In more ways than one, the past year has changed the way every sector did business. Organizations pivoted quickly and embraced digital to ensure business continuity and customer satisfaction. However, when the customers are students aged between 8-18, more effort is required to keep them engaged and enthusiastic. 

The ed-tech sector was one of the first to adopt a digital model at the onset of the pandemic last year. Teachers and students collaborated to troubleshoot technical problems as they arose, and educational institutions innovated remote learning software to provide the best experiences. With all these changes, adaptations and improvements, there is a growing debate as to whether schooling should return to the way it was. 

Regardless of the distant future, currently, live online learning is ruling the roost. Coupled with real-time engagement, virtual education is doing a tremendous job of replacing in-person classes. Amidst the pandemic, with students and teachers dispersed across the country, interactive voice and video led software have helped retain the vibrance of a classroom by emulating the student-teacher connect online. 

The key role of real-time engagement in the COVID-19 scenario

The educational landscape is ever-changing, and technology has been pivotal to the change. In the current scenario, virtual education coupled with real-time engagement has become the go-to for students from across the country. Digital education and constructive learning outcomes are what teachers, students and parents are looking forward to, as they get used to real-time learning in the new normal.

What makes real-time engagement so necessary is its capability to ease the transition from the traditional to an online mode seamlessly. With this, not only are educators learning how to operate new programs and technologies, but the students are improving their digital skills as well. Real-time engagement platforms also work in low-bandwidth situations, reducing the problem of good internet connectivity for several users. 

With real-time engagement, there have been a host of new and engaging ways of delivering education continuity with the help of an integrated approach. Some of this incorporates live video, a virtual interactive whiteboard, screen share and full-length recordings backed by multilayer security for data protection. For example, upGrad, one of India’s leading online higher education provider platforms, introduced the new upGrad Live platform. The platform replicates a real-time classroom learning experience by providing greater interactivity, real-time doubt resolution, in-class concept check and session analytics. Real-time engagement platforms help revamp and re-strategize the learning modules for students as well as education providers.

While technology is enabling the continuity of education for children, there is a lot of scepticism on how well a classroom atmosphere can be simulated online. Through real-time engagement, even that is possible. 

Replicating the in-class experience

One of the hallmarks of an in-class experience was the scope for interpersonal interactions and one on one tutoring. All this and more are possible with live online learning. Through real-time engagement, educators can choose to conduct one-on-one, small groups or large group interactions depending on the topic, the need, and the ability of students. With the help of AI, teachers are enabled to focus on activities that require personal engagement. Through AI interactive classrooms, teachers can simultaneously assist multiple students using pre-recorded lessons while the system generates quizzes to assess student comprehension. This saves organizations money while still ensuring students learn. 

In addition to this, there are a host of classroom tools that ensure the students, as well as teachers, are excited to engage in fun and interactive sessions. This includes voice effects from sound mixing to reverb - and the ability to include local background sound and sound effects. With AR facial masks and filtering, students can even play with their physical appearances. In the near future, concepts like metaverse will be able to create digital avatars for students to experience a real classroom virtually. 

As schools and teachers continue to adapt, leverage, and embrace e-learning, the possibilities of online education will only improve. Technology will help students retain their attention through interactive means in an increasingly online age of education. With technologies like AI, AR and VR coming to the forefront, the future looks bright for virtual learning.