Write a paragraph about how you are missing your school and classes due to current pandemic:
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Coronavirus | In the time of the pandemic, classes go online and on air
Making a trade-off: Online learning may not have the same level of involvement as in the classroom.
Making a trade-off: Online learning may not have the same level of involvement as in the classroom. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI 05 APRIL 2020 23:14 IST
UPDATED: 06 APRIL 2020 00:53 IST
Teachers and students enter a new world of virtual lectures and worksheets as the lockdown brought about by the coronavirus shuts down schools and colleges
The long lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic has closed schools, colleges and other educational institutions and ushered in the citywide classroom: tens of thousands of students in cities and towns are glued to computers and smartphone screens as teachers take to online apps for lectures, tutorials and assessments.
State Helpline numbers | Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
e-learning poses a challenge to both teachers and students over technology and access, but it is keeping everyone busy with worksheets, video lectures and assignments.
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Some institutions are uploading lectures to YouTube, while the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan is deploying its Swayam Prabha portal, which has lectures on DTH and online, to help students. Andhra Pradesh is trying to tap Doordarshan to remove access barriers. Some institutions have adopted the Zoom app, others Google Classroom. Yet, the instructors are unable to say how effective they are, and not every student is tuning in. Here is how the system has rolled out.
Chennai
At DAV Public School, Principal Minoo Aggarwal is keen that student interest in online classes offered as live teaching can be sustained only with a mix of activities, worksheets and interactive sessions. “It is unfair to expect the same level of concentration and involvement as in the classroom. Teachers should have a structured plan which does not suffocate or burden them,” she said.
Not all students might have laptops or tablet computers. “Since the whole family is at home, the only laptop or computer in the house might be used by the parents who are working from home as well.”
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While smartphones are the next best option, teachers are apprehensive about students using them earnestly because of distracting apps.
Teachers too might have technical constraints, said K.R. Maalathi, an education consultant. In a higher secondary school, teachers had requested for laptops to plan their curriculum.
“These teachers are equipped to take classes but the same might not be the case for other institutions. Going forward, all institutions will have to chalk out an infrastructure plan,” she said.
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In the face of such constraints, several schools have engaged coaching academies that have subject experts and a structured online curriculum for students taking board exams in the next academic year.
Mumbai
Parents in Mumbai are relieved that children are academically engaged online. “My daughter Tia is in 10th class, at Podar International School, and it is important that online classes are started. About the quality of education, it is too early to say,” said Ajay Raorane a marketing executive.
Most teachers find it difficult to cope with online teaching. Lack of familiarity with technology forces them to seek help from their children to set up apps and deal with technical glitches.
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Sudha Sharan, Headmistress, Gopal Sharma Memorial Sclool, Powai, said the Maharashtra State Board schedule is from June, but 10 days of revision and examination have already been lost. “To compensate, we are trying to use e-learning. The problems is that we do not have much technical help due to the lockdown. State Board schools are using trial and error methods to send worksheets and videos. But unlike the classroom we do not have 100% attendance,” she said.
Parents are finding it difficult to adjust to the online system of the children. Due to the lockdown, domestic help is not available adding to household work. Some parents say schools are going online only to justify charging the fees in April. Without text books for the new session, schools are sending study materials as terse WhatsApp messages.
Language teacher Meena Raut (name changed) was exasperated as “many parents could be heard talking in the background while the class is on. This is very distracting.” She said an entire domestic quarrel could be heard from a child’s home. “Some parents don’t use the mute button.”
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Managements have put off the last date for fee payment to May 31 and children of all classes have been promoted. Podar International School uses Google Hangouts.
New Delhi
Teachers in the national capital have been pushed out of their comfort zones.