Recent trends of research in open and distance education in India
Asian Association of Open Universities Journal
ISSN : 2414-6994
Article publication date: 1 October 2020
Issue publication date: 19 October 2020
The purpose of this paper was to analyse the research trends on the Indian Open and Distance Education (ODE) system as reflected in the articles published in the prominent journals of distance education across the world.
Design/methodology/approach
A study was undertaken to review the research articles on ODE in India published in 11 prominent peer-reviewed journals of distance education during the period 2010–2019. Content analysis was done to find out areas of research undertaken in the ODE of India based on a validated classification of research areas; types of research studies conducted; and authorship and publication patterns.
Out of a total of 2,571 articles published in 11 selected journals, only 191 (7.42%) pertained to ODE in India. The majority of these 191 articles (68.42%) were published in Indian journals. The Indian and Asian journals together accounted for 93.55% of total articles. Globally, the share of articles on the Indian ODE system was significantly low ranging between 4.27 and a maximum of 10.77%, which was much below expectations from a country having the maximum number of ODE learners in the world. Results further revealed that 63% of the contributors to research on ODE in India were affiliated to Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of this study was only analysing the research articles published in journals of distance education and other types of articles, namely, book reviews, editorials, field notes and workshop reports were excluded from the analysis.
Practical implications
The study is intended to help researchers, policymakers, and open and distance education institutions to draw a roadmap for the promotion and conduct of system-based research, which would be vital for strengthening the system.
Social implications
The quantum of research is not proportionate to the number of faculty members working in the ODE system of India and the large number of learners that it serves, which is a matter of concern. For any system to grow its periodic systemic review is essential. The research outcomes need to be ploughed back into the system for its betterment.
Originality/value
The study is original. There is no such study undertaken till date. This study will be extremely useful to researchers, as the gaps in distance education research which are yet to be addressed, have been identified by the authors.
- Open and distance education
- Content analysis
- Research trends
- Research areas
Srivastava, M. , Mishra, B. , Rao, D.K. , Abrol, N. , Varma, V. and Bhushan, B. (2020), "Recent trends of research in open and distance education in India", Asian Association of Open Universities Journal , Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAOUJ-06-2020-0044
Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Manjulika Srivastava, Bijayalaxmi Mishra, Dev Kant Rao, Navita Abrol, Vandana Varma and Bharat Bhushan
Published in Asian Association of Open Universities Journal . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Introduction
The seed of distance education, sown in the middle of the 19th century, blossomed a century later, for the reason that many countries had adopted it post-Second World War. Decolonization led many nations on the trail of expanding their educational base. The opportunity of access, affordability and convenience offered by the Distance Education system made it the preferred choice for them. The foundation of the British Open University in 1969 was a seminal moment in the history of distance education and its subsequent success had a rippling effect across the world ( Srivastava, 2012 ). The Open University system ushered in “radical deviations from the traditions of University Education” by introducing large scale industrialization of education ( Peters, 1983 ). By this time, a century's worth research had gone into the growth and development of the Distance Education system. On the basis of review of the research conducted in the field of distance education during 1970s and 1980s, “the dearth of research on Distance Education was replaced by a wealth of studies” (Holmberg, 1986). More than 300 studies on distance education could be listed that had been published mostly in the latter half of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Interestingly these research studies had their base in the knowledge and theory already developed in other disciplines such as Education, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, History and Economics. Such efforts that lead to emergence of new knowledge, can be ascribed to the beginnings of a new discipline, that of distance education ( Holmberg, 1986 ).
The first journal to publish research specifically in the field of distance education was “ Distance Education” published by the Australian and South Pacific External Studies Association (ASPESA) – the predecessor of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA), founded in 1973 for professional development of distance educators working in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the member countries of the University of the South Pacific ( Bewley, 2008 ). It was followed, almost simultaneously in the 1980s, by launch of three more international journals, namely, “ Open Learning” in 1986 (renamed as “Open Learning: The Journal of Open Distance and e-Learning”); the “ Journal of Distance Education” in 1986 (renamed as “The International Journal of E-Learning and Distance Education” in 2014) and the “ American Journal of Distance Education” in 1987. These journals played a pivotal role in establishing distance education as a separate discipline in the scholarly world ( Moore, 2016 ). The distance education as a discipline thereafter never looked back and a number of good quality journals were introduced centred around various facades of open and distance education (ODE) which has resulted in an exponential growth in the literature on ODE.
India, with 15 Open Universities (OUs), more than a 100 Directorates of Distance Education (DDEs) which are functioning under Dual Mode Universities (DMUs), and more than 1.7 million learners pursuing their higher education through this mode ( UGC, 2019 ), has one of the largest ODE systems in the world. For any system to grow and maintain its quality and standards, its periodic review is essential. Being a dynamic technology-assisted system, ODE keeps on evolving with the adoption of new technological interventions, and needs to be regularly evaluated to ensure the efficacy and effectiveness of the system. The journals published in the field of distance education are providing the platform to distance educators/practitioners, teachers and students working/studying at these institutions to publish scholarly work in the field of ODE and at the same time disseminate their scholarship and extension of their research to the rest of the world. From an Indian perspective, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) took the lead and started the “ Indian Journal of Open Learning (IJOL)” in 1992 for promoting professional development of its teachers, academics and students, including their counterparts working in other OUs and DDEs. The launch of IJOL was major milestone in the journey of research in distance education in India. Along with launching the journal, IGNOU also played a major role in strengthening the concept of system-based research by funding ODE faculty members working at IGNOU, other OUs and DDEs to undertake research on various facets of ODE. The erstwhile Distance Education Council (DEC) under its research project scheme provided funding to nearly 100 research projects to the tune of about 10m rupees ( Srivastava, 2012 ).
The University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning) Regulations, 2017, which regulates all ODE Institutions in India, lays major emphasis on research by faculty members ( Government of India, 2017 ). Research has also been made mandatory for all teachers and academics working in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) including universities, as it acts as an important indicator for evaluating their academic performance in appointments and career advancement ( Government of India, 2010 , 2018 ). Promoting and undertaking quality research is as essential for Indian universities, as it is for other universities, to achieve higher global rankings. To encourage system-based research, Research, Innovations and Extension, forms a major criterion for assessing and grading an OU or a DDE working under a DMU for accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). In the case of an OU, this criterion is assigned 20% of the overall weightage. NAAC evaluates an OU by assessing the contribution of its teachers and other academic staff members in research for the development of the ODE system; and other disciplines to contribute to new knowledge. Therefore, OUs are expected to give due consideration to research and provide a conducive and enabling environment in terms of infrastructure, human resource and finance, etc. to different stakeholders. Research, hence, needs to be facilitated by a suitable policy framework. This criterion seeks information on the policies, practices of research and development at a university ( NAAC, 2019 ). Also, it is the quality of research which represents the academic image of not just the individual carrying out research, but also the institution to which the researcher belongs.
To assess the quantum of research done on ODE at higher education level in India;
To explore the trends of areas research in the ODE;
To categorize research in ODE from the point of view of the research methods used along with the institutional affiliation of the researchers undertaking research in ODE;
To find out the potential areas and the hitherto neglected areas of research in ODE in India and
To suggest measures to improve the standards and encourage system-based research.
Literature review
Regular attempts have been made to review and classify research on distance education across the world, with a few isolated attempts on research trends on ODE in India. The first major study that focussed on the research articles published on Correspondence Education, prevalent in India since 1960s, was undertaken by Gupta and Arun in 1986. In their study Gupta and Arun categorized the research articles into 11 areas and highlighted that the focus of research was on the concept and definitions, course development, use of media and technology, student evaluation, student enrolment and dropout, the problems that ails the system and its future. They pointed out that research was still at the nascent stage since most of the articles expressed the views of the authors and not based on empirical study ( Gupta and Arun, 1986 ).
The next major study was undertaken by Panda (1992) , which was far more comprehensive and exhaustive, covering 142 research articles on ODE in India both published and unpublished and MPhil and PhD dissertations. The research studies across selected articles were classified under nine research themes, with a clear demarcation of research under correspondence education and ODE and further placed in the structural framework of input, process and output model. The themes shortlisted by Panda covered almost all facets of ODE, namely, concept and growth; course design and development; instruction; learner support; media and technology; learners and learning; policy and management; evaluation; economics and staff development. Through his study, Panda (1992) brought out that the majority of the research articles were descriptive surveys with not so structured methodological designs and that there was a lack of holistic studies to arrive at any generalizations. He highlighted numerous constraints for research in distance education which were lack of funding, staff members and institutional policy. This study evolved into a book covering 152 research studies on ODE in India with detailed annotations on 88 research studies with the authors expressing the same concerns as pointed out by Panda in 1992 ( Panda et al. , 1996 ).
The study by Panda was followed by Mishra (1997) , who undertook an elaborate study across 361 articles published in four leading distance education journals. He analysed the nature of research published in these journals; research methods used; average number of references per contribution; contributions without references; authorship pattern; the most frequent contributors and their country of origin. The study by Mishra revealed that research in distance education was majorly based on survey method, mostly descriptive and lacked methodological rigour. He also found that single authors were contributing to majority of the research articles and that more than 80% papers originated from the UK, USA, Canada and India, which interestingly coincides with our findings.
On the completion of 10 years of IJOL, Mishra (2002) undertook another study. This time, he did a comprehensive review of all the research articles published in the IJOL since its inception covering the first decade of its existence. In his analysis pointed out that it was the IGNOU that provided it strong institutional support to the journal because of which it emerged as a good platform for exchange of ideas and dissemination of information for both Indian and foreign authors. Mishra's findings, however, matched with his own as well as other researcher's findings that the research methods used in the articles published in IJOL were mostly descriptive, followed by survey method and conceptual analysis with the majority of researchers using questionnaire and psychometric scale and lack of methodological rigour. Another finding that the first author's country of origin being India (66%) and that even within India, majority of articles originated from Delhi, again coincides with our findings. Thereafter, Tripathi and Kanungo (2010) made an attempt to profile the type of research including citation analysis, authorship pattern, popular areas of research and research methodologies used, published in IJOL from 2000 to 2009 covering 204 articles authored by 335 contributors. In a recently published article, Satyanarayana and Mantha (2018) had summarized all the review studies undertaken in a chronological manner up to 2006 only. In any case, in the study by Mishra of 2002 IJOL emerged as one of the most scholarly publications of ODE in India.
We did not come across any other such major review of research in ODE in India, justifying the need for taking up the review of literature published on ODE system of India and find out the gaps in the existing research, so as to suggest a way forward.
Methodology
This research study was undertaken to explore the research on ODE conducted in India and abroad and published in prominent journals of distance education during the last decade from 2010 to 2019 by mapping the research contribution of Indian and foreign researchers working at HEIs in India and abroad. The study was based on an extensive review of articles on “Open and Distance Education in India”, published in 11 prominent journals in the field of distance education, three of which were published within India while rest eight were published abroad ( Table 1 ). Only those Indian journals were included in the study which featured in the UGC Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (UGC CARE) list.
Based on data mining of 2,571 articles published across 104 volumes and 306 issues and published between 2010 and 2019 in 11 selected journals; 191 articles that focussed on research in ODE in India, were shortlisted. The content of these 191 articles was thoroughly analysed by our team of six raters or coders for classification of the areas of research, the types of research methods used by the researchers including their institutional affiliations, authorship pattern, gender-wise distribution and a content analysis of research studies conducted. A tool was prepared for data collection covering the following parameters: volume number, issue number; total number of articles published in each issue; article on ODE in India which was further classified under the following: research area, research method used; institutional affiliation of the author(s) and gender of the first author, The collected data were subjected to quantitative and descriptive analysis for reporting the outcomes of the study and graphical presentations to explicitly highlight the findings.
Inter-rater reliability between coders
In order to ensure the reliability of data and rating methods, the authors conducted an inter-rater reliability test, by conducting a sample analysis across 30 randomly selected articles. In order to ensure minimum variation, the coding was done at two levels, first all the six authors (coders) coded the articles distributed amongst them and second, once the coding at individual levels was completed, all the six coders were divided into two groups of three coders each, who again checked the correctness of coding. Finally, for evaluating the degree of consistency amongst the coders, we used the Cohen's Kappa by randomly selecting 30 articles ( Cohen, 1960 ; Neumann, 2007 ; Zawacki-Richter et al. , 2009 ). For the classification of research methods, a coding consistency of 0.799 was achieved between groups A and B. The coding consistency for classification of research area between group A and group B was 0.934. Thus, the inter-rater reliability, being more than 0.75, was excellent for both coding of research methods as well as research area ( Fleiss, 1981 ; Bakeman and Gottman, 1997 ).
Findings and analysis
Journal-wise representation of research on ode in india.
An analysis of articles published in the selected 11 journals of distance education, revealed that out of total 2,571 articles published during the period 2010–2019, only 191 or a meagre 7.42 pertained to ODE in India ( Table 1 ). Interestingly a majority of these articles (68.42%) were published in the journals published from India, namely, Indian Journal of Open Learning (36.65%), Edu Tech e-Journal of Education and Technology (12.04%) and Asian Journal of Distance Education (19.37%). If we further add the articles published in Asian Association of Open Universities (contributing 4.71%) published by Indonesia, and Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (contributing 20.42%) published by Turkey, both being Asian countries, then this share further increases to 93.55%, signifying almost negligible articles on ODE on India were published by journals originating from European or American or other countries ( Figure 1 ).
The shares of articles published on Indian ODE within respective journal was also calculated. The findings show that barring IJOL wherein articles on Indian ODE featured to the tune of 72.92%, no other journal, including those published within India, contributed more than 34% on Indian ODE (EduTech 33.33% and AJDE 30.57%) of the total articles published therein.
The year-wise distribution data of articles further showed that the share of articles on ODE in India in the overall publications was significantly low ranging from a low of 4.27% in 2014 to maximum 10.77% in 2013 ( Figure 2 ). This low representation for sure was much below expectations from a country contributing to maximum number of ODE learners in the world. Thus, our findings coincide with the findings of other researchers including Mishra (2002) .
Pattern of authorship
In order to study the authorship pattern as to whether the research on ODE in India has been solitary or collaborative, and if collaborative, then whether the collaboration was inter- or intra-institutional, we examined the trends in authorship of the research articles over a period of 10 years across both Indian and International journals. We also tried to map the gender-wise distribution of the researchers, by taking into account the gender of the principal and corresponding author. In case the principal and corresponding authors were different and belonging to different genders, then we split the score equally between the two. In respect of articles not explicitly notifying the principal or corresponding author, the gender of the first author was taken into account.
The total number of authors, who contributed the 191 articles in our study, was 333. The authorship pattern ( Table 2 , Figure 3 ) revealed that almost 97 (50.78%) articles were published by single authors against 94 (49.22%) articles in collaboration. Of the 94 articles published in joint authorship by 241 researchers, accounted for 29.32%; and 14.66% of total 191 articles were published in joint collaboration of two and three authors, respectively. An insignificant 3.66% and 1.57% of the articles were published in joint collaboration of four and five authors, respectively. Trends further showed that except for the year 2010, when publications in joint collaboration of two authors were more than the single author publication, the single author publications always outnumbered publications by two or more authors. This trend in publication of articles on Indian ODE system was indicative of the kind of research undertaken by these authors, which was mostly system based, directed towards policy formulations or representation of learner support services data, where most of the researchers carried out solitary research in their own domains. This trend was in variance with the study conducted by Zawacki-Richter et al. , (2009) who in review of distance education literature published in five prominent journals of distance education between 2000 and 2008 observed a decrease in percentage of single author articles in comparison with an increasing trend towards multiple author articles. Our results of authorship pattern differed from those of Wong et al. (2016) who reported 26.9% single author articles and more than 70% multiple author articles in 2015 as against our 51% and 49% articles published by single and multiple authors, respectively.
An analysis of the institutional affiliation pattern of the 333 authors showed that almost 99% of the articles were written by authors affiliated to Indian Institutions (50 institutions) against only three authors belonging to institutions outside India, i.e. Commonwealth of Learning, Canada, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia and University of Houston, Texas. Interestingly all the authors (100%) in both Indian and foreign institutions were of Indian origin who had contributed articles on ODE in India (see Figure 4 ).
Further analysis of institutional affiliation of the authors revealed that 233 authors were affiliated to Indian Open Universities and 205 were from the Indira Gandhi National Open University alone. Thus, out of the total number of authors from Indian HEIs, 63% came from National Open University, i.e. IGNOU. The contribution of authors from State Open Universities was 8%, together making the contribution of authors working in OUs to 71%. Authors working at other universities (55 authors) and institutions and colleges (38 authors) accounted for the 29% of the total authors which was below expectation, considering more than 200 conventional universities and standalone institutions have been offering programmes through distance mode during this period. Our data in respect of institutional affiliation and collaboration of authors coincides with that of Wong et al. (2016) who reported that a majority of research collaboration was done between authors from the same institution.
Classification of research methods
On the lines of majority of reviewers ( Grant et al. , 1987 ; Zawacki-Richter et al. , 2009 ), we also classified research in ODE into quantitative – comprising articles based on statistical analysis of data using simple to multivariate techniques; qualitative – comprising articles using data without any statistical analysis, like case studies, interpretive and descriptive ethnographies, etc.; and mixed – comprising both qualitative and quantitative aspects.
