Wednesday, 11 September, 2024

Category: distance learning


With Coronavirus that suddenly hit the world, teachers and students find themselves forced to embrace technology in order to enforce learning despite the ongoing pandemic. This calls for not just a school website (read fastcomet review 2021 for a better school website to provide the needs of your students), but also a strategy to cope up with these sudden changes.

Schools, Education, and Covid 19

It has become a challenge for many countries, especially in the Third World where internet connection is not available to all, plus the fact that not everyone can afford digital devices such as desktop computers, laptops, or smartphones.

And if there’s one available, it may not be able to accommodate the needs of all students in one household, considering that in one household, there could be two or more students who need to attend online classes.

  • This calls for a major planning and shifting of gears as to how to provide proper education in times of pandemic when technology is not available to many. Major funding from the government is needed to provide digital resources to schools, students, and teachers. This would be a way to make sure that the education of every student is not hindered by this virus.
  • More than just funding, there should be development of new technology and tools in order to help teachers and students adapt to the changes, such as new devices that can be used in classrooms.
  • Technology is a major aspect of education, and it would be a big mistake for governments and teachers to not take advantage of its ability to help teach students. The problem would be solved if the government funds and develops new technology to help educate students in times of crisis.

The problem is that many people are not able to access internet due to lack of connection, which makes it hard for those who do have internet access to use it effectively. This issue would call for a solution that would make internet connection more accessible and affordable.

How Governments Around The World Are Coping With Immediate Changes In Education

  • There are many ways that governments around the world are dealing with this issue. In the United States, the government made it clear that they are not going to let the virus get them down. They have spent a lot of money on research and development, which is putting their students at an advantage over other countries who do not have the same resources.
  • In Europe and other neighboring countries, they have specifically allotted funds to embrace the immediate changes of education. Amendments in bills and other policies had also been discussed in order to reach out to those who are not able to afford the resources to meet the demands of online education. The help of teachers and parents are enlisted to ensure that every child gets proper education. They have the greatest role in these changes as they will be directly participating in these changes.
  • This is not far different with governments in Asia, like in Nepal. The sudden changes in education had the governments shift their gears and pull out available resources. Students will have to adapt to a blended form of education, a mix of modules and online learning. Students who have difficulty attending online classes are encouraged to watch specific TV programs specially designed to teach, assuming a classroom environment.

There are many ways to meet the demands of these changes. And so far, after a year of experimenting with technology, schools, parents, and teachers can satisfactorily say that the students were able to adapt to these changes too.

 


Unesco CAPed Program Offered Training For Teachers To Improve ICT Skills And Online Presentation

As schools are shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, alternative teaching methods are the only way students can continue learning. In September 2020, the UNESCO CapED program hosted training sessions in Nepal to improve teacher skills for ICT tools, presentation tools like (Powerpoint, Google Slide, and Keynote). The training session also aims to show teachers how to teach education through platforms online, radio and television offerings.

Distance Leaning | Remote Teaching Strategies

“Alternative methods for teaching and learning are very useful methods in this trying times of Corona 19 crisis. Premnarayan Bandari, a teacher at the Shuri Leh Sungga Secondary School in Gourumi, is amnong the participants. One third were women. Training completed in 5 days and were able to receive certificates after the course of training.

Use of Slides For Online Teaching Presentation

For distance learning to be truly effective, this will depend primarily on the teacher’s facilitation. It is important to address the gaps on the teacher’s ability on distance learning. This was among the challenges of teachers as identified by UNESCO consultations.

Before the training, Unesco CAPed gave technical support for the Education Human Resource Development Center (CEHRD). They have also developed guidelines for teachers and parents in order to encourage distance learning. These guidelines had been approved by the government and had the basis for training CAPed teachers.

Nepalese Participants Are Primarily Focused On Teachers

Teachers participating in the activity were selected according to different geographical locations to better represent the Nepal County. With so many teachers interested in the course training, UNESCO has expanded its program to support more teachers than originally planned. But, even after the expansion, there are still several teachers who wish to benefit from this useful course training.

“[Distance Education] is among the best ways to help facilitate learning despite of the pandemic. This is a cost-effective way to motivate and engage students. The training has given us new educational skills,” said Sham Sundal Parajuri, a teacher at Banepah Himalaya Middle School.

The feedback collected after the meeting motivated participants to learn and develop their skills and found the training to be very helpful. Participants also need to pay attention to parents and propose some ways to best support the family learning of children.

UNESCO – CAPed Program | Training For Teachers

This training is one of many activities carried out by UNESCO in response to COVID-19 in cooperation with CEHRD, Nepal Teachers’ Federation and Women Teachers’ Association through CapED. In order to continue learning, CapED helped launch the educational radio program Radio Pathshala. In cooperation with the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Regional Radio Station Association, there are currently more than 200 radio stations including 77 regions of Nepal in their programs.

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