(“Knowledge is power, information is liberating. Education is the
Premise of progress, in every society, in every family.)- Kofi Annan
“badla ha sava- K-yaa iSaxaNaacaa AMitma pirNaama Aaho.”ilaAao baskaiglayaa
(“Change is the end result of all true
learning.”) – Leo Buscaglia
“iSaxaNa ho BaivaYyaacaa pasapaoT- Aaho karNa ]Vacaa kaL %yaaMcyaasaazI Aaho jyaaMnaI BaivaYyaasaazI Aaja tyaarI kolaI Aaho.” maalkma\ e@sa.
(“Education is the Passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to
those who prepare for it today.”) - Malcom X
mhNaUnaca badla isvaka$na navaIna tM~a&anaalaa saamaaoro jaa, AaiNa tumacao va tumacyaa ivaVaqyaa-Mcao BaivaYya GaDvaa.pirvat-na haca iSaxaNaacaa Kra hotU %yaamauLo tM~a&anaacaa vaapr k$na navanavaIna maaihtI saaQanao hataLa AaiNa maaihtIcyaa &anasaagaratUna maao%yaaMcaa saMcaya kra.
शिक्षण म्हणजे..
शिक्षण म्हणजे समजणं, शिक्षण म्हणजे स्वत: विचार करणं, शिक्षण म्हणजे समाजासाठी जीव तुटणं, शिक्षण म्हणजे कष्ट करू शकणं, शिक्षण म्हणजे चांगलं माणूस होणं, शिक्षण म्हणजे संकुचितपणा नष्ट होणं.. हे जाणून ज्यांनी शाळा व शिक्षण यांवर अनेक प्रयोग केले त्याविषयी…
पालक एक प्रश्न हमखास विचारतात. मुलं अभ्यास करत नाहीत, त्यांचा अभ्यास कसा करून घ्यायचा? खरं तर मुलांचा अभ्यास मुलांनीच करायचा असतो, पण गृहपाठ पूर्ण झाला नाही तर शाळेत ओरडा बसेल म्हणून आईचाजीव तुटतो. कधी कधी मुलाला झेपणार नाही एवढा अभ्यास असतो, मग आई पुढे सरसावते. स्वत:च लिहून देते.
शोभा भागवत – shobhabhagwat@gmail.com # rivavaar laaoksa<aa :caturMga purvaNaI maQaUna saaBaar
In Teacher 21 APRIL 2020
(Teacher is published by the Australian Council for Educational Research)
What PISA tells us about our preparedness for remote learning 12 minutes reading
'It is important
to recognise that some children will thrive and adapt easily to the new
learning environment, that some children and schools are more prepared for
this, and that for some children, this will serve to further amplify their
learning disadvantage.'
Dr Sue Thomson explores how the COVID-19 crisis has
propelled schools to an online learning environment, and draws on data from the
OECD’s 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and 2018
Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) to shed light on students’,
teachers’ and schools’ preparedness for the ‘new normal’.
Podcast: Dissolving the gender gap in STEM 21 minutes listening
Infographic: Closing the Gap Report 2020 10 minutes reading
Australia’s annual Closing the Gap Report communicates
progress towards government targets for Indigenous Australians in areas like
education, health and employment. In this infographic, we take a look at
results from the 2020 report related to education targets.
A STEM tool for visually impaired students 5 minutes reading
According to research from Vision Australia, only
24 per cent of blind or low vision people living in Australia are in full time
employment. A new tool, which assists visually impaired students learn to
code, aims to help increase this employment figure.
Co-creating classroom behaviour expectations 7 minutes reading
At Pakuranga College in Auckland, New Zealand, gathering data and using evidence-based resources is the basis of their professional development. Here, Deputy Principal Larraine Barton shares how a Teacher magazine podcast informed part of the beginner teacher program at the school.
Great Book Swap today!
The Great Book Swap is a fantastic
way to celebrate reading locally, raise much-needed funds for remote
communities, while instilling a sense of leadership and social justice in
students. By holding a Great Book Swap on Indigenous Literacy
Day, Wednesday 2 September, your school actively helps us gift new books to
Indigenous children in remote Australia.
When you register to host a Great Book Swap,
you will be assigned an Animals in Language house and receive a kit including
language fact sheets, maps, and posters to help celebrate. Sign up today!
