Education

Impact of online classes on student community

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2021

BK Editor

Aina Bhat

Online education has gained immense popularity among working professionals and students pursuing higher education. These categories of online learners find immense benefit in the autonomy and flexibility that these courses offer. Online courses can be planned around their schedule which may include full-time employment, internships and caring for the family. Online learning can also help them take out some time to study.

Distance learning has been around for a long time, even before technology made it easily accessible. Traditional schooling is now seeing an increased proliferation of virtual training materials and online courses. Even in a world of tried and tested schooling systems and curricula, the most successful schools are the ones who adapt to the changing times, as well as to the expectations of students, parents and society.

Online courses call for a greater amount of motivation and self-discipline than a classroom-based course. A classroom has one or more instructors and peers, who can hold a student accountable for their coursework. In contrast, online courses involve setting our own goals, tracking progress and meeting deadlines. One does not learn effectively in isolation so online courses do offer discussion forums, email and one-on-one support. Technology also adds to the visual experience by incorporating animations that can be used interactively for effective learning and communication.

Classroom advantage on student community

A school provides structure, support, and a system of rewards and penalties to groom its students. Traditional classroom education offers the benefit of face-to-face interactions with peers which are typically moderated by a teacher. It provides children, especially those in their early developmental years, with a stable environment for social interactions, helping them develop skills like boundary setting, empathy and cooperation. It also allows plenty of room for spontaneity, unlike a virtual learning setup.

Online education impact on student community

Online learning can help the student community pursue highly individualized learning programmes, possibly even college-level courses. These, combined with hands-on exercises, real-world exploration, and thorough assessments, can be highly beneficial to their learning progress. They can explore their options by trying out introductory topics from different fields, before committing to a specialization. Online learning platforms can help these students become more independent learners before they make their way into college. I believe that we must not hold back students from pursuing an online course but instead provide them guidance as they navigate through it.

Mobile apps that provide enhanced learning opportunities for school children have become quite popular as of late. Since mobile phones have already found their way into their hands, these apps are being used to supplement classroom learning. Teachers and parents need to act as anchors and mentors, curating the kind of educational content students are exposed to, during this tricky phase of exploring the right career to pursue.

Online learning programmes will also open up opportunities for children from the weaker socio-economic communities who have limited access to learning resources i.e., teachers, textbooks and infrastructure. It will connect them to a global network of online learners, exposing them to new perspectives. The ideas that they receive will not be limited by the number of heads in one classroom.

Online education for student fraternity

Online training programmes are helping teachers/educators advance their skills in the curriculum implementation, policy, education systems and leadership, both independently and with the support of their institutions. It lets them collaborate with their peers and learn new instructional skills that are relevant to their career. These programmes can help them develop new skills and capabilities in their students with the help of technology and interdisciplinary approaches.

Learning online as effective model for Student fraternity

For those who do have access to the right technology, research shows that learning online can be more effective in a number of ways. On average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom, according to the research. “This is mostly due to the students being able to learn faster online; e-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting because students can learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading, skipping, or accelerating through concepts as they choose,” it says.
The effectiveness of online learning varies amongst age groups. The consensus on children, especially younger ones, is that a structured environment is required because kids are more easily distracted. To get the full benefit of online learning, there needs to be a concerted effort to provide this structure and go beyond replicating a physical class/lecture through video capabilities, instead, using a range of collaboration tools and engagement methods that promote inclusion, personalization and intelligence.

Advantages of Online learning to the student fraternity

1. Efficiency

Online learning offers teachers an efficient way to deliver lessons to students. Online learning has a number of tools such as videos, PDFs, podcasts, and teachers can use all these tools as part of their lesson plans. By extending the lesson plan beyond traditional textbooks to include online resources, teachers can become more efficient educators.

2. Accessibility of Time And Place

Another advantage of online education is that it allows students to attend classes from any location of their choice. It also allows schools to reach out to a more extensive network of students, instead of being restricted by geographical boundaries. Additionally, online lectures can be recorded, archived, and shared for future reference. This allows students to access the learning material at a time of their comfort. Thus, online learning offers students the accessibility of time and place in education.

