Lock Down as a Learning Opportunity

The transition has been simple from the end of the day, as I have previously taught in an online environment and the technology to move my current classes to an online model has always been in place. Being as an online instructor over the past years has been a slow phase. Now I’m able to digitally fly alongside my students in the face of an unprecedented global threat. We also step into the exciting realm of doing our research as easily as possible in the teaching and learning activities.

I learned a lot of learning-based activities from our VEDIC trainers during the regular workshops we had since past three years. This lockdown gave the opportunity of using most of the learning practices and tools like Zoom, Microsoft teams, Google class etc., that I have been learned for online teaching and assessments. I prefer two-way interactive sessions for students to better understanding the concepts. Hence, I used to ask few open-ended questions on the topic during online session so that students could respond more to it. In the learning sessions, the students are provided with appropriate breaks to give time to think the topic and to allow doubts about their questions. I’ve held online conferences, presentations and conversations with students and colleagues. I still collaborate with students on different social platforms while they study and connect in chat rooms to make the course more interactive.

I have also been a lot of discussion among colleagues on how to increase the quality of online teaching for students in rural areas who do not have the facilities. I created a YouTube channel from their ideas and have uploaded all my online session content and videos for repetitive/flipped and rural students.

Also, focused on self-learning by online certifications, webinars, research for professional development. I have published a textbook on “Electrical Distribution Systems” and two research papers during the lockdown