Page 57 - IMDR EBOOK 20 OCT 2020

"Pandemic and Beyond: Naviga ng the New Normal" E - Book Year 2020

education in future. While exploring the intention of respondents for online, face to face and
hybrid learning in future, it revealed that majority (69%) of the respondents said they would
like combination of online learning and face-to face learning (hybrid learning), 26% of the
respondents said that they are more comfortable with the fully face-to-face than online learning
and 5% respondents said that they will prefer fully-online learning to face-to-face mode. The
Table No. 3 explicit the cross tabulation between the respondents facing network/internet
issues while attending online sessions during Lockdown phase and their intention to use only
face to face teaching or online learning or hybrid learning in future.
Table No.3 Cross-tabulation for Network /Internet issue and Intention to use e-learning
in future

The Table No. 4 shows that Majority (86%) of the respondents would prefer hybrid learning in
future even though 37% of them are facing network/internet issues while attending such
sessions. The 19% of the respondents who are facing network issues will prefer to use face to
face learning mode. Apparently, only 6% of the respondents are comfortable to use fully online
mode learning in future. This situation highlights the digital divide in India and lack of
adequate infrastructural requirement for adoption of fully online mode learning.
FINDINGS
It has been observed that the prime motive of the students behind attending online
sessions during lockdown phase is to complete their Regular Degree/Diploma Program
which used to follow face to face teaching based curriculum.
The smart phone has been used widely by the students to attend online sessions. It is found
that the device used for attending sessions plays important role to decide the level of user
friendliness of e-learning platform

There is a considerable percentage of the respondents who have used the e-learning mode
of education for the rst time during lockdown phase. Since majority of the respondents
represent young population of India, who are open to accept new technological
advancements, they are comfortable to attend and interact during online sessions. At the
same, network / internet issues have been posing challenges to the majority of the
respondents/ e-learners while attending online sessions.
This sudden and compulsive shift from face to face teaching to online mode of teaching has
made respondents realized, the importance and impact of direct interaction with the
instructor /Teacher as well as with other classmates, on their performance and learning.
Education institutions as well students have always considered digital learning as
supplementary tool, now it’s mainstreaming has become challenging without having
adequate infrastructural facilities in uniform manner across the country.
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION
In order to continue the learning process e- learning has been emerged as most feasible
solution while considering the students’ current association with the technology and
lockdown pertinent to Covid-19 declared by the Central Government,
The continuation of digital learning acceleration has highlighted the digital divide in India.
The students from remote areas and those with limited means are facing challenges to reap
the benets of e-learning.
A multi-dimensional strategy is necessary to manage the present crisis and to build a

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