Use technology wisely

What is IT Mindfulness and how does it help effective online learning?

Lockdowns and social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced educational institutions to shift from traditional face-to-face learning modes to online learning environments. This sudden shift resulted in enhanced IT demands that not all learners could cope with.

Reports during the pandemic highlighted issues such as learning and productivity loss, and emotional distress among students worldwide. During the pandemic, the students’ emotional state was such that many could not focus on learning. This also impacted their self-directed learning effectiveness, which involves both productivity and creativity. Productivity is the possibility of using technology to deliver efficient and better-quality academic output. Creativity implies the use of creative procedures in the learning process with IT tools. The key question is: what can be done to enhance the IT-mediated learning effectiveness during the pandemic and beyond? Promoting IT mindfulness is one way to boost learning effectiveness.