teaching models. Replicating a classroom using communication tools like Microsoft Team and Zoom isn’t the whole story when it comes to effective digital education. It seemed to work for some time because there was some academic engagement, but teachers battled to keep their students engaged and attentive.

The academic year 2021 played a major role in diversifying teaching and learning methodologies, with educational institutions all over the world adopting new ways to assure highly interactive and engaging live classrooms. At NU, we have implementation of cutting-edge technologies into the curriculum as well as in the teaching and learning methods in order to provide students with future-ready skill sets. A quick deep dive into the present educational landscape reveals the significance digitization of education in the post-COVID era.

Revival of ICT

From corporate leaders to technology gurus, information and communication technology (ICT) has always been thought to be a miracle solution for improving teaching and learning.It’s a fantastic tool for disciplining students by instilling workplace and educational principles while also improving the relationship between the education sector and society.ICT is one of the variables that has contributed to the education system’s recent digital acceleration.

Online education will play a vital role at every institution

Online education has been making a name for itself in recent years, and with the increasing diffusion of the internet, online education will serve as a strong unconventional approach to education, if not a complete substitute. Post pandemic online education will be recognized as an essential component of every school’s institutional resilience and academic continuity plan. It will play a crucial role in the post pandemic era.

Shift towards digital learning and employment

COVID-19 has sped up the transition to higher automation in a world that was already experimenting with digital outlets. Some may believe that this undermines the traditional employment scale, but a closer examination reveals that it opens new doors to digital labour. From digital bots to new technology jobs, the education industry is experiencing a boom in employment. While the need for manual labour may decrease, the growth of digital labour will continue. Since its inception, NIIT University has emphasized technology. The use of technology platforms, such as NUgget, allows students to receive effective instruction even while they are isolated to their homes.

Blended learning will dramatically increase

Students have become more used to the new educational system. It’s been almost two years, and it’s safe to conclude that traditional learning methods will have to evolve into hybrid, blended learning models that incorporate the best parts of both physical and digital learning. A holistic ecosystem with the perfect blend of modern teaching-learning tools and technologies, as well as opportunities for socialization among teachers and classmates in a physical natural setting, is what we need. Scholars and teaching staff should find content that they can transact in a hybridized way both in the classroom and in virtual environments. As a result, institutions will need to turn around and offer their students a blended learning system that involves a variety of digital activities that work together to produce successful learning.

A blended learning model has the potential to incorporate advanced pedagogies as well as technology-based teacher-student engagement.A policy framework for this is provided by the National Education Policy (NEP2020), which focuses on technology. The way of the future is to use technology as a tool in a hybrid model, which is exactly what the NEP 2020 envisions.

Without a doubt, digitization has significantly changed our educational system, but we cannot say that it has diminished the value of traditional classroom learning. The best part about educational digitization in the twenty-first century is that it combines aspects of both classroom learning and online learning methods. Acting as a support system for each other, it gives our modern students a stronghold in the industry. Digitization in education has also proven to be an effective means of conserving resources. Online examination platforms have reduced the unnecessary use of paper, thereby limiting the number of trees cut down. As a result, the digitization of the education industry in the twenty-first century proves to be a boon to our society.

Also read: Interview: Rajendra Pawar, Founder, NIIT University