Teacher in me has "grown" ~ thank you, my dear students!

(my companions during online teaching sessions) 

It is a moment of celebration to recollect and remind that it was for the first time on 24th March 2020 morning 8.15 am class where I had to take the online session and teach my students the subject called as "Civil and Property Laws".. Aah, since then till today 24th March 2021, the journey of online teaching is still on. The lockdown happened, online student-teacher engagement began and the journey of unlearning-learning-relearning began in front of digital screens - screens of all shapes and sizes ~ laptop, tablet, phone, smart devices, and whatnot. 

I dedicate this one year to my students of all educational institutes with whom I have been associated as Adjunct Faculty| Visiting Faculty | Guest Faculty. These creative | young | energetic | positive | hardworking souls motivated me to explore more in terms of subject and in terms of class activities so that class becomes more engaging, more fulfilling, and less boring. I still remember my inner fear of "how to take the class online on Zoom", "what if my internet will not work", "what if my screen sharing will not work","what if students will sleep in a midway and what if no student answers any questions", "will they interact in the technical subject called as a law"? these and many more questions kept on popping. In fact, when we were oriented about the Zoom platform, I was scared, skeptical, feared, judgmental that how will I complete the course using the technology. For the first time I had heard the word Zoom..I still think that panic moment within me. We were asked to give ample interesting class activities which make students active during online class, we were asked to include popup quizzes to know whether the student is attentive during the class or not and we had to ask students to unmute the videos so that they stay near their learning devices. These deliberations about keeping students engaged during the online session vis-a-vis to save the internet data packs of students was a huge concern. Oh my god, so many apprehensions were there on that first day of class plus the fear of Pandemic. It was a challenging thought for me as a person and a teacher ~ how to make classes more meaningful along with learning momentum. More importantly, I could unlearn the traditional ways of teaching and could learn to adapt to the technology-enabled teaching modes (and I am happy and proud for my unlearnings too) 

Then the journey of mandatory online teaching started...

The Journey of "teaching from the lens of learner and what if I am the learner" started, 

The journey of "hope and inspiration" begun and 

the most important Journey of "Trust" on my students was almost in second gear within the second week...

Aah, what a beautiful journey it has been. 

Since then and since now, I have not only explored various online teaching platforms ~ Webex, Teams, Meet, Hangout, and the very own Zoom. Students kept motivating me, their cooperation through digital classes kept me going and allowed me to explore teaching tools to make class effective in both learning and meaningful engagement. 

I have grown as a teacher!

I tried to inspire my students by showing some inspiring videos of few minutes at the end of the sessions, 

I gave them various exercises in form of case notes, different presentations, crossword puzzles and role-plays and many more so that they learn the concepts appropriately. 

I allowed them to explore their argumentative skills on screen

I made presentations in the Gujarati language for the subject "Business Law" which still is a challenge, 

I searched and researched subject relevant short duration videos ~ 

I explored the University's Learning Management System Software and tried to keep the course self-paced so students can study the course on their own

I explored security features in these online platforms so, even unintentionally, students cannot move beyond discipline 

aah, and I also explored one or the other ways to take online exams.

I am happy that nowhere I have compromised myself or my values as a teacher in this journey of online teaching. aah, but personal "me time'' was compromised in terms of health concerns :( 

Google Forms, Jio Data pack, Law, IPR books, Wifi concerns,  Laptop, Iphone, and Ipad, chargers, attendance sheets, worksheets, and result sheets were my companions throughout. Routine of "hello hello, am i audible?" till "is the screen visible?" has now become a regular feature :) I took utmost care that each student gets attendance and no one misses, but the ethical teacher also led me to deduct attendance if anyone was on-road and not at a static place. These became a routine affair since March 2020. 

Have not met any of these students in person for a year, still, the bond of teacher-student has become strong. I guess that it is the same way, my students must be feeling. Reading more for sessions, preparing extra for online sessions at times made me tired, but then those aspiring faces popped up again and again which kept me going to make each class worth learning. Most importantly, students also worked hard to participate. There is only one routine sentence spoken in my home "krishna, is your class going on?":) 

One of my former employers always used to advice that "It is the duty of the teacher to make class interesting, so as to see that students pay attention" and during this pandemic lockdown, I considered this advice as my responsibility to put extra efforts to make each class ~ a happy class (I hope, my current (or even former) students, might have felt the same energy in the digital class.) Because of these online classes which almost took most of the time in a day along with household chores, I stayed away from the panic news of pandemic and kept myself positive throughout the whole year. 

Though few moments of disappointment were there where some student speak lies just to save one attendance or few marks, or copies from the friend, or does not pay attention and does some other work but that also kept me going and I urged students to speak the truth and keep their honesty and integrity intact. I had put complete trust in them and sometimes when trust is broken, it hurts too. 

Without the support of family, this was almost impossible as all class timings were different, and in between breakfasts and lunches, classes went on and on. Teaching assistants played a major role to keep things ready during the online classes. Discussing course outlines and review meetings online was a new feature in all of this. But one thing is sure, pandemic taught one aspect to "live in now" moment and to appreciate what we have rather than to crib what we don't have. I could not stay in constant touch with my friends due to lack of time, but they eventually also saw the passionate teacher in me. (Sorry my friends)

Still, a long way to go, in terms of research activity. I still introspect where I can improve myself. But I am absolutely cherishing this one year and celebrating with a piece of chocolate that even pandemic could not stop me from being a "teacher" :) 

Of course, physical classrooms and students' sparkling eyes, joyful smiles are being missed, but then the learning should not stop and hence I enjoy online classes too. 

a big loud shoutout Thank you to all my students for keeping me going as a "teacher" and a "mentor". Thanks for being there. Thanks for showing interest in my various Law and IPR classes. I hope I have inspired my students a bit of it. 

Without a student, teacher is no body :) stay blessed and appreciate yourself as you are :)