Table 3 describes the types of research articles published on the ODE in India during the last decade (2010–2019) in the 11 journals of distance education selected for this study. The study revealed that, as already mentioned in previous sections, out of a total 191 research articles on ODE in India the majority (36.64%) were published in IJOL, followed by TOJDE (20.41 %) and AJDE (19.37%). Interestingly, not even a single article was published in IJEDE on Indian ODE during the last decade. The study further revealed that around 57.07% of the total 191 articles were based on empirical research whereas nearly 42.93% were theoretical in nature. On further exploration of articles based on empirical research studies, it was established that maximum (55.05%) research studies were of mixed type, i.e. using both qualitative and quantitative methods followed by quantitative research (25.69%) and qualitative research (19.26%).
Our findings vary from Zawacki-Richter et al. (2009) who in their study between 2000 and 2008 comprising 695 articles, had reported 29.1% quantitative, 19.9% qualitative, and 12.9% mixed and 38.1% other studies. Our results also vary from that of Bozkurt et al. (2015) who while studying the research trends in distance education on the basis of articles published between 2009 and 2013, brought out that research studies were mostly qualitative (47%) and quantitative (37%), and just a few were mixed (16%). One of the reasons for this variation is perhaps the fact that only about three-fifth of research studies on ODE in India were empirical in nature (see Figure 5 ).
Further analysis of data on two specific parameters, namely, (1) authorship and (2) the research methods used by the authors, ( Table 3 ) revealed that 53.40% of the principal authors/corresponding authors were females whereas 46.60% were males. This shoulder to shoulder contribution of males and female researchers was certainly an encouraging trend, establishing an encouraging gender-wise representation of faculty members and researchers working in ODE system. With regard to the research methods employed, it was found that while quantitative methods of research were dominated by males, female researchers had majorly undertaken theoretical research methods, and in case of empirical studies they were more focussed towards qualitative research as well as usage of mixed methods comprising both quantitative and qualitative methods in comparison to their male counterparts,. A journal-wise analysis has been presented in Table 3 .
Classification of areas of research
The ODE system is a global phenomenon and hence every country has different research priorities based on the social, economic and geographical context, complexities and requirements. Since the authors attempted to evaluate the trend analysis of research in the ODE system in India, they found it appropriate to select those parameters that were likely to have an impact and change the direction in which ODE was likely to progress in the near future. Therefore, the seven key parameters identified and prescribed by the NAAC for assessment and accreditation of Open Universities and Directorates of Distance Education, formed the broad categories of classifying research articles published in the journals selected for present study, (mentioned at serial number 1 to 7, Table 4 ). In addition, since the research in the country could not be segregated and isolated from global perspectives and development in the field of ODE, the following four more areas were also added explicitly in addition to the above listed seven categories, namely, Scope, Growth and Development; Economics and Funding; Quality Assurance in ODE; and Globalization and Networking (mentioned at serial number 8 to 11, Table 4 ).
We thoroughly examined all the 191 articles on Indian ODE system for classifying them on the basis of research area an analysis of which has been given in Table 5 , Figure 6 . The data in Table 5 revealed the frequency of publications under different areas as categorized under 11 heads. A glance at the total number of publications across the broad categories of research over a period of 10 years showed that teaching, learning and evaluation comprised the highest number of articles with 36.13% of the total publications followed by articles on the curricular aspects (18.85%); learner support and progression (14.13%); governance, leadership and management (9.95%); research, innovation and extension (6.81% ); scope, growth and development (6.28%); infrastructure and learning resources (3.14%); quality assurance in ODE (2.62%); institutional values and best practices (0.52%); economics and funding (1.05%); and globalization and networking (0.52%). Our findings somewhat coincide with the findings of Wong et al. (2016) who had reported that that “instructional design” had the largest group of research articles published in both 2005 (25.5%) and 2015 (21.4%) and a significant number of research articles were published on “learner characteristics” in 2015 (14.3%).
The publication trends portrayed the skewed number of publications in some of the important areas like globalization and networking, funding and economics, institutional values and best practices, which certainly was discouraging, requiring ODE institutions in India to introspect and take measures to improve research in those areas. Taking cue from the available data, it could be inferred that probably our ODE institutions were yet to focus on areas with a global perspective. Our findings of an imbalance in the articles published across various research areas is in consonance with that of Zawacki-Richter et al. (2009) and Bozkurt et al. (2015) who had also found an imbalance between research areas as well as the fact that research on areas such as globalization and cultural aspects of ODE remain relatively scarce.
Curricular Aspects (36 articles)
(2) Teaching Learning and Evaluation (69 articles)
(3) Research, Innovations and Extension (13 articles)
(4) Infrastructure and Learning Resources (6 articles)
(5) Learner Support and Progression (27 articles)
(6) Governance, Leadership and Management (19 articles)
(7) Institutional Values and Best Practices (1 article)
(8) Scope, Growth and Development (12 articles)
(9) Economics and Funding (2 articles)
(10) Quality Assurance in ODE (5 articles)
(11) Globalization and Networking (1 article)
The sole article explored the possibilities of sharing of academic resources through the adoption of an institutional policy for OERs and MOOCs as part of the global open access and open education movements and networking amongst educational institutions.
Potential areas
Themes like “Governance, Leadership and Management” and “Research, Innovations and Extension” were moderately explored by researchers during last decade. It has further been observed that “Globalization and Networking” thematic area was the least preferred by the researchers for the purpose of research as only one research article was written in this area. Besides this, “Economics and Funding” theme was not touched upon significantly with only two articles found in the journals, though the inflow and outflow of monetary resources is the backbone of any system and considerably required to plan for future endeavours and hence, needs exhaustive research. For any institution to flourish and mark its significance, both quantity along with quality matters, however, without quality, numbers may not sustain for long. Keeping this fact in mind, it is pertinent to mention here that a theme like “Quality Assurance in ODE” was not considered a priority area for research as only five articles were published in the said area. Another area, namely “Institutional Values and Best Practices” was also a neglected area with only one article belonging to this particular theme. Apart from above-mentioned thematic areas, “Infrastructure and Learning Resources” which is an important area reflecting the development of an institution, barely six articles were articulated on this theme, in the last 10 years.
Further, the OUs and DMUs over the years have evolved and have established practices that have become their recognizable attributes or distinctions. These special attributes need to be studied and extensively published so that the model can be replicated or modified as per the needs of other universities. Also, NAAC has established the benchmarks to maintain the standards of quality in the ODE system. New areas of importance have emerged which need to be explored and investigated such as empowerment and inclusion; environmental consciousness and sustainability, human values and professional ethics; transparency in financial, academic and administrative functioning; responsiveness towards learners; accountability and transparency; e-governance; technology enabled learner support; etc. ( NAAC, 2019 ).
Measures for strengthening system-based research
The journey of distance education research, not only in India but also in Asia, has been staggered in terms of its outcome and application for development of the ODE system. The SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) (2020) which ranks academic and research-related institutions based on research performance, innovation outputs and societal impact measured by their web visibility reveals that only five OUs figure in the portal consisting of 3898 HEIs, namely, The Open University of UK (United Kingdom) ranked 795; the Open University Netherlands (Netherlands)1658 ; the Open University of Israel (Israel) 2,144; Anadolu University (Turkey) 2,328 and Hellenic Open University (Greece) 3105. Interestingly, none of the Asian Open Universities featured in the list. This scenario is palpable since the ODE institutions particularly in India need to travel extra miles and take their endeavours towards making their research base strong. It is not that research is not going on in Indian Open Universities; rather, perhaps it is the non-publication by Indian researchers in international journals that has projected this picture. A university is known by the research it indulges in. Research is the gateway to investigate and identify the gaps and infuse new ideas into the system. The following measures adopted by ODE institutions will strengthen research on ODE system and yield the desired results.
Dedicated research centres
Instances show that wherever the universities have their dedicated research wing, it has yielded results. The Open University UK has a long tradition of carrying out research into learning and learning analytics, applied research into the use of new technologies through its Institute of Educational Technology established in 1970, for modelling the design of learning at the Open University. In this regard, the dedicated research departments on ODE supported by ODE institutions like International Research Foundation , Deakin University, Australia; the American Centre for the Study of Distance Education at College of Education at Pennsylvania State University, USA; Canadian Institute of Distance Education and Research at Athabasca University; need a special mention. Amongst the dedicated research units in Asia: Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) in IGNOU; Prof. G. Ram Reddy Research Academy of Distance Education (GRADE) in BRAOU; Institute of Distance Education in Korean National Open University and Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning (CRIDAL) (renamed as the Institute for Research in Open and Innovative Education ) in Open University of Hong Kong; are also independent units devoted for research in distance education ( Gaba, 2007 ).
Institutional policy on system-based research
A critical analysis through the present study also poses a formidable question. Where have we gone wrong? Maybe it is the absence of a robust institutional policy which has prevented or impeded the research temperament in the OUs and Dual Mode Universities. An institutional policy will put the faculty on the path to undertake both discipline-based and system-based research. System-based research needs to be encouraged by ODE institutions to constantly review the existing practices and bring about qualitative improvements in the functioning of the system. ODE being a dynamic system adopting and adapting to the new technological advancements, needs to be constantly changing as per the requirements of the target groups it serves. However, all systemic changes should be informed decisions embedded in solid research. This will reflect on the commitment of the institution towards quality assurance.
Funding of research activities
The financial health of the OUs, further limits the promotion of research. The 14 State Open Universities in India, contributing significantly to the higher educational aspirants in the country have immense potential. They need adequate financial resources for research, capacity building activities, incentive for research and most pertinently, government support. Therefore, the onus is on the government as well as ODE institutions to encourage research at the university, both systemic and discipline based. In India, where the government targets towards increasing the GER, thrust should be on empowering those universities/institutions particularly which are offering education at affordable costs to the disadvantaged sections of the society.
Collaboration with industry
Collaborative research activities with industries, is one of the important aspects to be integrated in the institutional policy of an ODE institution. Besides the institutional policy, what is important is the need to conduct multidimensional research. It is worth mentioning Borje Holmberg's distinction between endogenous and exogenous research. Endogenous research looks at work done within distance education, such as studying the methods, systems, media, etc. Exogenous research focusses on the economic, demographic, cultural, social and political contexts of ODE. ( Kanwar and Balasubramanian, 2014 ). “Institutions that generate knowledge increasingly play a role in the networks of relations among the key actors: University (Science), Industry (Business), and Government (Governance). The governments create a system that defines, regulates an innovation process of enterprises. Conceptualization of this system is provided by a three-dimensional vector space called Triple Helix of university–industry–government model. Each of the three actors, university–industry–government, participates in Wealth generation” ( Vaivode, 2015 ).
The extensive review done by the authors reveals that in spite of having access to online journals, the presence of research studies on ODE on India in foreign journals is scanty; slightly better represented in the Asian journals and Indian journals. The quantum of research is not proportionate to the number of faculty members working in the ODE system of India and the large number of learners that it serves, which is a matter of concern. Research on ODE in India, in absence of a strong institutional policy for research in the premier universities offering programmes through distance mode, faces a number of challenges that need to be addressed. Even after nearly six decades of the existence of Dual Mode Universities, and nearly four decades of OUs in India, the institutional best practices pertaining to ODE have not generated required attention perhaps due to lack of networking and collaborative ventures amongst ODE institutions as well as fewer number of publications in international journals. However with the emphasis on research output of the teachers working in HEIs, including Open Universities and Directorates of Distance, Education, which is an essential and important parameter for accreditation of the institution, its national ranking, as well as a mandatory requirement for career advancement of teachers, the research is picking up a fast rate. This study will provide valuable insights and certainly act as an ignition to motivate ODE practitioners, working at Open Universities and Dual Mode Universities, to take the research on ODE forward.
In fact, for any system to grow its periodic systemic review is essential, more so for the ODE system, being a dynamic and innovative system that constantly keeps on evolving, through the adoption of newer technologies for improving curricular aspects, teaching–learning and evaluation and learner support services to its dispersed learners. The ODE system in India requires more empirical research to be undertaken periodically. The research outcomes need to be ploughed back into the system for its betterment. Thus, the missing links in distance education research which are yet to be addressed in its entirety needs to be systematic, professional and action based.
Distribution of articles published on ODE system of India in 11 journals
Share of articles published between 2010 and 2019 on Indian ODE system across 11 journals
Authorship pattern of articles published on Indian ODE
Institutional affiliation of the authors
Research methods used by the researchers
Classification of total publications in 11 research areas
Journals and data of the period 2010–2019
| S. N | Name of the journal | Publisher | Country of origin | ISSN No | Year of launch | No. of volumes (and issues) | Articles published |
|---|
| Total | On ODE in India (%) |
|---|
| 1 | American Journal of Distance Education (AmJDE) | Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) | United States of America | Print ISSN: 0892-3647
Online ISSN: 1538-9286 | 1987 | Volume: 24-33 (40) | 179 | 1 (0.56) |
| 2 | Asian Association of Open Universities Journal (AAOUJ) | Emerald Publishing Limited | Indonesia | ISSN: 2,414-6994 | 2005 | Volume 5-14 (17) | 126 | 9 (7.14) |
| 3 | Asian Journal of Distance Education (AJDE) | The Asian Society of Open and Distance Education, Japan | India | ISSN: 1347-9008 | 2003 | Volume 8-14 (14) | 121 | 37 (30.57) |
| 4 | Distance Education (DE) | Taylor and Francis Group | Australia | Print ISSN: 0158-7919
Online ISSN: 1475-0198 | 1980 | Volume 31-40 (32) | 237 | 1 (0.42) |
| 5 | Edu Tech E-Journal of Education and Technology | Pallav Memorial Trust | India | ISSN: 0975-5004 | 2004 | Volume 10-19 (14) | 69 | 23 (33.33) |
| 6 | Indian Journal of Open Learning (IJOL) | Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) | India | ISSN: 0971-2,690 | 1992 | Volume 19-28 (27) | 96 | 70 (72.92) |
| 7 | International Journal of E-Learning and Distance Education (IJEDE) | Athabasca University Press (AU Press) | Canada | ISSN: 0830-0445 | 1986 | Volume 24- 34 (22) | 116 | 0 (0) |
| 8 | International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRDOL) | Athabasca University Press (AU Press) | Canada | ISSN: 1492-3831 | 2000 | Volume 11-20 (51) | 657 | 3 (0.46) |
| 9 | Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D) | Commonwealth of Learning (COL) | Canada | ISSN: 2,311-1550 | 2014 | Volume 1-6 (18) | 111 | 6 (5.41) |
| 10 | Open Learning: The Journal of Open Distance and e-Learning (OL) | Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) | United Kingdom | ISSN: 0268-0513 | 1986 | Volume 25-34 (30) | 178 | 2 (1.12) |
| 11 | Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE) | Anadolu University | Turkey | ISSN: 1302-6488 | 2000 | Volume 11-20 (41) | 681 | 39 (5.73) |
| | | | – | – | – | | | |
: Websites of Journals| S. No | Year | Number (and percentage) of author(s) | Total (2–5) | Grand total (1–5) |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|
| 1 | 2010 | 4 (30.77) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | | |
| 2 | 2011 | 11 (57.89) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 3 | 2012 | 13 (52.00) | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 4 | 2013 | 12 (38.70) | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | | |
| 5 | 2014 | 7 (53.85) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | | |
| 6 | 2015 | 7 (70.00) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 7 | 2016 | 6 (46.15) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | |
| 8 | 2017 | 15 (57.69) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | | |
| 9 | 2018 | 9 (45.00) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | | |
| 10 | 2019 | 13 (61.91) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Categorization of research methods: journal wise and gender wise
| Research method | J1 (AAOU) | J2(AJDE) | J3(EduTech) | J4(AmJDE) | J5(DE) | J6(IJEDE) | J7(IRRDOL) | J8(IJOL) | J9(OL) | J10(J4LD) | J11(TOJDE) | Total – 191 |
|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Theoretical | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 8 | | |
| within journal | 33.33 | 11.11 | 10.81 | 40.54 | 21.73 | 17.39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | 18.57 | 15.71 | 50 | 50 | 16.66 | 16.66 | 33.33 | 20.51 | | |
| Empirical | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | | |
| | 22.22 | 11.11 | 2.70 | 0 | 8.69 | 13.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | 16.66 | 7.69 | 0 | | |
| | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | | |
| | 0 | 11.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.85 | 4.28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.38 | 12.82 | | |
| | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | |
| | 11.11 | 0 | 29.72 | 16.21 | 4.34 | 21.73 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | 33.33 | 7.14 | 31.42 | 0 | 0 | 16.66 | 0 | 5.12 | 5.12 | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Code | Theme | Description |
|---|
| 1 | Curricular aspects | Curriculum design and development; instructional design; learning outcome-based curricula; openness, flexibility and modular approach; credit transfer; programme evaluation; including development of skills and competencies and learner engagement |
| 2 | Teaching – learning and evaluation | Pedagogy of ODE; transaction of curricula; delivery of programmes through multiple media including online learning, MOOCs and OERs; student evaluation both formative and summative; including learner access and equity and learner characteristics, learning styles (student learning) and learner diversity |
| 3 | Research, innovations and extension | Promotion of research and innovation; extension activities; consultancy and collaboration with industry, corporate sector/government sector etc. |
| 4 | Infrastructure and learning resources | Physical and IT infrastructure, learning resources including production facilities and library facility |
| 5 | Learner support and progression | Learner support activities: promotion and publicity; student registration; material dispatch; counselling and tutoring; grievance redressal; student progression; placement; alumni engagement |
| 6 | Governance, leadership and management | Vision and mission; strategic planning; governance; leadership; financial management ; monitoring mechanisms for quality assurance; professional development/staff development |
| 7 | Institutional values and best practices | Institutional policy for transparency and accountability; gender sensitization; disabled friendly environment; promotion of universal values, national and social responsibilities; environment and green initiatives |
| 8 | Scope, growth and development | Growth and development of the ODE system in the country, region, state; systemic change/disruption in the system; including impact assessment |
| 9 | Economics and funding | Costing; cost benefit analysis; funding; income and expenditure |
| 10 | Quality assurance in ODE | Assessment and accreditation practices; quality-related issues and policies; mechanisms for quality assurance |
| 11 | Globalization and networking | Issues pertaining to globalization; networking amongst institutions, etc. |
Journal-wise frequency of publication across the 11 research areas
| S. No | Broad category of research areas | Frequency of publication in the selected journals |
|---|
| J1 AmJDE | J2 AAOUJ | J3 AJDE | J4 DE | J5 EduTech | J6 IJEDE | J7 IJOL | J8 IRRDOL | J9 JL4D | J10 OL | J11 TOJDE | Total |
|---|
| 1 | | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | |
| 2 | | 1 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1 | | |
| 3 | | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 4 | | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | . 0 | 0 | | |
| 5 | | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 6 | | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | |
| 7 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | |
| 8 | | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 9 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 10 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | |
| 11 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | |
| | | 1 | 9 | 37 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 70 | 3 | 6 | 2 | | |
Bakeman , R. and Gottman , J.M. ( 1997 ), Observing Interaction - an Introduction to Sequential Analysis , Cambridge University Press , Cambridge .
