"Education's Altered Forever" With Zubair Junjunia
The pandemic has undoubtedly caused enormous damage and exacerbated several problems, grappling the world like never before in modern times. However, it has also opened up new avenues in all areas, giving way to different perspectives and making us rethink our pre-COVID approach. In conversation with Farillio and Boffix, Zubair talks about the dramatic change in education and how ZNotes helps students lead their educational journeys during such distressing times.
Online learning, of course, is a new world when compared to physical schools. The most pressing concern, Zubair believes, is that of the lack of social connection. Banter amidst academic discussions, the puns when trying to wrap one's head around a problem: there are some things that a Zoom lecture can never replace.
The first step is to just accept it, to realize that this is different.
The experiences that we have in schools and colleges this year could not really be shared by anyone before. So, the standard notions are bound to be different than what we are used to. Therefore, we need to be able to accept this than to have expectations that could probably not be met. Moreover, forming new communities online, being continuously connected to those who were around you: staying in touch with our inclinations for social connections is equally significant.
Apart from this, with everything turning digital, Zubair also suggests time away from devices for a while. He recognizes the need to take out time for ourselves and put it in any hobby or interest to cope.
Today, we can watch recorded lectures at our own convenience. We can tap into any corner of the world for remote learning and other opportunities. But why did we adopt such means only when we were forced to?
The methodologies that we are currently adapting to, though a dynamic shift with disadvantages, is also more accommodative. We are talking about going back to 'normal', but was the world before the pandemic actually something we should be going back to? The one certain thing is that education has been altered forever. But could we possibly use this change positively, to integrate accessibility in the way curriculums are designed and making learning inclusive?
All my harping about leveraging technology and making education better, it’s finally happening!
With ZNotes’ vision of harnessing technology to level the plane of access to education, it will be exciting to see how things unfold in the future. The world is not linear, with diverse individuals who could never fit just one bracket. Today, there exists a more recognized emphasis on the need for inclusivity. And it is high time for such an approach to be amalgamated in education too.
