Paradigm shift in teaching-learning from classroom to virtual mode – Challenges and opportunities

Since the unprecedented declaration of lockdown there has been a paradigm shift in medical education from chalk and board to virtual mode imposing both challenges and opportunities to faculty and students alike. As guest lecture is an innovative way of pedagogy we addressed them through an online talk to analyse the preferences towards sudden change in medical education. Students and faculty were addressed about the paradigm shift in teaching learning methods through an online guest lecture and the attendees answered a feedback questionnaire on different Teaching Learning methods. Based on responses to the questions results were plotted in Microsoft Excel and completed questionnaires were analyzed for statistics. : 90% of students and 100% of faculty found online guest lecture interesting and opined positively about having more online lectures in academic year. As far as teaching learning method is concerned both faculty and as students preferred offline/ traditional/ classroom teaching. : Online guest lecture offers more opportunities than challenges for both faculty and students. Arranging online guest lectures is economical, cost effective, has ease of attending from place of convenience provided robust internet connection is ensured, eliminates travel time as well as reduces the programme budget. Hence more number of virtual guest lectures can be arranged in an academic year for benefit of medical undergraduates. It is a novel platform for student teacher interaction and arrangement of more and more online guest lectures from eminent speakers excelling in various superspecialities should be encouraged.

EscapeWine!

In the last year, lectures have been forced to adapt teaching to a virtual mode. The loss of face-to-face teaching has generated a detriment in active collaborative learning and has worsened the sharing of concepts. Although gamification has been widely used to improve the quality of teaching and the interest of the students, there is still a need for more interactive alternatives in teaching-learning systems to motivate students in remote lessons. EscapeWine! is an online activity designed for students of the Enology Degree to help them contextualize concepts from different disciplines and to strengthen their transversal skills in a motivating environment while providing the lectures with an online evaluation tool. Students must solve different riddles presented as tasks in Moodle platform to make a high-quality wine and not “get fired.” The results showed that the activity has the potential to be implemented as an innovative environment in virtual lessons.

The Live Long Walk Strong Rehabilitation Program: What Features Improve Mobility Skills? Virtual Pilot

To evaluate the feasibility of delivering the Live Long Walk Strong (LLWS) rehabilitation program among community dwelling, mobility limited older Veterans in the VA Boston Healthcare System. Community dwelling Veterans 50 years and older identified as being at high risk for mobility decline based on self-report task modification and AM-PAC mobility questions. All Veterans received 10 sessions over 8 weeks of LLWS Physical Therapy care focusing on novel impairments related to mobility decline and behavioral change strategies. Sessions were delivered 1:1 with a Physical Therapist over 45 minutes. To assess feasibility, we tracked recruitment and retention metrics. We assessed length of each session, number of sessions attended, and any reason for withdrawal. To examine technological feasibility, we recorded number and type of issue along with resolution of the issue. A total of 178 Veterans were contacted to participate. Twenty Veterans were enrolled into the LLWS virtual pilot between October 2020 – May 2021. Among our 20 enrolled, 5 did not complete the program. Reasons for not completing included: being enrolled in another exercise study simultaneously and non-related medical complications. Among those completing, an average of 9.7 out of 10 intervention sessions were completed. An average of 1.8 technology difficulties per Veteran was experienced within the intervention. The most frequent technology issues experienced were related to camera positioning and Wi-Fi bandwidth resulting in delayed video and audio. LLWS is feasible to deliver as a virtual mode of care in middle and older aged Veterans at high risk for mobility decline.

A case study on the perspectives of University of Santo Tomas pharmacy professors on the influence of online classes in pharmacy education

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the academic environment into distance learning. In the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Pharmacy, an Enriched Virtual Mode of Learning was used to deliver the online teaching and learning process. This study aimed to determine the influences that online learning had on the standard of pharmacy education. Methods: A qualitative case study research design was utilised and gathered the perspectives of eight UST pharmacy professors. Results: During thematic analysis, several themes were identified which were rooted in the ten key components of online learning. Conclusions: The study concluded that online learning had more negative influences than positive influences on pharmacy education. Regarding pharmacy courses, the Quality Control, Microbiology, and Public Health clusters were identified as the most difficult to teach online while the Biochemistry and Pharmacognosy clusters were the least. Recommended adjustments to improve learning outcomes focused on enhanced review methods during the course audit.

Reimagining the Delivery of International Student Services During a Global Pandemic: A Case Study in the United States

The COVID-19 global pandemic caught the United States and the rest of the world ill-prepared, and many institutions of higher education continue to wrestle with unprecedented challenges to provide effective support services to their students. This paper examines how a mid-sized university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States reimagined the delivery of services to its international student population at the onset of the health crisis. The study employed a qualitative method and a case study research design to describe, from an institutional perspective, the shift from a traditional in-person service model to a virtual mode of support for international students as a result of campus closures and a switch to remote learning. Based on the findings, the authors offer five key considerations that can be crucial in effectively delivering International Student Services in an online environment. Implications for international educators and support staff are discussed.

GECCO 2021

The 2021 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2021) was planned to be held in hybrid mode in Lille, France, on July 10th-14th, 2021. After a careful analysis of the evolution of the pandemic and the results of a poll to frequent attendees on the preferred form of attendance, a decision was made in mid-December to run GECCO'21 in online/virtual mode only. This report provides statistics about submissions and authorship, and some comments about the evolution and growth of GECCO.