3. Affordability

Another advantage of online learning is reduced financial costs. Online education is far more affordable as compared to physical learning. This is because online learning eliminates the cost points of student transportation, student meals, and most importantly, real estate. Additionally, all the course or study materials are available online, thus creating a paperless learning environment that is more affordable, while also being beneficial to the environment.

4. Improved Student Attendance

Since online classes can be taken from home or location of choice, there are fewer chances of students missing out on lessons.

5. Suits a Variety of Learning Styles

Every student has a different learning journey and a different learning style. Some students are visual learners, while some students prefer to learn through audio. Similarly, some students thrive in the classroom, and other students are solo learners who get distracted by large groups.

The online learning system, with its range of options and resources, can be personalized in many ways. It is the best way to create a perfect learning environment suited to the needs of each student.

The author is a PhD scholar at the College of Temperate Sericulture, SKUAST-Kashmir

Related Topics:COVID19 Education Online classes Online Education Students Technology

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Education

SKUAST-K to hold 2-day international conference on impact of viral infections

Published

5 months ago

November 1, 2022

BK Editor

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir is going to hold a two-daConference on impact of viral infections

BK News

Srinagar, Nov 1: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir is going to hold a two-day international conference on the impact of viral infections at the Shalimar campus on November 5&6 (Saturday and Sunday), 2022.

The international conference ‘Emerging and Re-emerging Viral Infections Impacting Humans, Animals, Plants, Fish and Environment’ will be part of XXX Annual Convention of the Indian Virological Society to be held at SKUAST-K this year.

Renowned virologists and scientists including, Dr RK Ratho, PGI Chandigarh; Prof Parvaiz A Koul, SKIMS, Soura; Dr Pragya Yadav, NIV, Pune; Prof NN Barman; AAU, Assam; Dr Anirban Roy, IARI, New Delhi; Dr Amit Pandey, Bhimtal; and Dr Manoj Kumar, Hester Biosciences Limited will be keynote speakers at the conference.

The conference on viral infections is being held against the backdrop of the emergence and re-emergence of viral outbreaks like Covid-19, severe liver inflammation in kids, monkeypox, polio, and “tomato flu” etc.

The recent outbreak of the LSD virus has killed over 1 lakh cattle and is still unabated. Each viral disease appears to be the result of unusual manifestations and proliferation of viruses previously known.

The conference on viral infections will bring scientists from different disciplines at National and International levels to discuss preemptive measures for anticipating such outbreaks, control measures to be taken, and readily available diagnostic and therapeutic measures. The keynote speakers will talk about research going on emerging and re-emerging viral diseases and the policies surrounding them.

Education

Dr Rayees bags young scientist award

Published

6 months ago

October 4, 2022

BK Editor

BK NEWS

Srinagar: SKUAST-K faculty, Dr Mohammad Rayees Dar, has been awarded the young scientist award for outstanding contribution in the field of veterinary physiology at an event held at Gandhi Bhawan, University of Kashmir.

The award was presented at the valedictory function of a three-day international conference titled “Advances in Agricultural, Veterinary, and Allied Sciences for Improving Livelihood and Environment Security” (AAVASILES-2022), at Gandhi Bhawan, University of Kashmir.

The conference was co-hosted by the National Agriculture Development Cooperative Ltd (NADC) Baramulla, J&K, and the ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Srinagar, J&K, and ICAR-NAHEP, BAU, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Dr Rayees, a contractual faculty at SKUAST-K’s Division of Veterinary Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Shuhama, has PhD in Veterinary Physiology from ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal.

He has qualified for prestigious national-level scholarship tests in India conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India. Previously, he was also selected for an advanced research workshop for “Frontiers in Stem Cells & Regeneration” at Marine Biological Laboratory, USA, where he was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, USA. He has also received honours and awards including the JN. Pandey Memorial Award by Society of Animal Physiologists, India (2014), Best Paper Award by Indian Farmer (2015); Best Poster Presentation Award by NAARRI, India (2016), Bharat Jyoti Award (2018), Best Citizens of India Award (2018), Outstanding/Best PhD Thesis Award by RARI, Jaipur, India (2019) and Best Paper (Oral Presentation) Award by NADCL, Srinagar, India (2019).

