ROLE OF E-CONFERENCE IN EDUCATION IN A POST- PANDEMIC WORLD

e-ISSN: 2582-5208 International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science Volume:02/Issue:11/November -2020

Impact Factor- 5.354

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ROLE OF E-CONFERENCE IN EDUCATION IN A POST- PANDEMIC WORLD Lawrence Amakye Junior *1, Oseni Rayhanat Olatundun*2 *1Graduate,

Department of Information Technology (MSc IT), Gulzar Group of Institutes, Khanna, Punjab, India.

*2Graduate,

Department of Information Technology (MSc IT), Gulzar Group of Institutes, Khanna, Punjab, India.

ABSTRACT Education is one of the key elements of developments in every economy in the 21 st century. A lot of research has been made in this sector to speed up the growth of the educational sector. As a result, conferences are regularly organized at different locations to share ideas and knowledge. These conferences and gatherings are attended by students, lecturers, researchers and other stakeholders in the sector. Most of these conferences are advertised in the traditional way, which is in prints formats or through the print media. This form of advertisement display very little information. Most educational conferences are organized traditionally; face-to-face. The target audience is usually not met due to the way the conference has been organized. The outbreak of Covid-19 has put a lot of educational conferences on hold due to its sitting arrangement and organization. This article shed light on the importance of organizing educational conferences online, strengths, weakness and innovative ways for the success and growth of E-Conference platforms.

KEYWORDS: Education, Conference, E-Conference, technology, students, COVID-19.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values and habits. Educational conferences are organised weekly, monthly, annually and bi-annually. These educational conferences are advertised on prints such as posters, flyers, and billboards. Students, lecturers and other stakeholders in the educational sectors either do not get to hear of such conferences or get the information late making it impossible for them to attend. Sometimes vital information is omitted on the poster making it difficult for attendees to have a deep overview of the event. This issue causes educational stakeholders to lose interest in attending the conference. Distance sometimes become a factor that prevents people from attending educational conferences. The current global pandemic, Covid-19, has put on hold about 70% educational conferences. The pandemic has forced many conference centres and schools to remain close temporarily.

This has affected most research works ongoing in the educational sector.

A lot of arguments have been raised on educational conferences and gatherings being hosted and advertised online: life-long learning, flexibility and affordability are some of the arguments raised that are related to e-conference. It is assumed that online educational events and seminars can be easily accessed irrespective of the location of the attendee.

This style of organizing or hosting conferences is considered to be a cheaper mode of knowledge acquisition in terms of accommodation, transportation cost and the overall infrastructure of conference organization. Combining an online conference and face-to-face conferences give the educational sector and its stakeholders blended learning styles

II.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Omer and Miriam (2016) used Google Hangout as an asynchronous online platform to conduct seminars to examine the opportunities and challenges in an online course in Library Information Science (LIS) education. They argued that one key element in this approach is finding out who is talking and being able to see the face of the speaker. This is considered to be an added element. It was attested that the technology used had its technological effects or issues such as sound and video lags, slow internet connection and microphone feedback. Am J (2016) observed that introductory classes at public health schools often use a lecture format to teach a large group of diverse students. It was concluded that seminar blogs for a small number of people increased students’ participation.

III.   

OJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To assist stakeholders in education get detailed and up-to-date information on educational conferences.

To analyze the strength and weakness of the online educational conference.

To give recommendations for the success of online educational conferences mode during any global pandemic.

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e-ISSN: 2582-5208 International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science Volume:02/Issue:11/November -2020

Impact Factor- 5.354

IV.

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METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive study which throws more light on the importance of online educational conference during pandemics and disasters. Also, this paper talks about problems and possible solutions associated with online educational platforms. Strength and weakness analysis of the platform was also conducted.

Different sources of data were collected, analyzed and used as a research tool for this study. Qualitative analysis of the study was taken into consideration.

V.

