"Wake Me Up When September Ends"

I tweeted months ago that the song of the year was Wake Me Up When September Ends. Well, I thought it would be a good joke. And, honestly, I wanted it only and just a joke. And, here we are at half a month more to actually being in September!

The dynamics of how we look at the world and its activities have drastically changed. And, the change is for everybody in every field- as a teacher, student, graduate, businessman, leader, sportsman, actor, helper- literally everyone. Some of us are fortunate enough to be better placed than others, and it is up to us to do what we can to help others to the extent we are capable of helping. 

I think one of the fundamental changes that I have been witness to, as a student, is how classes are conducted. It's all been shifted to an online medium. No more do I have to spend a thousand rupees getting physical copies of bare acts this semester, because the official copies of it are all available online. I find many students who take notes online, although I am not comfortable with it. Online classes are making teachers send you extended reading links and their relevant syllabus slides on time, instead of postponing it till the last minute. Traditional methods of evaluation with pen and paper tests are being pushed and changed because of the inherent impossibility, and more research-oriented, and knowledge-based testing through projects are becoming the answer to the problem of evaluation. 

Things are changing, but so must we. The mindset of both the students and teachers are still trained in the traditional ways of how we are used to doing things. And, I think I do see a change happening after months of trial and error. 

Online mode is a very accessible and important way to help the environment and other significant causes relating to accessibility. Even after this pandemic ends, and normalcy returns, I think we should all think about a more efficient use of the online resources that we do have. It can save paper as good as it can save time and fuel, and energy. If recorded lectures are made available, then it can complement to varied student needs. Textbooks, reference materials, bare acts- all of them can be allowed to be used on the laptop or phones to save money. 

We are all probably learning how to use our resources better, and I hope we exploit it for all the good reasons!