scaling up online teaching and learning in response to COVID-19

My name is Mohni Saif and I am an Educator of TVET qualifications in vocational institute in Pakistan. My responsibilities include developing the models of teaching and learning strategies, , supporting my staff to apply hand on activities, training of trainers , providing essential academic resources and support to fulfill students ' academic need, assessing students' academic growth and performance through formative and summative evaluations, support them in their overall development and to become responsible individuals. As an educational leader at my Institute, I enjoy learning new strategies and tools that I can utilize to help close the educational achievement gap. I learn from my peers and colleagues for developing new strategies and to network with a variety of professionals on developing ways to increase everyone’s Involvement in the educational system.

 Due to  COVID-19 Pandemic , It was a major challenge for institutes  to rapid shift of moving  online. Specially, for those who have limited resources and not taught online before like us,  has to remain operational, to establish and maintain communications with and between teachers and students, and to continue to provide their services to the students and staff, despite having suspended face-to-face classes.

However, in some contexts, it is clear that the crisis also provides an opportunity for the development of more flexible learning solutions that make better use of distance learning and digital tools. I think my progress is being made in terms of e-learning. I took initiative immediately in a day and we successfully transitioned to work from home within one day on March 16, 2020. I did not let go of any staff member during this time. We restructured everything from ground up from HR to Planning and Development of Academics to embrace the new normal.

 I'm glad that I have started Learning practical ways to quickly move into teaching online, by doing my own research on transforming the teaching and learning on online system  I watched videos and read articles by online learning experts and participate in activities and discussions covering critical topics of how to make the online environment a rich learning experience for your students and synthesize relevant resources to help those who are new to online learning and  learning digital tools and modern learning technologies in the TVET and skills sector.

 My first step towards online shift was to revise teaching and learning models to make the best use of digital resources and tools.After that I started training of teachers and instructors, managers and learners to ensure their readiness to engage in digital learning to be addressed, and to take practical actions that enable online success and equitable outcomes for all learners

. I had explored online teaching platforms, which I made best use of. I have used different types of tools and platforms for teaching, such as Zoom. I developed Whats app groups which is very convenient to facilitate discussion among students who can also pose questions to teachers individually, and they can then give individualized advice and recommend reference materials.

Lots of people will be impacted by my work

Teachers :Initially 40 teachers from my institute will receive online training to improve their E learning and technological skills in Art& Design trades;

Learners : The selected 600 (Six hundred)learners will be the direct and foremost beneficiaries. They will be able to bridge the gaps of knowledge, understanding and attitude as required by online learning approach They will be able to understand the importance of Online class learning  and will also be acquainted with the right set of tools and equipment which is used in contemporary online training for Art& Design courses.

TVET Institutes of Art& Design : Already trained teachers will then help in training 100 teaching / instructional staff of different institutions , enabling these institutes to improve teaching skills

Industry and employers:  40 experts from industry will be invited to share the industry knowledge and give the career guidance to learners through online workshops and guest lectures

Government of Pakistan: I shall be keenly contributing towards the targets set by the government of Pakistan for online trainings of teachers as well as open teaching resources for other institutes to take help. I will also train 100 teachers to attain Online teaching & Assessment status on regular basis. The National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF) also demands the Open online resources from different institutes . I will develop 15 online teaching resource packs of different trades of Art& Design to share with them

The shift to online in TVET Institute during the pandemic should be seen Short term solutions have been found but I must seize this opportunity to create long-term positive impacts and develop greater resilience. A number of key measures need to be taken now and in the months ahead

• Plan long-term online learning and the return to classroom teaching by adopting the best of the online environment to support in-class learning


• expand access for learners to online digital application and platforms;


• Identify and use a range of content creation technologies that support presenting curriculum online


• Implement mindsets of success, supporting students to create and share artifacts of their learning, develop their ideas collaboratively with others, and practice self-regulatory skills through goal setting and success monitoring


• Discover and use tools and technologies that enable me to perform common classroom actions online, such as assessment, demonstrations, and learning analytics


• explore curriculum design models using performance-based assessments to create effective and engaging learning experiences.


• utilize inclusive digital and analogue technologies for distance learning and support lo learners;


• increase distance and short course learning options for core, entrepreneurial and employability skills to learners


• strengthen systems for the recognition and validation of digital learning;


• increase investment in digital solutions for practical skills development; and


• improve social dialogue and coordination amongst education and training institutions, employment services and local authorities.

• I have learnt a lot of new skills to make best use of the different online learning platforms. I have first trained myself by attending various trainings on E learning teaching techniques and methodologies in limited resources Monitoring &Evaluations system , Assessing learners performance , classroom delivery mechanism , prepare learners for online trainings . Secondly ,I trained the teachers on how to teach online and prepare each lecture e.g. finding a lot of reference materials from various sources and recording own teaching using the smart phone. • Organizing guest speakers from industry , managing discussion forums etc

ICT technical unit of institute is being strengthen and linked with other departments of institute to make E- learning more effective .We are asking parents for feedback, to know to which extent they have access to technology and internet connection at home. In those cases, we are communicating through all possible means. Share all our teaching resources in groups and during the online classes .

 Monitoring &Evaluation system of online classes is established.M& E team visit each other’s online teaching sessions daily as well as observe lecture delivery according to lesson plans

I feel that I gained more understanding about colleagues, and they also have got to know more about me. As an Education leader who observe multiple classes, so I need to coordinate with all the class teachers and program coordinators. We added each other to our circle of friends on social media, which brought us much closer than before. This kind of communication during this special period goes beyond work-level and builds solidarity. I think the improved communication among teachers will have a lasting impact.

Beides being an educationist I am also a mother of 2 children. While envisioning the overall scenario both from a mother and educator's lenses I realize the immense importance of my kids online learning too. I taught them how to do research for new skills, take admission in online courses, participate in online competitions and how to explore new ideas which could be helpful for them to choose their area of interest in future which acts as stimulators in youngsters ' overall success.