Trending on Teacher: STEM
Teaching
engineering in a primary school setting
Infographic:
Student attitudes towards STEM
Careers
education: Unlocking meaningful STEM opportunities
Reflecting on your own practice
How does your school work to boost girls’ uptake and engagement in STEM subjects? Have you found an approach to be particularly effective? How does this
help these students with their career opportunities in the future?
The Code Jumper tool aims to make
coding accessible to visually
impaired students and ultimately open up new career paths for them. As an
educator, how are you ensuring students with additional needs are being
supported, to be as prepared as other students for career opportunities of the
future?
BULLYING IN SCHOOLS: FREE PREVENTION RESOURCES
GET ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF
LESSON PLANS
Stop Bullying in Schools. You Can Stand Up and Make a Difference.
For bullying prevention month, we are highlighting resources designed to
support teachers and paraprofessionals in fostering a positive school climate,
and in particular, how to create a classroom environment in which you can
address racism and stereotyping--topics at the forefront of our national
dialogue. These featured pre K-12 activities and articles also include ways to
prevent bullying before it starts.
Bullying is a community issue that extends beyond the school campus and is
prevalent online. Share My Lesson is partnering with educators and support
staff, school leaders, community and advocacy groups to recognize, prevent and
combat bullying while establishing safe and welcoming schools. Educators know
the importance of building a positive school culture—a safe and supportive
environment in which positive relationships are fostered. Yet we know that this
does not always describe communities of learning. And often, when these
essential components are not there, serious behaviour issues manifest in
classrooms and on school campuses.
Webinars: Professional Development to Help You Address Bullying in Schools
Share My Lesson has webinars for bullying prevention and countless other subjects to help support you, your students and their families. Check out our featured webinar from the collection below from our partners at
IN THIS COLLECTION:
·
Bullying in Schools: Teaching
Resources
·
Bullying in Schools: Information
& Guidance for Teachers
·
Bullying in Schools: Addressing
Racism and Stereotyping
·
Bullying in Schools: Mental Health
Resources
·
Bullying in Schools: Information
& Guidance for Parents
·
Bullying in Schools: Cyberbullying
and Internet Safety
The Rise Of Online Learning
Ilker KoksalContributor
Online learning has shown significant growth over the last decade, as the internet
and education combine to provide people with the opportunity to gain new
skills. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, online learning has become more centric in
people's lives. The pandemic has forced schools, universities, and companies to
remote working and this booms the usage of online learning. Even before the
pandemic, Research and Markets forecasts the online education market as $350 Billion
by 2025, so the numbers might be updated after analyzing the growth impacts of
COVID-19 on the online learning market.
About the market
There are numerous
online learning platforms in the market such as Udemy, Coursera, Lynda, Skillshare, Udacity
that serve millions of people. The platforms are getting shaped by different
user verticals as well. While Skillshare is mostly for creatives such as giving
courses on animation, photography, lifestyle, Coursera is mostly academic with
giving access to university courses.
Top tier universities are also democratizing the learning by making courses
accessible via online. Stanford University and Harvard University give access to
online courses under categories of computer science, engineering, mathematics,
business, art, and personal development.
These all show one thing, there’s a huge demand from people to learn
online. The reason for this demand and rapid growth of the market with a wide
variety of platform options for different groups of people may be the rapid
change of the world. At the recent $50
Million round of Udemy,
president Darren Shimkus says, “The biggest challenge is for learners is to
figure out what skills are emerging, what they can do to compete best in the
global market. We’re in a world that’s changing so quickly that skills that
were valued just three or four years ago are no longer relevant. People are
confused and don’t know what they should be learning.” At this moment, online
learning is becoming a huge catalyzer for people and companies to help the
adoption of this rapid change in the world.
Advantages of online learning
All those online learning enterprises have a massive amount of user data which enables those platforms to use machine learning algorithms that can enhance the learning patterns of people. Machine learning algorithms use pattern recognition which can personalize the content for each individual. For example, when a student repeatedly struggles with a concept at the course, and the platform can adjust the e-learning content to provide more detailed information to help the student. The instantaneous feedback loops inside the platforms which are provided by other online students or the platform improve the learning curve. This also offers shy or more reticent people the opportunity to participate in class discussions more easily than face-to-face class sessions.
