The pandemic has turned out to be a nightmare for people around the world. There have been no relaxations. Colleges and schools have slowed down and the entire world is working from home. With this new work from home culture, students have become a part of it and are studying from home via hangouts, zooms and other mediums.
“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
Other than being a frontal hit on economies and physical health, the pandemic has stirred the mental health issues as well. If we look at the student population, many of them have had their exams postponed, delayed as well as cancelled, which is stressful to say the least. There were school students looking forward to joining college and there were college students getting ready to join the workforce and prepare for a prestigious government job of their liking. COVID-19 has turned out to be the biggest nightmare for them all. With that said, no nightmare is as big as our will and strength to conquer it. Therefore, just like the above quote by Malcolm X, students are drawing strength and not losing their will to grab their future.
Yes, schools are closed and coaching classes have shut down. Nevertheless, every problem comes with a solution, we just need to find it. Institutions, coaching classes as well as schools understand the fact that a student’s learning cannot and should not be paused. Hence, to help the students continue their studies, many coaching and educational institutes have resorted to online learning. If we look closely, this pandemic has taught us that learning is not limited to 4 walls, if a teacher wishes to teach, and a student is willing to learn they can do it irrespective of their physical distance. Settling into this new online learning regime is not easy, although, once the schedules are set things would slowly get back on the track.
Online Coaching is proving to be an elixir within India as technological aids have taken the frontier this season. Within India, we have had online coaching availability for a long time but this pandemic its popularity has increased immensely. Previously, online class was a favorable option for the students who were working and preparing for high-end exams such as CAT, Civil Services etc. The success ratio of the students who took up online coaching was also high as it provided the students with perfect preparation strategy and course material in their smartphones or laptops.
Now, within the span of 7 to 8 months, the internet has been flooded with many coaching institutes going online. These now online coaching institutes have fully digitalized and are providing mock tests, classes to keep up with various exam preparations. With many available online coaching options, students tend to get confused regarding the best alternative to choose. Therefore, what students do is google search, ask seniors and use prep tools like Examwiki by Exambazaar to know which all exams they are eligible for. Students also read reviews and ground report to understand their choice of coaching. This technological help aids students to know their eligibility for an exam gives them the right amount of confidence to take their preparation forward. With that said, many say that online coaching and prep tools cannot take over traditional and personal guidance.
Are Online Coaching and Prep Tests a Boon for Aspirants?
IIT JEE, NEET, CAT these are some of the entrance exams that have been affected by the COVID-19. Students who were aspiring to appear in any of these are facing a lot of anxiety regarding the continuity of their preparations. However, due to online coaching classes, the preparation was not negatively affected. In-fact there are a lot of additional advantages that the new-age learning regime has brought in with itself:
More economical than a traditional classroom programme
Coaching classes always charge more for classroom programmes than the offline programmes to cover the cost of accommodating a large number of students. However, online programmes have freed them from these costs and hence the fees for an online programme or prep test is much more economical to the pocket than the traditional one. This does not imply that the quality has been compromised, in-fact online class or prep tests help covering more students in one go!
Study at your comfort
A lot of students lose the zeal to study after realizing the fact that they have to move out of their comfort zone and visit the coaching class or test centre. However, now classrooms have made their way into the four walls of the student’s house. Students can now study at leisure without any interference or disturbance. This also helps in generating more concentration level as now the students can study alone as compared to the classes where they have to study with almost 50-60 students.
Global guidance
Kota is the hub for engineering students and also a prime location for a lot of top educators for IIT JEE. However, not every student could afford to stay and study at Kota citing a lot of financial and other constraints. Nevertheless, thanks to the pandemic now almost all the top educators have found a way to the student’s computers and smartphones.
Practice and Study at your own pace
The student is his own master. They have the freedom to study or practice whenever they feel like it. There is no pressure from the teachers or the parents, and this is indeed a healthy practice. Although, this can go the other way as well, since there are students who can only work better under pressure. With that said, there have been reports which suggests that studying with a fresh mind allows a student to grasp more efficiently which is possible in the given situation.
Track your own progress
With time we humans have become very impatient, and we want everything to be completed quickly and swiftly. So, for this online test can definitely get a brownie point as the results generated here are speedy and instant. In-fact, the results of all the tests are saved in one place, which makes it more convenient for the students to check and track the progress. Not only this, the solutions provided are also really fast, well explained and can be checked multiple times as they are stored online.
—
Online classes have definitely revolutionized the way of learning and its future looks very promising. Students now have access to classes, preparation guide, tests from the comfort of their own home, thus saving a lot of money and time. However, the only thing that has to be kept in mind is not hovering over a lot of options but rather choosing the one which suits your requirements best and yields positive results. Online coaching and Prep Tests are a positive impact overall if we utilize them in the correct manner, but if we sit back and not put in the effort, then just like in a traditional study setting, online education would not reap any benefits. Be curious, ask more questions, practice more tests and get the best results!