First update course organized on a webinar by the West African College of Surgeons (Faculty of Radiology) during the COVID-19 pandemic and hosted by Ghana

Background: Teaching through virtual learning, such as webinars, has been found to be an effective medium in medical education, as well as many other professional training streams. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to experiment with new teaching and learning methods by utilizing technology that allows for virtual online learning and education. Most scientific medical activities have shifted to online formats, in the form of webinars, to maintain continuing medical education. We aimed to assess the acceptance of webinar for delivering an update course in accordance with the Faculty of Radiology’s curriculum. Methods: This prospective study reviewed responses from 166 radiology resident trainees, who took part in an update course organized by the Faculty of Radiology of the West African College of Surgeons on 8th - 9th July 2020 via webinar. Participants were invited to respond to a 23-item questionnaire designed using Google Forms. Data obtained were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Inc. Chicago, version 20). Results: From a total of 166 participants, males 88 (53.0%) constituted the majority. Majority of the respondents (95.2%) strongly agreed or agreed that the update course via webinar was really helpful and (99.4%) of the respondents indicated that the update course has enhanced their knowledge on the topics presented. Almost all the participants (94.6%) agreed to attend another update course on webinar, however, (5.4%) of the participants suggest they prefer a face-to face update course over an update course via webinar. Conclusion: Teaching in virtual mode (e.g. webinar) is a helpful technique for medical education, especially when social distancing is required. We found that the webinar was well-received and highly rated for educational objectives. Despite a few participants' stress and burden-related highlights, the majority of participants agreed that such a teaching mode would be beneficial.

GECCO 2021

The 2021 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO 2021) was planned to be held in hybrid mode in Lille, France, on July 10th-14th, 2021. After a careful analysis of the evolution of the pandemic and the results of a poll to frequent attendees on the preferred form of attendance, a decision was made in mid-December to run GECCO'21 in online/virtual mode only. This report provides statistics about submissions and authorship, and some comments about the evolution and growth of GECCO.

Student perceptions on synchronous virtual versus face-to-face teaching for leader-centered and participant-centered postgraduate activities during COVID-19

Consequent to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, pedagogic changes were introduced in postgraduate courses in Physiology, where face-to-face teaching was replaced with synchronous virtual mode for leader-centered (seminar, symposium) and participant-centered (journal club, group discussion) academic activities. We hypothesized that the effectiveness of virtual and face-to-face modes as perceived by postgraduate students in terms of facilitating their overall learning may differ across the spectrum of leader-centered and participant-centered activities. To assess the same, we designed and administered a comprehensive, structured, and validated feedback questionnaire. Postgraduate students ( n = 29) rated virtual sessions significantly more convenient, but less attentive and comprehensible, and reported better audiovisual experience during face-to-face sessions. Students rated flexibility to attend, self-paced learning, ability to revise, lookup for information in real time, and accessibility to distant expertise as important features of virtual sessions and instant feedback, eye-to-eye contact, and ability to interact in the group for face-to-face sessions. Virtual and face-to-face sessions were perceived as equally effective in facilitating their overall learning for the conduct of leader-centered seminars and symposia. However, face-to-face sessions were considered more effective for the conduct of participant-centered group discussions and journal clubs. During the pandemic, students perceive the synchronous virtual mode as an equally effective alternative for the conduct of leader-centered academic activities, but face-to-face teaching is still preferred for the conduct of participant-centered academic activities.

COVID pandemic and virtual classes: a study of students from Punjab

PurposeThe current corona virus pandemic had a major impact upon the health, economy and education worldwide. In India, the government as a part of the nationwide lockdown closed all educational institutions, as a consequence of which, the teaching-learning, examination and placement scenario of students were affected. UNESCO estimated that about 32 crore students have been affected in India. The adoption of an online e-learning approach tried to minimize the academic loss and stress on students. However, the online teaching transition moved on an untested and unprecedented scale in a very short span of period. The present study analyses the perception and level of acceptance of transition from offline to online learning amongst the students of higher education in Punjab.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis was carried out by surveying 200 students of higher education from Punjab belonging to different regions. An appropriate pre-tested questionnaire was framed on Google Forms. A five-point Likert scale was employed to determine the perception of students regarding quality of audio and video lectures, instructor's content, preparation, interactiveness, discussion regarding doubts and assessing likes and dislikes of students. The data were coded-decoded in SPSS by using descriptive statistics and factor analysis.FindingsThe study revealed the level of acceptance of online study among the students of higher education in Punjab. It is found that both online and offline modes of learning process have their own pros and cons. The sudden transition from regular mode to virtual mode was not an easy task for students either. The study revealed that both online and offline study modes have been accepted by students depending upon the availability of IT infrastructure as almost half of the respondents perceived online mode and the other half offline.Originality/valuePunjab is a recognized state of northern India. In Punjab, the quality of higher education is good and students' satisfaction is always the priority of the educational institutions. At the time of the pandemic, this sudden transition from regular to virtual mode impacted education with students coming from diverse backgrounds like urban areas, rural areas, remote areas, rural-urban areas etc. So, in the light of this sudden transition, it is important to study the viewpoint of the students of Punjab. So, the present study was conducted to understand the perception of the students toward online learning during this ongoing pandemic. For this purpose, the study employed factor analysis. Application of factor analysis in this area is unique.