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Online Summer camps, the new normal
Summer camps have gone virtual this year for kids due to the pandemic.
With norms of social distancing still in place, summer camps have taken the digital route this year. The most awaited thing for kids in summer are fun and creative activities. From art and craft classes to cricket practice, all these summer activities are happening virtually under the fear of the pandemic.
Leena Bandil, an Agra based school teacher, who has been now teaching art and craft online as a part of the online summer camp. She feels that online classes have a better result rate than physical classes.
She says, “Initially, I felt that this might not work out because art and painting is something that needs a personal connection and also I am not tech savvy. But with the kind of response I am getting through online classes, I feel very happy. The teaching quality for me has enhanced as my attention is not divided and every kid has his/her space to work. After every few steps, I keep asking kids to show their work, so that no one is lagging behind. Also, because now things are online, I even got messages from mothers asking to set up a class for them. So, recently I have started one batch for mothers as well but in that the level of learning is professional.”
Sports classes are also happening through videos and video calls. Madan Sharma, a Delhi based cricket coach, who is now teaching cricket to enthusiasts in the lockdown, says, “We make videos of drills and the workout routine for the kids. The level depends from kid to kid, the videos are different for junior and senior-level learners. The main thing is that we have already had a gap of two months because of the lockdown and during this time only most kids join summer camps for practice. This game is all about practice, the more you practice, the more you learn. The daily fitness routine provided by us is different. It also includes various forms or styles, which can be practiced at home. Teaching cricket online is not very easy but then we do not have any other option.”
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Shorya Kant Sahu, a Chattisgarh-based badminton trainer who has started online badminton sessions for junior and intermediate learners, believes that taking sports online is not an easy thing but he has adapted a few techniques which can be worked out at home.
“We do have juniors and mid-level students but no sub juniors. In this entire month, there are sessions, which are different everyday. We have been giving them guidance on how to practice the sport at home. Fitness is the main focus, so it has to be done everyday for a certain time period. Apart from that, there is shadow training as well, it helps in improving speed and neck movement. So there are many badminton drills which can be easily done at home, which we are teaching in this course. Initially, these online sessions were tough but gradually we have adapted this thing,” says Sahu.
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Wherein, students who have opted to take part in various online summer activities believe that nothing can match up with the physical way of learning activity.
Vidhi Arora, a student from Delhi, who takes up dancing every year as her summer activity, says, “I have been dancing since I was in class eight. Every year in my summer vacations, I joined dancing classes. This year also I have joined the class but the trainers are teaching online through live classes and video calls. There are a lot of forms that we keep learning in dance but due to online classes, we cannot learn a few dance styles. The things are restricted now, also sometimes there is a coordination problem.”
Another school student from Delhi, Radhika Jain, who used to join calligraphy workshops till last year, says, “This year as of now, I have not joined anything and even I have not come across any such workshops happening online this year. I don’t think things like calligraphy or making mandalas can be taught online because we need personal guidance and accuracy while learning it.”
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