My Expressions

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With a vision that even strong enough a pandemic as this should not obstruct our children’s path to learning, we took no time to shift the teaching platform to an online one. The Academic Session was started at the scheduled date- as it would have offline. WhatsApp groups were formed for each class and their respective timetables were floated to ensure routine. These groups became the class bulletin boards. We chose the Zoom App considering that it is user friendly, platform-independent and doesn’t require any pre-installed software for its functioning. It provides for an easy generation of links to the sessions that can be accessed by students from anywhere. Another compelling feature of the app is that it facilitates on-the-spot one-to-one interaction with the students. This way the students can get their doubts cleared then and there, making learning a two-way process.

The lockdown being an unanticipated action, left most of the teachers unequipped at their own houses. Thus creating an environment that could very nearly simulate classroom teaching came as a challenge initially. Only after the teachers resorted to teaching through more visuals and presentations, could the problem be resolved. Learning from a screen mainly enhances a student’s cognitive abilities. Therefore, we started giving them homework assignments to be submitted to and checked by the teachers so that their motor skills could be honed too. As is a normal human tendency, initially there was a resistance to shed inertness. Unlike the students of today’s generation who are quite adept at dealing with technology, it did take time for the teachers to switch to the online mode of teaching. To tackle this, regular webinars and staff meetings were conducted by the school IT Department guiding everyone about digital teaching.

With children studying from their homes, greater responsibility for monitoring the children has fallen on the parent’s shoulders. They have begun to indulge more in their ward’s activities, thus contributing positively towards the child’s growth. Though problems have been reported by working parents who find it difficult to manage devices for their child to be able to attend classes in their absence.

Despite the fact that learning from a screen can never substitute classroom teaching, the students are finding this mode of learning rather a time-efficient. They have been very cooperative at the hour of the pandemic. Though at times they tend to get reluctant while studying in the comfort of their own homes, regular evaluation of their performance through online tests and proper monitoring by the parents helps keep a check.
Some students without reliable internet access and/or technology struggle to participate in digital learning. We, the teachers, have tried our best to create a classroom simulation to the largest extent we could. I believe, with almost all the facilities at the student’s hand, the learning outcome has been impacted for the good, if not better.

The term “New Normal” is rather temporary. Despite everyone’s best effort to normalize the situation, it still seems to be a compromise when compared to offline one-to-one teaching. It is hoped that in the next 3-6 months, schools would reopen and things would return to normal.
I believe that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component of school education. Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, students have the ability to take their learning temporarily online. Children should never be pressurized to learn something. They can learn at their own pace and they are appreciated for every single effort that is made to learn something new.

Our school has been an early adopter of Curious times for our students. It ensures that children of all age groups take an interest in reading and improve their reading proficiency. A few areas of interest to children and teachers are-
*Current event articles for kids
*Important days, dates and festivals
*Science News for kids
*National and regional news.

A Happy Teachers’ Day to all my colleagues across India.

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