The Future of Online Learning: An Outlook Based on Recent ...
嚜燜he Future of Online Learning
The Future of Online Learning: An Outlook Based on Recent Worldwide Pandemic
Experience
N. Ravichandran1, Chhavi Kohli2
1
2
Professor (Retired), Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India
Former Academic Associate, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India
Abstract
The COVID 19 pandemic has shaken the world with rising deleterious effects. It triggered
some fundamental changes to several population segments sand multiple sectors of the
economy. The education system is no exception. With the educational institutions being
closed due to lockdown for extended duration, delivery of education has been impacted. This
paper examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education services and proposes an
outlook regarding the future of online learning. Given the acceptance by participants (learners
and teachers) and advantages (in terms of spread and volume) of online learning over
traditional learning, the online learning would continue to exist.
Keywords: impact of COVID-19, effectiveness of online learning, brick-and- mortar
universities
Author Note
N Ravichandran
Chhavi Kohli
We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Chhavi Kohli, B6-43, Goyal
Intercity, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad 每 380 054, India. Email: chhavi.manra@
International Dialogues on Education 每 Volume 8 Issue 1 每 November 2021 每
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The Future of Online Learning
The Future of Online Learning: An Outlook Based on Recent Worldwide Pandemic
Experience
COVID-19 Pandemic brought the entire world to a pause. It made governments and
institutions to re-strategize the future without compromising on health-related safety concerns
of individuals. The spread of the virus has challenged everyone in unique and unexpected
ways. This situation compelled various businesses to look for and adopt survival methods
rapidly. Closure of educational institutions in response to the pandemic, significantly altered
the traditional education practices and created an opportunity for online learning. Change is
easily adopted when there is no alternative. Though online learning existed even before the
COVID-19 pandemic, it gained prominence as a consequence of the pandemic.
This paper is organized into 4 sections. Section 1 presents the COVID-19 situation in
India and its impact on various segments of the population and sectors of the economy. A
brief discussion on the impact of the pandemic on the education sector concludes this section.
Section 2 reviews the published literature on the impact of COVID-19 in general and with
specific reference to the education systems. Section 3 is focused on recent developments in
online education. It outlines various online learning initiatives across different educational
(primary, secondary, and tertiary) segments. The final, Section 4, presents an outlook on the
future of online learning and its unintended consequences to the Education Ecosystem.
The Covid Situation in India: Highlights
The outbreak of coronavirus caused a pandemic that has put the world in jeopardy and
changed the global outlook massively. The COVID -19 pandemic has made more than 200
million people worldwide sick.
As of September 24, 2021, ※There have been 230,418,451 confirmed cases of
COVID-19, including 4,724,876 deaths. ("WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard,"
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The Future of Online Learning
n.d.). China faced a COVID outbreak in December 2019. By late January, many countries
across the globe started witnessing this new mysterious disease.
India witnessed its first COVID-19 case in late January 2020 when three Indian
students travelled to the southern state of Kerala from Wuhan in China〞the epicentre of the
outbreak. At the same time, a few other cases were reported in other parts of the country,
most of which were linked to people with a travel history to affected countries. Infections
rose rapidly beginning in March 2020§ (Statista, 2021). In order to contain the spread, a
nationwide lockdown was imposed in four phases during 25th March to 31st May 2020.
From June 2020 onwards, the lockdown was gradually lifted. At that time, India was
reported as the fifth worst-hit nation across the world. ※With lockdown being lifted over the
latter half of 2020, the economy was able to bounce back to some extent ("COVID-19:
Another reason why unlock 1.0 may be ill-timed in India," 2020). The negligence in social
and personal behaviour after Unlock 2.0 led to a gradual increase in the number of infections.
※India was observed to have the fastest infection rate worldwide in August 2020. Daily cases
peaked in September with 90,000 cases§ (John and Seshadri, 2020).
Meanwhile, Phase-1 clinical trials of India*s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine,
Covaxin, began across the country. Eventually, India commenced its vaccination programme
on 16th Jan 2021. After a couple of months of vaccine availability and implementation, the
second wave of the pandemic occurred. India reported record numbers for daily infections
and deaths for nearly two weeks in April 2021. ※Over 4 lakhs cases were reported in a single
day during second wave. Sudden surge in cases caused imposition of curfew and lockdown in
several states. India*s health infrastructure was stretched due to explosive demand for oxygen
and antiviral drug like Remdesivir etc. Shortage of hospital beds and oxygen ventilators was
reported. Health care and frontline workers experienced excessive work-related emotional
stress. Situation went unmanageable to a great extent during that time§ (Kumar, 2021).
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※The launch of mass inoculation programme in first phase covered an estimated 30
million healthcare and front-line workers. Second phase was initiated in March to cater to
population with co-morbidities and the cohort of above 60 years of age. After a month, it
was extended for everyone above 45 years of age. Public response for vaccination was not
very enthusiastic initially subsequently, overcrowding and shortage of doses was reported
due to mismatch in demand and supply of doses. Rise in cases contributed towards sudden
increase in demand for vaccines which eventually led to a chaos at vaccination centres§
(Rakesh et al., 2021). By October of 2021 around 17.3% of the Indian population was fully
vaccinated and more than 48.0% had received at least one dose (Coronavirus in India: Latest
Map and Case Count, 2021).
Some vital statistics relating to the pandemic are shown in Figures 1-2.
Figure 1
1.2
70
1.05
60
0.9
50
0.75
40
0.6
30
0.45
20
0.3
10
0.15
0
Millions
80
No. of deaths
No. of infections/recoveriesMillions
Infections, Recoveries and Deaths
0
Q1 2020
Q2 2020
Q3 2020
Q4 2020
Quarter
Q1 2021
Infections India
Recoveries till 5th August India
Q2 2021
Q3 2021
Infections World
Recoveries till 5th August World
Source "WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard," (n.d.)
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Figure 2
800
0.24
700
0.21
600
0.18
500
0.15
400
0.12
300
0.09
200
0.06
100
0.03
0
Positive Rate
No. of Tests undertaken
Millions
Testing and Positivity Rate
0.00
Q1 2020
Q2 2020
Testing India
Q3 2020
Testing World
Q4 2020
Quarter
Q1 2021
Q2 2021
Positive Rate India
Q3 2021
Positive Rate World
Source: "Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases data," (2020)
General Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted various population segments and
various sectors of the economy. The Indian government imposed several measures such as
lockdown, social distancing norms, etc., to contain the spread of the virus. These measures
restricted the movement and mobility of individuals and consequently economically impacted
the daily lives of many people.
During the early days of lockdown there was an atmosphere of confusion among
people. Lack of clarity as what to do and what not to do, and uncertainty regarding the health
hazards arising out of the pandemic characterised the situation. Hence, many people resorted
to panic buying and stockpiling essential household items. This resulted in long queues in
daily essential shops such as grocery stores, medical shops, etc. Due to the inconvenience
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