With online education becoming the new normal, are we missing out on the personal touch? 50 Effective Principal

Dr. Ritu Dewan, Principal, Dayawati Modi Academy

No software or hardware in the most modern world can convert an ordinary boy into Chanakya’s Chandra Gupta Maurya

Dr. Ritu Dewan

Technology has become today’s necessity. It is penetrating into all avenues and is facilitating the teaching-learning process. Be it self-learning (online education) through Apps, World Wide Web, E-Books, AI, Smart Classes, Online School, Home School; there is a plethora of options available for a learner. Trainings, up-skilling workshops, assessments, grading, e-courses, e-certificates, and e-mark sheets have all become the order of the day. All this sounds so simple – just at the click of a button, especially because you can learn anywhere, anytime without being bound to the rigour of a time table. 

We’re definitely upgrading our technology, honing our skills, learning new information and concepts through online education but we’re being engulfed by the machine like robotic behaviour. We’ve been accustomed to input and output predictability mechanism. We’ve become reactive; we no longer think, weigh and then act with responsibility. Are we heading towards a robotic mind set with design thinking? Are we losing our instincts, sensibilities, feelings, emotions, humaneness, intuition, sanity and ability to make our own decisions as we’re slowly being controlled and guided by gadgets?

Today’s schools have become hi-tech with Wi-Fi campus and laptops for teachers and students. Chalk boards have been replaced by smart boards, pens by pen drives and humane caring teachers by software and audio/video learning resources. The important check here is that while shaking hands with technology, we shouldn’t forget to touch the hearts and souls of young learners.

Learning happens beyond memorizing. The concepts are tasted, chewed and digested and have to be applied in life. Real learning happens with character formation. It happens when one learns discernment, when sensibilities are awakened, emotions are heightened, understood and managed, heart is touched, soul is nourished and the spirit is awakened towards the real purpose of life. Real transformation happens when the chrysalis breaks open to release the resplendent butterfly – the realization, the appreciation of the bliss. Now the question is- What is education? What learning outcomes or attainment goals are you aiming for and how far do you wish to go?

We are from a land where our bliss came from sitting at our Guru’s feet and enlightenment dawned by meditating on life’s eternal questions sitting under a tree, which I’m sure is the essence of one’s growth. Even the best of machines invented till date cannot replace this essence of education – our growth.

Education is exceeding limits, toiling, never losing hope, staying optimistic & positive, not giving in to undue pressure, taking up a stand for a cause, living with courage, being true to oneself, succeeding, failing, falling and getting up and learning through these attempts that winning and losing are both equally important in life. A school and teachers provide this seed ground for all experiences and thus the opportunities provided shape the holistic personality of the students. Education is in the appreciative nod of a teacher, a tap on the shoulder, a pat on the back, a cheering teacher among spectators, tearful eyes at the graduation. The magic of a teacher can never be replaced by any gadget, and the importance of a teacher should never be undermined. Technology must always remain as a tool in the hands of mankind and not vice versa.