Offline vs online coaching for UPSC Civil services exam

During Pre-Covid time, the coaching for CSE was being done in physical classrooms (offline mode) everywhere. Delhi has been a hub for CSE coaching. Delhi drew civil services aspirants from all over the country. While preparing for CSE in coaching institutes located at Delhi, students had to bear the vagaries of administrative hurdles like finding a hostel/ PG/ rented accommodation, managing food, daily commuting for classes etc. etc.

Adding to this, if someone fell sick, the distress one had to go through being away from the loved ones would add to the adversities further.

But then at that time offline classes were the established norm and no necessity was ever felt to look for an alternate.

Covid Pandemic in a way opened the door to look for an alternate to offline teaching. In a way this Pandemic has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for all those students who had a constraint of coming to big cities for education. And that blessing is, having another option of studying online.

The change from offline to online learning and teaching has been gradual and has now been accepted equally by the student fraternity and the teaching fraternity. After all, cohesive change of the mind-set was required for both!

Asynchronous and synchronous models of online teaching

• There are two conventional models of IAS online classes. One, where pre-recorded classes are made available to students (asynchronous mode) and second model is where real time interactive classes are telecast/ streamed (synchronous mode). In Synchronous mode of learning, students can interact with the educator. 
• SaralUPSC IAS Interactive-Online classes (Synchronous model) enable teachers to teach in exactly the same manner as they used to in the classrooms in offline mode. Interaction between students and teachers is the same as in an offline class since students are able to ask and clarify doubts from the teacher. 
• Also, this interaction between students and teacher is multiparty i.e., all the students can see each other and listen to others’ doubts thereby making learning more participative. The multiparty interaction enables teachers to read the online class (are students confused, should more examples be used to clear concepts, etc.) and customize the delivery of their content to suit the online classroom dynamic. Also, the multiparty nature of the classes, makes students feel the positive side of peer-pressure propelling them to stay focused; and that eventually leads to improved learning.

Rau’s IAS Study Circle is the first IAS coaching academy which has pioneered in teaching through interactive-online classes. For Rau’s IAS, just organizing information for delivery isn’t teaching but teaching is all that can be done to ensure that the students learn the concepts and acquire skills to use those under practical settings (UPSC Prelims exam and UPSC Mains exam). 

Conclusion

The online IAS coaching has done away with the requirement of physical presence of a student for learning. One does not have to come to Delhi log-stock-barrel for preparing for CSE. Rather, Delhi has reached at the doorstep of aspirants with the clicks of mouse.

Aspirants can attend live lectures, participate in group discussions, take exams/tests. All this while being in the comforts of their homes. And all this learning is in real-time where student is interacting with the teacher like it used to happen in classroom teaching.