Afortunadamente, para mi no ha supuesto un gran cambio ya que estoy acostumbrado al e-learning y el estado de alarma se impuso justo después de que terminé mis clases presenciales. Con lo cual, el e-learning ha sido una gran estrategia y es lo que en mi caso ha ayudado a prevenir y a cuidarme.

During this pandemic Covid-19 and lock down, class room teaching is being replaced by E -learning. Regretfully, students from rural corners are not in a position to avail this due to network issues.

But virtual classes are going on.

Students who participate are over enthusiastic and enjoying this mode of teaching, though at the same time terribly missing physical class room interactions.

Many thanks Itishree Padhi for your response. We can see more than ever how unequal the starting points of our students are (British context). Some students possess home computers and fast broadband with few commitments in regards to work and childcare; on the other hand, we have some students who are trying to be students without proper IT equipment whilst simultaneously having to look after their child(ren) and go to work.

Well said.@ Julius Elster

Hi Julius, I find, working from home, delivering lectures and tutorials remotely is more stressful. Not only for students, but teachers are also facing different challenges. Children at home while teaching is a big issue, as it hugely interrupts concentration (children crying, arguing and fighting among themselves, coming to the teaching room frequently to make complaint against each other or hungry or something else). They are also very bored and stressed at home. Altogether it is not equally comfortable or convenient for all of us.

Wish we get our normal life back soon.

Hello Julius

More than for lectures, I had to contact groups of youngsters for articles. I, immediately noticed that a good number of our youngsters are very open to reach out to help, are in need of accompaniment and guidance. Some had to cancel their engagements, marriages etc. All these spurred me on to use a pedagogy that brings hope, comfort, instill courage etc. I didn’t have any particular lectures; I was focusing more on articles mainly for young people. Some of the meetings and planning for future seminars and courses are being carried out through online meetings. The pandemic calls for a pedagogy that is much more people oriented and contextualised with great doses of hope and courage.

Teresa Joseph, many thanks for your contribution. I think you're hitting the nail on the head here. Teaching the last couple of months has involved, or at least should involve, more compassion and understanding. As you say, a pedagogy that brings forth hope and comfort should be central. In addition, a pedagogy that takes into account students' different circumstances and, in turn, allows for more flexibility should be implemented. However, as we all know, this requires certain personal qualities in the lecturers, which can be acquired, but not always willingly. We should also ask for the same (e.g., compassion) from the students; it's a two-way street.

Hello Tabassum Ferdous

I think your story is a common one. And, although I think the welfare of the students is of the utmost importance, we should not forget the welfare of the lecturer and her/his family. At the moment, you sound like a super-human being for being able to juggle numerous balls at the same time, but I wish you didn't have to. Hope your life returns to normal sooner rather than later.

It has been very hard to find active strategies and make students discuss in pairs. In the end, mentimeter.com and mobile-phone short calls between peers were succesfull. Of course only with adult students...

I'm in the midwestern US. We've been working almost exclusively in Zoom for remote meetings with students. Using the breakout room function for small groups has been great. Students can work together and I can roam from room to room to answer questions and check in. The sessions can be recorded by giving students permission to record, so you can go back and see the entire session if needed. The one hangup has been the inconsistent quality of internet access for students in rural areas or even students in urban areas due to the greatly increased demand on the broadband infrastructure because everyone is using video conferencing at the same time. It's been stressful, especially for students who have focusing and organization issues; those who don't usually do well in the online setting. I'm looking forward to being back on campus this fall, at least for laboratory classes so that we have some face to face time where I can get a better read on how students are doing.

Thanks for your detailed overview Sharlette Anderson with respect to how things are done in the Midwestern US.

The breakout rooms on Zoom are great. My university was sceptical to the use of Zoom (there had been quite a few unpleasant experiences where non-students were able to hack their way into lectures in early March). As a result, we decided on using Microsoft Teams. In order to imitate the break-out room feature of Zoom, I'm using channels on Teams for group work. Very hard for students to get their heads around how to use the channels properly, but when they eventually grasped how to trigger group channel meetings, this was a fantastic feature.

Good luck with the autumn (fall) semester Sharlette!

