Blended learning a concept that has gain prominence in recent times has actually been around for quite some time now. The system offers a wide range of technologies, including web-based courses, live videos and conference calls. These can be used to support traditional education settings.

Blended learning may work in most of the western countries , but it still has a long way to go to be implemented in a vast country like ours, despite its potential to reform the country’s education sector. We as a nation has varied population ranging from the elite crowd to first level learners.

Many researches support the fact that blended learning during this unprecedented pandemic can create an effective and safe teaching learning environment as most of the content to be taught can be delivered at a click of a button. But honestly the application of blended learning in our nation faces many constraints, where most of the population is struggling to survive during the lockdown.

Most of the population involved have limited or no technological knowledge. Yes as teachers we do send reminders on whatsapp but do we acknowledge the fact that most of the parents don’t even own a high end mobile.

There are teachers who can follow this method because they are skilled in operating various technologies, but there are also teachers from remote rural areas who are yet to fully understand what online or even blended learning is all about.

Returning to school amid the pandemic, even in a blended learning setting can be unsettling after a long period of separation from in-class learning.

Many students have become very comfortable with the current online mode of education where they have the liberty to maintain their privacy by keeping their cameras off and we as teachers not being able to figure out if the child is actually attending or is just virtually present by simply logging in for the sake of attendance.

Implementing blended learning during the pandemic has increased the ability of educators to conduct effective distance learning, especially in terms of using technology. Whether we like it or not, teachers are forced to be creative in using information technology. We have to choose which technology fits the learning activity, learn how to use it, and then evaluate how we used it to see its appropriateness in the learning setting.

Blended learning can serve as the first step towards an information and communication technology-based education system. Blended learning would also open doors for emerging technologies in India’s education sector in the field of augmented reality and computational thinking.

Its rightly quoted by John Dewey, “If we teach todays students as we taught yesterday, we rob them of tomorrow”.