Online learning:
A new reality for schools
during Covid-19
Schools in India have been
working hard in creating a comprehensive online infrastructure for the
effective remote learning of their students. Here are some excerpts from Dr Ms
Chandrakanta R Pathak, Principal & CEO of HVB Global Academy.
Educational institutions in most countries are now
closed to contain the spread of coronavirus, resulting in the home-schooling of
millions of students globally.
Schools in India
have been working hard in partnership with the parents and educational boards
in creating a comprehensive online infrastructure for the effective remote
learning of their students. One such school is HVB Global Academy, a Cambridge
International School in Mumbai which is working with its teachers to interact
better with students.
Here are some
excerpts from Dr Ms Chandrakanta R Pathak, Principal & CEO of HVB Global
Academy, where she is talking about the use of digital tools such as 'Resource
Plus' which is a range of materials for teachers of Cambridge International
schools, designed to provide detailed support to them on some key skills and
topics.
She also speaks
about the other digital tools and teaching measures the school has undertaken
to adapt to the new reality and support its teachers and students with learning
in these difficult times.
Online/web-based
learning programme
In light of Covid-19 pandemic,
a wide array of public and private services has been suspended countrywide.
These services include schools, colleges, and universities. Among these entire
how are you continuing teaching your students remotely?
We understand the
importance of education in the cognitive and affective development of young
learners and the ill effects of prolonged lack of quality instruction on the
overall development of learners. Therefore, we have been hard at work in
creating a comprehensive digital infrastructure for effective remote teaching.
We are happy to
report that our rigorous experimentation, which began in the third week of
March, with various remote teaching tools and platforms have been able to dust
deliver effective online lessons based on active learning approaches and to
provide our learners with differentiated support and guidance.
We are now able to
remotely provide our learners with all core classes that are mandatory in
Cambridge International's curriculum and a number of co-curricular and
extra-curricular classes which include dance, music, art, and robotics.
Keeping in mind
the toll the home confinement exacts on young learners, we are providing
learners with online counselling sessions with our in-house counsellors. To
provide our learners with quality instruction, we are employing a variety of
digital tools in a coherent fashion. Following is an account of the tools and
methods in current use.
Online tools
used for teaching: Hangouts Meet, Zoom, Google Classroom etc
To teach remotely,
a teacher requires a way to:
·
communicate with
learners in real-time,
·
share with
learners 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.
We use Hangouts
Meet and Zoom to connect with learners in real-time. Whereas the latter
requires a classwork management platform, and Classroom application by Google
to organize and manage all teaching-learning activities which include sharing
resources with learners, designing worksheets and tests, assigning individual
and collaborative work, providing feedback to individual learners, and grading.
We also use
Jamboardapp (as a virtual whiteboard), ed puzzle, Hot Potato, Kahoot, and
various other online apps to enable learners to actively engage with the
content. In addition to these, we also upload resources such as notes, videos,
and presentations on Edusprint, a native digital classwork management system,
from where parents and students can access and download all of the resources.
1. Hangouts Meet
A
video-conferencing application available exclusively to the users of G Suite.
It allows a teacher with a G Suite account to schedule a meeting using Google
Calendar and invite learners to connect online via their phone, tablet, laptop,
or desktop.
The invitation can
be sent to anyone with a regular gmail.com account; however, the meeting can be
initiated only through a G Suite account. Aside from video conferencing, Meet
allows the host to share their live screen with the participants. This feature
comes in handy when the teacher wants to show learners a live presentation, a
virtual whiteboard, a video, etc.
This is especially
useful for math lessons. We use Jamboard from Google as a virtual whiteboard.
The G Suite Basic and G Suite for Education allow the host to invite 100
participants to a live video conference. Those with G Suite Enterprise for Education can
invite a greater number of participants and can also record the proceedings of
the meeting.
2. Zoom
For those who do
not have a G Suite account, Zoom is a good alternative of Meet. Zoom is another
online video-conferencing application similar to Hangouts Meet but not affiliated
with Google.
