*The following post is an excerpt from another blog entry published March 20, 2020, on the professional site of Dr. Vernon C. Lindsay and can be found by clicking this link.
The coronavirus, COVID-19, has arrived to Antigua and Barbuda. A woman traveled here on a flight from the United Kingdom carrying the virus on March 10, 2020. Since her arrival, she has remained in self-isolation at her family’s home, but fear has spread on the island.
With recommendations from the Ministry of Education, my university suspended classes for the next seven to ten days. Primary and secondary schools are now closed for at least the next month to prevent an outbreak. The shift to eLearning has started.
ELearning involves using computer-based training, mobile applications, social platforms, instructor-led online classes, and other technological methods to teach students. Martial art and academic institutions are using eLearning to connect with their students in new creative ways.
As schools close around the world, this is the time to use eLearning technologies to meet the needs of online education options. Families without internet access in their homes will need alternative resources to supplement their education. I am hopeful that schools will rise to meet the challenges of this infectious disease.
Last month I shared a post explaining my utltralearning adventure with instructional design. One of the samples in my portfolio derives from my work as a faculty member in the Education Enhancement Department at the American University of Antigua College of Medicine. After speaking with my department's chair this week, I am confident that additional instructional design projects are coming soon.
Last Friday evening, an email message from my university’s provost conveyed our preventative actions to reduce the chances for spreading the coronavirus on the campus. He informed the students, staff, and faculty about the suspension of lectures and small group classes. Students cannot arrange study sessions with more than four students at any time in the library or at any location on campus.
Despite social distancing, teaching and learning will not stop. Remote options begin next week. We are rising to meet the coronavirus challenge.
Google classroom is one of the eLearning resources available to provide tutoring and general instruction. Through the Google classroom platform, teachers can create assignments and provide real-time feedback. Students can submit assignments and interact with their peers. Administrators can observe the learning process.
During this season, as classes remain closed, I am creating virtual instructor-led classes for students enrolled in my academic course. These online classes will use the Microsoft Teams’ platform to cover the materials that we planned to address in-person. With internet access in the privacy of their homes, students will continue along with the course objectives outlined in our first meeting and the syllabus.
I am sure that teachers around the world are adopting a similar model to prevent students from falling behind in the curriculum.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus on our schools, educators must use their creativity, talents, skills, and the internet to prevent additional delays in teaching and learning. We must send our students home with books and assignments. When internet access is available, we can provide links to educational videos, online quizzes, and other resources to supplement in-class instruction.
I am determined to serve my academic and martial art students despite the pandemic. The eLearning mentioned above options will meet the needs of the university. Students I teach in Capoeira have access to free Facebook Live videos and these digital instructional lessons.
Learn capoeira today from the discomfort of your home quarantine at this link! This two week supply will enable you to learn or enhance the basics of capoeira on your schedule, without the need to leave your home.