IGCSE Global perspective Component 2 : Individual
report 0457/02
Centre number: IN507
Centre name: 0454
Candidate name: Vedansh Vikram Madaan
Subject area: Digital World
Title area of study: How has digital life created a
new era during the pandemic times, for students?
In 2020, the microscopic organism named Corona virus broke out. Due to its high
communicability, Governments worldwide decided to enforce lockdown across nations. It
was as if the entire town had shut down - shops, malls, restaurants, factories, schools and
universities. The reality of the world changed from physical to virtual. The virus had such a
deep impact that it literally even alienated the members within the first family. The world was
left only with the option to boom online. - be it Commerce or entertainment. The entire world
went virtual. Naturally enough, this era also paved a new way for students. Online schooling
became the new medium of learning for billions of students world over. Looking back I
wonder how digital life created a new era during the pandemic times, especially for the
student community.
Issue 1- IMPACT OF DIGITAL ERA ON STUDENTS
Background:
The pandemic abruptly led the way for schools and education institutions to engage in the
transformation. Students being at the receiving end of the education process, had to adapt,
assimilate and evolve technologically, all at the same time to stay relevant. Classes started
to be conducted on Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, What's App calling, Youtube Live
Streams and websites and web applications which were unheard of, until the pandemic hit.
There are many ways in which it has impacted the for a deeper analysis and evaluation.
Causes and effects of issue 1
Post-covid has led to rampant digitalisation in learning. The technology was viewed as a
grudge and necessary evil . The view of educators has softened towards tolerating
technology. From pure evil and distraction, it turned into an important aide and vehicle. In
Fact, they now encourage and promote the employment of -digital resources for deeper
research and understanding.
The onslaught of digitalisation has in fact increased the spirit of encouragement,
collaboration, and enhanced student learning. Mindful deployment of technology has
empowered the student community with endless learning tools. Schools and projects took off
on the digital platforms; collaborations happened with the help of search engines, google
drive, Wikipedia, and other cloud-based applications. Students huddled over Google Meet
for activities like debating, poetry recitation & auditions for drama and even full-fledged plays
and musical productions. The pandemic witnessed the learner’s partaking in even the
science experiments in virtual laboratories and taking virtual trips - whether to prairies or
vegetable markets. It was as if learning didn't have to bow due to lack of physical presence.
Students’ world over gain access to the same educational resources. Hence, bringing more
global character to education. Digital learning has also made the learning experience “self-
paced”. Students who required more help and support could practise outside the classroom
with guided exercises or even extra coursework. The instructor became more of a sage on
the sage and more of a guide on the side.
The process of digitalisation has tilted the balance between the long existing teacher student
relationship. The students and the teachers were found making an equal amount of use of
multimedia components, discussion threads, chat forums and embedded assessments. The
continuation of education is the highest merit derived by digitalisation of education across
the entire student community whether at K-12 or university level. As the industries all over
the world got hit by the deadly virus, many industries lost their relevance. Amongst a few
others, the education sector also stood tall and victorious. With the emergence of
digitalisation, students learning -spectrum continued to be empanelled by appropriate
learning experiences without missing the important landmarks in every subject and stage of
schooling.
We all can see how students have become increasingly dependent on technology due to its
rising significance. I believe that it is a negative signal towards the interest of students at the
intrinsic level. The devices used to access the study material for academic purposes also
flaunt social media platforms (like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) which still continue to be a
big source of distraction.
Many scientific studies and medical researchers have amply supported and proved that high
screen-time leads to disturbance in the sleep Cycle and restricted physical activity, resulting
in emotional and psychological problems in the form of frustration, anger, stress and
sadness. Good health has always been a concern of growth. Post covid, even digital
addiction has also become another reason to worry about their complete (mental + physical)
wellbeing.
Source Evaluation -
I used an array of sources to research the first issue as stated above. Source 1 which is a
blog on medium.com rivets how the impact of digital transformation, on the student
community, has been deep, enduring, and dynamic. Its strength lies in its success to cover a
wide range of digital resources and applications, citing the authentic sources and data to
understand what it is that we ideally want from the digital world and education for learners.
However, it is a bit outdated as it covers the digital phenomena pre-covid (2015-2017). The
blog can also be distracting from the original issue as it also covers some aspects of
technology applied in other sectors other than education. Next was an article blog site Top
Hat. It was published in 2021 and clearly outlines the positive impact of Technology in the
classroom. However, it misses out on the distractions and pitfalls which gets covered in
source 3 and in Source 5 (an article on a school forum). However, I also found an article
from the online journal The Print quite insightful Here and even in Source 5 , I found a middle
ground as I weigh the facts, statistics, the results of various studies, their sharp observations
and my personal insights. These two sources are easy to follow and helped understand even
mundane aspects of the impact of digital revolution on students.
Issue 2 - Impact of Digitalisation of education on Society
Background:
The covid-era ushered in the development and use of digital technology, on a huge scale.
We can see it spread like waves over schools and society. With its explosive growth and
heightened approach, the access to technology has led to new possibilities in the teaching -
Learning world. How the various social structures and strata emerge in any era has always
depended on the education system prevalent at that time. Pandemic times are no different.
As the digitalisation took over the education system, the society also received its
undercurrent. I also felt this research would not reach its comprehensive conclusion without
examining the impact of the digital movement on society.
