Conducting online classes for students 2020-21

Background

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in India in March 2020 resulted in a nationwide lockdown and the closure of schools for a long period of time to reduce the risk of infection. This had severely disturbed the structured learning process, resulting in a significant gap in the students' academic period. To bridge the learning gap in students, IT for Change (ITfC) had designed and conducted online classes on mathematics and few other subjects for students of classes 8 and 9 studying in Government and Aided High Schools in Bengaluru South-3 block. Though many private schools conducted online classes for their students, many government and aided schools did not conduct online classes, though almost all shared learning materials with students over WhatsApp groups. The online classes were initially conducted in October 2020 on a pilot mode for two government-aided high schools (RS High School and Hombegowda boys High School) and later on, based on the insights from this pilot, the program was extended to students of class 8 (English and Kannada medium) from 12 other government and aided schools in Bengaluru South-3 block and nearly 150 students participated in these online sessions.

Objectives

The objective of online classes was:

   1) to help the students overcome the academic gap brought about by the pandemic and closing down of regular schools and 
      thus provide continuity in their learning, especially for students who come from socio-economically marginalized
      groups;
   2) to provide learning support for need-based students through the use of constructivism;
   4) to provide a joyful learning atmosphere by integrating digital technologies in the teaching-learning activities.
   5) to develop basic foundational concepts of mathematics and language;
   6) to help students develop communication skills, logical thinking, problem-solving skills and understanding of
      concepts;