Discussions & activities during online classes ensure enhanced interpersonal skills of students, says Director at IDeA

Here is the edited excerpt of the conversation:

Q: How has today’s scenario of lockdown and global pandemic impacted your education system?

A: Like most industries, the education sector has also been highly impacted during the global pandemic. Colleges and schools around the globe are forced to suspend physical classrooms and shift to online learning.

Specifically speaking, as design courses are primarily practical subjects, shifting to an online mode was initially a major challenge for our team at first. A huge shout out to all the faculty members and my entire team at IDeA for all the efforts that they have put in for making this happen. We are now able to conduct uninterrupted online classes through various secured digital portals with positive feedback filling our inbox every minute.

Q: What are some of the interesting initiatives your institute has taken to make it easy for your students and also contribute to eradication of this pandemic?

A: IDeA Worldwide was the first design college in the country to take the major step and shift to an online mode of learning right at the initial stage of the lockdown.

The online classes have received amazing feedback from the existing students as well as the new joiners. The teaching team at IDeA makes sure that no student is left unattended and hence are constantly in touch with them through various online portals.

We make sure that students are well updated about the design world in the comfort of their own homes by giving them access to various webinars conducted by designers from across the globe we are in collaboration with.

Q: How is the institute planning to conduct exams, evaluate and declare result online?

A: The degree courses at IDeA Worldwide are affiliated to the Bangalore University and the college will thus be following the guidelines as stated by the university. For the diploma batches, continuous evaluations are done in the form of self-assessment activities, multiple-choice questionnaires and assignment submissions through online platforms. IDeA will strictly follow online methods to conduct exams until any further notice given by the government.

Q: How are students responding to new initiatives?

A: Students’ attendance has been terrific since the commencement of the online classes. 98.75 per cent is the attendance that we have been receiving and when given a break, students insisted that we resume classes. The feedback has been really positive both from the existing batches as well as new joiners. The students are really glad that even a pandemic like this has not interrupted their learning. “Classroom teaching being one of the strongest assets of IDeA, has taken it up a notch and now has mastered the art of online teaching”, says a proud IDeAian.

Q: What impact will it have on students’ interpersonal, team management skills?

A: Team management skills are very crucial for any individual, regardless of the field that he or she opts for. At IDeA, honing these skills are considered as essential as the core course and hence we have allotted time in the class schedules to help students develop their interpersonal skills.

One thing that online learning lacks is physical interaction both with the teacher as well as peers. We have made sure that the teachers include team activities and group discussions in the online modules so that students do not miss out on interacting with each other.

Q: What are the best practices that the college is adopting to ensure seamless online learning?

A: Some of the best practices that we are adopting at IDeA are:

• Constant communication between the teacher and students
• Clearing of doubts at any time of the day through calls or messages
• Fixed timetable to ensure the smooth flow and better coordination of online classes
• Regular assignments and projects to ensure practical application of subjects
• Discussions and activities during online classes to make sure students interact with each other

Q: How will today’s situation revolutionise online learning in India and abroad?

A: The flip side of the coin with regard to the global pandemic is that a lot of adaptation to new methods of learning and business has occurred during this period. As we were forced to switch to online modes without any other option in hand, many institutions and companies did everything at their disposal in setting up and running the business online.

Though useful in a situation like this, online classes are never a substitute for the offline classroom teaching which is definitely a lot more interesting and interactive. It can be added as an add-on feature by various businesses and never as a substitute.