Several schools start online classes amid lockdown

By Shailesh Yadav
New Delhi [India], April 8 (ANI): A number of schools have started online classes amid the lockdown in the country.
One of them is the Global Indian International School (GIIS), situated at Sector 71 in Noida.
Rajiv Bansal, Director Operations, GIIS India told ANI that 21 campuses of the school, in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, UAE and India, have started online classes from Monday.
Around 18000 students of GIIS are taking online classes.
Bansal further added that all required resources have been provided to the teachers to enable them to deliver these virtual classes. GIIS has also taken the enterprise licence of Zoom Webinars.
Ganesh Sharma, Principal GIIS, Noida, said that the teachers are trained in the use audio video control, whiteboard facility and Q&A chat boards.
"It is easier to monitor our teaching classes as we have to only click a button to enter in any online teaching class. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays students will attend classes virtually. Like a normal day, the hours are filled with activities and homework," he said.
He added that they have received an overwhelming response from the parents.
Vedant Yadav studying in GIIS section A of class 9 said, "During this testing time we are connected to our school and study with the help of technology. The experience of online classes is good for us."
Revant a class 4 student said, "This online study is new for us. We used to play mobile games with our class friends at home, now we are studying online while at home. This is totally new and I am liking it."
Rakhi, his mother said, "So far the experience is very good as we are also involved in the online study. We watch the teachers how they are teaching, see whether my son is understanding or not. After classes are over it is easy for us for check the revision of classwork and homework."
Prashant Bhalla, President of Manav Rachna Group said that their 12 schools, two universities, and dental college have also started online classes. "Around 28000 students of our various campuses situated at Gurgram, Noida, Faridabad, Lucknow, Bangalore and other parts of the country are conducting their studies through online classes. We had tied-up with Microsoft teams. Parents are appreciating our online classes as they don't have to worry about the academics of their children during this testing time of lockdown."
Nipun Goenka, Managing Director of GD Goenka School, said that 60 of their schools throughout the country are conducting online classes. Around 35000 pre-nursery to class 12 students have been taking online classes from the 1st of April which, he added, is a paradigm shift in the education sector.
Sharing the experience of online classes, Jusjeev from GD Goenka World School, Gurgaon said, "Physics class through google classroom was a worthwhile experience. Even with the current situation in India, it is great to get back to our school studies in a convenient way while staying at home."
"We are able to learn efficiently and clear our doubts whenever required. Occasionally, there are problems due to network connection. Overall, it is a good start and I think with time we will get better at working online and soon it will be like a normal class experience with many more benefits," Jusjeev added. (ANI)