Innovations in education have provided options to students in the last one-and-a-half years that they might have not had access to in the past when technology was neither this advanced nor this widespread. But up ahead are further challenges, and there’s a need to get comfortable with blended learning modes as we prepare to live in a world where the threat of pandemics is real, alive and constant.
The unprecedented closure of schools and colleges in March 2020 meant educational institutions across Tamil Nadu had to scramble to figure out alternatives and ensure that learning continued.
For teachers, students and other stakeholders, the last 18 months have been dedicated to a massive overhaul of the education system without any preparation or warning — exploring viable ecosystems for alternate learning, overcoming concerns about access and infrastructure, revamping teaching methodologies to suit these alternate methods and viable assessment patterns.
Private schools and colleges, where most students had fairly good access to data and infrastructure, started off with teacher training and preparing resources for virtual learning.
“When we realised that this would not be a short break from school for the students, the first thing we did was to train our teachers in batches so that they could familiarise themselves with the platforms available, preparing resources, and recording video lessons,” said Lakshmi Prabha, principal, Prasan Vidya Mandir.
As a semi-urban school, Ms. Lakshmi Prabha said they had to prepare material across formats, ranging from two-minute videos to audio podcasts, keeping in mind access and devices available at home.
Given the circumstances, evolving and adapting to the new norm soon began across schools and colleges based on the student strength, access and resources available. Educational institutions and the Tamil Nadu Education Department recognised the need to innovate and address learning gaps that continued as the pandemic put the brakes on normal academic schedules.
Innovations galore
From online classes by senior professors to video lessons and setting up cameras in classrooms, colleges adopted several methods to take lessons to the students. Initially, access to smartphones and data and internet connectivity was an issue for college students. Some had to share their mobile phones with their school-going siblings. But, by and large, they have fared better as they had access to laptops.
Senior faculty members had special sessions and in some instances, students also did their internships online. The challenges, however, were in providing hands-on experience in practical classes and the experience of being in college amid peers.
“Initially, I depended on a data card but we have since installed a modem and I use the mobile phone for classes only. To file assignments, I use the laptop,” said Bhavani, a third-year B.Com student of a government arts and science college in Chennai.
The government’s Kalvi TV, launched in 2019, helped to address the lack of laptops and mobile phones for online learning for a majority of students of government and aided schools over the last year. The State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) prepared video lessons for all classes and telecast them from June 2020. It has continued for the current academic year.
School teachers have relied on these telecasts. M. Jegadeesan, headmaster, Government-aided Higher Secondary School, Kottaipatti, said his school encouraged students to regularly see the telecast. “Our students come from a cluster of 60 villages in Peraiyur taluk in Thirumangalam in Madurai district and many families cannot afford the luxury of a television set. We identified 200 students who had no device and grouped them with those who had access to at least one device, so that the children could study together,” he said.
Several government school and private college faculty members used social media to circulate video lessons, notes, assignments and even question papers to their students. T. Arulanandam, State auditor, Tamil Nadu High, Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association, said many teachers were sharing video lessons from Kalvi TV through WhatsApp groups.
“There were concerns about parents taking phones with them to work, and students unable to attend online classes. So our teachers made 30-40 minute video sessions, which are then sent via WhatsApp since most students don’t have laptops and depend on smartphones,” said Uma Devi, headmistress, Government Higher Secondary School, Thumbaipatti, Madurai district.
Going the extra mile
Where online classes were possible, teachers have reworked schedules to enable students to attend. At the Panchayat Union Middle School at Pirattiyur in Tiruchi, headmistress K. Asha Devi said 70% of the students were able to attend classes online or access video lessons. “Teachers gave up their weekends and scheduled classes on Sundays so that the children could access their parents’ mobile phones.”
Some colleges developed standardised procedures for online classes. N.R. Alamelu, principal of Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore, said the college’s Internal Quality Assurance Cell evolved a protocol.
Students and faculty received separate sets of instructions and an online meeting was held with parents. Apart from the suggestion of appropriate gadgets, the faculty members were instructed to take attendance during the class session. Another college installed a system of evaluating the faculty members’ performance and gave feedback on improving their presentation.
Though faculty members rely on slide shows to explain lessons for subjects such as mathematics, physics and other science subjects, cameras are installed for students to watch the teacher writing equations and solving problems.
In his college, all lectures are available for students to follow up and learn at their pace, says Ajeet Kumar Lal Mohan, chairman of the AJK College of Arts and Science.
Lalitha Balakrishnan, principal of M.O.P. Vaishnav College, Chennai, felt that online learning opened up many avenues. “We have incorporated and integrated Swayam courses in our curriculum as per the UGC’s norms,” she said. “The mode of delivery, ICT-enabled platforms and use of tools like Blendspace have made learning more interesting and satisfying.”