Bewley , D. ( 2008 ), “ Australian and South pacific external studies association: ODLAA's regional predecessor ”, Distance Education , Vol. 29 No. 1 , pp. 19 - 37 , available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01587910802004829 ( accessed 8 June 2020 ).
Bozkurt , A. , Akgun-Ozbek , E. , Yilmazel , S. , Erdogdu , E. , Ucar , H. , Guler , E. , Sezgin , S. , Karadeniz , A. , Sen-Ersoy , N. , Goksel-Canbek , N. , Dincer , G.D. , Ari , S. and Aydin , C.H. ( 2015 ), “ Trends in distance education research: a content analysis of journals 2009-2013 ”, International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning , Vol. 16 No. 1 , pp. 330 - 363 .
Cohen , J. ( 1960 ), “ A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales ”, Educational and Psychological Measurement , Vol. 20 , pp. 37 - 46 .
Fleiss , J.L. ( 1981 ), Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions , Wiley , New York, NY .
Gaba , A. ( 2007 ), “ Research in open and distance education: status and policy issue ”, University News , Vol. 45 No. 16 , pp. 8 - 16 .
Government of India ( 2010 ), “ UGC regulations for minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff at universities and colleges and measures for maintenance of standards in higher education, 2010, (18th September) Gazette of India , extraordinary part III, section -4 ”, available at: https://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/regulations ( accessed 10 June 2020 ).
Government of India ( 2017 ), “ University grants commission (open and distance learning) regulations, 2017, (23rd June) Gazette of India , extraordinary part III, section -4 ”, available at: https://www.google.com/url?sa=tandsource=webandrct=jandurl=https://ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/regulations/distance%2520education%2520regulations.pdfandved=2ahUKEwic4bmOoujoAhXFV3wKHUUyD-UQFjACegQIBRACandusg=AOvVaw28l3ijhz7MGoRj-j7n1faK ( accessed 12 April 2020 ).
Government of India ( 2018 ), “ UGC Regulations for minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff at universities and Colleges and measures for maintenance of standards in higher education, 2018, (18th july) Gazette of India , extraordinary Part III, section-4 ”, available at: https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/4033931_UGC-Regulation_min_Qualification_Jul2018.pdf ( accessed 10 June 2020 ).
Grant , L. , Ward , K.B. and Rong , X.L. ( 1987 ), “ Is there an association between gender and methods in sociological research? ”, American Sociological Review , Vol. 52 , pp. 856 - 862 .
Gupta , A.K. and Arun , R. ( 1986 ), “ Survey of recent Indian writings in distance education ”, Distance Education: An International Journal , Vol. 1 No. 2 , pp. 20 - 26 .
Holmberg , B. ( 1986 ), “ A discipline of distance education ”, Athabasca University Press , The Journal of Distance Education / Revue de l'education Distance , Vol. 1 No. 1 , available at: http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/306 ( accessed 8 June 2020 ).
Kanwar , A. and Balasubramanian , K. ( 2014 ), “ Advancing research in ODL: where are the missing links?', opening keynote address ”, Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities , Hong Kong, China , 28 October 2014 , available at: http://aaou2014.ouhk.edu.hk/e-keynote.html ( accessed 10 June 2020 ).
Mishra , S. ( 1997 ), “ A critical analysis of periodical literature in distance education ”, Indian Journal of Open Learning , Vol. 6 Nos 1 and 2 , pp. 39 - 53 .
Mishra , S. ( 2002 ), “ Ten years of Indian journal of open learning ”, Indian Journal of Open Learning , Vol. 11 No. 2 , pp. 279 - 290 .
Moore , M. ( 2016 ), “ Thirty years later: Self-directed learning and distance education - in retrospect ”, The Journal of Distance Education / Revue de l'ducation Distance , Vol. 31 No. 2 , available at: https://www.learntechlib.org/p/183673/ ( accessed 8 June 2020 ).
NAAC ( 2019 ), NAAC Institutional Accreditation Manual: Self Study Report Open University , NAAC , Bangalore , available at: http://www.naac.gov.in/images/docs/Manuals/OpenUniversity-Manual-11-12-2019.pdfhttp://www.naac.gov.in/images/docs/Manuals/Draft-Dual-Mode-University-Manual.pdf ( accessed 6 June 2020 ).
Neumann , W.L. ( 2007 ), Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches , Pearson , Boston .
Panda , S. ( 1992 ), “ Distance educational research in India: Stock-taking, concerns and prospects ”, Distance Education , Vol. 13 No. 2 , pp. 309 - 326 .
Panda , S.K. , Satyanarayana , P. and Sharma , R.C. ( 1996 ), Open and Distance Education Research: Analysis and Annotation , IDEA, Kakatiya University , Warangal .
Peters , O. ( 1983 ), “ Distance teaching and industrial production: a comparative reinterpretation in outline ”, in Sewart , D. , Keegan , D. and Holmberg , B. (Eds), Distance Education. International Perspectives , Croom Helm , London , pp. 95 - 113 .
Satyanarayana , P. and Mantha , L. ( 2018 ), “ Survey of research in Indian distance education ”, Asian Journal of Distance Education , Vol. 13 No. 2 , pp. 17 - 145 , available at: http://www.asianjde.org/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/275 ( accessed 9 June 2020 ).
SCImago, S.I.R. ( 2020 ), SCImago Institutions Rankings , [Portal] , available at: https://www.scimagoir.com/rankings.php?sector=Higher%20educ ( accessed 15 June 2020 ).
Srivastava , M. ( 2012 ), Mapping Research in ODL, Chapter 5 in Open Universities: India's Answer to Challenges in Higher Education , Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd. , New Delhi , pp. 85 - 104 .
Tripathi , M. and Kanungo , N. ( 2010 ), “ Information use pattern of researchers in open and distance education: an analysis of citations of Indian journal of open learning ”, Indian Journal of Open Learning , Vol. 19 No. 3 , pp. 183 - 198 .
University Grants Commission ( 2019 ), Annual Report 2018-19 , University Grants Commission , New Delhi , available at: https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/3060779_UGC-ANNUAL-REPORT--ENGLISH--2018-19.pdf ( accessed 2 May 2020 ).
Vaivode , I. ( 2015 ), “ Triple Helix model of university–industry–government cooperation in the context of uncertainties ”, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences , Vol. 213 , pp. 1063 - 1067 , available at: https://ortus.rtu.lv/science/en/publications/24060-Triple+Helix+Model+of+University%E2%80%93Industry%E2%80%93Government+Cooperation+in+the+Context+of+Uncertainties ( accessed 14 June 2020 ).
Wong , Y.Y. , Zeng , J. and Ho , C.K. ( 2016 ), “ Trends in open and distance learning research: 2005 vs 2015 ”, Asian Association of Open Universities Journal , Vol. 11 No. 2 , pp. 216 - 227 .
Zawacki-Richter , O. , Backer , E.M. and Vogt , S. ( 2009 ), “ Review of distance education research (2000–2008): analysis of research areas, methods, and authorship patterns ”, International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning , Vol. 10 No. 6 , pp. 21 - 30 , available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ869423.pdf ( accessed 11 June 2020 ).
Corresponding author
Related articles, all feedback is valuable.
Please share your general feedback
Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions
Contact Customer Support
Enter the URL below into your favorite RSS reader.
Impact of Online Learning in India: A Survey of University Students During the COVID-19 Crisis
View more stats
The unprecedented situation of COVID-19 caused the government of India to instruct educational institutions to switch to an online mode to mitigate the losses for students due to the pandemic. The present study attempts to explore the impact of online learning introduced as a stop-gap arrangement during the pandemic in India. A survey was conducted (N=289), via Facebook and WhatsApp, June 1-15, 2020 to understand the accessibility and effectiveness of online learning and constraints that students of higher education across the country faced during the peak times of the pandemic.
The analysis and interpretation of the data revealed that the students acclimatized in a short span of time to online learning, with only 33.21% saying they were not satisfied with the online learning mode. However, the sudden shift to online education has presented more challenges for the socially and economically marginalized groups, including Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), females, and students in rural areas, due to factors like the price of high-speed Internet (78.20% identified it as a barrier to online learning), insufficient infrastructure (23.52% needed to share their device frequently or very frequently), poor Internet connectivity, etc. According to 76.47% of respondents, the future of learning will be in “blended mode.” A total of 88.92% of the respondents suggested that the government should provide high-quality video conferencing facilities free to students to mitigate the division created by online education in an already divided society.
The unprecedented situation of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced the Indian education system to move to digital learning and teaching to fill the gap created by suspending classroom teaching across the country. Technological development and the Internet have changed the lives of people immensely and have also brought a huge change in various fields (Nadikattu , 2020) .
The majority of countries worldwide temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread of the COVID-19. According to UNESCO (2020) , 191 countries have implemented nationwide or localized school closures, resulting in over 91% of enrolled students, or 1.5 billion people, not being able to go to school as of April 20, 2020 (Lamrabat , 2020) . UNESCO has supported countries in their efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of school closures, particularly for more vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, and to facilitate the continuity of education for all through remote learning (UNESCO , 2020) .
The decision of the countries to switch to an online mode of education in light of the outbreak of COVID-19 was needed to contain the spread of the pandemic. Although the Indian government has attempted to control the damage by introducing online teaching through the virtual classroom, uploading and sharing e-study materials, and through virtual interaction, all such tools and techniques have limitations. This damage control mechanism will certainly have long-term consequences on the quality, accessibility, and deliverability of educational content. The effects of the global pandemic on the education system may vary from country to country, depending mainly on infrastructure and quality of content. The outbreak of COVID-19 has affected all segments of students, but it is particularly damaging to students of the vulnerable groups of the society.
The people of the vulnerable groups in India are disadvantaged in comparison to others mainly on account of limited access to basic needs or services. The vulnerable groups susceptible to mainly social and economic discrimination include women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, children, aged, disabled, poor migrants, people living with HIV/AIDS, and sexual minorities (MES , 2011) . As per census of India 2011, the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) account for 8.2% and 16.2% of the total population of the country respectively (Census India , n.d.) . The term OBC, which stands for Other Backward Class, is collectively used by the Government of India to categorize the educationally or socially underprivileged castes living across the country. It is one of the official classifications of the population alongside General Class, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs).
There are reports of students of a large section of the country facing difficulties coping with the present online system of delivery of education based on the digital divide. The closure of 1.5 million schools due to the pandemic and lockdowns in 2020 has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in India (UNICEF , 2021) . The interruptions in the teaching and learning process have adversely affected mainly the students without smartphones and computers, those with poor Internet speed or lack of stable Internet connection, electricity failures, etc. The early evidence and news reports also indicate that the impact of COVID-19 is most severe among the students from vulnerable groups due to their inability to continue with studies due to meager economic conditions. Moreover, re-contextualizing the teaching and learning process to an e-learning mode has several limitations for students with less access to technology.
The problem for the students with meager sources of family income is more severe and such students require additional attention and support. The online method of delivering content is a big barrier for such students and their families. It has restricted both the cognitive as well as non-cognitive development of these students. The online delivery of education may turn out to be harmful if the pandemic situation continues for a long time for the students living in poverty. The situation will adversely affect students from indigent and other marginalized groups in particular. Moreover, health and psychological issues such as mental stress, eye strain, headache, backache, neck ache, spondylitis, sleeplessness, irritation, aloofness, lack of physical peer interaction, etc. emerging from the sudden introduction of online education can cause the students to experience many difficulties. Any stress and inadequate resources to alleviate these potential harms may lead the individual to experience psychological distress (Lazarus & Folkman , 1984) .
As an offshoot of digital and Internet technology, e-learning or online learning has developed the potential to make some notable changes in accessing educational curriculum outside the traditional classroom and previously existing technology over the last two decades. However, the widespread technological innovations and infrastructural growth divided the world into the physical and digital world since the dawn of the new millennium. Besides the availability of the infrastructure, a detailed lesson plan, presentation, and good study materials need to be prepared for effective online learning. The lack of online teaching skills, no training for preparing lesson plans, poor or no hands-on training of software, unavailability of infrastructure, etc. among the educators of developing and underdeveloped countries stand as a major challenge. The trend of online learning has been benefiting the learners from developed counties with sound technological infrastructure more than the developing and poor counties, resulting in a huge gap between education rich and education poor countries.
Over the years, India has introduced several public policies in different sectors to acquaint and encourage citizens to accept digital technology for a wide range of benefits. Of late, digital activity is gaining acceptance across different sectors including education, especially in private educational institutes, coaching centers, and distance learning universities in pre-COVID-19 India.
In a country as diverse as India, along with overcoming the infrastructure barrier, there needs to be a focus on overcoming the barriers of language and content (Saini , 2018) . The migration to online learning has been looked at as a good solution for the future by experts while overcoming the infrastructural barriers in gradual progression to maintain quality and accessibility to meet the learning needs of the growing population of the country.
There may be numerous pros and cons of online education with respect to the students of different classes, castes, genders, and economic conditions. Despite all odds, the government and stakeholders of educational institutions have been working hard to strengthen the knowledge of the individual, larger community, and society for any normal and future crisis situations.
This paper concentrates on the socio-demographic impact of the introduction of online learning process in higher education on students of different classes, castes, genders, urban, and rural areas in higher education.
Literature Review
Fast research growth and technology have made distance education easy (McBrien et al. , 2009) . “Most of the terms (online learning, open learning, web-based learning, computer-mediated learning, blended learning, m-learning, for ex.) have in common the ability to use a computer connected to a network, that offers the possibility to learn from anywhere, anytime, in any rhythm, with any means” (Cojocariu et al. , 2014) .
Not only the teachers but also the students are facing challenges due to a deficiency in proper learning attitudes, lack of suitable materials for learning, more involvement in classroom learning, lack of self-discipline, and the inadequate learning environment at some of their homes during self-isolation (Brazendale et al. , 2017) .
Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the study conducted by Sun and Chen (2016) reviewed 47 published studies and research regarding online teaching and learning since 2008. Their study primarily focuses on how theories, practices, and assessments apply to an online learning environment. Some prominent factors required for effective online instruction included well-designed course content, motivating interaction between the instructor and learners, well-prepared and fully supported instructors, creation of a sense of online learning community, and rapid advancement of technology Sun and Chen (2016) .
In their systematic analysis, Navarro and Shoemaker (2000) observed that the learning outcomes of students having online classes were as good as or better than traditional classroom learning, irrespective of the background characteristics of the students. The student learners were highly satisfied with online learning.
Lederman (2020) had the opinion that the COVID-19 crisis compelled both teachers and students to embrace the digital academic experience of the online teaching-learning process. Bao (2020) was perhaps one among the early researchers during the pandemic who described how universities have been moving from classroom-based education to online education, owing to the exponential number of COVID-19 cases. The teachers have been delivering course content through various online platforms, including online educational platforms, videoconferencing software, and social media (Aguilera-Hermida , 2020) . The online educational platforms like Google Classroom and Blackboard allow teachers to share notes and multimedia resources to continue the regular studies of students. Students can submit their assignments via educational platforms and teachers can track the progress of students.
Videoconferencing tools such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams have been playing important roles in delivering online lectures and organizing discussion sessions. In fact, these platforms typically support slideshows and have several useful features. A number of universities and institutions of higher education have been disseminating course material through their official websites (Chatterjee & Chakraborty , 2020) .
Several countries were equipped with significant infrastructure for online education before the pandemic hit the world (Mishra et al. , 2020) . Despite this, not all universities were prepared to shift to complete online education. There are some empirical studies that suggest that students have a better learning experience in a physical classroom than through online education (Bojović et al. , 2020) . Students miss the assistance they obtain from their peers in classrooms and laboratories and access to a library (Aguilera-Hermida , 2020) . However, students believe that online education facilitated the continuation of their studies during the pandemic (Mishra et al. , 2020) .
