Issac Asimov’s short story “The Fun They Had” first appeared in a children’s newspaper in 1951. It is set in the year 2157, with robots having taken over education. Two children, Margie, 11, and Tommy, 13, discover a physical book for the first time. Through the book, they learn about a time, centuries ago, when books had pages, teachers were human, and school meant a community building where students went in groups and learnt the same thing at the same time. Margie, engrossed, thinks about the fun those kids must have had in the old days. The short is the first chapter in one of the English books for the ninth grade under the CBSE curriculum.

Ironically, children are reading a story about the joys of offline education in online classes. 

E-schooling has emerged as the silver lining during the lockdown. In the absence of physical classrooms, educational institutes are setting up accounts on video conferencing platforms to engage with students. Edtech startups