Causes and Effects
Covid caught unawareness. One of the most daunting challenges for students was to adapt
to digital education. It is very clear that online education is expensive for obvious reasons. It
is a matter of grave propensity that doing it is more difficult and expensive for lower income
groups which is unfair. In my own environment, I witnessed the sharp rise in dropout rates
especially in lower income homes due to lack of resources required to provide a dedicated
device, internet connection and accessories to each child. Some analytics assert that the
drop rate shot sharply in rural areas and interiors of the country. It is a fact that Governments
school authorities and even civilians tried their best to keep the students from economically
weaker families in the mainstream to sustain the experience of education. We all noticed the
dropouts in the children our sub-staff due to joblessness, family instability, poor health etc.
This turnout is likely to result in consequences like homelessness, turning to crime due to
unemployability, hunger and domestic abuse. This leads to creating a future society which
will have to cater unemployable adults who may be a dysfunctional part of the society.
We also saw how even the engineering, medical and dental schools, too, continued to
produce the professionals for the society. Without much research, experimentation and field
experience. It sure puts society in pressure in the longer run as the students of today might
not be adequately ready to serve the society tomorrow.
Source Evaluation of Issue 2
I used a few sources to research the second issue. The first one is an opinion paper. It is
detailed, trustworthy and sheds light on how Covid-19 pandemic transformed education for
the younger generation and its society. It highlights and addresses the emerging digital
divides and is strongly backed by deep research. The next source is a blog on Dr. Reddy's
Foundation blog site. It is concise and gives an overview of the consequences of pandemic,
and is based on UNICEF reports. However, I feel it is very restricted in its view and does not
cover all the aspects. It doesn't refer to a variety of sources and doesn't give links of
sources. However, it is mainly focussed on Finland and India.
Comparison of Issue 1 and Issue 2
We have emphasised enough how digitalisation during the pandemic changed the way the
world operates now, especially education with emphasis on its impact on students.
Consequently, it affects the society too. Both the issues are very closely related. Whenever a
massive movement takes place, it is bound to affect the social rubrik, especially when it
comes to next generation. If digitalisation has widened the gap between have and have-nots,
it has also bridged many- by creating new employment abilities and access to similar and
world class study resources, freely and widely available online.
Possible Courses of Action
Issue 2 can be dealt with without much complication. It only needs a whole hearted intention
of society and governments Educational Institutions can identify the rightful recipients who
can be helped with devices and even the technology via education on using Parent Teacher
Association Bodies. NGOs and even individuals can play a very crucial role in reducing the
gap. Government needs to plan, strategize and allocate a budget for taking digitalisation to
every person and corners. We can plug the gaps of knowledge and experiential learning
when it comes to professional colleges and courses, by introducing refresher courses. These
small steps taken persistently and can turn the impact of digitalisation to a win-win equation
Conclusion
With the digitalisation of education in the covid-era, the need to address how the societal
and educational institutions reposition themselves has arisen. Through the prior discussion,
we have already understood how online mode rose like a superhero to rescue the entire
education system. The key being the boon of continuity of education. However effective or
engaging, virtual could not replace warmth and effectiveness of real. Expenses associated,
possible health hazards and social divide remains a concern. The new hybrid (combination &
offline and online) is an eclectic approach - Soon, we will witness how exactly the
phenomenon produces students (whether K-12 or university) who can serve the society with
their learnings. We are now at the threshold of many revelations as we follow up with its
results, impact and success late in the emergence and evolution of digitalisation in the
learning sphere.
Personal Reflection
The digital World is in its infancy and the digital world is still unformed. Now, there are
always 2 sides to a coin. On the brighter side, online mode has made the process of
education seamless and unceasing. It has also bridged the gap of knowledge and class,
making information accessible uniformly and universally. It has bridged the gap of
knowledge and class. Earlier, only a few enjoyed the in numerous resources available
online. Covid era has revealed it to all (via various apps, blog sites, social media like
YouTube etc.). The revolution of Knowledge Expansion is here to stay. On the flip side, we
still need to think and devise creative solutions to ensure our children do not become overly
dependent on technology. Some studies, already won against the addictive nature of
screens, with added disadvantages of easy temptation to resort to unfair means in
examinations, easy distraction and health hazards. In my personal opinion It's a new world
still in a state of flux and evolving. There is no escaping this revolution. We need to learn to
tread the grounds of digitization with care. Perhaps, even tip-toe. As a student, I would not
like to miss out on the cherries, online education has placed on my cake of student life.
However, I need to be alert and beware of being taken over by the tiger of distraction and
temptation, in order to have a learning curve which not only makes my journey as student,
smoother but also richer
Sources used
SOURCES USED FOR ISSUE 1
Source 1-
https://medium.com/@OECD/the-digital-world-we-want-6095423e804d
Source 2-
https://tophat.com/blog/how-does-technology-impact-student-learning/
Source 3-
https://inspirationfeed.com/negative-effects-of-technology-in-education/
Source 4-
https://theprint.in/campus-voice/humans-becoming-excessively-dependent-on-technology-
and-it-could-harm-future/686799/
Source 5-
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/10/28/5-leading-concerns-about-the-future-of-
digital-life/
SOURCES USED FOR ISSUE 2
Source 1-
https://drreddysfoundation.org/impact-of-digital-education-in-india/
Source2-
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401220310264
