Rajan Gandhi
COVID pandemic has totally changed the dynamics of the world but education sector is one of the worst hit segments in India. Though, most of the examinations of schools were over by end March when lockdown was clamped but certain board examinations are still pending. Worst sufferers are class twelve students who are just waiting and waiting to get their remaining papers conducted so as to choose their future streams and join professional colleges. So practically all school and college students are being ‘homeschooled’ from March 24 and Zoom, Google, Skype, Whatsapp, YouTube online classes have replaced traditional classrooms. To teach remotely, a teacher requires a way to communicate with learners in real-time, share a variety of resources in different file formats, assign them individual or collaborative work, assess learners’ understanding as it evolves during the lesson and make changes in the teaching strategy to improve overall learning outcome-formative assessment and evaluate their learning at the end of chapters/unit for grading purposes-summative assessment, provide individual learners with feedback on their work for further improvement.
Two main apps are right now in use for the purpose; Google Meet/Hangout and Zoom, both being backbone of online classes, both are free and have their own pros and cons. Zoom is easiest to use with lots of teacher friendly features like mute all, direct messages through other social media platforms, screen sharing option along with in-built whiteboard. The free version of the application allows continuous streaming of only forty minutes after which the host needs to restart the meeting. Google Meet through G Suite account is used to schedule a meeting using Google Calendar and invite learners. Google Meet is compatible with other Google products including Google Docs, Google Sheet, Google Slides, etc. that can be used to design a number of assignments that require learners to work collaboratively. For the summative assessment, Google Forms are used as they give teachers a variety of question formats to choose from and design concept-appropriate questions. It is a basically corporate meeting app rather than online classes as host’s cannot mute all in one go, anyone can start presenting without host’s consent as such once teacher starts onscreen sharing he/she is unable to know what students are doing and thus causing major unnecessary breaks in online class. The G Suite Basic and G Suite for Education allow 250 participants whereas Zoom allows the host to invite 100 participants to a live video conference. With any message in chat box the screen gets darker making practically whatever is scribbled on white blackboard/ notebook is just unreadable, as it is already too small to read on a mobile screen. Another practical drawback with both these apps is the moment presenter receives a call on his/her phone the voice of students’ side gets just so low that it is virtually inaudible. Other options frequently used are sharing recorded videos on Whatsapp or YouTube.
Theoretically everything seems to be perfect but practically things are not so easy, specifically in Jammu region. With 2G mobile connectivity in Jammu, it’s virtually impossible to conduct classes as it takes hours together to get the requisite material loaded online. Some teachers and students are lucky enough to have broadband, fiber or FTTH connections but majority of students simply don’t have access to smart phones leave alone these high speed connections. Internet is no more a privilege, but a necessity. In this digital age certain rural areas of Jammu Division don’t have mobile connectivity at all. With no access to internet a student risks missing out classes altogether. With only one laptop or mobile in a family, especially if there are multiple siblings, it becomes more complicated if parent is also teacher and assigned to conduct online classes, the classes tend to clash and students don’t show up. For record sake Jammu and Kashmir education department can claim any numbers but specifically in government schools students get enroll for mid day meals only as they simply don’t have money for meager fees or uniform or books, as such from where they will get smart phones or computers to enroll for online classes. The more, the students are kept away from classes, especially children from economically weaker sections, the more the chances of them not returning to schools.
Even teachers need time to adapt to digital learning as some concepts need visual aids and innovative ideas to make children understand topics. Kindergarten and lower classes are exempted in some schools. Students have been using language, expressions and gestures which must not be used before anyone, let alone a teacher. Many teachers are extremely conscious about what they are wearing and how they present in front of the screen. The suddenness with which teachers have been plunged into online teaching amid the lockdown means they did it with little preparation. Many schools also have no clear markers for how much they were trying to achieve through this changed process. Online classes might last for four hours but teachers are putting in almost the same amount of time preparing assignments which are not just useful but should also be pretty. Low and irregular attendance, lack of attention by students; the fear of technology (especially among older teachers), poor internet connectivity and in most cases, the added pressure of household chores, have made online teaching a dreaded activity for many teachers. Schools want to be perceived as giving their best to students-a burden that is unfairly borne by teachers more so than in normal school days. While earlier, teachers were just fearful of job losses, now they also face the prospect of non-payment of salaries as well. Parental reaction has also been extreme. While some feel that if they hover around the child, they will interfere with learning, others have become too demanding of the teachers. The first case results in parents not keeping an eye on how their child behaves when classes are on. The second translates into enhanced intrusion such as calling or messaging the teachers at odd hours.
Continuous online classes for hours together have own drawbacks, both physically and behaviorally, really taxing for students to cope up. Some schools have battled online misbehavior by putting in place simple rules like presence of students in school uniform or dress codes, keeping annotations off, student mikes on mute till asked a question and removal of any distracting objects from the background. The misbehavior that students display is often a reflection of poor parenting but normally, parents are not willing to accept that their child might be wrong. Students know and use the fact that schools cannot take strict or irreversible action against them without facing consequences though schools have put out an advisory for students, parents/guardians and school administration to regulate the activity. Online classes have to be interactive but time constrains and everyone speaking simultaneously makes it virtually impossible. Classes have to be not more than two to three hours a day, with breaks in between and regular only for classes 8-12. Parents are supposed to repeatedly check e-devices to which children have access for objectionable content as provisions of the Internet Technology Act are stringent, cautioning parents that while poor behavior in class is tackled by immediate intervention and counseling, but poor online behavior leaves behind a permanent record. For teachers, their online battles with learning and unruly students could leave impressions that last beyond the immediate concerns of the lockdown.
Conducting online examinations is another headache which has no practical solution till now though some schools have managed to conduct exams online in the form of MCQs to be done in a specific time and screen shots immediately uploaded but again with the kind of connectivity it is virtually impossible here in Jammu. Conducting large-scale, high-stakes examinations, however, will be more complicated. In addition to internet connectivity issues, UT of Jammu and Kashmir has its own practical problems with Summer Zone and Winter Zone, two separate boards running classes at different timings as such different syllabus at the time of lockdown. Kashmir has got its own local Kosher Channel, DD Kashir, which collaborated with Kashmir Board to conduct lectures but no such facility in Jammu and with different running syllabus it’s of no use to Jammu students. Why all schools are not made to use NCERT or Board books only to standardize education? University and college students have different sets of problems specifically for science stream students as mere loading of pdf, word, excel files are simply not enough for them to understand the subject and moreover recent notification for exams just adds an additional mental pressure on students. If such a methodology is sufficient then government should seriously think upon pruning extra University staff, get online lectures prepared one time and can run Virtual Universities forever.
In nutshell in addition to students, teachers are the worst sufferers.
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