Using tech to weather strain of MCO

JOHOR BARU: Schools are making full use of the Internet and technology to facilitate lessons during the movement control order (MCO), although some students face challenges in accessing these gadgets.

Apart from using video conferencing platforms such as Google Meet and Zoom for virtual learning, emails and group chats are also being used to channel information and lessons to students.

Teacher Aznatul Fazliah Mohd Razim said her principal had prepared them and the students for the possibility of conducting classes online even before the MCO was announced.

“We have had several meetings to figure out how to conduct classes virtually in case of a lockdown.

“Students, teachers and parents were already briefed on the matter and we had ample time to prepare,” she said.

Aznatul Fazilah, who teaches at an international school here, said she had been conducting her class of 25 students through Google Meet and Google Classroom for about two weeks.

“I find that students are more focused in a virtual classroom compared to a typical classroom setting.

“The virtual classroom is conducted according to the usual timetable with the only difference being that we are communicating online instead of face to face,” she said.

School principal Daniel Loh said teachers at his school had also been using the online platform, including video conferencing apps to conduct classes.

“For students who do not have access to the online platform, teachers would find other ways to communicate with them to ensure that they are not left behind.

“We have a few rare cases where both of the student’s parents are working in Singapore and they have to live with their grandparents without Internet and computers.

“We try to deliver notes and other learning materials to their house as much as possible while observing social distancing,” he said.

Another teacher Vincent D’Silva said he had been using emails and group chats to communicate with his students.

“Teachers and students are proactive during the MCO and they are constantly communicating with each other,” he said.