Coordinator’s View
Online Learning?
This article is next to Interactive Learning in series on the philosophy, methodology, operation, evolution, infrastructural requirements and vision of Interactive Online Mentoring Sessions (IOMS), an educational initiative, is the flagship of Gyan Vigyan Sarita (GVS). IOMS was launched in early 2016, much before emergence of pandemic. Each of the words in IOMS and their sequence have specific meaning and relevance to an extent that IOMS has become a phrase. It is one of the simplest and the most economical model of collective complementing of efforts, of teachers at schools, by the elite section of society. Such a participation is also envisaged in NEP-2020, the new education policy of Government of India. It is a way to optimize efforts of passionate mentors right, from place of their work and stay, for the larger good. Our experience on the initiative of 9+ years in mentoring unprivileged children with the sense of Personal Social Responsibility (PSR) in chalk-n-talk mode, since 2012, has been self-revealing. This is the motivation to disseminate the relevance of each word in acronym IOMS and its place value.
Online Learning prima facie is a technological intervention in learning process to connect teacher, tutor, coach or a mentor to one or more students. In fact, it is a really a narrow perspective into the learning process and environment; this perspective leads to a means of continuity in learning. It suffers from severe disadvantage of exploitation through commercialization of the technology and thus distracts the focus from the need and potential of Online Learning.
Every option opens new doorways for every individual to look forward as per his thought process and preferences. GVS being driven with the sense of Personal Social Responsibility (PSR) experienced that executing IOMS in conventional Chalk-N-Talk mode is constricted by multiple constraints. Moreover, this initiative, in the prevalent commercial and materialistic environment, continues to remains in domain of Four founding persons despite its journey of nearly a decade. There are a few similar initiatives, known to us, each of them is working autonomously. A request was made to them to form a consortium to benefit each other through experience sharing and collective complementing of efforts. We are optimistically awaiting a proactive reciprocation. This is equally true with schools and educational establishments of acclaim and stated to be working to serve the society through education. Despite these setbacks our resolve to continue to operate in non-organizational, non-remunerative, con-commercial and non-political manner is being pursued on the financial principle of Zero-Fund-&-Zero-Asset (ZFZA). This pursuit is to the best of our ability, honesty of purpose and commitment.
Initially, IOMS was aimed at connecting schools and social initiatives where a sizeable number of students are available. But, with the experiences briefly cited above, we realized a need to reorganize IOMS. It involves collating students from different schools, preferably students who are deprived of main-stream educational opportunities. This deprivation could be due any reason be it economical, sociological, cultural or geographical. Class wise batches, from 8th to 12th have been formed. It has helped us to optimize efforts of selfless mentors volunteering in IOMS. Moreover, it promotes an interactive environment among students zealous to grow despite their limitations.
New Educational Policy 2020 has thrown light on need to involve civic society in mentoring students both in academics as well as in multidimensional growth. Yet, the phrase that there is lot of gap between lip and the sip is valid in this case also. The IOMS initiative, with a determination to move ahead on path of Democratization of Education, does stay back with hurdles on the way. Thus, reorganization of IOMS has created a new scenario wherein –
· Students of same class can join in combined session from their respective residences,
· Mentoring efforts, which were otherwise multiplied in school specific batches, are optimized,
· Sessions are so scheduled that they do not conflict with timings or online sessions conducted by school.
· School specific sessions of IOMS have been discontinued. This had lost its relevance in light of the fact that schools were non-participative in enhancing usefulness of IOMS. Such non-reciprocation by schools jeopardizing benefit of their own students is beyond our understandable reasoning.
· Students attending coaching or tuitions are advised to choose IOMS, only if they find it beneficial. It will help them to save precious and hard earned money of their parents in coaching and tuitions.
· IOMS schedules provide enough time to students for self- study; it is extremely essential for students to assimilate learning during the day and come up with difficulties, problems and doubts. This way they can interactively participate during learning on the following day.
