At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has shifted most of the studies to online platforms, teachers and students are grappling the technology, internet services and other technical glitches that come with it.
Showing a new path in these complex times is a visually-challenged teacher of Koraput, Odisha, who is putting technology to best use.
A recent report by The New Indian Express mentions how the 56-year-old History professor Kamakhi Das is utilising the quarantine days to record audio lectures for his students. The report says that Das has prepared a set of 10,000 questions and their answers on Indian history.
The teacher is assisted by his wife who helps him record the questions and lectures on other topics in the form of audio files. Apart from audio recordings, the History professor also shoots his lecture sessions at home using a smartphone for the students.
Head of the History Department at Koraput Government College, Das has a humble recording studio at his residence where he is putting in his passion to teach his students into use. In the tough times of the coronavirus pandemic, Das realises the value of education and what it means for his students. After recording the lectures, he sends the audio files to his students which includes the visually-challenged ones via WhatsApp.
Talking to The New Indian Express, Das said that the questions and answers which he records are based on the syllabus of UGC-sponsored Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) course. The professor says that the recordings will also help the students to prepare for various State and national-level competitive exams.
With the help of WhatsApp video class, Das also takes online classes for his students. His efforts have helped visually-challenged students a great deal in these unusual times.
For the visually-impaired students who do not have access to braille or audio books, Das’s initiative has proven really beneficial. Das had been awarded the Indian Red Cross State Award in 1999 and has urged the state government to take initiatives to start online classes or provide audio books to the visually-challenged students.