Covid 19 during the respective lock down active education of virtual teaching write a paragraph of in hindi paper 200.to 300 words
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Answer:
One of the biggest casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown has been institutionalised education. Schools have been shut to prevent the spread of the virus and this has given way to online classrooms, a very new concept in India even for the most sophisticated schools. It is commendable how easily some educational institutions have moved to virtual classrooms, all thanks to tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams. But there are some still struggling to get online.
There are teachers and schools putting extra effort to engage students in classes by revamping timetables, shifting discussions online, taking feedback from parents and monitoring students constantly. While there are some who are doing the bare minimum and using WhatsApp to stay connected with students. Some schools are trying out tools like SeeSaw, Google Suite and YouTube videos to make online classes as engaging as offline ones. But there are also those that are failing miserably at this shift.
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Parents are divided
Vikas Garg, a professional in the energy sector and a parent of a preschooler, living in Gurugram says, “Online class is a fairly new concept and my daughter was pretty excited initially to be part of it. The virtual classes via Zoom are being conducted smoothly. There are some drawbacks such as the lack of a platform to submit assignments. Students are required to write the assignments, take a picture of it and email, which gets tough for the child as well as the teacher. Otherwise, the school has moved into online teaching very smoothly.”
Barna Chowdhury, a banker and mother of an 8-year-old living in Jharkhand, has a very different story to share. “The concept of online class is rubbish,” she is categorical. “The schools in Telco area are one of the best in the state and they are failing miserably at this. The teachers send photos, often unclear ones, of notes in a WhatsApp group and expect the parents to note then down on behalf of the children. In today’s time, when both parents are working, it is difficult to do the tasks given by the schools,” she explains, adding how the school has shown no initiative to connect with the child. “My daughter isn’t learning anything.”
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Chanchal Roy, a Kolkata businessman, too has similar frustrations about the classes of his two sons. “Class teachers send assignments every day, we need to take printouts, finish them and send a photo of the assignment to the teachers via WhatsApp. I feel the school is just rushing to finish the syllabus and this isn’t helping the child in any way.”
It is commendable how easily some educational institutions have moved to virtual classrooms (Image: Getty)
The right platform
Schools (some) are using video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Hangouts to conduct classes. Some others have moved classes to Microsoft Teams. Many teachers find these tools extremely helpful to make classes even more engaging than regular classroom while others are struggling.
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“Considering that theirs is a generation heavily dependent on gadgets, getting them to use the devices is not an issue. Getting them to use it judiciously and in a manner that doesn’t drain them completely, requires a lot of planning and monitoring both by parents and teachers,” says Iewa Shukla, an English teacher at a reputed school in New Delhi.
How to use Zoom?
Aarti Sarin, another English teacher of a Delhi school, feels virtual classes can never be her “cup of tea” because a lot goes into making them productive and interactive. “It’s easy to know and understand a student’s response in a physical classroom, but in Zoom classes there are a lot of drawbacks apart from the simple ones of being devoid of experiencing those “wow” moments in the class.” She explains: “I am trying to create an interactive environment in the online classes by randomly asking questions to students by taking their names as mentioned in chat. Most of them do answer but there are few who do not even respond.”
“Teaching students using Zoom is different, not difficult, in the sense that you miss the physical presence of the students in the class,” says another teacher from Delhi. She thinks the process is easy as the job roles largely remain the same and no such extra efforts are required. “Zoom schedules help manage everything and most classes seem to run as per a timetable usually followed in school.”
Choosing the video platform hasn’t been easy for all. “We started with Zoom, but switched to Google Hangouts. Zoom had more features: raising hands, whiteboard, etc. but for some reason it didn’t work out for the larger group. We switched to Google Hangouts then. It is smoother, it feels more discursive. I don’t feel shortchanged,” says Shukla.
Zoom has become a common platform to be used for online classes.
Of late, Zoom has been under scrutiny over several security issues and due to which some schools are moving away from the platform.