The importance of E-Learning during Lockdown and my astonishing experience

during this knowledge development period

by
Dr. A.R.ARUNACHALAM
Head of Department
Department of Computer Science
Dr. MGR Educational and Research Institute, Adayalampattu Phase II Campus
Chennai-600095

Introduction
We are now in the middle of the unusual circumstance that arises from the worldwide
pandemic and the ensuing freeze. With this unexpected lockdown, everything has come to an
immediate stop, and the academic world is no exception. Due to the compulsory closing of
educational institutions, the global higher education sector has been seriously disturbed. E-
learning has proved to be the most successful alternative in this sort of situation – for both
students / teachers and the university.

The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to a global realization that our current way of life is
not working. It has broken our perception of what is, as we know, normal and deconstructed
society. Education is one such important field where the desire for improvement has become
evident. The symptoms of coronavirus, and therefore its prevention steps, have affected the
lives of students, parents and teachers. The strong disturbance of the 'usual' workings of
education has put attention on a variety of concerns that have been historically posed and
ultimately left unanswered.

Apart from the disruption caused by the novel coronavirus, education in our developing
world has undergone some major changes. But, also in the face of accelerated growth, we
also have to adjust the way we offer the education.

Training is the learning of intelligence, but it should not have to come exclusively by age-old
approaches that do not exploit the full capacity of the brain.

Until March 13, no one would have ever thought that things will change rapidly. Till then we
were used to follow the regular classroom teaching using the black board and chalk. All of a
sudden, the effective use of e-learning came into existence after March16. There is a saying
that Your greatest challenge is also your greatest opportunity. It is a true statement. This
means that what seems like your greatest challenge today is actually your greatest
opportunity to learn and grow for the future. I have had countless chances to know a lot, and I
have maintained that any challenge that hit my door has been offered a reasonable shot. I will
also never fail to note the wonderful and ongoing support of my organization and the
collaboration of my teachers and students that has helped me to follow the digital agenda.

Importance of E-Learning
Technology has turned into a boon during the Covid-19 lockdown period. In view of the
Covid-19 outbreak all across the world, everyone took all precautionary and preventive
measures to combat this pandemic. We were following the norms of social distancing and
keeping ourselves in the confines of our homes or offices. All schools, varsities, workplaces
have been shut down to contain the spread of this novel virus. It was expected that the
shutdown would impact the learning process to a great extent. But it is actually not the case.
All thanks to technology. Various Digital platforms and ICT initiatives were accessed by
teachers, students and researchers round the clock. These tools enable constant learning and
offer several benefits such as flexibility, comfort, and interactive user interface. In the context
of this, UGC with the help of ICT has arranged and shared several online links which was
accessed by students, faculties, academicians and researchers for audio, video and text
content. It was a wonderful opportunity for every academician and researcher to create their
own OERs (Open Educational Recourses) which not only served the purpose of students for
education but also serves as a catalyst in enhancing professional self-image. Digital initiatives
have really helped every academician to see themselves as not only teachers but creators of
knowledge.

Effectiveness of Online Classes

During the COVID-19 Lockdown, online teaching is evolving as the most suitable means for
teaching and learning. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, most of the educational
institutions in India are closed. But, during this lockdown, a portion of the syllabus was
completed by conducting online classes. In addition, students were engaged in studies during
this lockdown. We conducted the teaching and learning sessions with the help of ICT; the
internet is an important player. Nowadays, we have a lot of tools applications like Zoom,
Google Classroom and Google Meet. Initially we started creating the Google Classroom for
each subject. The code was generated and it was shared to the students. The students started
joining the Google classroom in the initial stages. All the materials and PPT were shared to
the students through Google Classroom.
After the Google classroom got kick started, we then started using the Zoom app for
conducting live sessions for the students. We downloaded the Zoom app and created the
account and asked the students also to install the same app. Then we started creating a new
meeting through which a meeting link got created. We then asked the students to access the
link to join the live session. We started the live sessions from 30.03.2020. The students were
showing lot of interest in attending the live sessions.
We asked all the students to mute their mike and camera so that the session was conducted
effectively without any network issues. After the end of the session, the students were asked
to unmute and raise doubts. They were also asked to raise questions through the chat box.
Over a period of time, we were using the Zoom app.

But due to some security reasons in Zoom app, as per the university instructions, we switched
over to Google Meet though which we were able to connect nearly 250 participants since we
had the GSuite account. Since this app was also similar to that of the Zoom, the students did
not find any difficulty in connecting to the live session. In the same way, we shared the
meeting link with the students, and the students were able to connect to the session. We also
prepared Powerpoint presentations and shared our laptop/mobile screen and were taking the
online classes effectively.
Preparation of Video Lectures

Preparing video contents for the uncovered units of the syllabus was a very important task for
all of us. Video lectures are a central component of the online learning experience. But
creating effective videos can be time-consuming and challenging. Online video production
typically involves creating content and learning how to speak comfortably in front of a
camera, tasks that differ considerably from delivering lectures to a live classroom.

