Making Indian Education Future Ready: Hybrid Learning is the way forward

New Delhi: The disruption of the pandemic transitioned teachers, students and parents in India into a new learning landscape. The plummeting rise in technology adoption in the last two years not only reshaped and redefined education for students but also altered the ways educators teach in the classrooms.

As the world moves back to normalcy and classrooms start to reopen, newer learning models are set to surface in India with technology driven solutions finding a stronger uptake.

Learning In the New Normal

If industry estimates are to be believed, 98% of parents and 99% of teachers attribute learning continuity to online education. An overwhelming 91% of students believe that online learning will continue to supplement traditional classroom learning.

Hence, there is a growing preference towards hybrid learning models across the ecosystem who want to opt for tech based learning solutions even after classrooms resume. It has proven its worth as a viable solution during the worst phase of the pandemic and Hybrid learning is now firmly entrenched in the education system.

Hybrid learning – also known as blended learning – is the next big leap and rightfully so. It is a learning model that combines different components (online and/or offline) to offer the perfect mix for learners. This approach broadens learning possibilities and helps tailor training activities, so they complement each other and create a better and more effective learning environment.

Though not a new concept to India, hybrid learning gained prominence during the pandemic that propelled educators to integrate technology into everyday teaching. While the benefits of onground collaboration and in person learning shall continue to exist, a hybrid approach will blend the freedom of remote learning into the experience, enabling the students to prepare better with digital resources. This is the biggest transfiguration in recent times, which is set to upend the ed-tech industry.

 Benefits of Hybrid Learning

The hybrid education model further facilitates the potential of online learning systems by offering optimum flexibility and freedom to both educators and students. This flexibility enables students across skill sets and capabilities to find a footing and also let the teachers tailor their courses and cater to different learning sensibilities.

With more insightful and high quality tools available digitally for concept clarification, online education has widened the scope for a more conducive and interactive learning experience.

For students, it has opened an on demand access to an exhaustive reserve of information and subjects online that support doubt solving and enhance understanding. On the Brainly platform in India, students can solve such educational queries out of its extensive knowledge base of over 48 million questions and answers, that is available for free to all. This unfiltered access and benefit of convenience is integral to shaping the confidence and growth of students.

Unlike physical classrooms, tech based solutions allow students to learn at their own pace that has the potential to trigger participation and increased attention. Influx of video assisted learning, instant feedback, AR, VR and other innovative learning tools have made education an immersive experience today, the demand for which will only surge further in the future.

Hybrid learning also encourages collaborations among students, offering deeper solutions through peer to peer learning. For every question asked by a user on the Brainly education app, there is an ever expanding community of students, parents and teachers to address those in an instant.

The Road Ahead…

Educators and students are increasingly warming up to hybrid learning today.  That also means that there is a strong need to elevate classroom experiences to make both the formats engaging for students. If done right, a hybrid approach can boost learner engagement by giving them more freedom to adjust the learning process to their needs and support continuous informal learning that goes beyond the fixed time and space of the classroom.

As a future ready education model, the hybrid approach is empowering students to achieve and allowing education to continue in the face of a global health crisis, weather, transportation constraints, and other challenges.

Hybrid learning is here to stay, thanks to its ability to combine the comfort and independence of remote learning with the importance of physical interactions. If used consciously and consistently, hybrid learning has the power to support students and let academic institutions provide a high-quality education, despite what the future holds for us.