COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND PARADIGM SHIFT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: ANALYSIS OF ONLINE DIMENSION

Author(s) : Amjad Ali Arain , Farkhanda Warsi , Noor Ahmed Memon , and Abdullah Magsi

Abstract:

COVID-19 pandemic was one of the few incidents in the human history that have profound impact on the all sectors of human life. This pandemic has transformed education sector through re-orienting and re-shaping it. The post-pandemic paradigm shift has been swiftly altering all segments of life. The process of transition is rapid and impulsive in the field of higher education. This study had been designed to analyze the paradigm shift in higher education due to COVID-19 with a focus on the online dimension. This study was guided by two main objectives; to analyze the paradigm shift in higher education in pre and post COVID era and to find out challenges faced by people in the wake of new paradigm shift. This study employed Google Trends data on Comparison of five major teaching platforms; Coursera, EdX, Google Classroom, Google Meet and Zoom. Google Trends provides search analysis. It gives multifaceted comparisons of search volume over time. Research studies found Google Trends data both valid and reliable. We collected past twelve months Google Trends data on the selected five major teaching platforms. Data was analyzed through t-test. On the basis of findings of the study it can be safely concluded that COVID-19 pandemic has proved as a source of Paradigm Shift in the world. It has shifted higher education from on-campus to online mode. It has promoted the paradigm shift from real to virtual world including education; particularly it has resulted in more technology reliance in higher education.