Exam Gym with Social media- Boon or ??

Lately, there has been a flood of social media channels on specific exams which advises students about preparation strategy, the one thing which has been common is the increased interest among students to do their preparation at a cost around 10-15% of what they should have incurred, had they gone for conventional coaching. While it looks to be a new, cheap and convenient way of preparing, there are certain pros and cons of this method of preparation vis-à-vis the way we have grown up to be learning with. They are listed below

1. The communication is mainly one-way with doubt clearing being done in a haphazard way. This is more evident during the live streaming sessions where multiple students who are logged in ask doubts but their doubts get cleared in a sketchy way. Promises are made but they are under-delivered.
   
   Compare this with a conventional class with the trainer standing in front of you  and a concept related doubt gets cleared instantly and you have the provision to ask the doubt repeatedly. Also, the same kind of doubts from multiple students gets resolved instantly. This is usually not the case with preparation via social media, where there is cacophony after some time so much so that the facilitator himself gets a little puzzled from where to start.

2. The concept development is done more properly in a video format as compared to conventional teaching since various iterations to that concept can be explained diagrammatically, and we know that visuals stay in our mind much longer. Dynamic and multiple solutions to a problem can be done easily and very fast as compared to the conventional method of teaching. Here Social media scores over Conventional method of teaching

3. The test-taking applications are much more user-friendly as compared to conventional methods of teaching. When you view the analysis of a test in a video format, the results are based on mathematical assimilation of that same test given before by previous students. Put together in the form of various graphs, the system gives you an actual analysis of where you stand in your preparation for that particular topic. It gives you certain standard procedures that the student needs to take to prepare him for the next test. Or it suggests some alternative short tests, which the student needs to take to be battle-ready for the next mock test.
   
   While all this looks fine at the outset, I am just a little sceptical about the Emotional quotient factor which is missing in all these analyses. A good trainer after a prolonged interaction with a student via face to face classes knows what is the actual problem of a student when he comes face to face with an online test. The problems can be many e.g. fast heartbeat on seeing the test in a screen, not knowing which question to attempt first, a topic of strength being turned into a weakness on seeing a question in a new pattern for the 1^st time even if that topic was discussed inside-out when the student started to prepare online. The teacher actual calms and soothes the frayed nerves of an emotionally turbulent student anxious to do better in life through these entrance tests. The ways can be many. For e.g.
   
   a. Giving a test in front of the student and telling the importance of maintaining calmness amid tight situations.
   
   b. Deliberately making mistakes so as to stress the importance of question selection. The trainer actually makes mistakes by putting him/her in the shoes of a student and then telling what is the mistake being actually made. This role reversal has a lasting impression on the students and believes me, this strategy has worked wonders so much so that the student becomes battle-ready for the next test without any additional help
   
   c. Face to face analysis and dissection of each part of a missed or a mistake question clears the concept in a proper way, and thus helps the student to tackle alternative variants to that same question.

So all-in-all the online preparation is a good way to prepare but the ultimate experience of interacting face to face with an experienced trainer also has its own charm. It's like T20 making an entry but test cricket and 50-overs cricket maintain their old-world charm.

The choice is yours but my suggestion could be to maintain a balance between both these modes. By the way, Lots of those dream teachers are gradually making a foray into the online medium to increase the interactivity level. So is there a convergence happening??. I leave it to your judgment.