LETTERS: Learning from history is one of the best ways to predict what the world will be like post-Covid-19. The end of a pandemic prompts a revival in multiple sectors, especially the economic sector.

The same effects can be seen in the Covid-19 pandemic. Global citizens are well versed and skilled in online shopping or even selling products online.

Economists predict that post-Covid-19, people will spend more, take more risks and demand more of politicians.

What about the education sector? How will the citizens respond? Will they fall back to conventional schooling or leap forward to embrace changes and technology as an essential tool to learning?

Resorting to online learning during lockdown is a positive transformation for children and parents as they can continue to learn formally despite staying home.

Both children and teachers have gained technological skills beneficial to online learning. These include using synchronous conference tools such as Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Team, doing online assessments such as Quizizz and even learning to code through apps such as Scratch.

However, the education process is not without its limitations. As a parent, I have witnessed how my children, as well as their teachers struggle to learn and teach online — from trying out different platforms to completing a mountain of tasks every week.

Despite the challenges, students, with parental support and involvement, have been at an advantage. They seem to ace in online learning.

A large part of the credit goes to the parents who help their children with the tasks. Parental involvement and assistance are essential to online learning.

However, teachers have yet to see how much students have gained from online learning. This is partly because they have not been able to track each student’s progress.

The disruptions in learning progress tracking were consistently brought up by teachers involved in a research project earlier this year. It is difficult for teachers to assess whether the tasks assigned were completed by the students or their parents.

The challenges are also experienced by older students. Interactivity and interaction are among the concerns raised. Students tend to be passive in participating or switching on their webcams.

Besides, group tasks can overwhelm them due to the difficulties in communicating with other members. For this and other reasons, lessons tend to be teacher-centred, far from the concept of 21st-century learning.

Due to these challenges, it may seem that the students cannot wait to bounce back to the conventional way of learning. However, it may not be a strategic move.

The skills acquired during the lockdown should be retained and polished through regular practice.

These skills will prepare the students for the everyday tasks outside the school and the skills demanded to perform tasks in the workplace. To facilitate this, teachers must be equipped with advanced educational technology skills.

Higher education institutions that prepare preservice teachers must urgently include advanced technological skills as a component in their curriculum.

To stay relevant with the rapid development of technology, preservice teachers should be able to use technology to curate, deliver and assess knowledge.

Therefore, the education sector needs to leap forward to transform learning post-Covid-19.

Source：https://www.nst.com.my/