Colleges to go online for new year, dedicated Youtube channel for lectures soon
PANAJI: Covid-19 cases in Goa are on the rise, and the state administration seems to have realised that classroom teaching may not be possible for the new academic year 2020-21. The directorate of higher education (DHE) has already begun work to convert at least 40% of the syllabus to e-content before colleges reopen.
The directorate has already carried out a survey in general stream colleges to determine the availability of internet connectivity among students.Sources said that the survey found that many students do not have good internet connectivity at home. The government is in the process of setting up hotspots in such areas, but, in the meantime, the DHE is training teachers to prepare e-content and start off the academic year by delivering this content to students through WhatsApp and email.Already 300 government college teachers have been trained on how to prepare and deliver the e-content to students. Master trainers are being presently trained for aided colleges, who will then train their colleagues in the respective colleges.
DHE is also launching its own YouTube channel where lectures will be uploaded for students to access at their convenience.
“The directorate will launch its own Youtube channel, where any number of lectures can be uploaded and students can access what is relevant to them. The responsibility for creation of the lecture videos is being distributed amongst teachers of different colleges to share the burden. The studio at Goa University will be used to record and develop the videos,” a source said.
If the Covid-19 situation does not improve, live teaching is planned via webcast.
Colleges have also been told to pair students with poor internet connectivity with a ‘friend’ living in an area with good network and encourage them to partner on accessing the online learning content, officials said.
Officials said that government college teachers have been provided licensed Microsoft 365 packages, which they will use to create PowerPoint presentations of chapters. If live lectures have to be held eventually, Microsoft Teams will be used by the teachers. Similarly, teachers of aided college are expected to use Google Meet.
“Presently, once teachers complete the training, each one will start creating separate e-content for their own students during their college working hours and begin the academic year by making PPTs, etc, available to students through platforms like WhatsApp, etc,” a source said.
