Don Bosco College of Engineering keep doors of learning open during COVID-19

With the complete lockdown of the country, all academic institutions have closed in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Don Bosco College of Engineering ensured that the doors of learning for their students remain open through digital or online learning using ICT (Information and Communication Technologies).

Dr. Neena Panandikar, Principal of Don Bosco College of Engineering informed that because of lockdown there was no other alternative but to switch over to online classes. As such she motivated her faculty to connect the students virtually so that they would gain some knowledge and utilise their time effectively. She said that teaching analytical subjects involving mathematics in online mode is a great challenge and lockdown has given us opportunity to do something innovative.

Teachers are using tools to enable virtual learning. They have embraced digital tools and adaptive pedagogy to continue guaranteeing the best quality-learning journey for the students. Prof. Vaishali Parakhi states, “For me Online Teaching was a challenge. With online tools and social media, I wanted to ensure that it was not less than classroom teaching. As a Mathematics teacher, I made teaching online more engaging and interactive.”

Through blended learning, the faculty and students are engaged remotely. The teachers have used synchronous platforms such as Zoom, Google Classroom, Webex and other freely available apps to deliver the content and to engage the students online. Prof. Natasha Dsouza e Jaques states, “Having to deal with the subject of Mathematics, students expect visual representations along with apt explanations that could lead them to understand various concepts. Using the AZ Screen Recorder Mobile App has been useful to overcome these challenges to a certain degree. Personally, I have been enjoying the process. Online learning should be used as a component in the curriculum, especially through the flipped classroom approach. Learning through online mode can be made very effective if as teachers we can plan our online resources and the medium through which we convey ourselves. Once, we as teachers adapt to overcoming the challenges faced and improvise on the strategies we adopt for online teaching, we will definitely embark on an effectively wonderful dimension of online learning and online teaching.”

Online quizzes and feedback ensures that the students are in constant touch with the learning material provided. The students with low network connectivity will be provided with the digitised content once they resume class.  With such platforms, the students will return with a much more widely shared understanding. Reading material is provided for the students so that they can come prepared to class and through flipped classroom method, the teacher can engage the students in a less amount of time. Prof. Suraj Marathe, states, “Online teaching is a new experience and I initiated it through Google Classroom and WhatsApp. Assignments were given and all doubts were cleared using the online mode. The reading material is posted online and mock tests are conducted and assessed too.

A few students have provided their response on online learning. Anand Raikar, BE Mechanical Engineering student states, “It was a great learning experience. I could widen my knowledge by learning the concepts taught online by our teacher Dr. Neena Panandikar, Principal. I could learn at my own speed with a flexible environment and at a convenient time. Everard Leitao, TE Mechanical Engineering student feels that online teaching has helped the students to keep in touch with the subject and brush up the basics. With notes provided by the teacher related to the new topics will help to prepare for the exams in a better way. Benecia Colaco, TE Mechanical Engineering student mentions, “There were a number of assignments posted on Google classroom for the students based on the topics taught in class. This helped the students keep in touch with the subject and promote rigorous practice of problems and application of concepts. The questions in these assignments were taken from previous years question papers that in turn helped the students in building confidence and speed. Google classroom also provided a platform for open discussion regarding the concepts and doubts. This greatly helped us in maintaining discipline during these days of lockdown.”

In this situation, every institution has understood that online education is as core for institutional resilience and academic continuity.