Teaching online if you have to work from home (and while on the move)

For a few years now, given the significant advances in web technologies and internet connectivity, I’ve been advocating against the use of the term “distance learning” anymore. At least not, in countries where connectivity is not an issue. At least not, within countries so small like ours (an island in fact) where travelling from one point to another is not a big problem. What I’ve rather been saying was that with such technology at hand (and which is still going to get better), that we had a unique opportunity: Digital Transformation of the Teaching and Learning process. To the layperson, simply put it – teaching and learning differently. Just as they would use WhatsApp or Viber to ‘telephone’ differently. As usual, very few would care, until we experience some crisis situation like the Covid-19. In many cases, tech-savvy and creative teachers are already using simple communication tools and social media to keep in touch with their students, sharing resources and interacting with each other. 

So, what are the options available to the educator (mainly targeting upper secondary) or the academic of the University who has to teach from home? The answer is quite a few. Unfortunately for some, it is still not clear in their minds. Teaching and learning differently in the new era do not necessarily need an eLearning platform like Moodle or be familiar with big terms like instructional design. Yes, such things do help but are not the sine-qua-non conditions to succeed. Others would be using Google classroom, and some despite having a Gmail or a Microsoft account would be terrified of the idea of having to use the different tools in the Software Suite which they never even bothered to have a look.  

As they say, there is no need to panic. Just ask yourself the right questions, and if you have the answers, then you are ready-to-go.

Question 1 : Do I have a reliable internet connection?  

The first thing to ensure is that you have a good internet connection. An ADSL connection of 10MBPS will be enough in most cases. 3G unlimited packages also work fine. 

Question 2 : Do you have a computer (PC or Laptop) and Smartphone?  

Ideally, a functional PC or Laptop and a Smartphone with simple modern communication tools (WhatsApp/Viber/Messenger) is fine. To start with you can have WhatsApp group with your students where you can start by exchanging messages, and documents (PDFs/Video/Voice Memos) with them. Remember you can run WhatsApp and Viber from your computer as well.  

Question 3 : Do you have a Facebook account?  

If not, well it is the time that you may think of creating one. You can create a private Facebook group with your students in it. It is an alternative to the WhatsApp group. You can also have both at the same time. With a Facebook group, you can share a videos, images, links, and also engage in productive discussions in the form of comments and replies. You can even have a live video where you can talk in real-time to the students. You can also do an offline video and share it with the students. You can organize simple polls with the students to keep them engaged.  

Question 4: Some more tools and ways?  

There are quite a few of them. I will enumerate some classic and well-known ones here. This list is however non-exhaustive.  

Start a YouTube Channel  

You can create an account on YouTube where you can upload your own video resources, and then share the links with the students. In this way you have your own video channel. To do your videos, you can use your laptop or computer webcam or your phone to do a nice selfie video (with photogenic effects, of course).

Start a Blog  

A blog allows you to setup a kind of personal website in an intuitive way. People often use wordpress.com or blogspot.com to start a blog. If you have a Gmail account, it might be easier to start with Blogspot.com. Your students can be asked to follow the blog, and you can post articles and lessons there for them to read, and to interact by posting comments (in the form of Q&As) on the articles. In a blog article you can easily embed a YouTube video and other resources such as images or sound.   

Install Zoom for Online Meetings  

Zoom is a user-friendly software with a nice intuitive interface that allows you to setup virtual classrooms where you can conduct an online meeting (video conferencing / sharing your screen and your PPT) where many participants can attend. The lecture can be recorded, downloaded and shared with others. The free version of ZOOM allows for 40 mins sessions with many participants. So, you can plan accordingly, and have different 40 mins sessions.  

PPT to Videos  

New versions of Microsoft PowerPoint have an in-built feature where your PPT can be easily exported to a Video format. If you have done a set of PPT slides, all you need to do is to carry out a voice recording on each slide, and then export your file to video format. This video can then be shared on Facebook group, WhatsApp group, or YouTube and then embedded in your blog if you wish to add some instructions for doing homework via a blog post.

Homework and Correction  

While your students can easily share their own homework files (digital) or a picture of their handwritten essays with you via the groups (WhatsApp/Messenger) or via email, managing these and providing feedback can be a bit cumbersome for you. Still though with some patience you will be able to get through it. You can fix this though, if your students have a Gmail account, where they can share the file with you on the shared Google drive. You can easily open them, put your comments in them, and then the students can access these comments as you complete them.  

Concluding note  

If you are a regular social media user (Facebook/WhatsApp) and have an email account, you are ready to go. It’s not complicated to keep in touch with the students and guide them through the learning process. If you are motivated to go the extra mile, then a panoply of possibilities exists, where you can be independent of other people and systems. Still, with or without Covid-19, in the 21st Century that should be the standard practices to resort to, of course, notwithstanding the fact that, in a more regular situation, we can then use classroom time for more productive educational activities.

