ONLINE EDUCATION: OPPRTUNITY &CHALLANGES
Background:
For Faculties and students, the COVID-19 crisis has brought massive disruption, this challenging situation has something unexpected: creativity. It means time to switch over from in-person long lectures into something that students learning from home. Students and their parents who are scared and anxious due to present unprecedented situation, can be engaged with this new transformation of Virtual Class rooms. So, this gives us our wards more secured and safe environment to lean and can be motivated towards positive work environment. We always give emphasis on the overall development of our students, health: physical and mental, life skill, music, sports, ethics, civic sense, responsible citizen, and uttermost good human being. “Sawayam” mode of teaching is available which is most popular medium of Instruction. Virtual Classes is need of hour because eco-system of teaching learning has to be maintained.
Methodology:
Virtual Class require a great deal of autonomy and self-discipline from learners. The digital content creation is a very new and challenging work for our teaching fraternity, they are very effective at in-person teaching and definitely they will be outstanding provided following structured approach implemented uniformly for effective use of virtual class room/online education. Research has shown that what matters most for learning is the quality of the interactions between teachers and students around meaningful content, as well as the quality of teachers’ explanations and their responses to students’ work and ideas.
There are always two ways to conduct virtual class: (Pedagogical approach)
v Problem Based Learning: Teacher has to toss a problem and ask students to attempt as per their generic knowledge after that teacher will have to deliver the content solving the problem.
v Study Material based Learning: Teacher will start class in generic teaching methodology (pedagogy) and after that he will toss problem to attempt.
For effective delivery on both the above cases the following steps are very important :
a. Upskilling: Faculty members require upskilling in the following areas:
i. Communication Skill: While delivering the online lecture it has been observed that most of the speakers take unnecessary pauses or uses catch phrases which irritates listeners, therefore consistency and continuity is key to deliver effective lecture.
ii. Record/online: provide them specific training for recording of video lessons which help them record low noise audio to deliver good quality digital content. If we prescribe any customize tool /mobile app which provide integration with other ICT tool.
iii. CMS (Content Management Software): we have to provide them CMS so that independently faculties can update / edit digital content. Create pointers before designing the digital content and effective use of Infographics.
iv. Transforming Course material: Existing course content is designed for in-person classroom teaching, now you have to segregate the syllabi wrt each Unit in the following categories
a. Content to deliver through Online /Virtual class
b. Content for virtual Lab / workshop
c. Content tossed for Group discussion
d. Content for obtaining PPT from students
e. Online pool during virtual classes (ex. Immediate MCQ for lesson)
f. Case study based e-research paper for References (Sharing through e-drive)
b. Fusion of Virtual classes:
Several reports and survey says that during the core subject virtual classes students will get disengage or not comfortable in listening the content after 90 Minutes, we can consider 90 minutes in online classes. Therefore, a combination of classes should be planned like one core subject, one subject elective, one co-curricular, one-extra-curricular (Critical Thinking, Designing, Music, Dance, Painting, Drama, Art and craft). Or Brain Teasers, Puzzles and Games for Teens.
c. Creating DIY KIT
Faculty has to develop DIY KIT and during the virtual class room approx..15 Minutes time has to be allotted for delivering DIY KIT to students for developing small project/case study/model making/beta version/. (DIY-Do It Your Self).
d. Adaptive Teaching:
They provide high degree of support for less able students and less degree of support when students are capable of working alone. The goal is for each learner, whether a beginner or a more advanced student, to be equally challenged and motivated. The ultimate goal of adaptive teaching is to empower self-regulated learners. We need to individualize students learning experience and ultimate goal is student –teacher meaning full interactions.
e. Digital Mental Health – High Priority
When students have 6-7 hours screen time the mental fitness of every students is a uttermost priority of faculty / Institutes. We need a good chat boat design to be implemented and embedded with our content delivery system which always keeps track of the student’s web navigation trend and also generate alert to user and faculty members about the students behaviour and it is also helpful for us gather information students’ web trends. The chat boat will automatically offer a good light music or any other laughter shows or virtual tour of mountains, rivers after a certain time period.
v How aptitude of each student can be assessed using ICT Tools?
Educational Technologies always helpful in personalizing the students experience, challenge and motivate students. The following are available ICT tools
I. Kahoot – Game based Learning Plateform
II. Google form: Interactive way to collect information
III. Moodle’s: Interactive Teaching learning
IV. LMS(Learning Management System) : companies customize hence priced per user
Moodle’s The best available tool with us as a open source and which is very good and user friendly and excellent GUI support. Our engineering institutes faculty members approximately 1100 have already experimented and successfully implemented Moodle’s in their regular classes mode and students find very interesting and easy to understand the course content.
4. What changes in curriculum be made so that overall development of student can take place?
i. The curriculum has to divided in two parts in-person(eye-contact) and e-person(e-content) and the content should be light and effective rather than bulky and time taking.
ii. Every faculty has to submit(Inform) online lesson plan in advance through e-mail to DEAM/HOD or Digital Content Moderating committee.
ii. Course Content development and moderation should be conducted before start of every UNIT for effective e-person delivery.
iv. Combination of e-workshop and e-lab in the curriculum along with e-person delivery. (virtual Class)
v. Avoid offline books for reference include and encourage e-research paper as a Reference for every content and circulate among students electronically.(e-drive)
vi. Every Board of Studies/ DEAN/ Academic Council has to perform lot of exercises and enable problem based learning approach in the course content.
5. How in –absence of poor internet connectivity, what alternatives can be proposed?
v The easiest and the government supported way is to implement radio and dedicated TV channels.
v Smart Mobile Publicity Van can reach to villages and provide audio lecture /video and this van can be upgraded to provide wifi internet facility for the nearby areas up to one Kilometre.
v Every panchayat has a internet access through satellite which may be utilize to deliver digital material.
v Big led can be mounted along solar panel to empower common classes for some small villages.
6. How smart phones can be made available to the students who are in lower strata of the society?
The tie-ups with the Mobile service provider to deliver smart mobile with 6 moths internet connectivity as a prepaid mode. The smart mobile will be a customize to access only limited content which will delivered by the institutes.
The search engine facility must be enabled with content filter facility; YouTube educational channel must be accessible with content filter facility.
7. Suggest a list of problems from the above areas which can be floated as SIH statement for its solutions.
1. Develop content delivery system: virtual classes
2. Mobile app: video recording, editing, audio-recording, content designing facility.
8. Any other suggestions to improve online education/ examination/governance by the use of technology.
v We have to give freedom to faculty members to offer their online course with any other institutions or service providers or we can say monetary benefits should be allowed.
v We need to create a pool of master trainer region wise who can intern create good bunch of virtual class teachers in every subject.
v Mentoring should be Remunerative wrt no.of hours spent for developing online virtual class content .
v Strong AI based chat boat system need to be implemented for students who are ahead and may often feel bored sitting in class feel empowered to move forward at their own pace and frequently become more engaged with the material. Students who struggle to keep up with the teachers’ pace, on the other hand, get personalized assistance from the system.