Good afternoon Alessandra Imperio

I'm not that familiar with mentimeter.com, but it looks perfect for "blended learning" approaches. Thanks for pointing this out and I'll take a closer look at it as one purpose of this thread is to develop better ways of reaching out to students—online or otherwise—and take heterogeneity within the student cohort into account.

I had some experience with online asynchronous teaching with Blackboard, but no experience with Zoom. However, when we all had to make a quick pivot to online teaching, I was forced to learn about Zoom (and learn I did....what choice did I have?),

In this new format, I find I have become more intentional about what I do, even though I have been teaching for 30 plus years. I have to plan more, organize myself better, and prepare for technical mishaps. I try to control all aspects of the learning situation that I can control. In the past, I relied on my interactions with students, face-to-face, and my generous sharing of chocolate and my time, to build connections with students. I have to concentrate more on individual students, reach out to them more regularly, and be sensitive to the variations in their learning circumstances. I have started sending out a pre-course questionnaire to ask them about themselves and their learning situations, That helps me plan for the course better. It's worked so well for my online teaching, that I'm going to continue this practice when (if?) we ever get back to the old normal.

Mary M. Chittooran, the way you describe your experience of transitioning from face-to-face/classroom teaching to using an online platform is almost identical to my own (except for I was never particularly generous with regards to any chocolate I may have had). Most teachers I've spoken to get more exhausted when deliver online lectures than face-to-face. And I think this is down to the fact that you need to, as you say, "plan more, organize myself better, and prepare for technical mishaps". I also agree that there are aspects of our online delivery/communication/one-to-one situations that could be emulated in a non-Coronavirus world (if we ever get to experience such a world again…).

Hi Julius - I had run webinars in Collaborate pre-COVID (mainly in evenings to better meet the needs of on-line students mixing study and work) but synchronous tutorials were new.

As you and other contributors have indicated, the biggest teaching challenge is generating the interactivity and 'chipping in' of comments and questions that one would normally get in a face-to-face group. Breakout rooms work quite well for groupwork activities, but the set-up, expectations, and task reminders have to be even more explicit than for a face-to-face class. I'm determined not to fall back on these tutorials becoming auxiliary lectures. I find a good way of stopping this happening is to ask a question and then call for everyone to contribute a thought in the 'chat' boxes - that way I can respond to points made by individuals in a more unscripted and authentic way. As with all teaching, we have to trial and then reflect. Still got plenty to learn on the technicalities!

Here in Australia, I have some students on severe lockdown in Melbourne, so

lashings of compassion and empathy is important.

Thanks for launching this strand.

Thanks for info @PeterBrett. It seems like many were familiar with Collaborate prior to Covid (especially with respect to asynchronous teaching).

Julius Elster, thanks for your response to my comment. Looks like we do have a lot in common. I suspect a lot of us in this part of the world do. On the other hand, I spent my school years in India, primarily in boarding schools run by English nuns who were sent out to convert us "little heathens." Yes, true, never mind that most of us were already Christian. Nobody ever wanted to know what the students thought; despite that, we all managed to get an excellent, rigorous education. I have a lot of international students who had an education similar to mine,. end not to participate in class, and hold professors at a respectful distance. It becomes even harder to reach out to them, when we are all online That hasn't stopped me trying, though.

Incidentally, I spent a sabbatical term at the Institute of Education in London several years ago (fabulous experience). But when I delivered presentations, and tried to engage with the audience in typical American style, I was initially met with some suspicion. I guess it's all about what we're used to. But for us teachers, I think, flexibility is the key.

I wish you well in this coming term.

Mary M. Chittooran, I appreciate your heartfelt account of your background and present teaching experience. And, yes, there's an element of synergy and overlap in what we both do.

IoE is a great institution. I'm sure your presentation was well received; yes, there are some cynics out there with respect to "American enthusiasm", but your engagement appears to be genuine and never too far removed from principles of social justice.

There have been changes in the way of the delivery of the curriculum by using ZOOM, also changes in examinations to become online. However, these changes need to be evaluated and carefully examined.

Thanks so much Samy Azer.

