scholarly journals Research challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: The experience of a functional genomics laboratory

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthikala Manoj-Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Functional Genomics ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Genomics Research ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Difficult Times

<p>Measures to mitigate and prevent COVID-19 infections included closing universities around the world for an indefinite time and transferring their educational activities to online platforms. Universities were not prepared for such a transition and the online teaching-learning process evolved gradually. Fortunately, there have been many advances in educational technology in recent decades which proved useful during this pandemic. I am proud that the National School of Higher Studies (Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, ENES), Unidad León, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), was one of the institutions that was able to make this digital transition. Basic research has faced its own challenges during the current pandemic. My laboratory does functional genomics research in plants with undergraduate and master’s students. The experiments of the students were at different stages when the pandemic began and could not stop going to the laboratory due to the need to care for experimental plants and cell cultures. Different strategies were developed to maintain research activities, such as: 1) Scheduling research shifts to promote social distancing, 2) Postponing non-essential experiments, 3) Rationing research supplies that were in short supply during the pandemic. Personally, I consider that the use of digital platforms has also generated unexpected opportunities such as new types of scientific collaboration. I had enough free time to edit student theses, write and publish research articles. Interestingly, the students in my work team have participated in virtual international scientific conferences, the only format that evolved during this pandemic. Digital platforms allowed tutors to be in constant contact with students to advise and support them emotionally. The students in my laboratory have been through difficult times. I asked them to tell their story in their own words (These can be read in the student’s section. Editor’s Note).</p>

scholarly journals The functionality of interactive digital platforms in online teaching and learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-125
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Novaković
Keyword(s):  
Online Instruction ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Effective Use

This paper looks at the functionality of three interactive digital platforms for creating a virtual environment in online teaching and learning - Hangouts Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. These platforms have started being widely used during the 2019-nCoV pandemic. On the basis of a review and comparison of their integrated functions and features, as well as of observations made in the course of their parallel use during the spring semester of 2019/20 at the Department of the Serbian language of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, the author has established that these platforms have the same general characteristics, while differences exist in the area of integrated functions that can be used by teachers and students. Taking into consideration this segment of the analysis, the author concludes that the interactive digital platforms Zoom and Microsoft Teams are better adapted to the implementation of online instruction than Google's Hangouts Meet, as they enable screen sharing and the following of textual communication, direct sharing of sound by means of a sound card, using a chosen photograph to create an appropriate learning environment, textual communication with one or more participants of the teaching/learning process, special formatting of text in messages, the exchange of teaching/learning materials in real time and for the duration of the call, conducting short surveys within the program, and the recording of each individual lesson. However, the paper also suggests ways of increasing the functionality of all analyzed platforms by using simple add-ons and online tools. By providing a detailed overview of all integrated functions, the paper discusses the methodological implications for their more effective use in online instruction.

scholarly journals Options for teaching-learning and research in higher education: coping strategies for Environmental Science studies during COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-148
Author(s):  
Ramesh Prasad Sapkota ◽  
Kedar Rijal
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Virtual Classrooms ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Future Education

Online teaching-learning and virtual classrooms have been the choice of many academia across the globe, when there are lockdown uncertainties, preventing the students for real classroom learnings, due to pandemic. When academic institutions are attempting to adopt online teaching-learning and research, there is need to search the possibilities of improving such approaches. In this context, this paper attempts to provide approaches on how the online teaching-learning and research activities under Environmental Science subject can be strengthened. The paper has identified that in addition to online platforms and virtual classrooms, careful collection of field data de-facto and send to the class for discussion and analysis can open wide array of possibilities to learn distantly. Government-academia partnership and coordination among academic institutions and other relevant stakeholders during the pandemic break, help in providing two-way benefits, viz. academic requirement fulfillment of the academic institutions and reference documents development for the data providing institutions. However, in attempting remote teaching-learning and research, every activities of students are required to be assessed by developing clear and unambiguous evaluation rubric. Strengthening online teaching-learning and research can be one of the avenues for developing future education strategies in academic institutions of Nepal.

ANXIETY LEVEL OF UNDER GRADUATE AND POST GRADUATE STUDENTS LIVING IN WEST BENGAL DURING COVID-19 INDUCED LOCK DOWN IN INDIA: A CASE STUDY

Ensemble ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol SP-1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Manish Baidya ◽  
◽  
Sanghamitra Purkait ◽  
Prakash Chand Gupta ◽  
Sony Barma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Level ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Higher Educational Institutions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Academic Activities ◽  
Higher Educational ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Difficult Times ◽  
At Home

With other countries of the world, India has passed through unrivalled difficult times due to the pandemic of COVID-19. The national lockdown was started on 25 March, 2020. In fact, the economy of India has largely been disordered due to that lockdown. All Higher Educational Institutions had also been completely closed from 16 March, to 10 June, 2020, without taking any bold strategy for immediate future education. Hence, the teaching-learning process, including research activities of all higher educational institutions, had been hampered with uncertainty at that time. Under that situation, students had also compelled to stay at home and had continued their academic works from/at home with or without digital accessibilities. Co-curricular activities, direct face-to-face interactions with teachers and friends had been stopped totally due to sudden lockdown. In reality, they had anxieties about their syllabus, examinations, results, and future. Under that sudden lockdown situation due to pandemic, the study wanted to address students’ opinion to run their college/university, to measure the anxiety level regarding their syllabus, examinations & results, and placements, and finally to find out a suitable way to run the academic activities under the situation.

