Classes for school students via DD likely from month-end in Goa

PANAJI: Internet connectivity, or the lack of it, has been proving a hurdle for schools since they started teaching online due to the pandemic. Realising these shortcomings, the state government through the directorate of education and the State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) is set to telecast recorded teaching sessions for Classes I to VIII from the last week of July, sources said.
A dedicated Youtube channel of the directorate of education and the SCERT is also in the works, according to those in the know.

To begin with, recorded classes are likely to be telecast for an hour a day on Doordarshan, and talks are also on to rope in other local channels. Preparation of scripts for the videos has already begun.
Teachers have been shortlisted from across the state and recording of the sessions will start from Monday.
“Schools were asked to carry out survey among its students about how many have access to television and Doordarshan, and also other local channels. The figure was found to be satisfactory at around 95%. Accordingly, it was decided that teaching sessions can be recorded and then telecast on Doordarshan. Proactive teachers have been chosen from across Goa to prepare these videos,” said a source.
The classes via TV will begin with science, mathematics and social science subjects for Classes I to VIII. Different subjects have been distributed among teachers to prepare the videos.
“The teachers were trained by an expert linked to the field of broadcasting. He trained them in how to convert the lessons into scripts. The recording of the videos begins from July 13 at the government-owned studios at the Goa University campus. The editing of the videos will then be carried out by a separate team,” said a source.
The plan to record videos for an initial period of two months, to be extended based on the Covid-19 situation. Though the duration of the sessions is still being discussed, videos are being shot in units of ten-minute sessions, keeping in mind the attention span of children, as young as six years old.
Any particular subject of a certain class will be taught twice a week.
“The videos will include a lot of visuals to keep students engaged. Students will also be allotted activities based on what is taught. Efforts to contact students through other online or offline methods for teaching are working well and will continue simultaneously,” the source said.
The idea of the television telecast is to at least keep all students in touch with the basic concepts and expand slowly on them, even in cases where students do not have access to gadgets or internet connectivity.
Many educationists, including former state board chairman Pandurang Nadkarni had earlier suggested that local Doordarshan channel should be used to telecast teaching sessions, rather than attempt to conduct classes online amidst poor internet connectivity and the lack of access of gadgets for some students.