The caste system of Indian society is one among the world’s oldest forms of surviving social stratification. The system of caste segregates the Hindus into four main categories - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, based on their karma (work) and dharma (religion or duty in Hindi language). This system of casteism among Hindus is believed to be more than 3,000 years old. This system of social division dictates nearly all facets of Hindu religious and social life, where each group occupies a definite place in the complex social hierarchy. The communities living in rural India are mainly segregated on the basis of castes - the upper and lower castes. They have been living in segregated colonies with restrictions on movements, alliances and sharing facilities. The Constitution of India banned discrimination on the basis of caste after country’s independence from British rule, and, in an attempt to correct historical injustices and provide a level playing field to the traditionally disadvantaged, the authorities announced quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for scheduled castes and tribes, the lowest in the caste hierarchy, in 1950 (BBC , 2019) . The Constitution of India defines who are members of the SC and ST under Article 341 and 342 with respect to any state or union territory.
The population of OBC consisted of 52% of the country’s population according to the B P Mandal Commission report (TNS , 2021) of 1980, and it was determined to be 41% in 2006 (TNN , 2007) by the National Sample Survey Organisation. A constitutional provision of 27% reservation (PIB , 2014) was made in public sector employment and higher education to uplift the OBC.
The review of literature suggests that online learning has both positive and negative aspects in terms of delivery of content, current environment, and availability of infrastructure. The trend of learning via online mode is not new for the students belonging to privileged classes in India. There are a section of people opting for online learning via various platforms like edX and Coursera for better learning and international exposure. The present crisis of the pandemic forced some students to not be able to carry out their studies in the online mode due to several to social, economic, and infrastructure related issues. These issues include no or poor Internet facilities, no mobile phone, laptop or computer, no conducive environment for learning, etc. The sample for the current study mainly represents only those higher education students who were forced to go to an online mode of learning.
The researchers have not found any studies on the effectiveness of online learning among the students of higher education of varied demographics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study may be helpful to understand the effectiveness of online learning especially among the vulnerable groups of the society during the pandemic.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
The current study investigates the effect of the sudden shift of the entire learning environment from physical to online mode. The research questions formulated for the study are as follows.
RQ1 : How or what were the opinions of the students regarding online mode of learning?
RQ2 : How has online learning affected the students of different groups, particularly disadvantaged members of society, including OBC, SC, ST, rural, and female students?
RQ3 : Will the online mode of learning will reduce the discrimination among the different socio-economic groups of the society?
The following hypotheses have been framed and will be tested from the data collected.
H 1 : Different sections of the society were differently impacted due to the sudden shift to an online mode of learning.
H 2 : There were sections of the society who lacked sufficient infrastructure for online learning.
H 3 : Online learning is considered less effective and the interaction level is also less.
Methodology
There is the need during the ongoing pandemic to study and understand the efficacy of online education when students of various disciplines of India are entirely dependent on learning online. An explorative research design technique has been chosen for this study, and the analysis in this paper will also look into the following aspects of online learning.
Frequency of participation in learning via online classes, the kind of devices used, mode of connection, and the platform used for learning online.
Suitability of the additional e-material available for the online learning process among learners.
Effectiveness of online learning among students in higher education. (Satisfaction, understanding the subject, classroom adjustment, teacher-pupil interactions, peer interaction/sharing).
Constraints faced during online learning (gender, economic status, social status, place of residence, and health).
Problems faced by e-learners in the process of learning such as conceptual, theoretical, and practical clarity of the content, technical problems, and the physical environment.
Effectiveness of online learning in the present situation of the pandemic and future implications.
Need and preference of learners for better learning and understanding of the content and realistic approach to the subjects.
A Google Form containing 38 questions has been developed to understand respondents’ experiences and perception of online classes during the pandemic. It also attempts to investigate how the sudden shift has differently impacted students belonging to different socio-demographic backgrounds. The responses to the questionnaire helped us to determine the frequency of participation in learning via online classes, the kind of devices used, connection mode, the platform used for learning online, etc.
The link to the questionnaire was circulated online via various Facebook and WhatsApp groups of students of higher education, aged 18-30 years across India. The link was kept active for 15 days from June 1, 2020 to June 15, 2020 to collect responses from the e-learners of the target group. The responses of 289 e-learners were recorded during the period. All the questions were close ended. The collected data was recorded on a nominal or ordinal scale. Therefore, the data received is categorical data.
Pertinent tools to analyze categorical data were used, which include frequency analysis, contingency tables, and chi-square test for testing the associations of the categorical data. Using cross-tabulation, we could get grouped frequencies to find whether there is a pattern of association between two or more variables.
Results and Discussion
Out of 289 responses, 171 (59.16%) were male and 118 (41.83%) were female. In terms of caste, the majority of the responses were received from the General Category ( n =192, 66.43%) and Other Backward Class (OBC) ( n =67, 23.18%); only 15 responses were received from members of a Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) each.
Participation, Device, Connectivity, and Platform
A total of 211 (73.01%) students responded that they participate most of the time in online learning, whereas 69 (23.87%) said that they participate some of the time. The number of students who seldom or never attended online classes was very low (8 students and 1 student, respectively). This clearly reflects that students did not face much difficulty starting to learn online. The majority of students ( n =245, 84.77%) were using smart phones for online learning, whereas the uses of laptops, tablets, and desktops were limited to only 38, 4, and 2 students (13.15%, 1.38%, and <1%) respectively. More than three-quarters of the students (76.12%) used mobile Internet to participate in online learning, which indicates that using wi-fi connectivity is less popular or not available.
The number of students using Zoom as a platform for learning was the highest ( n =153, 52.94%); 60 (20.76%) used WhatsApp, 33 (11.42%) used Google Classroom, 21 (7.27%) used Google Meet, and 22 (7.61%) used other platforms of class room meetings. When it comes to receiving study material, most of the learners preferred WhatsApp ( n =252, 87.20%) and only 35 (12.11%) preferred other online platforms.
E-Material Preference and Satisfaction
It was observed that students preferred e-notes and online videos over e-books as supporting resources for online learning (see Table 1 ).
| E-material | | % |
| E-books | 27 | 9.34 |
| E-notes | 116 | 40.14 |
| Online video | 126 | 43.60 |
| Other | 20 | 6.92 |
| Total | 289 | 100 |
In response to the question about whether they were satisfied with the online mode for effectively learning the subjects covered on their syllabus, 96 (33.22%) of the e-learners were not satisfied. Other students responded to the same question that they were very satisfied (20, 6.92%), satisfied ( n =62, 21.45%), or that it was manageable ( n =111, 38.40%).
Exposure and Material
A total of 122 (42.21%) strongly agreed and 124 (42.91%) agreed with the statement that hands on experience in a physical classroom may not work in an online mode. A total of 19 e-learners (6.57%) could not decide. Another 18 (6.23%) and 6 (2.08%) respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed, respectively, with the statement that practical exposure with a teacher in a physical classroom interaction may not work online. The responses reflect that the majority of the students felt that they get less practical exposure in the online mode of learning.
Most of the students ( n =270, 93.43%) received online material from their teachers; only 19 (6.57%) said that they had not received it. Only 58 students (20.07%) had recorded lectures from their teachers. A chi-square test revealed that type of course and the level of satisfaction in online learning are independent, that is, not affecting each other (χ 2 (9, N =289)=10.257, p =.330). However, residential area (urban, suburban, or rural) and students’ satisfaction level are associated (χ 2 (6, N =289)=29.239, p <.001). This is an indication that the urban students (privileged) are more satisfied than suburban and rural (less privileged) students. It hints that online education has created a divide in the society. This result shows that H 1 is supported that is, the different sections of the society were differently impacted.
Constraints of Learning
To explore the constraints faced during online learning, several questions were asked, and pivot tables were created to understand the associations between the responses to these questions and some important demographic variables such as gender, caste, family income, place of residence, etc.
On the question about whether the online schedule of classes caused any problem to their family members’ daily routine or not, the majority of students reported that it has created a little problem ( n =108, 37.37%) or it was never a problem ( n =94, 32.53%). However, when the responses of the same questions were cross tabulated with gender and caste and a chi-square test was applied, it was found that responses were independent of caste (χ 2 (12, N =289)=9.6776, p=.1389), but related to gender (χ 2 (4, N =289)=13.531, p =.009). These test results suggests that female students had to adjust their household work for online classes. In addition, while this does not directly indicate infrastructural issues, it may be an indication that female students may not own their own device for attending online classes, which may be attributed to less infrastructure. Therefore, these results may support H 2, which stated certain sections of society have insufficient infrastructure for online learning.
The responses of the e-learners were evenly spread when the question of whether the sharing of a device while attending an online session created any problems for family members or not. A total of 80 respondents (27.68%) rarely had any problem, whereas it was never a problem for 72 respondents (24.91%). The details of the responses are in Table 2 . The results of chi-square tests showed that problems due to sharing a device were related to both caste (χ 2 (4, N =289)= 25.504, p =.009) and gender (χ 2 (4, N =289)=13.68709, p =.008), further supporting H2.
| Statements | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total |
| Problems due to sharing device | 15
(5.19) | 53
(18.34) | 69
(23.88) | 80
(27.68) | 72
(24.91) | 289
(100) |
| The price of high-speed Internet is a barrier to online learning. | 107
(37.02) | 119
(41.18) | 9
(3.11) | 28
(9.69) | 26
(9.00) | 289
(100) |
| Online classes are stressful. | 62
(21.45) | 107
(37.03) | 75
(25.95) | 16
(5.54) | 29
(10.03) | 289
(100) |
| Music and meditation can reduce the stress of online classes | 52
(18.00) | 105
(36.33) | 57
(19.73) | 19
(6.58) | 56
(19.36) | 289
(100) |
| Frequency of online class attendance during COVID-19 pandemic. | 52
(17.99) | 134
(46.37) | 51
(17.65) | 39
(13.49) | 13
(4.50) | 289
(100) |
| There will be a blended mode of learning (classroom and online) in the future | 67
(23.18) | 154
(53.29) | 6
(2.08) | 18
(6.23) | 44
(15.22) | 289
(100) |
| The government should provide high quality video conferencing facilities free to all students. | 145
(50.17) | 112
(38.76) | 7
(2.42) | 7
(2.42) | 18
(6.23) | 289
(100) |
| It is difficult to comprehend lab/field-based activities online. | 141
(48.79) | 119
(41.17) | 3
(1.04) | 10
(3.46) | 16
(5.54) | 289
(100) |
Note. 1 = very frequently/strongly agree , 2 = frequently/agree , 3 = occasionally/neutral , 4 = rarely/disagree , 5 = never/strongly disagree
An attempt to explore whether this problem has any association with gender/caste/household income and residential area (urban, suburban, or rural) has been done. Cross tabulations have been done with all these. A chi-square test for independence for attributes was performed. The chi-square test revealed that the constraints of learning are associated with gender (χ 2 (4, N =289) =13.687, p=.008) and caste (χ 2 (12, N =289)=26.504, p =.009). However, no association was found between the responses to this question and the income status of the respondents’ families. These results help to understand the online learning constraints of e-learners in terms of their gender, economic status, place of residence, and societal standing (caste). The results of the test support H 1 .
Internet Speed
Most of the respondents ( n =226,78.20%) agreed or strongly agreed that the price of high-speed Internet is a barrier to online learning (see Table 2 ). Caste (χ 2 (12, N =289)=25.501, p =.013) and income (χ 2 (12, N =289) =27.921, p =.006) were found to be significantly associated with the price of high-speed Internet being a barrier to online learning. These results support H 2 , that is, that certain groups lacked the infrastructure needed for online learning.
Information Overload
Most of the respondents (52.60%) opined that the abundance of e-materials on course curriculum may lead to information overload, whereas the number of students who responded yes or no were found to be 76 (26.30%) and 61 (21.10%) respectively (see Table 3 ).
| Statements | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| The abundance of e-materials will lead to information overload. | 76
(26.30) | 0
(0.00) | 152
(52.60) | 61
(21.10) | 289
(100) |
| Online learning tools are user-friendly. | 139
(48.10) | 102
(35.29) | 0
(0.00) | 48
(16.61) | 289
(100) |
| Readiness of India for online learning in all levels of education. | 65
(22.49) | 65
(22.49) | 47
(16.26) | 112
(38.76) | 289
(100) |
| Can online teaching replace classroom teaching? | 44
(15.22) | 65
(22.49) | 26
(9.00) | 154
(53.29) | 289
(100) |
| Online learning has affected the art of teaching and zeal for learning. | 153
(52.94) | 53
(18.34) | 27
(9.34) | 56
(19.38) | 289
(100) |
Note. 1 = Yes, 2 = Somewhat, 3 = Maybe/Not sure, 4 = No.
Stress and Remedies
The majority of the students strongly agree (21.45%) and agree (37.03%), that online classes were stressful.
The majority of the students believe, that is, agreed (36.33%) or strongly agreed (18.00%), that inclusion of online music and meditation classes can reduce the stress of online classes. Table 2 shows that 19.73% disagreed and 6.58% strongly disagreed that music would reduce stress, and 19.36% were undecided.
If undecided responses are excluded, strongly agree/agree are combined, and strongly disagree/disagree are combined, and a z -test for difference of proportion is conducted, it reflects that more people agreed with introducing music and meditation as supplementary classes along with main the subjects ( z =5.3, p < .001).
User-Friendliness of Tools
A total of 139 respondents (48.10%) found online learning tools user-friendly (see Table 3 ). When the responses yes and somewhat were combined and a z -test was conducted, the result of the test suggests that the majority found online tools user friendly ( z =11.4, p <.001).
Readiness for Online Learning
The number of respondents who feel that India is not ready for online classes was found to be highest ( n =112, 38.75%) in the survey (see Table 3 ). An equal number ( n =65, 22.49%) of participants responded somewhat or yes, whereas 47 (16.26%) of respondents were not sure. The responses of the participants indicate that the present situation for online learning is not encouraging when considering India’s readiness for online learning in similar situations in the future.
Online vs. Classroom Teaching
On the question of whether the students, who have been forced to attend online classes due to the pandemic, had attended classroom classes before the outbreak of COVID-19, the majority of the students, which includes very frequently (17.99%) and frequently (46.37%), had attended classes regularly, 17.65% attended occasionally, and 13.49% rarely attended classroom classes before the outbreak of COVID-19, whereas a small percentage (4.50%) never attended classes held in regular classrooms (see Table 2 ). The majority of the students (64.36%), which includes very frequently (17.99%) and frequently (46.37%), attended online classes regularly.
Should We Replace Classroom Teaching with Online Teaching?
More than half of the respondents (53.29%) had the opinion that online teaching cannot replace classroom teaching, whereas 22.49% believed that online teaching can replace traditional classroom teaching; 9.00% of the respondents were not sure, and only 15.22% believed that online teaching can replace classroom teaching (see Table 3 ).
The limitations of online learning may hamper the majority of the respondents’ ability to understand contents and develop skills related to the subjects.
Art of Teaching and Students’ Zeal for Learning
More than 70% (71.28%) of the respondents believed (yes or somewhat) that online learning has affected the art of teaching and zeal for learning (see Table 3 ). A total of 28.75% (19.38% no and 9.37% not sure) have different views.
Future Approach to Learning
More than three-quarters of total respondents, who either agreed or strongly agreed, believe the future of learning would be blended, that is, a combination of classroom and online learning (see Table 2 ). Only 2.42% disagree and 6.23% were not sure about it.
Support from Government
A total of 88.93% of the respondents either strongly agree or agree (see Table 2 ) with the statement that the government should provide high quality video conferencing facilities free to all students. The percentage of respondents with opinions such as disagree, strongly disagree, or undecided were minimal.
Practical Components of Learning
The majority of the respondents ( n =260, 89.97%) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they faced difficulties in comprehending lab/field-based activities when taught online (see Table 2 ). These results support H 3 .
Preference of Learning
More than half of the respondents (54.33%) believe that face-to-face interaction is a better option (see Table 4 ). A total of 22.14% preferred 50% face-to-face and 50% online. Only 4.15% preferred completely online learning. These findings support H 3.
| Responses | | % |
| Completely face-to-face interaction | 157 | 54.33 |
| About 50% face-to-face and 50% online | 64 | 22.14 |
| Mostly, but not completely, face-to-face interaction | 35 | 12.11 |
| Mostly online, but not completely online | 21 | 7.27 |
| Completely online | 12 | 4.15 |
| Total | 289 | 100 |
The findings of the study suggest that there is a serious need to invest a sizeable amount of money in the development of infrastructure and to frame national policy to overcome challenges faced during the stop-gap arrangement of the teaching-learning process and continue it as an additional mode of teaching and learning even after the pandemic ends.
With the current experience of online education, advancement in technologies, proliferation of education, and ample opportunities of learning from experts, the modes and ease of learning have been significantly changing over a period of time. Hence, there is a need to develop new theories that deal with effectiveness, opportunities, and necessity for online learning.
We can observe the following from this study.
(i) Different sections of the society were differently impacted due to sudden shift on online mode of learning.
(ii) There were sections of the society who did not have sufficient infrastructure for online learning.
(iii) Discrimination among different classes may not be there as it takes place in physical classes, but the online mode of education will widen the gap among different sections of the society.
(iv) Teaching satisfaction level with the online mode is less than in-person education mode and even less for suburban and rural students.
(v) Constraints of online education are associated with gender and caste, indicating that online education creates more division in an already divided society.
The findings of the study may not be suitable to derive a universally acceptable conclusion, as it was conducted with a small group of people. The results may vary due to different social and economic standings of different groups of students of higher education, who have been continuing their online education during the pandemic crisis. However, the results of the study may give a direction to future researchers who wish to conduct similar studies with a larger sample and derive any model, concept, or theory based on the findings.
