The whole world is reeling under the disastrous impact of Coronavirus. Officially termed as Covid-19, the highly contagious virus has taken millions of people across the globe in its fold. Not only has the disease disrupted social interactions, but it has also left the global economy in tatters. Financial Agencies across the globe such as Standard and Poor (S&P), Moody, etc. have warned of the impending financial meltdown and it is now widely anticipated that we are staring at a very realistic possibility of a global recession.
Online Education System
Amid all this doom and gloom, some industries are positively impacted by the outbreak of the global endemic. More specifically, the sector of online education has got a tremendous boost in demand as governments across the states and countries are shutting down schools and institutions in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It absolutely makes sense for the governments and the regulatory authorities to shut down the educational institutes in the wake of a swift spread of coronavirus. According to UNESCO, around 377 million students are out of the school as 26 countries announce the nationwide closure of the schools while 20 countries went ahead with the localized closures of schools.
This has come as an opportunity in disguise for the virtual education system as the e-learning industry is swamped with orders from all universities, institutes, and schools pertaining to all levels of formal education systems across the globe. Some of the major players involved in the distribution of the e-learning system include the likes of Cisco, Zoom, and Google. All these companies are ramping up their infrastructure to cope up with increased demand coming from across all over the world.
Experts’ Comments
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Commenting on this outbreak and its subsequent impact on the education system, the chief executive officer of the leading technology company, 2U Inc, Chip Paucek said that this is the defining moment in the education sector and there is hardly any doubt that the online education is the future of the learning. The top echelon expressed the hope that in the coming times, schools and educational institutions will carry forward the learning and move towards the blended, hybrid system of providing education to the learners.
It is also heartening to witness that organizations like Cisco are not commercially exploiting this opportunity and rather extending the helping hand for facilitating the communities to overcome the situation. Cisco is offering a free trial of its education software, Webex, for 90 days to schools. The software has a range of options, including the facility of file sharing, administrative control, video calls, and their recording and automated transcriptions, among others.
Another popular option among schools and universities is Zoom Video, which not only offers a range of options for the schools and institutions but also has a number of tools for employees to help them efficiently complete their work from home. The company has already helped in a big manner in countries like Italy and Japan, where it has removed the limit of 40 minutes meet for its basic accounts. Technology giant Google is also making its contribution as the company has announced that it is extending all the advanced tools in its hangout and educational suite to users till July 1, 2020. Microsoft is providing training and making the resources available for educators and faculty members to help them effectively connect with the students through video conferencing.
Conclusion
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In sum, the coronavirus has literally transformed the way the education sector used to operate, and if present things are anything to go by, the world will make a transition from the conventional to the online/hybrid system in the future.
