Film references, documentaries: Delhi govt school classes go mobile, teachers get innovative

On Monday, the Delhi government started e-learning classes for all its students in class 12.

Kunal Singh, a class 12 student of a Delhi government school in Nand Nagri, woke up early on Tuesday, even though his school is shut. After a quick breakfast, he gathered his notebooks, switched on his tablet, and sat by his study table — waiting for class to begin.

Schools have been shut due to coronavirus outbreak. ((Representative image))

The video-conferencing app on his device flickered to life around 8.30am as the 17-year-old attended the first mathematics lecture organised by the Delhi government for class 12 students to ensure learning isn’t affected during the lockdown.

“We just want to learn our lessons properly and don’t care what the medium of instruction is. The teaching was excellent and every point was being cleared by two teachers. We were taught basic matrices and have also been given homework,” he said, talking about the 90-minute session.

On Monday, the Delhi government started e-learning classes for all its students in class 12.

However, officials said only 9,000 of 150,000 students enrolled in Class 12 in Delhi government schools have registered for the online classes so far. On Tuesday, around 2,200 students attended the mathematics class and 385 joined the history class being organised with the support of Career Launcher, a private coaching institute

This is in addition to the individual efforts made by government schools to build an e-learning module. Singh’s school, Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV) Nand Nagri had also been conducting online classes since April 1, ensuring that the class 12 student knew his way around the tablet and the application.

The classes on both history and maths began with an introduction on the syllabus, topics to be covered throughout the year, links to download material, and a discussion on the paper pattern.

To make the virtual class more engaging, Harita Arora, a history teacher at Sarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya in Pushp Vihar, weaved in references from Bollywood movie Padmaavat, a popular song mentioning 13th century traveller Ibn Battuta, and couplets written by Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, in her lecture, which began at 10.30am. The lecture also included a 22-minute documentary on Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Valley civilisation.

“We had an English class yesterday and today there was our first history class of the session. All of us were so excited since the teacher used slides with pictures and videos to explain each and every topic,” said Suhani, 16, a student of an RPVV in Shakarpur.

The students were also given the chance to give their feedback towards the end of the lecture through a live chat option. Teachers also conducted regular polls during the session to assess how much students had grasped the topic. If the percentage was in the lower range, teachers went through the respective section again.

Teachers said the virtual classes have helped them connect with students amid the lockdown. “We have been really working hard to switch to online mode and help our students to restart their studies. Although there are logistical limitations, we need to make use of the resources we and our students have. We are putting these lectures online for those who cannot attend live classes, as well as sending the links to our school WhatsApp groups,” said Arora, who is also a member of the Delhi government’s core education committee.

Some students also raised concerns over missing some parts of the lecture due to the poor internet connectivity in some instances. “I was attending the lecture using my phone as an internet hotspot, since we don’t have WiFi at home. The internet connectivity is poor here. I was really worried since I missed parts of the mathematics class today,” said Ankit Singh, a class 12 Science student at an RPVV in Paschim Vihar.

While the majority of the registered students were from RPVV and Schools of Excellence, some were also from government schools in east Delhi district.

“All students of RPVV and Schools of Excellence have tablets that the government had earlier distributed, whichis why it’s easy to rope them in for the online classes first. We are also contacting those who were given tablets after scoring more than 80% in class 10 and are now in class 12,” a government official said.

In all, there are 17,000 government school students who have been given these tablets.

Binay Bhushan, director of education (DoE), said the department is reaching out to the students directly. “We have asked for the email addresses and mobile numbers of all class 12 students from the individual schools to get an idea on how many students at least have a smartphone at home. We are planning to connect with as many students as possible by next week,” he said. Government officials said they are monitoring the numbers and are also contemplating tying up with TV channels to cover a larger number of students.

Experts said that the government will have to use multiple means to address logistical limitations.

Aejaz Masih, dean of the faculty of education at Jamia Millia Islamia, who specialises in Curriculum Studies said, “Most parents and students have cellphone access. So, mobile-friendly content could be developed besides online classes. Television channels could also be a good option, but one solution cannot be suitable for different groups of students enrolled in government schools. Multiple options have to be looked at to ensure all students are covered.”

On Tuesday, the government also announced that it is working on e-learning programmes for the students of classes 9 onwards and are planning to tie-up with Khan Academy, an educational non-profit organisation, for the purpose.