Key achievements over the past 3 years (Part III - Final)

Innovative Marketing Strategies

The strategic engagement with the press through regular requests for coverage of events, press releases, the use of social media such as Facebook to promote the University’s activities and interviews of different officers of the University contributed to restoring a positive perception of the general public towards the institution. The University’s activities were also promoted through the different recruitment agents and video interviews of high-profile Alumni of the UoM. The University has been having recourse to professional digital marketing companies such as Keystone Academic Solutions to market our high-end dual degree courses with University of Arizona and Paris-Seine. Emphasis has been laid both on the local and international markets with respect to brand promotion and upholding of the University’s image and reputation as the premier National University of Mauritius. The impact of our actions has been clearly demonstrated by the gradual rise in the number of international student applications and increasing number of requests from different European institutions to participate in Erasmus+ programmes with them. 

The Setting up of the UoM Incubator

The University Council at its 439th (Ordinary) Meeting held on 31 August 2017 approved the concept note for the setting up of the UoM Incubator. A number of activities were carried out in the context of the incubator namely the Innovative ICT business idea competition in collaboration with the National Computer Board and the Ministry of technology, communications and innovation (TCI). Another project, in collaboration with the NPCC and the e-inclusion foundation involving 3 groups of students working on IOT solutions for SMEs was carried out.The SBM is currently funding one of the projects to help them move towards proof of concept. Furthermore, a module called “build your business” was developed and implemented as a pilot in the “Web and Multimedia Development” programme of studies at the Centre for Innovative & Lifelong Learning. The VFX Postproduction lab is also being setup in the context of the Digital Technologies incubator. 

The Digital Language Lab

The office facilitated the establishment of a Digital Language Lab at the University of Mauritius (hosted at the FSSH) and the procurement of the language learning software. After a successful pilot at the level of the FSSH and the CILL, the language learning project has now been extended University-wide to students and staff.

The VFX and Postproduction Initiative

The office has been working on this initiative since 2017, in close collaboration with the Vice-Chancellor, the Chief of Facilities, the Dean of FOICDT and the Economic Development Board. A working group had been constituted to look at all the aspects and implications of mounting courses and programmes in postproduction and VFX. At this point in time, the procurement award for the equipment and machines for the VFX lab has already been approved at Council, and the space to setup the lab has already been identified. 

Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA)

In 2017, the University of Mauritius and Huawei Technologies (Mauritius) Co Limited signed an agreement for the implementation of a Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA) at the University for providing Huawei Certified Training Programs to students and in-service professionals. Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA) is a not for profit partnership program that authorizes universities and colleges to deliver Huawei Certification courses. Based on its industry leading ICT technologies and global ICT practices, Huawei has developed a full range of ICT career certifications in order to support local ICT education, share knowledge, create more opportunities, and build a better ICT talent eco-system. Within the scope of this collaboration, Huawei has sponsored two lab kits, one for Switching and Routing course and one for the Cloud course which amount to about USD 40,600. The equipment has been received and installed in 2018. Two instructors have been trained in South Africa for delivering the Huawei Networking Curriculum and four instructors have been trained for delivering the Huawei Cloud curriculum. 

Capacity Building of Staff at all levels

To ensure that our staff effectively embrace and share the vision of the University to ensure a competent workforce that is focused and engaged, the University has engaged into a training needs analysis, and the development of a capacity-building plan for the staff. There has been a series of diverse training targeting staff at all levels (e.g. Tea Making for Office Attendants or Language Proficiency Training for Administrative Staff) and the university-wide training on transformational leadership is currently ongoing. The Leadership development programme is a spin-off project from the experience of the Pro VC after his participation in the University Leadership Training in Malawi by Ruforum in 2017. The development of a CPD framework for the staff is now under process to improve staff competency, capabilities and engagement.

Performance Management System (PMS)

Council approved the PMS to be piloted at the Human Resources section on a voluntary basis and other units of the University willing to be part of the pilot. The pilot has started at the level of the HR section. A committee under the Chairmanship of the Pro VC (Planning & Resources) regrouping the academic and non-academic staff union of the University. Once the workload for academic staff is finalized, the finalized PMS will be submitted to Council for University-wide implementation on a pilot basis. A workshop on competencies building and evaluation has been conducted with Senior Management by Mr Patil Hunma in October 2019.

Revision of the Leave without Pay Policy

At the request of Council, the divergence between the Unions and the Management on the issue of leave without pay has been looked into by the Pro VC (P&R). The different proposals have been submitted to Council and the issue has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Unions.

The setting up of a staff welfare fund university-wide

The University provides for a small sum of money to each staff for participation in end-of-year team-building activities. On the other hand, a handful of staff benefits from their full participation to be catered for, from specific funds earmarked for their departments. It has been brought to the attention of Senior Management that this is causing some demotivation among other staff of the University. Further to consultations, the Staff Committee has now approved that, henceforth, the University will set aside earmarked funds from revenue generating activities in a consolidated fund, which will be used to promote team-building activities across the University.