Recently, I marked the first anniversary of my academic career. I tend to review almost everything I get into after a certain period. So despite a nine-year-long career in the mainstream media industry, I still take July 2019 as a new beginning.
One year down the line, I feel my career shift came at a very right time, thanks to COVID-19. It threw an unexpected yet welcome challenge right in my first year. And that was to adopt and adapt to a newer form of learning and teaching. Currently, with online learning being the only avenue to teach, the entire situation opened up a whole new gamut of possibilities to move beyond the conventional forms of teaching. We moved from a physical realm of teaching to a virtual space. This meant that we needed something new to retain the attention and interest of students. Besides applying the conventional strategies, such as storytelling, role play, voice modulation, and bringing humour in the class, online learning management systems such as CollPoll, online videos and webinars became a great platform to teach and learn. When would have one got such an opportunity to learn if not at this time? Somewhere, it was the need of the time to get smarter with pedagogic practices. And COVID-19 gave that opportunity.
I would say, I was lucky in my first year!
Author:
Rashmi Chouhan, Assistant Professor, Unitedworld School of Liberal Arts and Mass Communication (USLM)
Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.