scholarly journals An investigation into the management of online teaching and learning spaces: A case study involving graduate research students

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohan Jowallah
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Web Conferencing ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Teaching Learning

<p>This research evaluates the strategies implemented to support the research activities of postgraduate students pursuing online master’s programs in the University of the West Indies Open Campus, as well as the activities of their supervisors. The three main strategies employed were (1) the use of a web-based ‘teaching-learning space’ to facilitate asynchronous interaction between students and their supervisors; (2) the provision of a scheduling tool to facilitate the planning of one-on-one meetings via a synchronous web-conferencing tool; and (3) the organization of research seminars using the same web-conferencing tool.</p><p>This research used Moore’s theory of transactional distance and social cognitive theoretical framework to guide the project. Moore’s model reemphasizes the need for stronger forms of communicating for online students, whereas the cognitive framework focuses on the need for social interaction among learner and teacher. Participants were graduate students (<em>n</em> = 34). All participants were required to complete a questionnaire online. Data were also collected from postings in discussion forums. Overall, notwithstanding limitations, the data shows there are benefits to be gained from conducting student research activities in an online environment.</p>

scholarly journals Teaching and research in plant health in times of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Rosa Solano-Báez ◽  
Fernando Lara-Rojas ◽  
Guillermo Márquez-Licona
Keyword(s):  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Phytopathogenic Fungi ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Adopted Model ◽  
Rapid Transition ◽  
Teaching Learning

<p>The current pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to radical changes in the teaching and research of plant health. Confinement forced us to make a rapid transition from the in-person model to virtual environments using different digital platforms such as Google, Microsoft Teams, Blackboard, Moodle. Research activities were planned based on a strict access schedule for students and academics when using research facilities. Theoretical subjects were taught in completely virtual settings, incorporating playful learning tools such as ‘flipped classroom’ and gamification. In theoretical-practical subjects, such as Introduction to Plant Pathology, new teaching schemes were designed. The most successful and innovative model was to take the laboratory to the student’s home. Students used conventional materials to isolate and identify phytopathogenic fungi through the Foldscope, a paper microscope with a resolution of up to two microns, priced less than 200 MXN. Teaching-learning innovation can improve the commonly adopted model of video conferences.</p>

scholarly journals De la classe en présentiel à la classe en distanciel pendant la COVID 19 Une étude du cas jordanien

2021 ◽  
pp. 118-127
Author(s):  
Ahmad Mousa
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
University System ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Classical Education ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Traditional Classroom Teaching ◽  
Sudden Transition ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Impact

The Covid-19 pandemic has invaded almost the entire planet. Thisdisease forced the Jordanian education and university system to make a sudden transition from traditional classroom teaching / learning to a virtual world in which teachers and learners found themselves faced with previously inexperienced technological tools. These digital platforms have changed people's perception of the teaching / learning of foreign languages and cultures.This article evaluated the preparation and the perception towards the e-learning and the impact of the latter on teachers and learners of French as a foreign language, while using two questionnaires.15teachers and 60students answered the questionnaires. The results showed that 15% of teachers and 70% of learners have the computer skills required for the use and the integration of digital tools during lessons. 25% of teachers and 71% of learners rated the transition from traditional lessons to digital lessons as easy. Most of the participants (70% of teachers and 85% of students) felt that online teaching / learning allowed more flexibility despite the fact that these respondents preferred classical education in the classroom.A minority of students said that switching to e-learning due to health conditions made them feel lonely (11.77%), anxious (7.31%) and depressed (10.25%).Giventhe possibility to choose, it was realized that participants would prefer a blended teaching / learning, where some teaching activities are switched to online platforms.

scholarly journals Shifting towards online training-Possible challenges from Educators/Trainers perspective in Indian setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 620-623
Author(s):  
Snehil Singh ◽  
Sanjay Gupta ◽  
Lokesh Sharma ◽  
Mainak Chatterjee ◽  
Sumeet Juneja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Indian Setting ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Methods Of Learning ◽  
Teaching Learning

Worldwide metastasis of novel coronavirus COVID-19 has caused immense alterations among every walk of human existence and social interaction(1). Education and training sector being as vulnerable to these adjustments as any other domain(2). Owing to its extremely infectious nature, the COVID-19 pandemic enforced the closure of training institutes globally. All the traditional classroom training were restricted as an instant consequence, to achieve the norms of social distancing which can perhaps aid in obliterating the infection curve and lessen the resultant fatalities(3). Educational institutions in India predominantly bank on traditional methods of training, utilizing conventional setup of in-person training and lectures in a teaching space. While over the years, there is a marked shift towards blended learning, still most of the academic institutes are guided by the existing orthodox learning methodologies. An unexpected outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) shuddered the entire world (4). This complete shutdown kind of circumstances has tested the education system globally and coerced the educators to shift to digital platforms and online modules almost instantaneously. Academic institutions were required to shift from their traditional pedagogical approach to online teaching-learning. The article recognises the possible barriers to swiftly shift from traditional methods of learning towards e-learning among adult professionals through analysing the limitations faced by the authors while converting and conducting traditional trainings into e-trainings at The National Cold Chain and Vaccine Management Resource Centre (NCCVMRC-NIHFW), New Delhi. This article also put some light on methodologies that could assist academic institutions in dealing with challenges associated with shifting towards e-learning.

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