Getting better
Students, too, are pleased with their teachers’ efforts. In the last two academic years, classes had become more interactive, said R. Shivani, a computer science and engineering student. “From being a monologue in the beginning, it is now more interactive. We are able to ask questions, request the faculty member to explain a concept once again and attend quizzes. The difference between online and offline classes is not much. As there are only three lectures of one-and-a-half hour duration each a day, it is not stressful,” she said. Some in her class who do not have the advantage of a separate room are helped by other students when they miss out a point or two and call for clarification.
The roadblock
While access to infrastructure, including devices for learning and data availability and connectivity, continue to be a roadblock stories have emerged of teachers visiting students in remote areas to teach. Lack of internet connectivity and power supply in 38 habitations in the hilly areas of Talavadi, Kadambur and Bargur in Erode district hinder access to online education. At Gundri in the Kadambur hills, students walk 2 km daily and sit by the forest roadside, where connectivity is available, to pursue their studies. In the central region, students in the hills of Pachamalai in Tiruchi district do not have a proper mobile network.
“We gather around five students a day and teach them since we do not want them to lose touch with education,” said Vasantha Chitravelu, a government-aided primary school teacher at Andarkadu in Vedaranyam, which doesn’t have good internet connectivity. In hilly and remote areas such as Valparai, where internet and television facilities are not available, teachers have been visiting over 4,000 students to take classes.
Though to a large extent, academic development has continued, the social and cultural development of students has suffered a setback, college teachers said. While Central government institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras managed to conduct their annual cultural and technical festivals online, thanks to the robust financial support from alumni and the management, students of State-run institutions have lost out.
This is a cause for concern, the heads of the institutions said. Cultural and co-curricular activities at colleges help students develop interpersonal skills. Principals, including B.L. Shivakumar, regret that students have lost the opportunity to be in physical classrooms, which is the starting point for grooming young adults.
P. Wilson, principal of Madras Christian College, which is known for its cultural events and has a vibrant theatre and musical culture, rued that the pandemic had robbed the students of the opportunity to develop that special connection with their college. “Every institution has its unique traditions and practices that are cherished by students as memories to be carried for life. Students play a major role in conserving those traditions and redefining them for enrichment over a period. It is these experiences that shape the institutional perception and, in turn, serve as an investment for the future. Cultural continuity can also be referred to as the maintenance of the traditions and social structures that bring stability to a society.”
He added, “It is not education in terms of academic excellence that makes up the personality but co-curricular and extracurricular activities the students are involved in and the student autonomy that they enjoy as part of their administration set-up that makes them cherish the nostalgic moments even after decades in their life,” he said.
Students and teachers may have adapted themselves to changes in the learning-teaching process but the parents are deeply disappointed with the way exams have been conducted. “What is the point in conducting online exams by letting students be themselves after having covered the portions through a virtual classroom session? The rather ‘farcical’ evaluation of students that leaves them nowhere in terms of knowledge or skills has meant precious little for their future,” said Kavitha, a parent.
The next step
As institutions continue to remain shut for the second academic year and worries abound about students losing out on yet another year of learning, both the government and the educational institutions alike have concerns about the growing learning gap. The School Education Department, recognising the gap, has suggested a refresher course for students whenever campuses reopen.
In a mammoth exercise, the Department has initiated a computer skills training programme for over 2 lakh teachers earlier this month to enable them to handle computers and explore various platforms to take virtual classes better.
The teachers hope the government will take steps to address the digital divide. The Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Association recently appealed to the government to consider distributing tablets to students, in line with the free laptop scheme for senior school and college students.
For a brief time that educational institutions reopened earlier this year, the government as well as schools and colleges themselves explored the possibility of having both physical classes and online learning because of safety norms that do not permit large groups of students gathering on campus at the same time.
While access is still a major problem, especially in rural areas, systematic and sustained community initiatives have been the need of the hour to reach out to children. “For primary students of government and aided schools, the School Education Department can start a community or neighbourhood initiative, under which teachers and social organisations can help with basic reading, writing and activities for children. We need to develop resources for the same,” said Patric Raymond, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers Federation. Underscoring the need to look beyond e-learning, Mr. Raymond said a sustained approach was needed to ensure that learning continued.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers’ Association has urged the government to restore the daily 2GB free data scheme for students. “In fact, free data must be enhanced by a minimum of an additional GB to ensure online interface for five hours a day,” said P. David Livingstone, zonal secretary, Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association.
( With inputs from Soma Basu in Madurai, Karthik Madhavan and R. Akileish in Coimbatore, P.V. Srividya in Hosur, S.P. Saravanan in Erode , Vignesh Vijayakumar in Salem and Kathelene Antony and R. Krishnamoorthy in Tiruchi)
