Online Teaching

Teaching online can be both fun and challenging at the same time! It all started in the month of March 2020 when lockdown was announced in India and schools were shut in view of the Corona Pandemic and we, the teachers at Pawar Public School, Bhandup, Mumbai, were faced with the daunting task of shifting our physical classes to online teaching.

 Though it seemed an impossible task to start off, eventually with patience, grit and meticulous planning, we successfully began with identifying and understanding Zoom, the hugely popular Video Conferencing Software, and then training the entire teaching staff at our school. We soon became proficient in creating breakout rooms, muting and unmuting all, enabling waiting rooms,  sharing computer sounds and screen, and even using backgrounds, studio effects and filters!

Once that was done, we then began looking at various apps which can engage the students and make learning both immersive and interactive. We fought through bad network connectivity, outdated laptops,  forever slow desktops,  obsolete tablets and overworked smart phones which forever crashed and a galore of technical glitches!! We researched each and every application available, trying sincerely to enthrall our students with the novelty of each app. From Padlet to Bookwidgets, Wizer to NearPod, Google Forms to Google Classrooms, Virtual Reality to Quizizz, we have tried it all.

It's been 10 months now, and every teacher in my school, has become an expert in handling all the softwares required to create a powerful and educative teaching experience for the students.  Today our students eagerly await their online classes to ask "Ma'am which quiz do we have today?" 

So while phrases like "admit me",  "Am I audible?", "You will be put in the waiting room", "Turn on your video", "Please mute yourself", "Ma'am, can I share my screen?" has become the new normal, we are all eagerly waiting for the day our school will reopen and we can hear the hustle and bustle of the school kids again!!

Here is a link of my journey as a computer teacher during the lockdown-->

https://youtu.be/lUc4o3ZRTV8

Archana Suvarna,

Computer Teacher,

Pawar Public School, Bhandup.