Submitted : February 27, 2021 KST
Accepted : July 18, 2021 KST
An official website of the United States government
The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
- Publications
- Account settings
- My Bibliography
- Collections
- Citation manager
Save citation to file
Email citation, add to collections.
- Create a new collection
- Add to an existing collection
Add to My Bibliography
Your saved search, create a file for external citation management software, your rss feed.
- Search in PubMed
- Search in NLM Catalog
- Add to Search
Students' perception and preference for online education in India during COVID -19 pandemic
Affiliations.
- 1 Division of Agricultural Economics, ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 11001, India.
- 2 Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 11001, India.
- PMID: 34173507
- PMCID: PMC7836920
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100101
Educational institutes across the world have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardizing the academic calendars. Most educational institutes have shifted to online learning platforms to keep the academic activities going. However, the questions about the preparedness, designing and effectiveness of e-learning is still not clearly understood, particularly for a developing country like India, where the technical constraints like suitability of devices and bandwidth availability poses a serious challenge. In this study, we focus on understanding Agricultural Student's perception and preference towards the online learning through an online survey of 307 students. We also explored the student's preferences for various attributes of online classes, which will be helpful to design effective online learning environment. The results indicated that majority of the respondents (70%) are ready to opt for online classes to manage the curriculum during this pandemic. Majority of the students preferred to use smart phone for online learning. Using content analysis, we found that students prefer recorded classes with quiz at the end of each class to improve the effectiveness of learning. The students opined that flexibility and convenience of online classes makes it attractive option, whereas broadband connectivity issues in rural areas makes it a challenge for students to make use of online learning initiatives. However, in agricultural education system where many courses are practical oriented, shifting completely to online mode may not be possible and need to device a hybrid mode, the insights from this article can be helpful in designing the curriculum for the new normal.
Keywords: Content analysis; Online learning; Perception; Preferences; Readiness; TC, Total Count.
© 2020 The Authors.
PubMed Disclaimer
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Similar articles
- Students' preferences for returning to colleges and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A discrete choice experiment. Steimle LN, Sun Y, Johnson L, Besedeš T, Mokhtarian P, Nazzal D. Steimle LN, et al. Socioecon Plann Sci. 2022 Aug;82:101266. doi: 10.1016/j.seps.2022.101266. Epub 2022 Feb 25. Socioecon Plann Sci. 2022. PMID: 35233122 Free PMC article.
- Association between preference and e-learning readiness among the Bangladeshi female nursing students in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study. Kabir H, Tonmon TT, Hasan MK, Biswas L, Chowdhury MAH, Islam MD, Rahman M, Mitra DK. Kabir H, et al. Bull Natl Res Cent. 2022;46(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s42269-022-00697-0. Epub 2022 Jan 13. Bull Natl Res Cent. 2022. PMID: 35039742 Free PMC article.
- E-learning in medical education: a perspective of pre-clinical medical students from a lower-middle income country. Abbas U, Parveen M, Sahito FS, Hussain N, Munir S. Abbas U, et al. BMC Med Educ. 2024 Feb 20;24(1):162. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05158-y. BMC Med Educ. 2024. PMID: 38378563 Free PMC article.
- MEDICOL: online learning in medicine and dentistry. Broudo M, Walsh C. Broudo M, et al. Acad Med. 2002 Sep;77(9):926-7. doi: 10.1097/00001888-200209000-00028. Acad Med. 2002. PMID: 12228095 Review.
- Globalized blended education: securing synergies among far flung universities. Gupta V. Gupta V. SN Soc Sci. 2021;1(5):126. doi: 10.1007/s43545-021-00142-5. Epub 2021 May 6. SN Soc Sci. 2021. PMID: 34693319 Free PMC article. Review.
- Undergraduate Nursing Students' Experiences of Virtual Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study. Asgari Tapeh Z, Darvishpour A. Asgari Tapeh Z, et al. Nurs Res Pract. 2024 May 15;2024:7801500. doi: 10.1155/2024/7801500. eCollection 2024. Nurs Res Pract. 2024. PMID: 38779613 Free PMC article.
- E-Learning Experiences Among Nursing Students: A Scoping Review. Marawa'a A. Marawa'a A. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2024 May 3;15:369-379. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S453153. eCollection 2024. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2024. PMID: 38715711 Free PMC article. Review.
- In-service teacher trainees experience with and preference for online learning environments during Covid-19 pandemic. Tesfay Gebremariam H. Tesfay Gebremariam H. Heliyon. 2024 Apr 13;10(8):e29505. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29505. eCollection 2024 Apr 30. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38644849 Free PMC article.
- Influence of online versus traditional learning on EFL listening skills: A blended mode classroom perspective. Khan MO, Khan S. Khan MO, et al. Heliyon. 2024 Mar 24;10(7):e28510. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28510. eCollection 2024 Apr 15. Heliyon. 2024. PMID: 38571613 Free PMC article.
- Pharmacy Students' Attitudes Toward Distance Learning After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study From Saudi Arabia. Alsahali S, Almutairi S, Almutairi S, Almofadhi S, Anaam M, Alshammari M, Abdulsalim S, Almogbel Y. Alsahali S, et al. JMIR Form Res. 2024 Mar 15;8:e54500. doi: 10.2196/54500. JMIR Form Res. 2024. PMID: 38488833 Free PMC article.
- Allen M.W. Vol. 2. John Wiley & Sons; 2011. (Designing successful e-learning: Forget what you know about instructional design and do something interesting).
- Arbaugh J.B. How classroom environment and student engagement affect learning in internet-based MBA courses. Business Communication Quarterly. 2000;63(4):9–26.
- Bandura A. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review. 1977;84:191–215. - PubMed
- Bandura A. Prentice-Hall; Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.
- Bandura A. W.H. Freeman; New York: 1997. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control.
LinkOut - more resources
Full text sources.
- Elsevier Science
- Europe PubMed Central
- PubMed Central
- Citation Manager
NCBI Literature Resources
MeSH PMC Bookshelf Disclaimer
The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.
Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field.
For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click here .
Loading metrics
Open Access
Peer-reviewed
Research Article
Online education and its effect on teachers during COVID-19—A case study from India
Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation Area of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management Indore, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
- Published: March 2, 2023
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287
- Reader Comments
COVID pandemic resulted in an initially temporary and then long term closure of educational institutions, creating a need for adapting to online and remote learning. The transition to online education platforms presented unprecedented challenges for the teachers. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of the transition to online education on teachers’ wellbeing in India.
The research was conducted on 1812 teachers working in schools, colleges, and coaching institutions from six different Indian states. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected via online survey and telephone interviews.
The results show that COVID pandemic exacerbated the existing widespread inequality in access to internet connectivity, smart devices, and teacher training required for an effective transition to an online mode of education. Teachers nonetheless adapted quickly to online teaching with the help of institutional training as well as self-learning tools. However, respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of online teaching and assessment methods, and exhibited a strong desire to return to traditional modes of learning. 82% respondents reported physical issues like neck pain, back pain, headache, and eyestrain. Additionally, 92% respondents faced mental issues like stress, anxiety, and loneliness due to online teaching.
As the effectiveness of online learning perforce taps on the existing infrastructure, not only has it widened the learning gap between the rich and the poor, it has also compromised the quality of education being imparted in general. Teachers faced increased physical and mental health issues due to long working hours and uncertainty associated with COVID lockdowns. There is a need to develop a sound strategy to address the gaps in access to digital learning and teachers’ training to improve both the quality of education and the mental health of teachers.
Citation: Dayal S (2023) Online education and its effect on teachers during COVID-19—A case study from India. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0282287. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287
Editor: Lütfullah Türkmen, Usak University College of Education, TURKEY
Received: November 13, 2021; Accepted: January 27, 2023; Published: March 2, 2023
Copyright: © 2023 Surbhi Dayal. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: Data apart from manuscript has been submitted as supporting information .
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Introduction
As of November 4, 2021, the spread of novel coronavirus had reached 219 countries and territories of the world, infecting a total of 248 million people and resulting in five million deaths [ 1 ]. In March 2020, several countries including India declared a mandatory lockdown, resulting in the temporary closure of many institutions, not least educational ones. Since then, various restrictions and strategies have been implemented to counter the spread of the virus. These include wearing masks, washing hands frequently, maintaining social and physical distance, and avoiding public gatherings. The pandemic has greatly disrupted all aspects of human life and forced new ways of functioning, notably in work and education, much of which has been restricted to the household environment. The closure for over a year of many schools and colleges across the world has shaken the foundations of the traditional structures of education. Due to widespread restrictions, employees have been forced to carve out working spaces in the family home; likewise, students and teachers have been compelled to bring classes into homes [ 2 ]. Nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries have been physically out of school due to the pandemic. In total, 94 percent of the world’s student population has been affected by school closures, and up to 99 percent of this student population come from low-to middle-income countries [ 3 ].
According to the World Economic Forum, the pandemic has changed how people receive and impart education [ 4 ]. Physical interaction between students and teachers in traditional classrooms has been replaced by exchanges on digital learning platforms, such as online teaching and virtual education systems, characterized by an absence of face-to-face connection [ 5 ]. Online education has thus emerged as a viable option for education from preschool to university level, and governments have used tools such as radio, television, and social media to support online teaching and training [ 6 ]. Various stakeholders, including government and private institutions, have collaborated to provide teachers with resources and training to teach effectively on digital platforms. New digital learning platforms like Zoom, Google Classroom, Canvas, and Blackboard have been used extensively to create learning material and deliver online classes; they have also allowed teachers to devise training and skill development programs [ 7 ]. Many teachers and students were initially hesitant to adopt online education. However indefinite closure of institutions required educational facilities to find new methods to impart education and forced teachers to learn new digital skills. Individuals have experienced different levels of difficulty in doing this; for some, “it has resulted in tears, and for some, it is a cup of tea” [ 8 ].
Teachers have reported finding it difficult to use online teaching as a daily mode of communication, and enabling students’ cognitive activation has presented a significant challenge in the use of distance modes of teaching and learning. Teachers have also expressed concerns about administering tests with minimal student interaction [ 9 ]. Lack of availability of smart devices, combined with unreliable internet access, has led to dissatisfaction with teacher-student interaction. Under pressure to select the appropriate tools and media to reach their students, some teachers have relied on pre-recorded videos, which further discouraged interaction. In locations where most teaching is done online, teachers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities (i.e., semi-urban areas) have had to pay extra to secure access to high-speed internet, digital devices, and reliable power sources [ 10 ]. Teachers in India, in particular, have a huge gap in digital literacy caused by a lack of training and access to reliable electricity supply, and internet services. In rural or remote areas, access to smart devices, the internet, and technology is limited and inconsistent [ 6 ]. In cities, including the Indian capital Delhi, even teachers who are familiar with the required technology do not necessarily have the pedagogical skills to meet the demands of online education. The absence of training, along with local factors (for example, stakeholders’ infrastructure and socio-economic standing), contributes to difficulties in imparting digital education successfully [ 10 ]. The gap in digital education across Indian schools is striking. For example, only 32.5% of school children are in a position to pursue online classes. Only 11% of children can take online classes in private and public schools, and more than half can only view videos or other recorded content. Only 8.1% of children in government schools have access to online classes in the event of a pandemic-related restrictions [ 11 ].
The adverse effects of COVID-19 on education must therefore be investigated and understood, particularly the struggles of students and teachers to adapt to new technologies. Significant societal effects of the pandemic include not only serious disruption of education but also isolation caused by social distancing. Various studies [ 7 , 12 , 13 ] have suggested that online education has caused significant stress and health problems for students and teachers alike; health issues have also been exacerbated by the extensive use of digital devices. Several studies [ 6 , 11 , 14 ] have been conducted to understand the effects of the COVID lockdown on digital access to education, students’ physical and emotional well-being, and the effectiveness of online education. However, only a few studies [ 13 , 15 – 17 ] have touched the issues that teachers faced due to COVID lockdown.
In this context, this study is trying to fill existing gaps and focuses on the upheavals that teachers went through to accommodate COVID restrictions and still impart education. It also provides an in-depth analysis of consequences for the quality of education imparted from the teachers’ perspective. It discusses geographical inequalities in access to the infrastructure required for successful implementation of online education. In particular, it addresses the following important questions: (1) how effectively have teachers adapted to the new virtual system? (2) How has online education affected the quality of teaching? (3) How has online education affected teachers’ overall health?
Because of lockdown restrictions, data collection for this study involved a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of online surveys and telephonic interviews. A questionnaire for teachers was developed consisting of 41 items covering a variety of subjects: teaching styles, life-work balance, and how working online influences the mental and physical well-being of teachers. In the interviews, participants were asked about their experiences of online teaching during the pandemic, particularly in relation to physical and mental health issues. A pilot study was conducted with thirty respondents, and necessary changes to the items were made before the data collection. The survey tool was created using google forms and disseminated via email, Facebook, and WhatsApp. A total of 145 telephonic interviews were also conducted to obtain in-depth information from the respondents.
The data were collected between December 2020 and June 2021. The Research Advisory Committee on Codes of Ethics for Research of Aggrawal College, Ballabhgarh, Haryana, reviewed and approved this study. A statement included in the google survey form as a means of acquiring written consent from the participants. Information was gathered from 1,812 Indian teachers in six Indian states (Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, and Rajasthan) working in universities, schools, and coaching institutions. Nearly three-quarters of the total sample population was women. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 60, with an average age of 34 and a clear majority being 35 or younger. Nearly three-quarters of participants work in private institutions (25% in semi-government entities and the remainder in government entities). In terms of education, 52% of participants have a graduate degree, 34% a postgraduate degree, and 14% a doctorate. Table 1 summarizes the demographic characteristics of the participants.
- PPT PowerPoint slide
- PNG larger image
- TIFF original image
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.t001
Results & discussion
Upon analyzing the survey responses, three crucial areas were identified for a better understanding of the effect of COVID-19 on the Indian education system and its teachers: how effectively teachers have adapted, how effective teaching has been, and how teachers’ health has been affected.
1. How effectively have teachers adapted to the new virtual system?
The first research question concerns how willing teachers were to embrace the changes brought about by the online teaching system and how quickly they were able to adapt to online modes of instruction. This information was gathered from December 2020 to June 2021, at which point teachers had been dealing with school lockdowns for months and therefore had some time to become conversant with online teaching.
While 93.82% of respondents were involved in online teaching during the pandemic, only 16% had previously taught online. These results were typically different from the results of a similar study conducted in Jordon where most of the faculty (60%) had previous experience with online teaching and 68% of faculty had also received formal training [ 16 ]. Since the spread of COVID-19 was rapid and the implementation of the lockdown was sudden, government and educational institutions were not prepared for alternative modes of learning, and teachers needed some time for adjustment. Several other factors also affected the effectiveness of the transition to online education, namely access to different types of resources and training [ 18 ].
a. Access to smart devices.
Online teaching requires access to smart devices. A surprising number of teachers stated that they had internet access at home via laptops, smartphones, or tablets. A more pertinent question, however, was whether they had sole access to the smart device, or it was shared with family members. Only 37.25% of those surveyed had a device for their exclusive use while others shared a device with family members, due to lack of access to additional devices and affordability of new devices. During the lockdown, an increase in demand led to a scarcity of smart devices, so that even people who could afford to buy a device could not necessarily find one available for purchase. With children attending online classes, and family members working from home, households found it difficult to manage with only a few devices, and access to a personal digital device became an urgent matter for many. Respondents admitted to relying on their smartphones to teach courses since they lacked access to other devices. Teachers on independent-school rosters were significantly better equipped to access smart devices than those employed at other types of schools. The data also indicates that teachers in higher education and at coaching centers had relatively better access to laptops and desktop computers through their institutions, whereas teachers in elementary and secondary schools had to scramble for securing devices for their own use.
b. Internet access.
Internet access is crucial for effective delivery of online education. However, our survey shows that teachers often struggled to stay connected because of substantial differences between states in the availability of internet. Of the respondents, 52% reported that their internet was stable and reliable, 32% reported it to be satisfactory and the rest reported it to be poor. Internet connectivity was better in the states of Karnataka, New Delhi, and Rajasthan than in Assam, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. Internet connectivity in Assam was particularly poor. Consequently, many teachers with access to advanced devices were unable to use them due to inadequate internet connection.
The following comments from a teacher in Assam capture relevant situational challenges: “I do not have an internet modem at home, and teaching over the phone is difficult. My internet connection is exhausted, and I am unable to see or hear the students.” Another teacher from Haryana reported similar difficulties: “During the lockdown, I moved to my hometown, and I do not have internet access here, so I go to a nearby village and send videos to students every three days.” Another teacher from Madhya Pradesh working at a premier institution reported experiencing somewhat different concerns: “I am teaching in one of the institute’s semi-smart classrooms, and while I have access to the internet, my students do not, making it difficult to hear what they are saying.”
These responses indicates clearly that it is not only teachers living in states where connectivity was poor who experienced difficulties in imparting education to students; even those who had good internet connectivity experiences problems caused by the poor internet connections of their students.
c. Tools for remote learning.
Teachers made use of a variety of remote learning tools, but access to these tools varied depending on the educator’s affiliation. Teachers at premier institutions and coaching centers routinely used the Zoom and Google Meet apps to conduct synchronous lessons. Teachers at state colleges used pre-recorded videos that were freely available on YouTube. Teachers in government schools used various platforms, including WhatsApp for prepared material and YouTube for pre-recorded videos. To deliver the content, private school teachers used pre-recorded lectures and Google Meet. In addition to curriculum classes, school teachers offered life skill classes (for example, cooking, gardening, and organizing) to help students become more independent and responsible in these difficult circumstances. In addition to online instruction, 16% of teachers visited their students’ homes to distribute books and other materials. Furthermore, of this 36% visited students’ homes once a week, 29% visited twice a week, 18% once every two weeks, and the rest once a month. Additionally, a survey done on 6435 respondents across six states in India reported that 21% teachers in schools conducted home visits for teaching children [ 19 ].
d. Knowledge and training for the use of information and communication technologies.
