Smart Hybrid Learning: The Future Of Education

Teaching and learning methods have changed once and for all since the beginning of the pandemic. The sudden outbreak of covid-19 forced everyone to adopt the virtual mode for educational purposes. With the pandemic slowly fading away and educational institutes gradually opening up, smart hybrid learning seems to be the way forward.

The role of a student’s computer was previously limited to occasional usage in the classroom. With the rise of digital transformation induced by the pandemic, computer systems started playing a greater role as an enabler of education and this gave way to the age of hybrid learning.  While the concepts of blended and e-learning have been around for some time, hybrid learning seems to be the way forward in the post-pandemic age.  

Hybrid learning provides a digital, interactive, and engaged teaching experience in the classroom, and at the same time, ensures the same learning experience for students attending remotely. Students can now study outside classrooms, including at home, in the playground, or while travelling.

Implementing hybrid learning in one of world’s largest education systems:

India’s formal education system is one of the world’s largest, comprising more than 34 crore children. These massive numbers bring several challenges alongside them, which can be tackled using hybrid learning. It can help propel India’s growth journey.  

By taking advantage of hybrid learning, several challenges, including- high cost, geographical distance, overcrowded classrooms, and access to quality education, can be successfully mitigated.  

The introduction of hybrid learning provides both sides of the classroom –teachers and students with an answer to the challenges posed by this pandemic.  

Teachers have greater freedom to customize and deliver courses. Students are empowered to complete their education in an environment that combines the latest technological advancements with hands-on interactions.  

In the post pandemic era, hybrid learning offers the education sector a range of possibilities.  
 
The government is also keen on linking technology with education.  

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has earlier stated that the National Education Policy 2020 is based on four key principles: accessibility, affordability, equity, and, quality. This implies that the participation of technology companies is a key to making this policy successful.

Use of modern technology in the education world:

A lot of challenges do wait in the journey of hybrid learning. According to a recent study conducted by YouGov and Terapinn, commissioned by Lenovo and Microsoft, enormous opportunities remain untapped in e-learning, but at the same time, there has been limited adoption of a full range of solutions.

For instance, students and educators who use laptops or tablets for learning and teaching have yet to explore the full suite of learning solutions, including video conferencing applications, cloud-based document sharing and remote access files, amongst others.  

There were several positives in the report too. Accessibility and flexibility are major advantages of online learning, including the ability to access a broad variety of content and materials from all over the world.  

Educators also identified the centralising of teaching materials into one easily accessible online resource as an advantage of e-learning.

Providing Hybrid Classroom Solutions:
 
In order to make hybrid learning successful on the ground-zero, several solutions have been put in place by technology companies.
 
Lenovo Hybrid Classroom solutions create more dynamic learning environments with all-in-one smart collaboration systems like the ThinkSmart Hub, making it easy for students and educators to connect, share, and learn remotely. VR devices and solutions such as ThinkReality and Lenovo VR Classroom 2 allow educators to engage further and inspire students through virtual reality lessons that enhance students’ understanding of subject matter.

Nowadays, teachers are using the latest Lenovo Windows PCs and the Intel vPro platform, with business-class performance for the classroom, to power productivity-enhancing software, including learning management systems (LMS). These applications help teachers to streamline access, provide content, and conduct activities for their online classes, all in one place.  

Lenovo Workstation devices can teach learners the vital skills that will prepare them for opportunities in engineering, media and entertainment, or other data-intensive professions.

Powerful Lenovo ThinkStations use first-class NVIDIA RTX GPUs to enable real-time collaboration and interaction with 3D models and photo-realistic visualisations. The students can also connect to these powerful desktops remotely, using TGX Remote Workstation software.

Lenovo ThinkPad P-Series mobile workstations can also provide high-performance computing in a portable form factor, enabling a more flexible approach to remote learning and collaboration.

Benefits of Hybrid Learning for students:
Hybrid learning offers several advantages over both traditional and online learning. By synthesising the flexibility and safety of learning from any location with the benefits of one-on-one interaction with educators, it offers students the best of both worlds.  

Unlike traditional classroom learning, where the student has to learn it all from just a single lecture that cannot be repeated, in the hybrid approach, they can learn at their comfortable speed. Also, different learning styles are available from which the student can choose.  

The online aided learning is supplemented with hands-on sessions at physical locations, thus helping in clearing away any doubts and building a student-teacher bond at the same time. Concept classes are available in the recorded version too, which further helps a student to understand a concept.

Digitally equipping the students with required tools:
Together with its trusted partners, Lenovo offers hybrid classroom solutions to support and enrich learning in school, at home or both.

Lenovo has recognised the need to equip learners with the tools they require. It is committed to providing students with the devices and PC experience they need to be successful in these new learning environments.

The technology giant strives to build devices that are smarter and more affordable at the same time. Lenovo EDU blends hardware, software, and services to provide a comprehensive learning environment. The entire range of Lenovo EDU devices can withstand accidental knocks, drops, and spills.  

The anchored keyboards present in the system can resist being pried apart by curious students. It also keeps homework safe and secure with the built-in enhanced security features of the Intel vPro platform.  

Lenovo helps several K-12 schools and provides the staff and students with the latest technology to support a productive learning environment with Lenovo Device as a Service (DaaS) for a small monthly fee. It ensures comprehensive technical management, helpdesk, and support for students and educators on- and off-campus.

Making it easier to teach:
The switch to the virtual mode of education from classroom mode was not easy as technology was quickly put in place to close the distance between teachers and learners. The results didn’t come up right away as teachers struggled to manage technology and focus on students.

Lenovo alongside Intel vPro developed several softwares — including learning management systems (LMS) to make the entire teaching process simpler and more interactive.  

These applications help teachers to streamline access, provide content, and conduct activities for their online classes, all in one place. With some systems, teachers can conduct and grade online assessments there, as well. Not only does this kind of technology help teachers increase their organization and productivity, and also saves time — time they can use to slow down, recapture their passion for teaching, and connect with their colleagues.  

Collaboration is also essential to hybrid learning, and nothing stops productivity in its tracks like videoconferencing glitches.

Teachers deserve seamless collaboration devices, clear audio-visuals, and an intuitive UC platform. The right training is essential for teachers to get the full productivity advantages from new digital tools. Marrying technology instruction with professional development will help teachers truly integrate new technology and own its benefits.

Combatting cyber threats:
Cyber-security risks are constantly growing and expanding worldwide. Lenovo Managed Services equip all devices with cyber-security software and secure collaboration tools that ensure data protection and student safety.  

Lenovo ThinkShield provides powerful multi-layered protection across hardware, software, services and processes, safeguarding data and maximizing protection.

Threats such as ransomware, banking Trojans, spyware, viruses, targeted attacks and more are always lurking around and can take institutions offline, steal student data and cause financial loss.

Overall, we can safely conclude that smart hybrid learning is the future of the education sector, which will provide an all-encompassing environment for both students & teachers, and the role of technology companies including Lenovo will be very crucial in making it successful.

To know more visit the website link: https://techtoday.lenovo.com/in/en/solutions/education-solutions