At the conference, prizes for oral and poster presentations as well as awards for distinguished and young scientists, best PG/PhD thesis, and best farmers in a variety of specific sectors like mushroom farming, horticulture, organic farming, seed production, and fodder development were given to the scientists and research scholars.

AgriBiz

DDG ICAR on SKUAST-K visit to reviews World Bank-funded NAHEP

Published

9 months ago

June 9, 2022

BK Editor

BK Media

Srinagar, June 9: Deputy Director General (DDG) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, Dr Rakesh Chandra Agrawal reviewed the institutional development plan (IDP) of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural University of Sciences and Technology of Kashmir under the World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) and presided over a series of functions here at Shalimar campus on Thursday.

Dr Agrawal, who is also the National Director of NAHEP, is on a three-day visit to SKUAST-K to assess the progress of the prestigious Rs 30-crore project awarded to the farm university in July 2019.

The DDG, while addressing the review meeting on early Thursday morning, complimented SKUAST-K for being one of the top performers under the NAHEP. He said among 64 farm universities and institutes, SKUAST-K is doing remarkably well under the project, and both ICAR and World Bank monitoring and evaluation teams have given excellent reviews and have rated the SKUAST-K performance as outstanding.

While talking about the implementation of NEP-2020 in agricultural universities, Dr Agrawal said now the focus should be on own revenue generation so that these institutions can become self-reliant by 2035 as required by the policy. He said SKUAST-K has a lot of opportunities to create its revenue model from various entrepreneurial ventures and services it can provide.

While appreciating SKUAST-K’s proactive role in sending its faculty and students for overseas trainings and exposure trips, Dr Agrawal said, to become a global university, SKUAST-K must now work on bringing international students to the university and organise international programmes. During the meeting, he also interacted with the SKUAST-K students, who are on a visit to Kansas State University, USA. He said this kind of exposure helps making students future leaders and provides them with the confidence to overcome various challenges while building their careers.

The DDG stressed providing an eco-system to students so that after leaving the university they won’t be dependent on government jobs rather open their own entrepreneurial ventures.

Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, while briefing the DDG about the progress of SKUAST-K under NAHEP said that the place the university has made for itself among the top farm institutions of the country is only because of the ICAR support and NAHEP. The changes that have happened in the university and the milestones achieved are because of the NAHEP. He said the university is conducting every day an event, training or workshop under the NAHEP.

Prof Ganai said earlier that students in the university would attend classes, complete the degree and go home to wait for a job but due to exposure and skills they got because of the project have changed their mindset. Now they are thinking of themselves as the solution providers. He said that SKUAST-K has to become the agent of change to work for making the J&K farm led bio-economy of the country. He said the project has also inspired us to set the goal of becoming the first innovation-led farm university in the country.

Director Education, Prof MN Khan presented a vote of thanks. OSD to Vice Chancellor, Prof Azmat Alam Khan gave a detailed overview of the NAHEP activities carried out in the university and the impact of these activities in terms of output and outcomes. He said that the university has already four private limited companies and a number of startups are in the process of registration. All the deans, directors HODs, faculty members and students attended the meeting.

On the occasion, the IDP newsletter ‘Agrucation’ and some other publications of the university were also released by the DDG ICAR.

After the review meeting, Dr Agrawal visited the startup exhibition and interacted with the startup founders about their ventures. The startup founders, innovators and faculty members, who went for overseas fellowships under NAHEP, presented their ideas and outcomes. outcomes and ideas

Later, Dr Agrawal inaugurated Vice Chancellor’s Sports Festival. A cultural programme by the students under Dean Students Welfare was also presented.

For the next two days, Dr Agrawal will be visiting the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Faculty of Forestry, where he will visit NAHEP created facilities, attend various functions and interact with students.