After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the education ministry directed all schools and higher institutions of learning to halt their operations and send home students to prevent further spread of the virus. That meant shifting to another way of learning, which, naturally, came with challenges; for instance, educators who are skilled in face-to-face teaching now adapting to e-learning. Educators believe the shift created a need to adjust how content is designed at different levels, how it is delivered to ensure practical learning, in addition to maintaining engagement and participation. According to experts, this, of course, necessitates the use of online education tools that not only maximise the quality of learning, but also give access to the thousands of students across the country. How to go about this Stanley Mukasa, a Kigali-based educator, says online learning tools have been available for a long time now, but did not have a ‘breakthrough moment’ like this — given the coronavirus pandemic leading to closure of schools and lockdown around the country. Rwanda Education Board (REB) has doubled its capacity in using e-learning systems, as a way of working around the coronavirus pandemic which has affected the school calendar. REB has been updating its e-learning database found on elearning.reb.rw to help students stay in touch with their studies. The platform is utilising electronic technologies to access educational curriculums outside of a traditional classroom setting. It also serves as an area for e-assessment, for online digital content access, continuous professional development for teachers and school leaders, for school management, and for parents’ communications, and career guidance. Other tools, Mukasa says, include; YouTube channels, Quizlet, Kahoot, Google Classroom, learner management systems such as NEO LMS, Canvas, to mention a few. There are those that simplify video-based classrooms such as Hangouts, Skype, and Zoom, among others. He says the list does not demonstrate the lack of such tools and apps, but the need for creativity in selection given an educator’s context. “It is not easy to generalise what works and what doesn’t, but it is fair to have a checklist or call it a criteria for selecting the most relevant,” he says. He mentions that it is important to consider tools that maximise student engagement, accessibility, effectiveness, and internet bandwidth required to run each tool. Creativity is essential Experts say that when it comes to creativity, it relates to how the content is designed or adjusted to online materials such as audio-visuals and documents. Creativity also involves selecting tools that maximise access but also create appropriate space interaction in a learning environment. Mukasa says while much of the focus might be on delivery from the educator’s perspective, the selection of tools to manage student submissions also requires creativity. This, he explains, is because students’ brainpower should be focused more on the assignment rather than navigating challenges around the tools and connectivity. “The selected tool should give students flexibility in terms of which format they can submit. Submissions could be audio, videos, written documents, slides among others,” he adds. Challenges Faustin Mutabazi, an education consultant, says the challenge when it comes to delivering online content could include unstable internet access, and an increased need to respond to student questions than ever before. The selection of tools, he says, is quite simple if an educator creates a criterion that meets students’ needs and theirs as well. He notes that managing such increased student communication requires scheduling — when and how the teacher responds to student questions. The solution to this, he says, is an adjusted online schedule. If the tools selected meet the content delivery context and accessibility requirements, then online learning will happen seamlessly, according to Mukasa. Given that the shift online might be new to some students too, educators believe there is a need for understanding on the educator’s part in terms of timelines, questions and submission types. Mutabazi says for teachers, the big challenge is in adjusting quickly to this kind of learning, especially for those who were used to face-to-face teaching. He adds that what makes it more difficult is the fact that some don’t have the skills, or resources, to run this kind of class. When it comes to ensuring that both parties are on the same page, Mukasa thinks it’s the role of educators to ask their students to send in reflections. A reflection, he says, could be two to three minutes in audio or video, or 150-200 words. On the other hand, he says, students can talk about what they have learned; how they hope to apply it in their lives, and finally raise any questions they might have to the teacher. This, Mukasa believes, will help educators know how each student is faring.