STAKEHOLDERS GETTING DETAILED INFORMATION

The whole idea attached to the introduction of computers is to reduce the amount of work one has to do to complete a task. The idea has worked so well since it has been observed that the past decade has witnessed spectacular improvement. The number of educational conferences advertised on prints outweighs the number of advertised educational conferences online. Since the poster cannot contain a lot of information, the usual information found on the poster is date, time, venue and topic. Distance and money sometimes become an obstacle for attendees.

Online educational conference hosting (E-Conference) is the future. EdTech companies are tapping into this resource.

These online platforms provide an avenue where users can get up-to-date information on upcoming educational conferences and seminars. These platforms provide detailed information about the conference such as the number of sessions for each conference, the speakers for each session, topics for discussion for each session and the duration for every session. Some platforms allow users or educational stakeholders to register an account so they receive updates or news on conferences of their choice based on the user’s preference. Availability of electricity and fast internet connection continues to hinder the growth and success of such online platforms. Research is still ongoing to find ways and measures to overcome such challenges.

VI.

STRENGHT AND WEAKNESS ANALYSIS OF E-CONFERENCE

Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and hurricanes disrupt educational activities and events. This sometimes led to the temporal closure of schools and other educational centers. Disasters create havoc in the lives of people (Di Pietro, 2017). These natural disasters most result in loss of lives and properties.

Strength The online educational conference has been doing great especially during this COVID-19 global pandemic. These platforms give stakeholders flexibility in terms of location, accessibility and time. These online platforms have features that make them user-friendly and interactive for users. Common features such as file sharing, chat box, video and audio conference call and program advertisement are found in all E-Conference platforms. This creates a conducive environment for interactive and collaborative learning. Most platforms allow users to make decisions and take actions by casting their votes in real-time.

Weakness E-conference is considered to be the backbone of educational conferences and gatherings during this pandemic.

Though it has positive impacts in the educational field, there are some drawbacks and weakness that it faces.

Technical difficulties can slow down the organization of the conference. Although time and location provide flexibility for stakeholders, this can also create problems for the smooth running of both the conference and the platform because the confidence and capability levels of stakeholders are not on the same level.

VII.

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

Disaster will continue to occur and technology will help us cope with them (Meyer & Wilson 2011). E-conference has come to stay and can be considered as the savior for most educational conferences and gathering throughout the Covid-19 post-pandemic situation. According to the World Economic Forum, Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way people impact knowledge and receive an education. We cannot ignore other stakeholders in the field of education who do not have access to a stable internet connection and other technological infrastructure due to technological, social or financial gap. These people, therefore, lose out on the information, research and findings and innovations in the educational field. This pandemic has made us realize that we cannot predict the future so we need to be ready to face challenges. We should always have a backup plan we can rely on. Most countries will have to invest more in IT www.irjmets.com

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e-ISSN: 2582-5208 International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science Volume:02/Issue:11/November -2020

Impact Factor- 5.354

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infrastructure to make internet affordable and accessible to all to make more stakeholders in the educational sector have access to E-conference platform. Also, the platform should be made so that it can be accessed on all devices.

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REFERENCES

Omer F & Miriam M (2016). Opportunities and challenges for students in an online seminar-style course in LIS Education: A qualitative case study Am J (2008). Using Seminar blogs to enhance student participation and learning in public health school classes.

Di Pietro, G. (2017). The academic impact of natural disasters: Evidence from the L’Aquila earthquake.

Education Economics, 26(1), 67- 77. https://doi.org /10.1080/ 09645292.2017. 1394984.

Meyer, K.A & Wilson, J. L. (2011). An Online journal of distance learning administration (vol. IV, no. I).

University of West Georgia, Distance Education Center.

Martin, A. (2020). How to optimize online learning in the age of coronavirus (COVID-19): A 5-point guide for educators. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339944395_ How_to_Optimize_Online_Learning_in_the_Age_of_Coronavirus_COVID-19_A_5Point_Guide_for_Educators.

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