Tag: online

How universities have been coping during the pandemic

When the Covid-19 hit, it sent people into panic mode and chaotic scenes were witnessed across different parts of the world as airports began imposing travel restrictions, and business owners resorted to closing businesses.  To slow down the spread of the infections, and limit the impact of the pandemic, the government initiated a raft of measures including calling for people to work from home. As a result of these new directives and measures, higher learning institutions responded by suspending studies. Millions of students across the world were affected by the pandemic because the pandemic delayed their graduation.

Amidst the pandemic, universities shifted to offering their courses online and virtual classrooms became the new trend.  As more universities embraced this new trend, learning remotely became the new norm with students getting the opportunity to continue with their studies outside the classroom. For the universities, the move to offering new classes online helped prevent wastage of time that would have delayed the academic calendars. The online classes were a success considering that millions of students managed to continue with their studies without having to wait for the pandemic to end.

When the first covid19 vaccine was produced, it brought hope that things would return to normalcy, and it surely helped because before the vaccine came, people observed social distancing, and teachers could not be able to teach students in a normal classroom setting. As more vaccines were manufactured, and the number of vaccinated individuals grew, teachers and students became hopeful that things will return to normalcy. Although this hope was dashed by the emergence of the new strains of the covid-19 such as the delta virus, universities were continuing with offering their programs online.

Reflecting back from when the pandemic began to the time universities resumed their operations, it is clear that the internet has played a significant role in terms of helping universities continue offering their programs at a time when the pandemic halted certain activities including learning. Something that universities can learn from this experience is that the internet provides an avenue or an infrastructure through which they can deliver content to remote learners. One cannot predict what might happen in the future but if the next pandemic like Covid-19 hits, universities should be prepared for unfavorable events so that learning is not paralyzed. The experience and the knowledge of how universities managed to deal with the pandemic can be used as case study to respond to similar challenges in future.

The impact of technology on businesses

Trade has been part of human societies for centuries, and even before the advent of money, people exchanged goods with goods using barter trade method. With the introduction of money, the bartering method was faced out, as people embraced money as a tool for trade. Although the introduction of money eased the way people transacted, the discovery of the internet is perhaps one of the events that have had a profound impact on trade. Because of the power of the internet, one can provide services from remote locations, and receive funds paid via mobile banking apps such as Chase.

The e-business landscape has rapidly developed, and the internet has largely been responsible for this growth. Amazon’s success story can be attributed to the progressive development of the internet technology because when the company started in 1994, as an online marketplace for books, the World Wide Web (WWW) began. As the internet technology further developed, and more people began accessing internet-enabled devices, the population of internet users grew. Online marketplaces became common with companies developing websites to advertise and sell their products. These progressive changes have culminated into the growth of the popularity of the online retail sites, and some businesses are shifting from the brick and motor business setup to selling online.

The social media platforms are playing a significant role in connecting businesses with consumers. Thanks to increased internet penetration. Businesses can advertise their products on platforms such as Facebook to create product awareness, and inform potential customers where they can purchase their products. These platforms, still, provide avenues where sellers can receive feedback from their customers, and also provide information to customers about the products. The close contact between sellers and buyers brought by the social media ensures businesses constantly receive feedback, and work on this information to add value to their services and products.

The doo-to-door delivery is the next frontier of business innovation, and already, businesses are delivering goods directly to consumers. The internet is playing a crucial role in this area because people can place orders on businesses’ websites, and businesses can use deliver using technologies such as drones and robots. Amazon is an example of the companies that are delivering products using drones. Because customers want to experience better services, those involved in developing technology solutions need to come up with new methods that can make it possible for customers to know or track  the status of their deliveries. This is an opportunity that those intending to venture into e-business should consider.