I'm surprised to learn that many universities use Zoom despite the security breaches.

There have changes in he aspect of interaction between the lecturer and the students during lecture and also the mode of delivery we now use Zoom platform for our learning and many more @Julius Elster

Thanks Emmanuel Adex,

I hope Coronavirus has not changed life too much for yourself and those living in Cape Coast, Ghana.

This link talk about:

Education and the COVID-19 pandemic

Article Education and the COVID-19 pandemic

Much appreciated Abdelkader Mohamed Elsayed

From 100% traditional face to face interaction to blended teaching and learning.

Hello Hassan Izzeddin Sarsak,

I hope the transition of adopting blended learning techniques has been both pain free and interesting.

Here in Bulawayo Zimbabwe I am facing a very tricky situation, firstly I am teaching manual drawing in a Polytechnic. A highly practical subject. Secondly, neither lecturers nor students have money for internet bundles nor in many cases anything but rather basic mobile phones. So use of Zoom or other online meetings are out of reach for economic reasons. We try to use WhatsApp messages and posting some documents on WhatsApp, but this is very inadequate. I am also using a very good learning platform called iStudy XR for posting written lessons and assignments, but the challenge is that very few students have internet and gadgets to access it. An added challenge is how to submit and mark manual drawings. A stop gap measure has been for the students to download a pdf scanner, scan the drawings and then submit on the iStudy platform. I then download and open with the pdf reader, but the marking becomes difficult, because no measurements can be taken, only my eye measurements to try to see if the drawings are correct or not. The actual marking with the pen(cil) available for the pdf readings using the laptop is very tricky. A digital pen would be great, but there is no resources here for anything like that. On a positive note, we finally got institutional emails so that we can register on platforms like Researchgate.

Jätteintressant Ylva Bergstrom Thanks!

Again, we see that the "digital disconnect" plays a huge part in students/lecturers/universities capacity to engage during a lockdown.

Hi, yes there has been a lot of changes in delivery of lectures for us and work processes on projects for students. I teach software engineering course. For this course students had chosen various comnercial offices and shops such as bookshops, gym etc. For automation and all. Before the start of pandemic these students were visiting them, hence during lock down they faced quite a few issues not to mention the issue of working among themselves in collaborative manner.

The hardest issue while teaching in my part of world had been the unavailability of good internet connection for stakeholders especially those in remote areas.

Thanks for your contribution Saba Khalil Toor . Interesting hearing about your experience since the start of the pandemic.

I have had use online graded review quizzes in my online sessions to get students to arrive on time and keep abreast of the course material. It worked before in my F2F classes and I am seeing the same success in students' performance. The latter could be a workable strategy to keep students engaged in the course as some tend not to be engaged for entire class session. Please see this resource for more insight:

https://youtu.be/0VVCclyYmZM

Best,

Debra

Debra Sharon Ferdinand-James, thanks for sharing your expertise in blended learning. Student engagement throughout my online lectures has been difficult (in principle, my classes are usually ca. 2 hours long). I'll look into how we can incorporate some aspects of your recommended resources/strategy/methods. The interview with Dr Watson is excellent too.

Hope life in T&T is enjoyable and that Covid-19 is fading around you.

Julius

This pandemic has changed the complete Eco system of education. Pedagogy is shifted from classroom to the virtual classes. Institutions are using various LMS and experimenting in Blended Learning or Flipped class rooms. But in my opinion the biggest challenge still remains about the assessment evaluation and examination. Especially when the number of students in UG programms are so high.

Thanks Preeti Oza. Yes, during lockdown, we face huge challenges in terms of assessment and examination. However, perhaps in addressing these challenges, we could also instigate positive change since some forms of assessment used in the past are—at least, in my opinion—not the best means of assessing students.

Hello Preeti:

Here's a resource that includes a chapter on alternative assessments from an expert in online learning that can be helpful for you:

https://www.aupress.ca/books/120279-assessment-strategies-for-online-learning/

Best,

Debra

A terrible CV-19 pandemic strikes humanity, a virus with a high and deadly rate of infection and mortality, which has forced the governments of the different countries to take measures, among which is the suspension of activities in all educational institutions. This measure implies an aggressive and proven migration towards distance learning strategies. The current panorama more than a challenge, urgently requires the training of teachers in the field of active methodologies (MA), in competences, and in the domain of pedagogical and technological knowledge of content.