Constraints of Online Learning: Every option is coupled with some constraints and same is true with IOMS, and are as brought out here under –
§ Availability of internet is one of the biggest constraints. It’s criticality increases as one tries to take IOMS deeper into the country so as to connect students. We, having tasted the flavor of Online Learning, it is going to not only stay rather grow even after pandemic. In view of this at government level it is an important tool to democratize education. It becomes crucial in wake of the paucity of teachers and diversification of curriculum in NEP-2020. At present scale, it is viable for students living in major cities, or those from affluent families. Government and Telecom Regulatory Authority need to enhance internet and mobile penetration from notional to a level where 8 to 10 hours’ seamless broadband connectivity is sustainable. It is inevitable to reap benefits of IOMS effectively, across the country. It has been often observed that sincere students experience loss of connectivity, audio and screen sharing due to low bandwidth. Broadband seamless connectivity may not be essential for casual and entertaining uses. Remedy: Additional concessions in corporate tax and CSR provision may be considered to encourage reinforcement of communication infrastructure. It will encourage ISPs for greater investment on infrastructure, which in turn would reap them the benefits through growth in their cliental.
§ Mobile availability among students from unprivileged families is another constraint. Generally, they are part of a large families and each earning member is dependent on mobile for harnessing work opportunities. Under such circumstances making mobile available to every student in the family becomes last priority. Here, a point of caution that abuse of mobile is fraught with high risk; it is experienced with most of the philanthropic initiatives and freebies. Remedy: Providing Mobile and SIM card to students through UID can help to monitor its allotment and uses.
§ Power Supply is another bottleneck. Mobiles are battery powered. Yet, number of hours for use of mobile require intermittent charging of mobiles. It is observed that students at times are unable to attend online sessions due to prolonged outage during the day. Remedy: Unless power outage extends over a day, power pack is helpful in maintaining continuity of learning..
§ Tariff Plans is a big constraint for sincere students attending Online Classes. This constraint gets magnified for students if they wish to avail benefit of IOMS like initiatives, in addition to mandatory online sessions conducted by schools. Assuming that internet is available for 8-10 hours, daily data size under available tariff plans is insufficient. It compels students to limit their Online Learning hours. Remedy: Special tariff plan can be devised for students with suitable restrictions and regulations through UID. These tariff plans can be integrated in multiple provisions of CSR and welfare policies. Compunication (Communication using Computers) technology offers immense opportunities of implementation, monitoring and regulation; need is just to look beyond and out of box.
§ Students are the first beneficiary of Online Learning and first victim of its abuse as well. Yet, students at large are immature to realize this reality. Remedy: Educational environment has to be kept above commercial and personal gains. It is a collective responsibility of every segment of society right from the government to elite persons, without exception. Accordingly, salient Do’s have been brought out in the following paragraph for deliberations and to set the ball rolling…..
What We need to Do?
Ø Government ensure that policies roll out of the confinement of well written, presented and finally a bound document. A good policy is only that which becomes a reality on barren ground, thick forests and scantily populated hilltops to reach deprived ones.
Ø Schools, academic institutions and academicians are guardians of social wisdom and educational conscience of the country. They have biggest role to play in bringing in educational democracy. They must evaluate their role in supporting those who selflessly volunteer to complement teaching efforts of school. Such mentors need to be encouraged and not repelled like competitors; the latter scenario is most regrettable scenario.
Ø NGOs operating with multiple sources of funding under a statutory protection have to be judicious in use of name, fame and resources for the cause they claim to exist. Loss of credibility of NGOs can be resurrected only by them through honest commitment for the cause.
Ø Corporate world has statutory obligation for funding in CSR activities. It is a big opportunity for them to grow and reciprocate society with a small portion of their profit. Each and every corporate entity along with their heads need to introspect in respect of – are financial provisions available in CSR being used judiciously? Are these provisions not a channel for siphoning of funds to persons and cause of preference, and not merit?
