We have developed strategies to keep students motivated, boost their confidence and intellectual growth, say experts

The sudden nationwide lockdown due to Coronavirus pandemic jeopardised the complete education system, especially the higher education. Several entrance exams could not be conducted, institutes had to change their admission process and competitive exams were postponed. But this also gave us a new normal, a new model of learning and a blended teaching pedagogy. With institutes across the country aiming to not let students suffer any academic loss, Apeejay Stya University shares its journey of transition to virtual classrooms. In an exclusive interaction with Shiksha.com, experts at the University talk in detail about how they cope up with the current pandemic situation, what initiatives they took to ensure quality learning for students, and how ‘Moodle’, ASU’s pre-existing platform contributed in conducting online classes and exams.

Read the excerpt of the conversation:

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

A: Education system was the first to be affected due to lockdown and global pandemic. There is no certainty when the educational institutes will reopen.  This is a crucial time for the education sector, especially higher education because entrance tests of several universities and competitive examinations are held during this period. Competitive exams have been postponed due to which the admission procedure is affected in the university and the academic calendar. For existing students, online classes have already been started.

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

A: In Apeejay Stya University, during the lockdown period we immediately shifted to online teaching through Zoom and all course material was provided to the students through university online portal ‘Moodle’ so that students do not suffer the loss of studies and their progress being tracked simultaneously with timely evaluation. Lab experiments are conducted through virtual labs.

Providing online lectures enable students to learn creatively. At ASU we are engaging the students to learn by choice and not just by their physical presence in the classroom. Online support groups have formed for students to resolve the students’ queries, chaos, fear and anxiety.

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

A: Fortunately, Apeejay Stya University had already been adopted the new-age learning as it was the part of the university system. University's online portal ‘Moodle’ is a pre-existing platform at ASU for online teaching-learning pedagogy. Taking exams through Moodle and evaluating, is the pre-existing part of the University. However, to make it completely online some upgradation was done by the university during the lockdown period and successfully conducted the exams and evaluated.

Q: How are the students responding to the new initiatives?

A: The students' response has been overwhelming during this pandemic era. The online availability of study material, freedom to study at their own ease and online examination under the safe environment of the home has given them more time and a golden opportunity to explore different dimensions of Liberal arts. They are very happy with the current scenario and finding it very productive as well. The parents too have immensely appreciated the online initiatives taken by the university in the form of flipped classrooms. Though the internet connectivity is a bottleneck for this initiative.

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

A: Covid-19 has affected everyone’s life overnight. We understand that students too, are experiencing stress which affects their ability to empathise with others, consider plausible alternatives, remain open-minded, engage in cognitively challenging tasks, and expand one’s experiences to learn and grow. That is why we have developed strategies not only to keep them motivated but to boost their confidence and intellectual growth. Therefore, we offer our students, virtual laboratory classes, joining MOOCs and provide them access to webinars by persons of high intellect. These online trainings are clearly a win-win situation for us, as the students increase their talent capability and get highly motivated.

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

A: We adopted the blended learning approach and acquired subscriptions of Zoom, Moodle and GSuite. These online portals were optimised through rounds of classes, webinars and online interactions by faculties. A google form was generated and religiously filled by the School of Engineering & Technology faculties to capture all the pros and cons of the process. This process helped in improvisations in institutional digital architecture and experimental learning. The use of Moodle throughout digital learning keeps students updated at any point in time. In addition to this, faculties used technology to remain connected with students as part of the mentor-mentee culture of Apeejay Stya University using online platforms. Apart from this, the students were at their best by circulating posters and videos on social media on educating people about keeping Coronavirus away. The students stayed connected with the industry and other knowledgeable interactions were initiated through various webinars. We also encouraged students to adopt MOOC courses to their learning.

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

A: With the beginning of pandemic and lockdowns, many online portals have opened their courses for free or with full financial aid to students. The major online portals like Swayam Prabha, e-pathshala, Virtual labs, Coursera, etc. have recorded a steep rise in the number of enrolments during this period. This indicates the competitiveness levels in students as well as among teachers has remained unaffected. This blended learning approach seems to upgrade the students and upskill the teachers, leading to an enhancement in remote learning, low-cost quality education and most importantly time effectiveness. The availability of world-class knowledge at one’s doorsteps will revolutionise the traditional learning environment.