Like Meet, Zoom
also features a screen sharing option along with in-built whiteboard that the
teachers can share with learners which is great for teaching remotely. The free version of
the application allows continuous streaming of only 40 min after which the host
needs to restart the meeting.
of Hangouts Meet
and Zoom so as to protect learners' online privacy and to address the recently
reported security issues associated with Zoom.
Our online
teaching policy is attached to this document. One important advantage Zoom has
over Meet is that it allows the host to record the meeting even with the free
version. This facility is available in Meet only for the G Suite Enterprise
plan.
Google Classroom is a classroom management app that relieves the teacher from much of the administrative tasks and can be accessed through most G Suite and gmail.com accounts. This app features a host of useful applications that can help teachers streamline online classroom work, track learners' progress, and better engage them in online learning activities.
Following are some
of the features of the Classroom that teachers may find useful:
The only way to
measure the effectiveness of a lesson is to measure students' learning outcome
at the end of the class. For this reason, provision for online assignment and
assessment in Classroom is perhaps the most useful feature of the Classroom app
as it allows the teacher to measure and track learners' progress and modify
their teaching strategy as need be.
This feature
enables the teacher to design worksheets and assessments specific to learners'
needs. The platform also differentiated assessment and support as it allows the
teacher to design learner-specific worksheets.
The type of
questions the teacher can create include short answer, paragraph, multiple
choice, checkboxes, dropdown, multiple choice grid, etc. The app also comes
with a built-in auto-grader. Moreover, it allows the teacher to provide
learners with feedback on a learner's response to individual questions.
The platform
allows the teacher to share resources in a variety of file formats with
learners. A most useful feature is perhaps the ability to schedule the release
of materials and assessment at specific times in the future.
Classroom allows
the teacher to incorporate YouTube video into assignment and quiz and design
questions around it. The video can be played as the learner is working on the
assignment or the quiz.
Much of the grade
management is automatic but the teacher has full control over changing grades
as need be.
The app gives the
teacher complete authority to remove anyone from the class. This is an
important provision as it allows the teacher to remove suspicious accounts that
may compromise the online safety and privacy of learners.
The classroom 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.
In our experience,
the Classroom is one of the best free online classwork management system that
enables teachers to streamline classroom activities and implement a variety of
teaching strategies consistent with modern pedagogic methods. Snapshots of
exemplar worksheets and quiz are attached with the document.
Schedule for
current academic classes
Since the
inception of online classes about three weeks ago in light of the Covid-19
pandemic, we have experimented with various online platforms and have used our
learning to incorporate into our online curriculum as many co-curricular
activities as the current technology and circumstances allow.
Aside from regular
academic learning, we now also offer learners classes in music, dance, art, and
robotics. We place a significant premium on our learners' Happiness Quotient
(HQ). We believe that happy learners are better learners. To this end, we have
availed our learners' online counselling to help them through these trying
times.
We have also
introduced online yoga and meditation sessions for students, and parents are
welcome to join. In addition, to alleviate stress and anxiety, we also play
flash mob music after every class where teachers and students partake in
singing and dancing activities remotely.
Another exemplar
schedule for current academic and some of our co-curricular and
extra-curricular classes are included along with this document.
Students
understanding and progress
Formative
assessments are essential to assess the effectiveness of our teaching
strategies, plan for future teaching-learning activities, to keep track of
individual learner's progress, and to provide them with useful feedback for
improvement. Not being able to interact with learners face-to-face has rendered
many conventional means of formative assessment useless.
However, tools
such as Kahoot, Hot Potato, edpuzzle, in-class and post-class questions and
worksheets on Google Classroom have been of significance in assessing our
learners' progress and understanding of their learning needs.
Tools such as
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms are naturally compatible with the
Classroom app with enable teachers to 'flip the classroom' and help learners
develop presentation, language, communication, and technical skills. Flipped
classrooms provide teachers yet another opportunity to assess learners'
understanding and progress.
For the summative
assessment, we mostly use Google Forms as they give teachers a variety of
question formats to choose from and design concept-appropriate questions. Forms
allow teachers to include images, graphs, audios, and videos from YouTube, and
design questions around these media.
This has expanded
teachers' ability to assess and evaluate learners' understanding in ways that
were not possible with conventional testing. In addition, Forms also enable
teachers to automate, to a certain degree, grading and generic feedback which,
in turn, afford teachers time to give more detailed and helpful feedback to
individual learners.
