Online Teaching In Covid-19 Times
The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled the thrust of technology into various facets of our life. And the education sector has also witnessed the same. This kind of revolution was waiting to happen somewhere around 2030. But as the popular adage goes “necessity is the mother of all inventions”. Thus, we saw this reality of online teaching actually happening a decade earlier, in the year 2020. Online teaching is the buzzword in the world, today, because of the pandemic.
Background of Online-Teaching:
There have been a few players in the edu-tech industry for quite some time now. However, we witnessed digital coaching to be gathering greater attention and attraction only last year. The pandemic forced us, teachers, to embrace technology and change the methodology of teaching to suit the times.
Teachers, including me, resorted to recording videos and publishing them on YouTube. Many of us were not confident about our teaching prowess by using technology. Hence, we decided to keep our videos ‘private’. We shared the link only with students and management. Some of the more adventurous teachers amongst us decided to go ‘public’ on YouTube. This was to get more mileage from such channels. In due course, we also resorted to teaching ‘live’ on popular platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Skype.
Challenges of Online Teaching during the pandemic:
- Our situation became worse as we had a 50% cut in our salaries. And our workload was further compounded as we were asked to start teaching offline as well. Also, we had a lingering fear of getting infected by Covid-19. Our health was not of much concern to the management. The Government had laid down the protocols for covid but the management was adhering to it only as a matter of compliance. The protocols were followed neither in it’s entirety nor seriously.
2. The management was also not considerate about the teachers who were dealing with medical issues. We were greatly stressed up as we had absolutely no technical knowledge. Also, we were expected to quickly adapt to a new method of teaching. While teaching online, we faced the problems of slow computers, sharing of computers with other family members, computer breakdowns, and very long hours of work.
3. Also, we were required to make a lot of preparation to teach online. We had to impart information by preparing PPT’s and recording the classes without making mistakes. Further, we had no means of knowing whether the students had understood the concepts and subjects effectively. Also, there was no means of knowing whether the students were actually listening/viewing the lectures. So, we had to learn and develop various new methods to retain students’ attention and interest.
4. Moreover, the management asked us to resign if we didn’t report for duty. The management issued warnings of termination to teachers facing technical issues with their computer systems or phones. They chose to remain oblivious to the hardships faced by teachers.
We had always been always receiving official communication on Whatsapp, from the management as a general custom. The management used to send messages quite frequently. Such messages were mostly related to staff meetings, reports to be submitted, show-cause notice, works to be done, and communications to be sent to students. However, these messages increased in frequency during the pandemic times. And, there was no official time for sending the WhatsApp messages. Sometimes, the management sent official WhatsApp messages even at 11 p.m.
Further Challenges :
a. Another challenge that we, teachers, faced was conducting online exams and checking answer scripts through Google Classroom. This too was absolutely new to us and quite unlike the offline checking of papers. We had to strain our eyes and adjust to a new normal.
b. We found it very difficult to teach practical subjects online. So, many of us googled to check out the various software and tools available on the internet. We majorly checked out software such as Whiteboard, Digital pen, and so on. This was to aid us in teaching subjects such as Mathematics, Statistics, and Accountancy, more effectively.
During this pandemic, there was a huge demand for new computer systems and up-gradation of the existing ones to meet deadlines. It was difficult for us to make the right choice due to our ignorance in these matters.
c. The pandemic forced many of us to fend for ourselves and become creative. Some of us wrote with chalk on the doors of our house. Some of us even balanced computer systems on chairs. And there were also some others who used cloth hangars, books, stands, and utensils to adjust their camera.
Emerging Scenario in Online Teaching:
As, we, teachers started feeling comfortable with online teaching, many of us felt that we could become entrepreneurs in the teaching field. We wanted to teach anything that we knew of. This ranged from cooking, pottery, stitching, fitness, yoga, gardening, reciting shlokas, and so on. I have also for a very long aspired to become an entrepreneur. Hence, to embark on my entrepreneurial venture and to unleash my creativity I found a secure and reliable platform in TEACHABLE.
Teachable’s LMS
Teachable is an LMS (Learning Management System) platform that has got several features, enabling anyone to teach absolutely anything, easily. We can also track the student’s performance. We can add audios, videos, pdfs, documents, conduct quizzes and check course completion by students. Are you also aspiring to be an entrepreneur in the education sector and wanting to teach creatively?
Teachable’s Plans:
You can check out Teachable’s plans and features by clicking on the link https://teachable.sjv.io/c/2780743/998814/12646 Thereafter, you must click on the ‘pricing’ tab. The Basic Plan is good enough for beginners and as you progress, you can opt for the higher plans. Wishing you luck as you proceed on your journey of ‘Teach Online’ to teach and earn!
Happy Teaching!
Asst.Prof., Entrepreneur, Digital Marketer, Web Designer, Content Writer, Online Freelancer, Digital Tutor, Affiliate Marketer, YouTuber, Blogger, Wellness Coach, Life Skill Instructor …
Geeta Menon
