Off-line and On-line Methods of Teaching

Off-line methods of teaching are considered traditional and are most commonly used methods of teaching in all institutions. These methods are prevalent in teaching-learning process.

These are both student-centric and teacher-centric methods. These include lecture method, demonstration method, team-teaching method, project-method and all those methods of teaching which do not use any means of Information and Communication Technology.

On-line methods of teaching are modern methods of teaching which are based on technology and rarely used in instructions to impart education. But during Covid-19 pandemic situation, every institution be it a school, college, University etc. followed on-line method of teaching. 

The COVID-19 crisis has created another pandemic – the proliferation of different strains of online sessions and a spate of webinars on practically any subject you can think about. The academic community is buzzing with activity in its new WFH (work from home) avatar. The lockdown seems no dampener to their creativity or spirits. 

In the interest of public health and the need to ‘restart’ education, we as a society are confronted with some hard questions, regarding the choices we must make in keeping school enrolment, skill development, and higher education from faltering. The rapid and widespread use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in every realm today, has made its utilisation the preferred choice during the global health emergency we confront. 

Many teachers are very handicapped when it comes to using the new technologies and interfaces. Typing on a laptop using a qwerty keyboard can be daunting if you have been a pen-pusher most of your life.

Next comes the recording and online presentations where the teacher’s demeanour is on display. If these are not undertaken with professional oversight, and institutional support, there are the obvious errors of the position of the webcam, the volume of the audio, and so on.

So, the point is that teachers – at all levels – need to learn about the technology and etiquette of online teaching. They must be willing to attend demonstration sessions and realise that being an online teacher requires some of the talents of a TV star to be effective.