With the onset of the pandemic, information and communication technology (ICT) became a pivotal point for the viability of online education. The use of ICT can facilitate curriculum coverage, application of pedagogical practices and assessment, teacher’s professional development, and streamlining school organization [ 20 ]. However, the effective adoption and implementation of ICT necessitated delivery of appropriate training and prolonged practice. Also the manner in which teachers use ICT is crucial to successful implementation of online education [ 21 ]. While countries such as Germany, Japan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States recognized the importance of ICT by integrating it into their respective teacher training programmes [ 22 ], this has not been case in India. However, there are some training programmes available to teachers once they commence working. In accordance with our survey results, the vast majority of respondents (94%) lacked any ICT training or experience. In the absence of appropriate tools and support, these teachers self-experimented with online platforms, with equal chances of success and failure.
The transition from offline to online or remote learning was abrupt, and teachers had to adapt quickly to the new systems. Our data indicate that teachers in professional colleges and coaching centers received some training to help them adapt to the new online system, whereas teachers in urban areas primarily learned on their own from YouTube videos, and school teachers in rural areas received no support at all. Overall, teachers had insufficient training and support to adjust to this completely new situation. Policy research conducted on online and remote learning systems following COVID-19 has found similar results, namely that teachers implemented distance learning modalities from the start of the pandemic, often without adequate guidance, training, or resources [ 23 ]. Similar trends have been found in the Caribbean, where the unavailability of smart learning devices, lack of or poor internet access, and lack of prior training for teachers and students hampered online learning greatly. Furthermore, in many cases the curriculum was not designed for online teaching, which was a key concern for teachers [ 24 ]. Preparing online lectures as well as monitoring, supervising and providing remote support to students also led to stress and anxiety. Self-imposed perfectionism further exacerbated these issues while delivering online education [ 15 ]. A study conducted on 288 teachers from private and government schools in Delhi and National Capital Region area, also found that transition to online education has further widened the gap between pupils from government and private schools. It was more difficult to reach students from economically weaker sections of the society due to the digital divide in terms of access, usage, and skills gap. The study also found that even when teachers were digitally savvy, it did not mean that they know how to prepare for and take online classes [ 10 ].
2. How has online education affected the quality of teaching?
Once teachers had acquired some familiarity with the online system, new questions arose concerning how online education affected the quality of teaching in terms of learning and assessment, and how satisfied teachers were with this new mode of imparting education. To address these questions, specific questionnaire items about assessment and effectiveness of teaching has been included.
a. Effectiveness of online education.
Respondents agreed unanimously that online education impeded student-teacher bonding. They reported several concerns, including the inattentiveness of the majority of the students in the class, the physical absence of students (who at times logged in but then went elsewhere), the inability to engage students online, and the difficulty of carrying out any productive discussion given that only a few students were participating. Another significant concern was the difficulty in administrating online tests in light of widespread cheating. In the words of one teacher: “I was teaching a new class of students with whom I had never interacted in person. It was not easy because I could not remember the names of the students or relate to them. Students were irritated when I called out their names. It had a significant impact on my feedback. I would like us to return to class so I do not have to manage four screens and can focus on my students and on solving their problems.”
For these reasons, 85.65% of respondents stated that the quality of education had been significantly compromised in the online mode. As a result, only 33% reported being interested in continuing with online teaching after COVID-19. The results show slightly higher dissatisfaction in comparison to another study conducted in India that reported 67% of teachers feeling dissatisfied with online teaching [ 25 ]. Findings of this study were similar to the findings of a survey of lecturers in Ukraine assessing the effectiveness of online education. Lower quality student work was cited as the third most mentioned problem among the problems cited by instructors in their experience with online teaching, right behind unreliable internet connectivity and the issues related with software and hardware. Primary reasons for lower quality student work were drop in the number of assignments and work quality as well as cheating. Almost half (48.7%) of the participants expressed their disapproval of online work and would not like to teach online [ 26 ].
Due to the nature of the online mode, teachers were also unable to use creative methods to teach students. Some were accustomed to using physical objects and role-playing to engage students in the classroom, but they found it extremely difficult to make learning exciting and to engage their students in virtual space. Similar trends have been reported in Australia, where schoolteachers in outback areas did not find online education helpful or practical for children, a majority of whom came from low-income families. The teachers were used to employing innovative methods to keep the students engaged in the classroom. However, in online teaching, they could not connect with their students using those methods, which significantly hampered their students’ progress. Some teachers mentioned difficulties with online teaching caused by not being able to use physical and concrete objects to improve their instructions [ 27 ].
b. Online evaluation.
Of our respondents, 81% said that they had conducted online assessments of their students. Teachers used various online assessment methods, including proctored closed/open book exams and quizzes, assignment submissions, class exercises, and presentations. Teachers who chose not to administer online assessments graded their students’ performance based on participation in class and previous results.
Almost two-thirds of teachers who had administered online assessments were dissatisfied with the effectiveness and transparency of those assessments, given the high rates of cheating and internet connectivity issues. They also reported that family members had been helping students to cheat in exams because they wanted their children to get higher grades by any means necessary. In response, the teachers had tried to devise methods to discourage students and their families from cheating, but they still felt powerless to prevent widespread cheating.
As one respondent stated: “We are taking many precautions to stop cheating, such as asking to install a mirror behind the student and doing online proctoring, but students have their ways out for every matter. They disconnect the internet cable or turn it off and reconnect it later. When we question them, they have a connectivity reason ready”.
Teachers are also concerned about the effects of the digital skills gap on their creation of worksheets, assessments, and other teaching materials. As a result, some private companies have been putting together teacher training programs. The main challenge pertains to be implementation of a type of specialized education that many teachers are unfamiliar with and unwilling to adopt [ 28 ]. Because of the lack of effective and transparent online assessments, school teachers have reported that students were promoted to the next level regardless of their performance. Thus, only time will tell how successful online education has been in terms of its effects on the lives of learners.
3. How has online education affected teacher’s overall health?
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a situation that few people had experienced or even imagined living through. Governments and individuals tried their best to adjust to the new circumstances, but sudden lockdown, confinement to the household periphery, and working from home had adverse effects on the mental and physical health of many people, including educators and students. To clarify the effects of online education on teachers’ overall health, a number of questionnaire items were focused on respondents’ feelings during the lockdown, the physical and mental health issues they experienced, and their concerns about the future given the uncertainty of the present situation.
a. Physical health issues.
COVID-19 brought a multitude of changes to the lives of educators. Confinement to the household, working from home, and an increased burden of household and caregiving tasks due to the absence of paid domestic assistants increased physical workload and had corresponding adverse effects on the physical health of educators.
Of the study participants, 82% reported an increase in physical health issues since the lockdown ( Fig 1 ). Notably, 47% of those who were involved in digital mode of learning for less than 3 hours per day reported experiencing some physical discomfort daily, rising to 51% of teachers who worked online for 4–6 hours per day and 55% of teachers who worked more than 6 hours per day. Respondents reported a variety of physical health issues, including headaches, eye strain, back pain, and neck pain.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g001
The number of hours worked showed a positive correlation with the physical discomfort or health issues experienced. A chi-square test was applied to determine the relationship between the number of online working hours and the frequency of physical issues experienced by the participants and found it to be significant at the 0.05 level ( Table 2 ).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.t002
As Fig 2 shows, 28% respondents’ complaint about experiencing giddiness, headaches; 59% complain of having neck and back pain. The majority of the participants had eye-strain problems most of the time; 32% faced eye problems sometimes, and 18% reported never having any eye issue. In addition, 49% had experienced two issues at the same time and 20% reported experiencing more than 2 physical issues at the same time.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g002
The data in this study indicates a link between bodily distresses and hours worked. As working hours increased, so did reports of back and neck pain. 47% respondents reported back and neck pain after working for 3 hours or less, 60% after working for 3–6 hours, and nearly 70% after working for 6 hours or more.
The analysis also indicates link between physical issues experienced and the educator’s gender. Women experienced more physical discomfort than men, with 51% reporting frequent discomfort, compared to only 46% of men. Only 14% of female educators reported never experiencing physical discomfort, against 30% of male educators.
In terms of types of discomfort, 76% of female teachers and 51% of male teachers reported eye strain; 62% of female teacher and 43% of male teachers reported back and neck pain; 30% of female teachers and 18% of male teachers said they had experienced dizziness and headaches. The gender differences may be caused by the increase in household and childcare responsibilities falling disproportionately on female educators compared to their male counterparts. Several studies [ 17 , 29 – 31 ] have reported similar results, indicating that the gender gap widened during the pandemic period. The social expectations of women to take care of children increased the gender gap during the pandemic by putting greater responsibilities on women in comparison to men [ 29 ]. Women in academics were affected more in comparison to the men. Working from home burdened female educators with additional household duties and childcare responsibilities. A study done [ 32 ] in France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom discovered that women were immensely affected by lockdown in comparison to men. On top of this, women with children are affected more than women without children.
No effect of age on physical discomfort was observed in this study but increasing use of online tools (such as class websites) for content creation and delivery and extended working periods were major contributors to health problems.
b. Mental health issues.
The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemics have also proved difficult to manage. Being at home all day with limited social interaction, not to mention other pandemic-related sources of stress, affected the mental health of many people. The majority of the participants in this study admitted experiencing mental health issues including anxious feelings, low mood, restlessness, hopelessness, and loneliness. According to UNESCO [ 33 ], due to the sudden closure of schools and adaptability to new systems, teachers across the world are suffering from stress. Studies conducted in various parts of the world confirmed similar trends [ 34 , 35 ]. In Israel, teachers reported psychological stress due to online teaching. 30.4% teachers reported being stressed in comparison to 6.1% teachers in traditional classroom settings [ 34 ]. In Spain, teachers experienced various kinds of mental health issues like anxiety, stress, and depression [ 36 ]. An Arabian study found an increased number of cases related to anxiety, depression, and violence during the pandemic [ 37 ]. In New Zealand teachers in Higher education reported being overwhelmed due to the online teaching [ 15 ].
Online teaching appears to have negatively affected the mental health of all the study participants. Women (94%) reported more mental health issues than men (91%), as shown in Fig 3 . Nearly two-thirds of participants said they had been dealing with mental health issues regularly and a third occasionally; only 7% said they never dealt with them. Findings of this study are in line with other studies which found that female teachers had higher levels of stress and anxiety in comparison to men [ 36 ]. Studies conducted in China reported that teachers developed mental health issues due to online classes [ 37 , 38 ].
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g003
Our analysis indicated a positive relationship between the number of working hours and the frequency of mental health issues. Of the respondents who worked online for less than 3 hours, 55% experienced some kind of mental health issue; this rose to 60% of participants who worked online for 3–6 hours, and 66% of those who worked more than 6 hours every day. A chi-square test was applied to determine the relationship between the number of online working hours and the frequency of mental issues experienced by the participants and found it to be significant at the 0.05 level ( Table 3 ).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.t003
In terms of types of mental health issues, respondents reported restlessness, anxious feelings, and a sense of powerlessness, along with feelings of hopelessness, low mood, and loneliness as shown in Fig 4 . The stress of adapting to a new online working environment, the extended hours of work required to prepare content in new formats, the trial-and-error nature of learning and adopting new practices, uncertainty caused by lockdown, and an overall feeling of having no control were some of the contributing factors.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g004
Mental health issues were more common among those under the age of 35, with 64% reporting a problem most of the time compared to 53% of those over 35. It has been found that job uncertainty is one of the primary causes of a higher prevalence of mental health concerns among younger respondents than among older respondents. These findings are in line with other studies which found higher levels of stress among the young people in comparison to older one [ 36 , 39 ]. Feelings of loneliness and a sense of no control were reported by 30% of respondents under the age of 35, with these feelings occurring constantly or most of the time; only 12% of respondent over the age of 35 reported experiencing these feelings always or most of the time. Of respondents under 35 years of age 61% felt lonely at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to only 40% of those age 35 or older.
This study also found gender-based differences in the frequency of mental health issues experienced, with 62% of male respondents and 52% of female respondents reporting that they had always experienced mental health issues. The types of issues also differed by gender, with men more likely to report restlessness and loneliness and women more likely to report feeling anxious or helpless. More female respondents reported feelings of hopelessness than male respondents (76% compared to 69%), and they were also more anxious (66%).
The uncertainty of the pandemic seems to have caused helplessness and anxious feelings for female teachers in particular, perhaps because a lack of paid domestic help increased the burden of household and caregiving tasks disproportionately for women at a time when the pressure to adapt to new online platforms was particularly acute. In some cases, respondents left their jobs to accommodate new family dynamics, since private employers offered no assistance or flexibility. Deterioration of mental health also led to the increased number of suicides in Japan during COVID-19 [ 39 ].
However, female teachers fared better than their male counterparts on some measures of mental health. Although half of the respondents (men and women equally) reported low mood during the pandemic, the men reported more restlessness (53%) and loneliness (59%) than the women (50% and 49%, respectively). Restrictions on eating and drinking outside the household may have had a disproportionate effect on male respondents, making them more likely to feel restless or lonely than their female counterparts, who may have handled COVID-related isolation better by being more involved in household work and caregiving.
Number of hours worked online was also a factor contributing to mental health issues. Just as respondents had more physical complaints (including eye strain, back and neck pain, and headaches) the more hours they worked online, respondents who worked longer hours online reported more mental health issues.
One of the major drawbacks of online education is the widespread occurrence of physical and mental health issues, and the results of this study corroborate concerns on this point. This study found that online teaching causes more mental and physical problems for teachers than another study, which only found that 52.7% of respondents had these problems [ 12 ].
A report by the University of Melbourne has also indicated that online teaching and learning have a negative effect on the physical and mental well-being of individuals. Teachers working from home, in particular, have reported isolation, excessive screen time, inability to cope with additional stress, and exhaustion due to increased workload; despite being wary of the risks of exposure to COVID-19, they were eager to return to the campus [ 27 ].
c. Support mechanisms.
In general, teachers experienced good support from family and colleagues during the pandemic, with 45.64% of teachers reported receiving strong support, 29.64 percent moderate support (although the remainder claimed to have received no or only occasional support from family and colleagues). 9.39% of male respondents reported that they have never received any support in comparison to 4.36% females. Female respondents reported receiving more support than male respondents perhaps because they have access to a more extensive network of family members and coworkers. Children, parents, and siblings were cited as the provider of a robust support system by most female respondents. For example, maternal relatives called or texted children to keep them engaged and helped them with homework, and female participants said their peers helped them to prepare lectures and materials. A link was also found between age and support; the older the respondent, the stronger the support system. A possible explanation for this difference is that older people have had time to develop stronger and longer-lasting professional and personal ties than younger people.
This study explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indian education system and teachers working across six Indian states. The effectiveness of online education methods varied significantly by geographical location and demographics based on internet connectivity, access to smart devices, and teachers’ training. While premier higher education institutions and some private institutions had provided teachers with the necessary infrastructure and training to implement effective successful online learning with relatively few challenges, teachers at schools and community colleges have more often been left to adopt a trial-and-error approach to the transition to an online system. Further, it indicates that online education has had a significant effect on the quality of education imparted and the lives and wellbeing of teachers. While online learning has enabled teachers to reach out to students and maintain some normalcy during a time of uncertainty, it has also had negative consequences. Owing to the lack of in-person interaction with and among students in digital classes, the absence of creative learning tools in the online environment, glitches and interruptions in internet services, widespread cheating in exams, and lack of access to digital devices, online learning adversely affected the quality of education. Teachers experienced mounting physical and mental health issues due to stress of adjusting to online platforms without any or minimal ICT training and longer working hours to meet the demands of shifting responsibilities. A positive correlation was found between working hours and mental and physical health problems.
The long-term impact of COVID-19 pandemic on both the education system and the teachers would become clear only with time. Meanwhile, this study sheds light on some of the issues that teachers are facing and needs to be addressed without further ado. These findings will provide direction to the policy makers to develop sound strategies to address existing gaps for the successful implementation of digital learning. However, researchers should continue to investigate the longer-term effects of COVID pandemic on online education.
Supporting information
S1 file. supplementary material..
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.s001
- 1. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. [cited 14 Jan 2022]. Available: https://covid19.who.int
- View Article
- Google Scholar
- 3. unesco_covid-19_response_in_cambodia.pdf. Available: https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/unesco_covid-19_response_in_cambodia.pdf
- PubMed/NCBI
- 11. aser2020wave1report_feb1.pdf. Available: https://img.asercentre.org/docs/ASER%202021/ASER%202020%20wave%201%20-%20v2/aser2020wave1report_feb1.pdf
- 19. India Case Study.pdf. Available: https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/16511/file/India%20Case%20Study.pdf
- 23. UNSDG | Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond. [cited 21 Jan 2022]. Available: https://unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond , https://unsdg.un.org/resources/policy-brief-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond
- 25. Report on rapid assessment of learning during school closures in context of COVID-19.pdf. Available: https://www.unicef.org/india/media/6121/file/Report%20on%20rapid%20assessment%20of%20learning%20during%20school%20closures%20in%20context%20of%20COVID-19.pdf
- 31. Reflections on motherhood and the impact of COVID 19 pandemic on women’s scientific careers—Guatimosim—2020—Journal of Neurochemistry—Wiley Online Library. [cited 30 Jun 2022]. Available: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.15158
- 33. https://plus.google.com/+UNESCO . Adverse consequences of school closures. In: UNESCO [Internet]. 10 Mar 2020 [cited 30 Jun 2022]. Available: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/consequences
How has education technology impacted student learning in India during COVID-19?