In fact, online
tools along with Google's Classroom app has helped streamline and automate much
of teachers' administrative work so that they are now better able to assess
learners, provide them with better-differentiated support and guidance.
Following are snippets from an online quiz on IGCSE Chemistry (0620) designed
in Forms.
The primary challenges we faced at the start of our
remote teaching program included:
·
finding an appropriate class duration
·
training teachers, students, and parents in the use of
digital tools
·
incorporating formative assessments in virtual classroom
practice
·
implementing active learning strategies
·
ensuring students' online safety and privacy
With over three weeks of rigorous experimentation and
experience with digital tools, we have been able to address these issues to the
satisfaction of our teachers, students, and parents.
An important tool that has helped us tailor our use of
online tools and platforms is constant feedback between teachers and learners
or parents.
For students' online safety and privacy, we have drafted
a set of policies and guidelines to exposing students to inappropriate online
content and to thwart any attempts made by third-party agents to elicit
students' information.
Another challenge we initially faced was student
discipline. We were able to successfully address the issue by collaborating
with parents, by using techniques such as 'no hands show' during the class and
by using tools that allow teachers to have better oversight on learners'
activities.
We are particular about timely attendance and mark
students absent if they fail to join the class within the first ten minutes. We
have also found that along with age-and content-appropriate formative
assessment and feedback, grading learners' work at key times also helps
significantly in engaging their attention.
Change in
teaching and learning process
These are trying times for the entire school community.
However, with a good support system and mutual co-operation, it is possible to transform
the difficult and inopportune challenges into opportunities for personal and
professional growth.
Transition to remote teaching and learning has been
challenging but also refreshing; faculty and administrative staff are an
opportunity to collaborate and employ their collective creativity, skills, and
knowledge to address novel challenges.
To help the teaching faculty adapt to remote teaching and
learning, we have provided them with 24 x 7 technical assistance so that they
can better focus on teaching activities. We have provided them with an array of
online teaching tools that they use to make their lessons effective. We have a
common platform where teachers can discuss and address the challenges they are
facing.
Given the current constraints, we do not require teachers
to complete the syllabus that had been planned at the beginning of the academic
year. However, we are happy to report that after the initial difficulties with
the new mode of teaching, teachers are now comfortable with tools and methods
used for remote teaching and are able to cover the syllabus according to the
original planned.
In addition, we also, organize online activities (such as
Bingo) for teachers that allow these to meet and greet and have a hearty laugh.
These measures have helped alleviate emotional and mental stress, maintain a
positive outlook and give a sense of community to teachers.
Two stars and wishes about this drastic change on the education fraternity
Two stars:
Sudden change in our modus operandi posed many difficult
challenges on technical and psychological fronts; however, new learning we
gained from our experiences has fundamentally changed our views on pedagogic
methods.
We have discovered a host of digital tools that can be
integrated with regular classroom practice to make the teaching-learning
process more differentiated and effective. Over the past three weeks, we have
been able to incorporate these tools into our online practice and deliver
engaging lessons.
On a typical school day, we conduct more than a hundred
online classes to meet the learning needs of over a thousand students. We have
been able to do accomplish this feat in less than three weeks' time thanks to
the persistent and concerted effort of the team at HVB Global Academy committed
to further the development of our learners
Two Wishes:
Crises have a way of bringing
to light flaws in system design that otherwise go unnoticed. Covid-19 pandemic
has been one such crisis for us. It has helped us understand the limitations of
our current digital infrastructure. Therefore, we are now restructuring the
digital infrastructure in our school and working on creating a framework that
would better streamline teachers' work and provide them a great deal of
flexibility in how they deliver a lesson.
We are also offering our teaching faculty a training
program aimed at helping them incorporate modern technology in their everyday
classroom practice. The program sessions will beheld on the 4th Saturday of
every month.
On these days, facilitators will also get opportunities
to develop their digital skills by engaging learners and delivering lessons
remotely. All instructors and facilitators at HVB Global Academy is required to
attend these training sessions.
We sincerely hope that these measures will us help
improve the teaching-learning experience for both learners and teachers, and to
be better prepared to weather challenging times in the future.
READ | 5 points for the govt to make a policy for online courses and certifications
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