Video lecture is a new learning form that has many benefits of its own. This approach is
tailor-made, simple for instructors, and keeps students engaged in the entire cycle. Over the
modern years, we have seen forms of teaching that have advanced to a greater degree. Now,
we see the emergence of innovations that make it possible for both teachers and students to
deliver lectures and to grasp the concepts of such lectures.
We started creating video lectures during this lockdown period. Initially we started preparing
video lectures for the fourth and fifth unit. We started create PPT's for every topic and gave
voice over for the powerpoint through Narration. The Powerpoint with audio was then
converted into a video file and the same was uploaded in the Youtube Channel-Dr.MGR
University Phase II. I almost created 15 video lectures and have uploaded in the Youtube
Channel.

Knowledge Development Activities

The lockdown period has provided lot of opportunities to take part in various online
knowledge development activities during this lockdown period like Webinar, FDP, online
courses and so on. These activities really helped me to engage my time effectively. I attended
lot of webinars and completed various online certification courses. I completed online
courses from E-Learning platforms like Sololearn, Google Analytics Academy, Microsoft,
Guvi and EDAPT. I also attended various webinars organized by ICT Academy, St.Joseph's
Inst of Technology, Panimalar Inst of Technology and IEEE Madras Section. I attended
FDP's organized by IIT Bombay, Jerusalem College of Engg and so on.

Knowledge Development Activities

30

25
No of Activities

20

15

10

0
No of Webinars No of FDPs No of Online
Attended Attended Courses Attended
Series1 25 5 21
Research Paper Publication

Modern teacher is basically a researcher. Many teaching professionals are always working on
various experiments. Eventually, the teachers will be living a creative life with research.
Teachers working on various topics must publish a paper. Its award of hard work of a teacher.

Generally, when preparing a paper, we teachers generally come across various recent
developments in the area of research. This will thus is up-gradation of knowledge.

This knowledge gain will help us in delivery of course too. Our University keeps motivating
and supporting the teachers to publish the papers. As a part of this process, One of my paper
titled "Development of Advanced IoT Devices using ECC-LSTM for an Enhanced Device
Security" has been published in International Journal of Advanced Science and
Technology(IJAST) which is a SCOPUS indexed journal. Also another paper of mine titled
"Efficient Data storage and energy consumption of IoT Devices using DSIEE method" has
been accepted for publication in the same journal and it will get published in the first week of
June'2020.

I am also in the stage of preparing another research paper with regards to the Challenges
faced by the faculty members during this lockdown period. A survey form was prepared and
sent to many people for the process of data collection. I am also doing literature review with
regards to this paper.

Preparation of Funded Project Proposal

Preparing project proposals and applying for funding agencies has been a key role of every
teacher. The first step is to decide what the problem is and develop a rough idea (vision) of
how this could be solved. This vision is then to be transformed into an idea for a specific
project proposal. A logical framework may help us to structure this idea in a systematic way,
and clearly define the aim, purpose, outputs, activities, means, costs and the methodologies
for monitoring and evaluation, and will thus from the basis for the preparation of the narrative
of the proposal. Based on this I prepared a project proposal on the topic " An effective
Biomedical Waste Tracking System for Hospitals". The proposal is almost ready and looking
out for a suitable funding agency which could release the grant for my proposal.
Report Preparation

As we were supposed to prepare the report of the online classes every day, I created an online
Google form for each department. Once the online session is over, the teachers need to fill up
the details pertaining to their respective sessions like the Subject they have took, What topic
they took? How many students were present, What time the session was handled and a
sample screenshot of the session. After all the sessions have been filled up for the day as per
the timetable, I will consolidate and send the report to the Dean every day between Apr'2020
to May'2020.

Also apart from this, I usually prepare the consolidated report of the staff of various
departments attending various activities like FDP, Webinar, and Online Courses. This report
is also consolidated everyday and sent to Dean.

Organizing Online Events

As part of organizing online events, I coordinated with my staff members and organized a
Webinar on Machine Learning using Python on 08.05.2020. The resource person Dr. D.
Doreen Robin, Director of Computational Intelligence Research Foundation. Nearly 200
participants from various institutions took part in this webinar.
We also arranged an FDP programme on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The
resource person was Dr. Shantha Visalakshi U working as an Associate Professor in MCA
Department at Ethiraj College for Women (Autonomous), Chennai, India. More than 200
participants took part in the FDP programme. E-Certificate was automatically generated and
sent to the participants.

An online National Level Powerpoint Presentation named "TECHNOSLIDES 2020" was

initiated for the school students of age 15 to 18. TECHNOSLIDES 2020 is a competition that
not only evaluates the technical presentation skills but also your ability to create a lasting
impression.
As Resource Person for a Reputed Institution in the City

I was invited as a guest speaker for an online Webinar Programme on Introduction to Data
Analytics at SRM University, Ramapuram Campus on 30.05.2020. The program was
conducted through zoom where more than 200 faculties participated. Received very good
positive feedback from the participants.

UGC- Learning Outcomes based Curriculum Framework

I was made as a member of the UGC-LOCF team formulated by the University. I was asked
to coordinate the activities with regards to the LOCF of Phase II campus. All the departments
prepared the PEO,PO and PSO for their respective branches. I coordinated the activities and
the same has been sent to the higher authorities. The next stage of work is going on with
regards to preparation of course outcomes.

Conclusion

The last two months of lockdown period has definitely changed the things in a new direction.
It was really an amazing experience. It was a beautiful journey with an exception learning
experiences. Learning has also proved to be the most successful alternative in this sort of
situation – for both students / teachers and the university.