Ø Parents, specially educated ones, have a big role in supporting Online Learning of their children right under their observation. They need to observe uses of mobile and internet and reprimand their children in case of its abuse. In present times there are a few parents who may not be able to do it; while at large, it is only a matter of concern of parents in education of their children. Discounting the innocent parents or those lacking awareness of IT environment, others must resolve issues confronted by their children, during Online Learning, in use of mobile, audio-video facility, data-size or tariff plans. They can’t absolve themselves of responsibility in inappropriate learning environment at least at home.
Ø Elite Persons cannot and should not wait for someone to give them an invitation and a red-carpet welcome to complement their efforts as also propounded in NEP-2020. They are intellectually, financially and otherwise capable enough to move forward with PSR. Senior citizens, among elite persons, are the best available resource, keeping in view growing graph of average age, health parameters and socio-economics.
Ø Collective Efforts are required to identify elite persons who have taken upon themselves, with PSR, cause of educational democracy. Such people command very high degree of self-esteem and would continue to struggle with the problems, while serving the cause, rather than posing their needs and resource constraints in use, maintenance, upgrade or replace their obsolete IT infrastructure. We, on the ground, vouch for their stand; they have made their selfless engagement, to reciprocate to the society, with a sense of gratitude, a purpose of living at an age and stage where most alike choose to encash their contacts to continue to earn till last breadth or live in luxury.
Such selfless PSR-volunteer also encounter bottlenecks and these senior citizens are hard pressed to overcome them on their own. It is, therefore, a collective responsibility of every other section discussed above to facilitate the PSR-pursuit. Each of us need to be watchful of such PSR-warriors, their needs and resolve them to the best of our capability. In case of limitations, it must be escalated to the next in our socio-professional-commercial network for immediate action.
Vision:
· Democratization of Education has to be made a reality wherein every student has access to quality learning environment. Yet, opportunities of growth must be available to those who are able to harness educational opportunities. Principally, it is admitted that strength of a nation is a function of the competence of its people. Offering opportunities indiscriminately will turn our polity into parasites and in turn they would only crave for their right with total disregard to their duties and responsibilities; we need to guard against it to ensure that the democracy flourishes.
· Healthy Competition is an environment where a brighter gets better opportunities inculcating a healthy competition among students. None is born bright, it is the environment and how one responds to it to fit into the scale. Such an environment groom student into better team players of tomorrow, a real asset of society, nation and humanity
· Personal Social Responsibility is not a buzzword. Rather, for elites it is a justification for living and creating a legacy for our descendants to feel proud of. There is no competition in PSR; all that is needed is to selflessly complement to the best of our capability. None of us can claim to be too occupied and render excuses for inability to find time for PSR. However, elite persons, especially senior citizens, have spiritual option to contribute in a sociological reform which aims at integrating every human being in mainstream of education, selflessly and without discrimination.
Conclusions: Online Learning in its present form has a history of nearly half-century with the inception of internet. It was an option available with a select few. Indiscriminate tyranny of pandemic has turned it into a boon for Online Learners. Almost all of the ISPs have come up with affordable tariff plans for broadband connection a necessity for Online Learning. At the same time, web-conferencing platforms are competing with each other to provide free subscription upto 100 concurrent users. Good mobiles, tablets and computers are available at affordable price. These developments have never constricted our efforts in extending IOMS, sitting at NCR Delhi, at least on connectivity front. Yet, we realized connectivity constraints are severely forbidding many students to derive benefits of IOMS. Apart from the internet, the weakest link is socio-economic environment; it is not conducive for IOMS. There is an urgent need at every level of the society and the system to sincerely understand inevitability of discharge of PSR by elites in educational initiative. If we are really patriotic there is no way to evade it. Otherwise, rest all is only hypocrisy and being opportunists which in long run would be detrimental to self, family, society and nation at large. We must wake up, and move on…..
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