Ingrid García

I agree Ingrid Del Valle García Carreño, new ways of thinking about our pedagogy should now be taken very seriously.

Thanks.

I have had to learn to manage different applications and platforms for distance education. This has represented a process of rigorous learning of the ICT, and also I have had to make adaptations as far as the system of evaluation of the students of the courses to which I attend. But there have always been difficulties in terms of students not complying with the tasks assigned to them. What the teacher must do, in my opinion, is to present his or her programmed tasks with sufficient time in advance and to interact with the students about the difficulties that arise when they develop these assignments at home.

Thanks Wilmer Lopez for sharing your experience, opinion and recommendation.

Most of the courses passed to the digital environments but this is problematic. Because disntance education have its own nature (instractional design, gamification, learning analytics and other criterias)

I appreciate your contribution to the debate Mehmet Firat

Afortunadamente, para mi no ha supuesto un gran cambio ya que estoy acostumbrado al e-learning y el estado de alarma se impuso justo después de que terminé mis clases presenciales. Con lo cual, el e-learning ha sido una gran estrategia y es lo que en mi caso ha ayudado a prevenir y a cuidarme.

All our lectures are done online

Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged the use of ICT in education

Well, I have had to prepare some topics in Chemistry, with videos of my own that generate discussion to try to activate metacognitive statues of deep processing that allow the student to progressively construct concepts in Chemistry, which by the nature of this science, keep a certain degree of abstraction. I have also elaborated reading material guides with questions that can generate concerns and discussion directed in the classes by the different platformI have also elaborated reading material guides with questions that can generate concerns and discussion directed in the classes by the different platforms.

I hope the transition into the increased used of ICT has been smooth for you, Chinaza Godswill Awuchi and your colleagues at U. of Kampala.

Wilmer Lopez I hope your university acknowledges the extra work that you and your colleagues have carried out with respect to the frameworks and guides that you've put together in order to adjust your teaching in a Covid-dominated world.

It has been smooth with the usual challenges commonly encountered in the use of ICT

Julius Elster

Dear Researcher,

Hello. Thank you for the great question.

During this global pandemic, my lectures have to a huge extent become theory based and descriptive. In between, I share funny incidents to make the long lectures look interesting. I don't know if that will be supported by many or not. My lectures are based on secondary data only. And, I have started giving more assignments to my students after teaching. These assignments are mostly on drafting of new methodologies and protocols. Invariable, despite my best efforts, a sizable portion of the time that I lecture my students, get absorbed into discussion on COVID-19 and the condition of the world. This is a sea change because I teach business oriented disciplines and not medicine or environment related matters.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

Thanks Mehmet Firat . Yes, lots of issue and some opportunities come with remote learning.

When planning my instruction, I am much more intentional about my learning goals. I keep my lectures to 10-15 minutes and then I send them off to breakout rooms or engage them in an activity.

I remind my students often of what we are focusing on since I don't have the option of using visuals within the classroom or reading their body language to check for understanding. I use breakout rooms for discussions and group activities. Our sessions are 2 - 2 and a half hours. Most students have transitioned extremely well while others have needed a bit more guidance. I keep pretty flexible office hours especially at the beginning of the semester when there are more questions. However, over time, I find that because of consistent routines and clear directions, I am rarely having to meet with them after the second.

Yes, thanks Paticia, breakout rooms have turned out to be a very useful feature; not only for facilitating group work, but also to break up the somewhat monotonous online lectures.

O uso de tecnologias, especialmente de computadores e internet já fazia parte de minha rotina, mas não tão intensamente como nesta fase de pandemia. A maior dificuldade é propriamente com a dificuldade de conexão para alunos, em algumas regiões geográficas do país. Esse é um problema de falta de acesso. Um outra questão é a dificuldade que os alunos têm de se organizarem quanto a horários de estudo. Por diversas razões que vão além de perfil, creio que esta é a maior dificuldade, a ser vencida, nesta época.