PU takes online teaching route

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

In a bid to keep the country’s academic institutions functioning during the testing times curfews and lockdowns in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) on Saturday called for teachers to prepare online lesson plans and directed all researchers to continue their studies. Taking cognisance of the directions, Panjab University (PU) authorities have issued guidelines to the faculty for online teaching.

Suggesting various possible ways of online-teaching methods, the Dean University Instructions and other faculty members have rooted for non-interactive and interactive lesson plans.

In the purview of non-interactive teaching plans, the faculty could upload e-lectures (on texts, slides or presentations) through Google Classroom and for clearing the queries or doubts of students. Online tutorials are also available for teachers to how to use Google Classroom. The possibility of using e-mails to post the lectures (on text or PPT) and answering queries through e-mail, WhatsApp or Skype is also on the cards.

For teachers who don’t like losing personal touch with their students, the university has advocated interactive talks through Skype or Zoom.

e-learning options at hand

The PU authorities have issued guidelines on ways in which teachers and students could take the e-learning route:

• Choose appropriate lessons or courses through SWAYAM or EPG Pathshala or MOOC.
• Using YouTube-based lectures or presentations and answer queries through videoconferencing can also be done.
• NPTEL program can be opted for engineering courses.
• For language courses, WhatsApp and video-call interactions can be done.
• Teaching topics can be assigned to students where each student prepares the topic and shares with rest of the class and with teacher through e-mail.
• Teachers can answer the queries of individual students through Skype, e-mail or WhatsApp video-conferencing.
• It is recommended that the guest faculty can be actively involved and paid for preparation and e-teaching of lectures and answering the student queries online.

Viva postponed

PhD viva has been deferred till April 14; however, if a teacher wishes to conduct viva, s/he could find possibilities to arrange and conduct viva through Skype with minimum possible people involved, which essentially boils down to: student, guide and the concerned department’s chairperson.

Helping hands at PU

Panjab University fraternity is working towards helping one another to procure daily-needs items. Prof Manu Sharma from UIET is actively helping colleagues by arranging milk and other items. Rakesh Singh, husband of Prof Archana Singh, former chairperson of School of Mass Communication, has arranged grocery items, vegetables and fruits for a number of families living in T-1 houses. Prof Prashant Gautam is looking after a colleague’s elderly parents.

PU’s Health Institute to remain open for two hours

While all chemist shops at PU, including those in the North and South campus, remained closed, its Bhai Ghanaiya Ji Institute of Health was not operational either. When contacted, PU registrar Prof Karamjit Singh shared: “Chemist shops across the city have been closed, however, PU’s Chief Medical Officer D Dhawan today contacted Director Health Education and Bhai Ghanaiya Ji Institute of Health will remain open from Thursday onwards for two hours, between 10am to 12noon.”