Subscribe to the center for universal education bulletin, emiliana vegas , emiliana vegas former co-director - center for universal education , former senior fellow - global economy and development sunhwa lee , and sl sunhwa lee principal social sector specialist - asian development bank unika shrestha us unika shrestha social sector economist - asian development bank.
August 23, 2021
This blog summarizes the report, “ Ed tech and educational opportunity during the COVID-19 school closures: A case study of Chennai, Tamil Nadu .”
India has been one of the hardest-hit countries by COVID-19. Beyond the staggering impact on human life, COVID-19 has greatly disrupted access to education in India, with 247 million primary and secondary school students out of school. While school systems in India and across the world have made efforts to reach students at home through various means, recent estimates of the impact on learning and socio-emotional well-being suggest that the poorest children will be hurt the most by the pandemic-related school closures.
Indeed, school closures have compelled education systems to quickly devise and apply different modes of remote learning such as radio, TV, and various other types of online tools. But access to this education technology (ed tech) differs across and within countries—with students in high-income countries and communities much more likely to have access to online, virtual schooling than their peers in low- and middle-income countries and communities. Thus, an important question is to what extent will student learning and progression in school, especially among primary-school-aged children in low- and middle-income settings, be affected by the global school closures? Further, how will the COVID-19 school closures cause inequality in learning among girls and boys, among poor and affluent children, and across communities and countries of varying income levels?
To answer these questions, we conducted a household survey in February of this year in a southern city of India—Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu—with financial support from the Asian Development Bank and in collaboration with J-PAL-India. Chennai is the largest urban center in Tamil Nadu and is India’s sixth most populous city. Due to Chennai’s dense population, families typically have several nearby private and government school options, which provide a ripe setting to explore how the use of ed tech differed between different types of schools—both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, India offers a fertile environment for this study’s data collection as a leader in large-scale education reform and ed-tech application among developing countries. The diversity in its large population offers useful lessons applicable to many different contexts.
Alarmingly, 1 in 5 children in our sample were enrolled in schools that do not offer any remote instruction during the school closures, and even among the children whose schools had begun remote instruction, only slightly more than half attended all the classes.
Our goal was to get a better picture of primary school-aged children’s daily educational experiences during the COVID-19 school closures, and especially how students and teachers are using ed tech. We were particularly interested in understanding how these learning experiences may differ among children from low- and high-income households and between children attending private and government (publicly funded) schools.
Our survey findings
Our findings further indicate that during the pandemic-related school closures, students in private schools and those from households with high socioeconomic status (SES) have more access to digital devices and are more engaged in regular educational activities than their peers in government schools and from low-SES households. As Figures 1 and 2 show, children enrolled in private schools and from high-SES households had higher rates of access to digital devices—such as smartphones, internet, and computers/laptops—than their peers in government schools and from low-SES households. These preliminary results shed light onto a likely growing inequality of educational opportunity and suggest the need for policymakers to support access to regular learning opportunities at home for children from low-SES households in government and private schools. Other emerging evidence from the COVID-19 school closures suggests that ensuring students have access to even low-tech interventions, such as SMS text messages and phone calls, can help mitigate the potential learning losses.
Figure 1. Share of students with access to educational resources, by household income
Figure 2. Share of students with access to educational resources, by school type
Prior research has shown that the impact of school closures in low-income countries may differ by gender, as girls are often expected to help out with household chores and/or assist parents in caring for younger siblings. However, our study shows an encouraging pattern, where girls are more likely than boys to have access to digital devices for learning and to engage in more regular educational activities (see Figures 3 and 4). Nevertheless, this finding suggests the need for further analysis into why boys may be losing out on educational opportunities, and what strategies may be most effective to increase learning among both girls and boys in India and other low-income countries.
Figures 3. Share of students with access to educational resources, by gender
Figure 4. Frequency of engagement in educational activities, by gender
Altogether, these preliminary results shed light onto a likely growing inequality of educational opportunity in India and around the world, suggesting the need for policymakers to broaden access to continuous and equitable learning opportunities across the student population.
Looking ahead, it will be crucial for governments to enact strategies to help students recover from the learning losses suffered during the school closures and to return to school. Such a strategy may include:
- Working closely with the health authorities, plan to reopen schools safely as soon as possible.
- Assess each child’s foundational literacy and numeracy skills as soon as possible to help teachers and parents develop personalized interventions to ensure that each child can get back on track to develop these critical skills.
- Expand access to digital devices and connectivity among educators and students, along with guidance and support to teachers on ed-tech resources that are best aligned to each student’s learning level. While ed tech is not alone going to ensure children learn, it can be a tool for educators, students, and parents to facilitate learning continuity during school closures and allow for more student-centered, engaging instruction in and outside the classroom.
- Provide socio-emotional support to educators and students, recognizing that the pandemic has not only caused learning loss but also emotional trauma in too many households.
You can access the full report here .
Related Content
Alejandro J. Ganimian, Emiliana Vegas, Frederick Hess
September 10, 2020
Arundhuti Gupta
August 5, 2021
Emiliana Vegas, Lauren Ziegler, Nicolas Zerbino
November 20, 2019
Sunhwa Lee is a principal social sector specialist and Unika Shrestha is a social sector economist at the Asian Development Bank, which provides financial support for the Center for Universal Education.
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management and other scholars, nor the views of its donors, officers, employees, or Board of Trustees.
Brookings gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by the Asian Development Bank. Brookings recognizes that the value it provides is in its commitment to quality, independence, and impact. Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment.
Global Education
Global Economy and Development
Center for Universal Education
August 2, 2024
June 20, 2024
Elyse Painter, Emily Gustafsson-Wright
January 5, 2024
Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.
To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .
Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.
Impact of Digital India on Education System
2020, International Journal of Case Studies in Business, IT, and Education (IJCSBE)
Digital education is a campaign initiated by the Indian Government to move towards a new direction and ensure that education services are made accessible electronically to a student through enhanced online infrastructure. This paper is focused largely on both primary and secondary data. Primary data is collected primarily from the education sector by lectures and students about how much they like emerging technologies. Since changes are happening anyway, the best thing is to know more about them, so we can lay hold of them and turn them in the direction of our wishes.
Related Papers
Morve Roshan K.
Please cite this paper as: Morve Roshan K., and Mustafa Majid Abbas. (February 2018) “The impact of “Digital India” on Educational System.” Issue 42. Magazine: Café Dissensus. https://cafedissensus.com/ It’s based in New York City, USA. We DISSENT. ISSN No: ISSN 2373-177X <https://cafedissensus.com/2018/02/01/the-impact-of-digital-india-in-educational-system-and-changes-in-twenty-first-century/>
IJIP Journal
Rapidly evolving technology is changing the way of imparting and absorbing knowledge. There is no sphere of our lives that is not touched by the Digital Revolution happening around us, education is not an exception. The process of imparting education has gone through a massive change and has taken over almost every field of our lives and the onset of online courses came as a path-breaker. Online education has become the state-of-the-art trend and has broken the age-old system of the brick and mortar institutions. The technological developments include internet, whatsapp, youtube etc plays a crucial role in the digital educational environment. Moreover, an attempt was made by the Government of India to revolutionize the society and to focus on utilizing the digital technologies to elevate the down trodden and bridge the gap between the different social strata. With nearly a billion people on mobile phones and over 200 million mobiles connected to the internet, there has been a considerable rise in digital learning. Are the influential innovations a threat to conventional ways of learning and teaching or are they the solution to overcome some of the difficulties of our present system of learning? The answer to the above question can be deduced from analyzing the developments, advantages and limitations of digital learning. Hence the present study attempted to analyze the impact of digital revolution in the field of Indian education system.
Hemakumar Gopal
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
IJRASET Publication
The fast adoption of digital technology in the Indian educational system has resulted in a paradigm change in recent years. This research paper aims to study the changing landscape of digital education systems in India and its impact on the education industry. The paper draws on an extensive literature review and associated data analysis to provide insight into the key drivers and challenges of this paradigm shift.
Learning How to Learn Using Multimedia
Agita Livina
In the era of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), E-learning and digitalization of education are considered to deliver a wide array of benefits that enhance knowledge and performance of the teaching and learning process in higher education institutes, leading to improved learning and teaching efficiency. Integration of digital technologies in education reduces barriers to access education and provides an opportunity for all. In this connection, the Government of India has taken several initiatives to integrate ICT in education, such as online teaching-learning programs through various platforms and organizations. While digital learning breaks several barriers of access to education for all, there are several limitations and issues to access digital education such as poor internet connectivity and bandwidth, lack of digital infrastructure, cost implications, training and development, and unfavorable study environment to address. It is in this regard, to better understand ...
NARESH RAMAVATH
This article tries to explain the challenges and opportunities of the Digital learning effect in the 21st century in India. In the Indian education influencing so many things, like population, poverty, teacher's skills, teaching method, pedagogy, and finances. Digital learning is one of the most affected ways of education. Digital learning Chaining education after a new dimension. Education is the Nation's Strength. In Indian, education conducted different stages in primary school, Secondary School, higher secondary School, and university. The Indian education system is that the third-largest within the world, first within the United States, and therefore the second is China. Since independence, India as a developing nation is contentiously progressing within the education area. There are a lot of challenges to the education system of India that equally gives a lot of opportunities to beat these challenges and to form education systems far better education for the Digital learning of the 21st century.
International Journal of Applied Marketing and Management
Publishing India Group
Digitalization in India has become essential and necessary in our day to day life. It has become indispensable and very important part of every individual, business organization and other financial or banking services. As we are moving towards cashless economy, it is possible with implementing digitalization in India. It will boost the digital literacy in India and India is a developing country so there is need to literate every individual and other organization about digital literacy, to move towards becoming a developed country. Therefore, this paper analyse impact of digitalization on education in India. For this analysis considered time series data from 2000 to 2019. In this paper applied regression method for the analysis and before applied the regression we have checked the normality and multicollenerity with the help of descriptive and correlation analysis. Regression results reveal that the coefficient of Government expenditure on education is negative which means there is need to improve the education with more proper funds and efforts towards education for increasing the literacy rate among youth. The Digitalization variables positively correlated to the education's variables, like literacy rate positively correlated to the secure internet server which shows that through the internet server literacy rate is going to increase and in future it will have better impact to the society with the increasing rate of literacy and internet service.
IJIRIS Journal Division
When it comes to online learning in education, the model has been pretty straightforward - up until the early 2000s education was in a classroom of students with a teacher who led the process. Physical presence was a nobrainer, and any other type of learning was questionable at best. Then the internet happened, and the rest is history. Elearning is a rapidly growing industry, the effects of which we can trace back to the 1980s and even well before that (in the form of distance learning and televised courses).Now that affordable e-learning solutions exist for both computers and internet, it only takes a good e-learning tool for education to be facilitated from virtually anywhere. Technology has advanced so much that the geographical gap is bridged with the use of tools that make you feel as if you are inside the classroom. E-learning offers the ability to share material in all kinds of formats such as videos, slideshows, word documents and PDFs. Conducting webinars (live online classes) and communicating with professors via chat and message forums is also an option available to users
Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research
Dr.Sumita Sinku Sinku
Ankita Gupta
This paper attempts to study the nature of the modern education process in India where diversity is seen economically, financially, socially and geographically not only in culture and ethnicity but also in purchasing power and affordability of the Indian people. The imposition of lockdown due to Covid-19 spread in India which has continued till today, promoted the e-learning process facilitated by digital instruments like Laptop, Smartphone, flash drives etc with the aid of several apps like Zoom, Skype, Google Meet etc. Institutes and enterprising teachers try to market e-learning among their students. For A-level and B-level cities its good and sounds very elite. However the areas with low connectivity and those belonging to underprivileged sections or living in far-flung areas that cannot afford data plans and other gadgets and drives it's another divide. These students are staring at the electronic divide that this new turn of digital education has brought them. As destined to be the electronic media inequality is staring and creating class privileges so the real world and the virtual one all have class privileges. So, while many universities and colleges are conducting online learning sessions, students from disadvantaged families or living in remote areas might not have access to Telegram, iCloud or, indeed, the internet even in the best of times. The paper uses secondary data from the published Government sources and websites and other data from cited papers. It is a descriptive study. This discussion paper brings forth the limiting aspect of Electronic Education various limitations the Digital Education has landed us on. An attempt is being made to explore the electronic divide that exists in India and bring to the discussion the infiltration of internet and, its use, applicability to the day to day needs of education by the people in India; also the initiatives under the ambitious Digital India Program is highlighted in the paper to find out India's progress in transforming itself into a digital society.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.
RELATED PAPERS
Danish Siddiqui
Interal Res journa Managt Sci Tech
International Education and ResearchJournal
Banipreet Kaur
Excellence International Publication Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Liton Mallick
TJPRC Publication
Ravi Ranjan Kumar
Springer--Open and Distance Education in Asia, Africa and Middle East.
Santosh Panda , Suresh Garg
VEETHIKA-An International Interdisciplinary Research Journal
Ms. Sadhana Tiwari (SBS Assistant Professor)
IOSR Journal of Business and Management
nivedita jha
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo
Ambili M A D H U Thampi
Dr. Shraddha Kharade
Mamta Singh
Deshel Fernandes
A Study on Inclusive Education in the Light of Digitization
KANAI SARKAR , Dr. Abdul Awal , SUDIPTA KUNDU
sorab sadri
Indian Journal of Open Learning
shakila shamsu
Neeta Sharma
Sandip B vanjari
Evolution of Online Education: Transformation of Education in India
QUEST JOURNALS
RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary
TAPASHI DASGUPTA
Dr. Gopal Krishna Thakur
Journal ijmr.net.in(UGC Approved)
IJAR Indexing
RELATED TOPICS
- We're Hiring!
- Help Center
- Find new research papers in:
- Health Sciences
- Earth Sciences
- Cognitive Science
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Academia ©2024
- ENGINEERING
- ARTS & SCIENCE
- POLYTECHNIC
- JUNIOR COLLEGE
- Assistant Professor
- Biological Science
- Chemical Science
- Computer Science & Information Technology
- Computer Science and Engineering
- Earth Sciences
- Environmental Science
- Government Jobs
- Teaching Jobs
Applications are invited from interested and eligible candidates for the following Positions. Interested Eligible candidates fulfilling the criteria may submit their applications in the prescribed format along with the detailed CV / As per the Norms.
TEACHING FACULTY RECRUITMENT 2024 | FACULTY TICK
📅 Date of Advertisement:
🏢 NAME OF THE INSTITUTION
Indian institute of science education and research berhampur – teaching faculty recruitment 2024, 🏫 about institution.
The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur, established in 2016 by the Ministry of Education, Government of India is a Center of Excellence dedicated to teaching and research in basic sciences. As a unique initiative in science education in India, IISER Berhampur aims to be a University of the highest caliber devoted to both high quality teaching and state-of-the-art research in a totally integrated manner, thus nurturing both curiosity and creativity.
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur, Odisha Invites Application for the following Positions of Professor/ Assistant Professor Recruitment 2024
Join our telegram channel and get free faculty tick update.
https://telegram.me/faculty_tick
You can join in any of all these groups are beneficial for all of you. You will also be able to get job vacancy, Interview Notification, Webinar, FDP, Conference, Workshop and related beneficial for Faculty Members in all these groups, So why are you thinking? Join Now!!!
The Institute invites online applications from Indian Nationals including eligible Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) as covered under the rules possessing excellent academic record and relevant work experience for vacant positions at the level of Professor & Assistant Professor-Gr-1 in the following areas of specializations under the respective Departments:
💼 DESIGNATION / JOB POSITION
🎯 department.
- Professor Chemical Sciences
- Assistant Professor-G-1 Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Assistant Professor-G-1 Computer Sciences
- Assistant Professor-G-1 Biological Sciences
🎓 QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE / REQUIREMENT
The details of the required qualifications & experience along with other relevant information are available on the Institute Website
🏆 SALARY / REMUNERATION / PAY SCALE ₹
- Assistant Professor Grade II Level 10 with initial pay of Rs. 70,900/-
- Assistant Professor Grade I Level 12 with initial pay of Rs. 1,01,500/-
- Professor Level 14A with an initial pay of Rs. 1,59,100/-.
💺 JOB LOCATION
Brahmapur, Odisha
Find More Opportunities
There are 28 states and 6 union territories available in India. Each state is providing job opportunities for job seekers in various educational institutions .
facultytick.com is a India’s Top Job Portal for all Government and Private Sector Jobs Providing you the information regarding the updates of Latest Teaching and Non Teaching Jobs from every states. Every year, newer vacancies are released in the state and central government to give opportunities. Find out what it’s like to build your career at all state and get connected to our latest job opportunities and events.
📝 HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates are required to submit applications through online mode only by completing the Application Form and uploading copies of all required certificates.
Click Here to Apply
Candidates are advised to send email to [email protected] in case of any clarification/difficulties on submission of application through online mode.
The online application link will be live on 12/08/2024 (1000hrs) and will close on 11.09.2024 (1700hrs) which will be hosted on Institute website i.e. www.iiserbpr.ac.in.
