Dr Jyotsna Belliappa

No matter how familiar an institution may be with deploying online resources for teaching, the reality of having to rely only on digital channels to conduct classes is something that takes time getting used to. Dr Jyotsna Belliappa, teacher, research scholar and writer, currently involved in teaching undergrad and postgrad students at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bengaluru tell us how she and her students have learnt to find new ways of collaborating, learning and adapting in these unprecedented times…
 

How has the pandemic impacted your teaching and your students’ learning?
 
Although I am not a designer myself, I teach undergraduate and postgraduate students in a design school. We have thought very carefully about how we can offer the students a valuable learning experience online. Like many other higher education institutions in India, we have been using online content management systems for several years. These systems were used to share readings and to build an online community of learners via blogs and journals. Our students are quite familiar with them. Now a new component has been added, which is video conferencing (in lieu of classroom teaching). But we need to be very aware that students may have trouble with their Internet connections which could disrupt their engagement in video conferences. So, we create contingency plans by being available to students outside of the planned video conferences for one-on-one or small-group discussions.

By and large, students are eager to engage and, being digital natives, have adapted quite easily.  There are more sensitive issues however, that of finding the privacy and quiet space within their homes to study, given that all family members might be working or studying from home and the difficulty in finding resources, since libraries and stores are not accessible. But we discuss these issues with students and amongst ourselves to collectively brainstorm solutions.  We're also cognisant of the adverse effects of too much screen time (back problems, eyestrain and physical and mental exhaustion for both teachers and students). 

Of course, a teacher’s biggest concern at this time is that either she or her students might catch COVID.  Life is unpredictable. If a student catches the virus (which has happened in some cases) or if a family member falls ill, we need to be sensitive and supportive while the student deals with the situation.

Have there been any welcome outcomes that the shift out of a reliance on teaching in person has resulted in? What have these been?

It would be premature to discuss shifts at this time as our semester has only recently begun. But I do anticipate that students are likely to become more self-reliant and resourceful and that both faculty and students will think outside the box.

Generally speaking, young people are often more mature than their teachers and parents realize. For instance, this morning I led a group discussion with twenty-five students. Nearly every student had a thought-provoking and interesting comment to share. All I had to do was ask a few critical questions and draw connections between their responses and the big ideas of the course.  That is not to say that my role is unimportant.  The job of an educator is to create a fine balance between scaffolding the student's learning and encouraging them to be independent, between pointing out directions for exploration and encouraging the students to chart their own path. This role continues to be key to education. 
 

How do you think the changes that have taken place now will affect how education will be structured in the future?

Various predictions have been made regarding how education will be structured in the future. My own position on that is that it is too early to say. However, some concerns are emerging. Teachers and students are under very intense scrutiny from the institution, the home and the rest of society. Online education will only increase that scrutiny, the repercussions of which are still emerging.

The job of an educator is to create a fine balance between scaffolding the student's learning and encouraging them to be independent, between pointing out directions for exploration and encouraging the students to chart their own path. This role continues to be key to education. "

We also need to be aware of the ethics of how one engages with others online: respectfully and non-intrusively. I’ve been having several conversations with colleagues and students about this and one thing is clear: that while we might caution students about these issues, all the possible concerns in this regard are yet to become fully apparent, given that the online tools are so new.

In India the digital divide is a major concern at the school and university level: Education is a public good and quality education must be widely available but COVID has brought into sharp relief the inequalities in young people's access to education across the country. Those who have access to digital resources are continuing their education whether through an institution or on their own. However, Internet penetration and computer/smart phone ownership is very limited in India. I am concerned that many of our youth will be left behind for this reason. Some state governments are using television and radio to support the students’ home learning which is a very welcome initiative. 
 

What changes would you like to see to the tools and systems that inform online/remote learning?

The available tools are fairly versatile but I would like to see more creative thinking regarding how they are used.  At my institution we were clearly told to leverage digital tools to teach in the context of this somewhat unprecedented and unpredictable situation rather than to merely recreate what we were doing face to face on a digital platform. This is not easy, as our first instinct is usually to aim for continuity rather than change. 

For me this meant using 'asynchronous' tools as much as possible while still encouraging and facilitating some synchronous interaction between the students.  It meant creating dyads of students (‘buddies’) who could support each other.  Each teacher has to do what is relevant to the age group and context that she teaches but it requires institutions to support teachers by helping them develop relevant professional skills.  Because COVID happened so suddenly, teachers had very little time to become conversant with digital tools and the possibilities that they offer.
 

Assuming that we may never really go back to life as it was before the pandemic, what do you wish for yourself as a teacher and for your students in the coming years?

I think that not having a campus life which enables one to grow from a child to a self-sufficient young adult will be hard for college and university level students. Campus life includes much more than formal learning. So called 'extracurricular' activities: clubs, performing arts, creative arts, sports and community service are integral to the students' growth. Students form friendships with people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, have serendipitous meetings, debates, performances and film screenings.  They share a coffee with faculty or with each other in the cafeteria and discuss the burning issues of the day.

"In India the digital divide is a major concern at the school and university level: Education is a public good and quality education must be widely available but COVID has brought into sharp relief the inequalities in young people's access to education across the country."

These experiences are not accessible in quite the same way online, though I know that several institutions are trying to re-create these spaces digitally. I would wish for my students to have these experiences in some form or another.  I too miss the social and intellectual aspects of the institution so I try having lunch with colleagues over a video call. We’ve created online reading groups and book clubs for faculty and students which also offer a chance to vent or share anxieties regarding COVID.

At the same time, the pandemic and lockdown has enabled many people to discover new talents and resources which have strengthened their resilience. Several students speak of learning new skills: baking, cooking, art and gardening. Others have taken to journaling as a way to deal with these difficult times. They are learning to negotiate disagreements with parents and siblings and also to appreciate their time with family. I hope that this will enable them to grow stronger and more resourceful in preparation for a 'post-pandemic' era when society will deal with the economic, social and mental health consequences of the pandemic as well as the possibility that other such global events may occur.

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