With Omicron’s looming threat, the education sector is likely to become the worst-hit again. The educational institutions already struggling to keep their gates open could face further challenges. Shutting down would be the last option that they seek. However, amidst uncertainties, this much is certain that in the era of enlightened antiquity, sharing of information with the global community is the order of the day. Covid-19 has taken a heavy toll on educational seminars based on information exchange.

Online seminars became the most efficient tool for remote learning which implies support of multi-user real-time audio and video conferencing. They became the tool that allowed us to find a compromise and give us the opportunity for dissemination of knowledge. Unlike seminars or videos, webinars are online events that take place in real life. They allow presenters to interact as if they were in a traditional meeting enclosure.

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A well-designed webinar platform may support educational programmes whenever stakeholders need to meet in person. However, due to reasons including Covid-19 pandemic, time and cost limitations or geographic distance they might be unable to do so. A webinar serves as an online meeting that may combine presentation and training on the internet.

The term describes the online transmission of seminars, presentations or similar content using video technology. The exchange between the speaker and participants usually takes place via webcam and microphone. Though they offer some advantages compared to traditional lectures, the format scores particularly well when it comes to not being dependent on a certain location.

Universities may offer webinars in a wide variety of subject areas, making it easier for teachers and students alike. High-quality remote webinars have always been sought after. Serious efforts in this regard led to the development of PLATO (Programmed Logic for Animated Teaching Operation) in the USA in the early 1960s. This technology could be called basically a prototype of today’s webinars.

For the first time, a single platform could manage to unite and promote such features as a web form, outline chat, instant messaging sense, email, remote desktop, document collaboration, etc. It was in 1975 that PLATO allowed running a network conference for 100-150 participants. However, web technology as a business tool first emerged in the 1990s.

Software was developed to provide multimedia streams with limited interaction capacity. The first live stream of a rock concert was given by the rock band “Severe Tyre Damage” using the forerunner of today’s online video technology. In 1999, WebEx Meeting Centre was developed which was later renamed WebEx. New webinars like GoToWebinar, ClickWebinar, Zoom, GoogleMeet etc. emerged being supplemented by new features.

With today’s web tools, people, in general, can access or host webinars, thanks to the WebRTC standards. Today’s webinars may incorporate features like participants’ pre-registration, calendar invitation, digital signature option, integration with legacy endpoints, etc.

True, new webinar features help engage participants online with virtual breakout rooms and polls, but they lack excitement, anticipation and emotion ~ the human connection that one may feel while participating in an event. In fact, there is no feeling of mutual anticipation.

The fact of the matter is that webinars lack face-to-face human interaction. While the use of audio-visual communication through webinar platforms is a great tool, it cannot match physical interaction and the benefits the latter offers for learners. It is rather more challenging to fully engage participants in a live webinar setting. While a webinar is live, one may be missing part of the valuable feedback from the audience that helps adjust the presentation approach ~ those visuals and even those subtle verbal clues that come with face-to face communication are missed.

A presenter may not be able to utilize the full resources of body language to convey messages and to emotionally connect with participants. A presenter may not have full control of a session and may not be assured there will be no interruption or distortion because participants may be at home or at a cafeteria.

They are at their liberty to converse with others, respond to urgent calls or even view a movie on Netflix. It is a foregone conclusion that an effective teaching-learning process is a matter of group activity. Although, in theory, a webinar can be done with participants discussing and collaborating online in smaller groups, in practice, this works effectively only for less demanding themes that require little effort and time for collective work.

A webinar depends, to a great extent, on technology and the degree the participants are comfortable in using it. In a live session where the presenter allows using virtual whiteboards, switches between screens and allows participants to raise their hands to clear doubts, all participants may not be at ease.

It is also desirable that the Internet speed be adequate to allow participants to view the presentation without distortions. Webinars cannot be useful when they are offered under hostile situations. They may be effective only for subjects that can be taught through relatively short presentations and not for topics that require sustained discussion.

Both the presenter and the participants need to put some extra effort to make a webinar useful. Sharing knowledge is the prime motive of a webinar. It offers us the entire programme online with the use of different digital tools and diverse teaching methods. Both the speaker and the listeners can use private chats to have one-on-one conversations whenever needed.

Most webinar platforms like ClickMeeting may provide screen sharing facility. Many webinar platforms are integrated with Moodle so that they can easily be worked out. All course files can be stored within an available storage space whenever needed and uploaded to Dropbox to share them with participants. So, in this respect webinars offer flexibility, ease of access and convenience. Also, they are cost effective.

A certain webinar could be designed and prerecorded to be delivered to everyone who comes on board. It is expected that during an Omicron-stricken classroom situation, educators will be more prone to using short-duration webinars rather than long ones to allow participants to get information more quickly. Webinars should become even more interactive with the frequent use of Quad. Sessions, polls, surveys and group chats. A key facet of our face-to-face interactions has always been the hands-on practical demonstrations and discussions which obviously are not possible with webinars.

So, what should be the learning process during and after the Omicron wave? It should necessarily be a blend of both online and offline practices ~ online instructions and webinars combined with focused traditional classroom learning and seminars. From the severe damage caused by the first and the second waves of Covid-19 what we have learned is that the thirst for knowledge reigns supreme. Man is still very much desirous of educating himself to keep up to speed with the latest technology.

In these worrying times, it has been an inspiration for us to look forward to what the “new normal” will look like.

(The writer, a former Associate Professor, Department of English, Gurudas College, Kolkata, is present with Rabindra Bharati University)