Finding the Latest Academic and Non Academic Jobs for your career. Academic Jobs aspirants get latest Government Job updates from Central Government, State Government and Private Institutions Job Updates Notification. facultytick.com Here you can search and apply for latest Teaching and Non Teaching Jobs in India .
📅 IMPORTANT DATE
Last date for submitting on-line application is 11.09.2024 (1700hrs)
📫 CONTACT INFORMATION
Looking for the most up-to-date Teaching Faculty and Non Teaching Job vacancies in INDIA List of Teaching and Non Teaching career options in India. The job opportunities sections of newspapers and employment websites advertise thousands of positions all over INDIA .
📌 ADDRESS FOR COMMUNICATION
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur, Govt. ITI Building Engg. School Junction, Brahmapur, Odisha 760010, INDIA
📣 OFFICIAL SOURCE / REFERENCE
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur invites applications from eligible candidates for the Teaching Faculty positions
Copyrights © 2024 Facultytick
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
🔔 Get Free Job Alerts in Your Email – Subscribe Now
You will not be charged to receive job alerts in your Email. It’s totally FREE . Why wait subscribe it now .
To get daily free job alert for all Government Teaching Faculty Jobs, Private Teaching Jobs, Non Teaching Positions Jobs, Research Jobs, Conference, Workshop, FDP Details in your Email, Join our mailing list to stay in the loop to stay informed, for free.
Disclaimer: Faculty Tick tries to keep the information on its website accurate and up-to-date. However, we cannot guarantee that information may always be up-to date. But We try to ensure that the information we post on facultytick.com is accurate. If you see something on the website that needs correction or updation in webpage, please send an e-mail to [email protected] . If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected]
🔖 Post Expires on 11th September 2024
RELATED POST
Dr. rajendra prasad central agricultural university advertisement notice for the posts of guest faculty in various disciplines (contract basis) at pduch&f, piprakothi..., mahatma gandhi university online applications are invited from qualified candidates for the post of nmr faculty in the level of associate professor in the..., karnatak university applications are invited for the post of guest faculty/teaching assistant for the subject/programmes (puc, ug, pg) for the year: 2024-25, related tag, indian institute of information technology una invites eligible candidates for appearing in walk in interview for the following faculty/associate faculty member (on contract) posts, motilal nehru national institute of technology allahabad invites applications for engagement of temporary faculty in the department of computer science & engineering, national institute of technology agartala invites applications from indian nationals to fill the vacant positions of assistant professors (grade-i & ii), international institute of information technology bhubaneswar applications are invited for recruitment of contractual faculty for the various disciplines, hyderabad institute of technology and management application are invited from eligible candidates for the following post of teaching faculty and various non teaching recruitment, bansal institute of engineering and technology applications are invited from eligible candidates for the following post of teaching faculty and non teaching recruitment, sree dattha institute of engineering and science invites eligible candidates for appearing in walk in interview for the following teaching faculty and non-teaching posts..., most popular, central university of himachal pradesh invited applications from eligible candidates for the following post of teaching faculty on regular basis recruitment, national council of educational research and training (ncert) invites online applications for filling up 123 various teaching faculty positions under direct recruitment in ncert,..., indian institute of technology kharagpur invited application from eligible candidates for the following post of teaching faculty recruitment, university of delhi online applications are invited from eligible candidates for appointment to the post of assistant professors in school of open learning, latest post, month wise post.
RANDOM POST
Vidya vikas education trust’s universal college of engineering invites application for the following positions of assistant professor and training & placement officer recruitment, indian institute of technology kharagpur invites application for the various teaching faculty positions in the dr. b. c. roy multi-speciality medical research centre, central university of rajasthan invites eligible candidates for appearing in walk-in-interview for the posts of assistant professor in various academic departments, popular posts, walk in interview.
- Ankita Sahu 7 &
- Swati Samantaray 7
Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 271))
512 Accesses
1 Citations
Education at its core is a social endeavour and the use of technology in education has a decisive role in providing innovative forms of support to teachers, students and the learning process more copiously. As a source of empowerment in education, technology is enhancing teaching and learning in a blended learning environment. The digital education in India is strengthening the education level and developing the nation to take a stand in the worldwide competition. With an increase in the active Internet subscribers, there is a rise in the use of diverse technologies as well as the web tools for the teaching and learning process. In order to enhance the educational system, the government is trying its best to provide all possible technological facilities for the students as well as the teachers alike so that they may equip themselves with the advanced technologies and web tools. This paper not only assesses the digital shift in education, but also estimates the capability of rural India to embrace the forthcoming digital changes. In the rural areas, adapting to newer technologies in education is of course vital, yet still a challenging task. Hence, this paper makes a modest attempt in spreading awareness regarding the digitalization needs in education and the implementation of various technological schemes launched by the government for digital transformation of education system amongst the learners in the rural areas in order to meet the future technological challenges.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Subscribe and save.
- Get 10 units per month
- Download Article/Chapter or eBook
- 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
- Cancel anytime
- Available as PDF
- Read on any device
- Instant download
- Own it forever
- Available as EPUB and PDF
- Compact, lightweight edition
- Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
- Free shipping worldwide - see info
- Durable hardcover edition
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Institutional subscriptions
Similar content being viewed by others
Digital Education as a New Vector of Development of Education in the Northern Regions
Digitalization of the Educational Process of Training Future Engineering-Teachers
Digital Transformation in Education
Ankita, S., Swati, S.: Cyberspace: a contemporary path for religious education. In: Satapathy, Chandra, S., Bhateja, V., Mohanty, J.R., Udgata, K.S. (eds.) Smart Intelligent Computing and Applications. SIST, vol. 160, pp. 155–163. Springer Nature, Singapore (2019). https//doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9690-9
Islam Kabirul, M., Sarkar Foud Hossain, M., Islam Saiful, M.: Promoting student-centred blended learning in higher education: a model, E-learning and digital media: Sage J. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211027721
Kurt, S.D.: From virtual to participatory learning with technology during Covid-19. E-Learn. Digit. Media: Sage J. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211022926
Wargo, E., Chellam Carr, D., Budge, K., Davis Canfield, K.: On the digital frontier: stakeholders in rural areas take on educational technology and schooling. J. Res. Technol. Educ. 53 , 140–158 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2020.1760753
Dennen, P.V., Bagdy, M.L., Arslan, O., Choi, H., Liu, Z.: Supporting new online instructors and engaging remote learners during COVID-19: a distributed team teaching approach. J. Res. Technol. Educ. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2021.1924093
Mishra, L., Gupta, T., Shree, A.: Online teaching-learning in higher education during lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic. Int. J. Educ. Res. Open 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100012
Dhawan, S.: Online learning: a panacea in the time of COVID-19 crisis. J. Educ. Technol. Syst. 49 , 5–22 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520934018
Kim, J.H., Hong, J.A., Song, D.H.: The roles of academic engagement and digital readiness in students’ achievements in university E-learning environment. Int. J. Educ. Technol. Higher Educ. 16 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0152-3
Palvia, S., Aeron, P., Gupta, P., Mahapatra, D., Parida, R., Rosner, R., Sindhi, S.: Online education: worldwide status, challenges, trends and implications. J. Glob. Inf. Technol. Manage. 21 , 233–241 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198X.2018.1542262
Wan, N.: Adopting new digital technologies in education: professional learning. In: New Digital Technology in Education, pp. 25–48, Springer, Switzerland (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05822-1
Vlies, V.R.: Coronavirus Took School on line, but how digital is the future education? https://oecdedutoday.com/coronavirus-school-on-line-how-digital-future-education/
Mohanty, J.R., Samantaray, S.: Cyber feminism: unleashing women power through technology. Rupkatha J. Interdiscip. Stud. Hum. IX (2), 328–336 (2017). https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v9n2.33
Kamath, A.: Industry Study: EdTech in India and How OnlineTyari Uses Data to Succeed, https://www.moengage.com/blog/industry-study-edtech-in-india-and-how-onlinetyari-uses-data-to-succeed
Keelery, S.: Internet Penetration Rate in India 2007–2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/792074/india-internet-penetration-rate/
Keelery, S.: Distribution of Urban and Rural Internet Users in India 2019 by Age Group, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1115242/india-share-of-urban-and-rural-internet-user-by-age-group/
Anura.: Kantar IMBR the Rural Millennial Market (2019). https://www.scribd.com/document/440087168/The-Rural-Millennial-Kantar-IMRB-Dialogue-Factory
Gohain, P.M.: How Rural India Took to Online Education in Lockdown. https://m.timeofindia.com/how-rural-india-took-to-online-education-in-locdown/articleshow/78925273
Mishra, P.: 2.8 Million Jobs In Rural India Would Be Generated By AI and IOT Apps By 2029. https://dazeinfo.com.2019/07/04/2-8-million-jobs-in-rural-india-ai-iot-apps-2029/
Google Scholar
Balaji, R.: Teacher’s Day: Here’s How Teachers in Rural India are Striving to Impart Education Online. https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2020/09/teachers-day-rural-india-digita-online-education/amp
Zhao, Y.: The Future of Education: 2030. In: Yu, S., Niemi, H., Mason, J. (eds.) Shaping Future Schools with Digital Technology: An International Handbook, pp. 1–24. Springer, Singapore (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9439-3
Download references
Author information
Authors and affiliations.
School of Humanities, KIIT Deemed To Be University, Bhubaneswar, India
Ankita Sahu & Swati Samantaray
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Editor information
Editors and affiliations.
Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Odisha, India
Satchidananda Dehuri
KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Bhabani Shankar Prasad Mishra
KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India
Pradeep Kumar Mallick
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)
Sung-Bae Cho
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper.
Sahu, A., Samantaray, S. (2022). Digitalization of Education: Rural India’s Potential to Adapt to the Digital Transformation as New Normality. In: Dehuri, S., Prasad Mishra, B.S., Mallick, P.K., Cho, SB. (eds) Biologically Inspired Techniques in Many Criteria Decision Making. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 271. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8739-6_35
Download citation
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8739-6_35
Published : 04 June 2022
Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN : 978-981-16-8738-9
Online ISBN : 978-981-16-8739-6
eBook Packages : Intelligent Technologies and Robotics Intelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)
Share this paper
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
Policies and ethics
- Find a journal
- Track your research
CSIR-UGC NET July 2024 Provisional Answer Key released at csirnet.ac.in: Direct link to raise objections here
How to check CSIR NET Answer Key 2024
Visual stories.
How to cite ChatGPT
Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.
We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.
In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.
Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper
If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.
Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.
When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.
When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).
Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software
The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.
The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:
- Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
- Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)
Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):
Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.
Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.
Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.
The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.
Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.
Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).
Other questions about citing ChatGPT
You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.
We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?
On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.
For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.
Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .
We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Related and recent
Comments are disabled due to your privacy settings. To re-enable, please adjust your cookie preferences.
APA Style Monthly
Subscribe to the APA Style Monthly newsletter to get tips, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.
Welcome! Thank you for subscribing.
APA Style Guidelines
Browse APA Style writing guidelines by category
- Abbreviations
- Bias-Free Language
- Capitalization
- In-Text Citations
- Italics and Quotation Marks
- Paper Format
- Punctuation
- Research and Publication
- Spelling and Hyphenation
- Tables and Figures
Full index of topics
IMAGES
COMMENTS
online education market is forecasted to be USD 18 billi on b y 2022, growing at a CAGR of. around 20% over a period of five year. WBEL or online learning is paper less and electronic education ...
Papers have also highlighted potential bottlenecks for success of the online learning. However, not many papers have attempted to understand the students perception and preference in Indian context. It is understandable that only limited number of distance education platforms were using online mode of education before the Covid-19 pandemic.
This paper examines the affordances and challenges experienced by users of online education platforms popular in India. The paper presents the outcomes of an online survey of 205 users (95 men and 110 females), which included teachers, facilitators and students aged 15 years and older.
Convenient Time for Online Teaching. During the COVID -19 lockdown period all the students and faculties are considered to be free. Many universities have given freedom for their faculties to do academic activities (teaching/learning, research, conduct webinars/workshops and so on) with work from home concept.
the learning process, supports strong student learning outcomes, and saves cost for the university. also. According to a report b y Google and KPMG, the online education market in India at the end ...
The pandemic and the long closure of educational institutions have changed the learning and teaching practices across the globe. A massive and unplanned shift towards online education with unequal access to digital infrastructure deepens the existing digital divide and socio-economic inequalities. Tamil Nadu Covid Pulse Survey shows the state's commitment to strengthening evidence-based ...
The purpose of this paper was to analyse the research trends on the Indian Open and Distance Education (ODE) system as reflected in the articles published in the prominent journals of distance education across the world.,A study was undertaken to review the research articles on ODE in India published in 11 prominent peer-reviewed journals of ...
- India's online education market is set to grow to USD 1.96 billion and around 9.6 million by 2021 from ... This research paper intends to bring into light the current and the attainable future scenario of online education in India, provides certain reforms to it and answer the much-needed question, "Keeping in mind the social, ...
This paper discusses the challenges of effective digital learning and recommendations for overcoming the barriers of Online and Blended Learning, with a focus on how technology would then take over and shoot through the roof of learning in the future. ... R., Selva Ganesh, R. Dealing with online and blended education in India. Decision 49, 195 ...
Ruchi Jaggi, PhD, is Professor and Director of Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India.Her research interests include media representations, children and media, popular culture analysis, media and children, television studies, journalism studies, media literacy, streaming platforms and emerging discourses of identity on the new ...
cropped up while conducting onli ne. Access: The biggest issue of online classes is with regard to accessibility. According to a report generated in May, 2020, the total n umber of internet users ...
There is the need during the ongoing pandemic to study and understand the efficacy of online education when students of various disciplines of India are entirely dependent on learning online. An explorative research design technique has been chosen for this study, and the analysis in this paper will also look into the following aspects of ...
The results indicated that majority of the respondents (70%) are ready to opt for online classes to manage the curriculum during this pandemic. Majority of the students preferred to use smart phone for online learning. Using content analysis, we found that students prefer recorded classes with quiz at the end of each class to improve the ...
The transition to online education platforms presented unprecedented challenges for the teachers. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of the transition to online education on teachers' wellbeing in India. Methods The research was conducted on 1812 teachers working in schools, colleges, and coaching institutions from six ...
A new study examines primary school-aged children's educational experiences during the COVID-19 school closures in India, and especially how students and teachers are using ed tech.
6. ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL INDIA ON EDUCATION SYSTEM : There are many advantages of Digital India on the education system in Bhatkal taluq, but I will list only important ones. 6.1. Scalable: Digital India helps us to build and communicate new policies, training, ideas and concepts in a quick way.
India's New Education Policy 2020 (NEP), released in the middle of a pandemic, aimed to provide a direction to the education sector through its multidisciplinary focus and restructuring of the existing system. ... of Gurukul as an effective formal education model are the dimensions studied in this theoretical mixed method paper which combines ...
This paper is organized into the following sections. The "Related Work" section covers a review of research work on E-learning (online learning) and the educational initiatives taken by the Indian central and state governments in response to COVID-19.The Section "Modern Perspective of E-learning" encompasses an overview of the Merit and Demerit of E-learning as well as requirements for ...
The education system in India: promises to keep: The Round Table: Vol 111 , No 3 - Get Access. The Round Table. The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. Volume 111, 2022 - Issue 3: India at 75. 421.
Review of Education is an official BERA journal publishing educational research from throughout the world, and papers on topics of international interest. Abstract Given the potential applications of generative AI (GenAI) in education and its rising interest in research, this systematic review mapped the thematic landscape of 407 publications ...
The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur, established in 2016 by the Ministry of Education, Government of India is a Center of Excellence dedicated to teaching and research in basic sciences. As a unique initiative in science education in India, IISER Berhampur aims to be a University of the highest caliber devoted to ...
K. Roy-2012) Objectives. 1. To study the impact and importance of online education during Covid-19 in rural India. 2. To know the contemporary progress of online education in rural India. 3. To ...
NIRF Ranking 2024 Live: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the India rankings 2024. Aug 12, 2024 5:20 PM IST NIRF Ranking 2024 Live: Top 3 medical colleges of India
IIT-Madras also bagged the first position in engineering for the eighth year in a row.The second position has been grabbed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, followed by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur at the third, fourth and the fifth spots respectively.IIT Kharagpur got the sixth place, followed by AIIMS Delhi, at seventh, IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati at the eighth and ...
APA Style provides guidelines to help writers determine the appropriate level of citation and how to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism. We also provide specific guidance for in-text citation, including formats for interviews, classroom and intranet sources, and personal communications; in-text citations in general; and paraphrases and direct quotations.
The paper also illustrates on the rise in educational technological companies during pandemic and concurrently suggests educational institutions to deal with the issues related to online education. In another paper by Hye Jeong Kim (2019) titled The Roles of Academic Engagement and Digital Readiness in Students' Achievements in University E ...
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) released the answer key for the CSIR UGC NET Exam 2024. Candidates can download their answer key, response sheets, and question papers from ...
The major problems and remedies on primary education system in india by V S. Athawar April To June 2015 Online : ISSN-2394-7632, SCHOLARS IMPACT Print : ISSN-2394-7640, Vol-I, Issue-3
Introduction. Globally, how the education sector is managed affects education services delivery to the learner. The past two decades saw policymakers agreeing that education decentralisation is one of the most effective strategies for ensuring flexibility and quality of education (Carnoy, Citation 1999; McGinn & Welsh, Citation 1999).Literature suggests that decentralisation of education ...
In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we'll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor ...