Migrating to a Virtual Class Room

The environment for teaching, at least in this country, has always been one teacher lecturing a class of 20 to 40 students in every grade and that one teacher teaching at least three grades of the same subject and teaching at least two different subjects at the same school. It has not been any different for me, rather I had to –at times –take up teaching four different subjects across four different teaching/learning grades.

The challenges faced were immense while taking up such loads:

1. Setting annual syllabi to cover at each grade level
2. Stitching each syllabus applying Vertical approaches at each grade level to the ones to succeed it in well planned out curriculum maps following Horizontal approaches to tie the subject matter taught in correspondence to other related subjects
3. Planning out daily lessons, so as to be able to cover the set syllabi for each grade level in each academic year
4. Planning both formative and inquisitive assessments to not only test aptitude, ability and knowledge of each student but also their ability to apply the subject matter in their lives so that they never forget what they have learnt
5. To identify the learning gaps in each individual student and to have them re-learn every topic they lag behind in, so that they are well prepared in appearing for their board exams to prove their mettle

All in all, teaching is by far one of the most stressful professions an individual would wish to pursue. Contrary to popular belief, it still remains the same stressful job – whether it is administered physically in person in a classroom full of students, or through a virtual portal on the World Wide Web while working from home. Simply put, the only job description of a teacher that has been subject to change is the physical presence in a classroom.

As a teacher, with a decade’s plus experience, I too have come to learn that there needs to be more effort put into making sure the students are learning the subjects taught to them. For one: assessments used to be made face-to-face where the teachers could be sure of any foul play. Alas, it has become much more difficult to be such a watchdog anymore. Other areas include the question of the students’ presence in lectures, because it is easy to mute and turn off the video feed for each individual from their own ends. Even though they are logged onto the lecture, are they really following it?

To talk about all the challenges faced would be best discussed in an essay solely meant to achieve that purpose and that purpose only.

Migrating from a physical classroom to a virtual one due to the Novel SARS-COV-2 pandemic has definitely posed problems, but they are not grave enough not to be overcome. But it has definitely done more good than bad, in terms of educating students from O and A level backgrounds:

1. 1. Children need not commute to schools anymore, eradicating from them the stress of daily travel
   2. Children now use the internet to actually study and educate themselves in comparison to its previous use for games, entertainment and social media only
   3. Since every lecture can be recorded, each child has the option to view and review the each lecture video to better understand and overcome their shortcomings in each topic
   4. Parents are spared the anxiety of worrying about their children getting into trouble while they are not at home
   5. It is easier for parents to realise the amount of work the students are subjected to daily while they are attending their classes
   6. It makes the parents more empathetic towards the children so as to not force them to study all the time
   7. Children as a result get more time to explore new hobbies and interests to develop more on their cognitive abilities
   8. Such senses of achievements later nurture the children’s minds

1. Such senses of achievements also make them happier people
2. All of this motivates the children to do their best in everything, including their academics

Having said all of that, I do believe that teaching should migrate to virtual platforms for the sake of the students who have the technological ability to do so. Looking at the demographic placement of most O and A level candidates, it is absolutely achievable: everyone has a smartphone, if not a laptop/personal computer, with capabilities of connecting to the internet in this age of technology. We are all after all a part of a Digital Bangladesh now.

By Hasan Ameen Salahuddin , on July 30, 2020