EWUCRT Training Workshop on Online Platforms
Jun 22, 2020
On June 19, 2020 East West University Center for Research and Training (EWUCRT) organized three concurrent training workshops on online platforms, particularly online teaching-learning-assessment (TLA) tools, for Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (FLASS), Faculty of Science and Engineering, and Faculty of Business and Economics. The resource persons were in-house experts. Around two hundred faculty members from different departments of East West University (EWU), and adjunct faculty members from other public and private universities participated in the workshop. The Chief Advisor of EWU, Dr. Mohammed Farashuddin, the Vice Chancellor of EWU, Professor Dr. M. M. Shahidul Hassan, University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor, Professor Dr. Fakrul Alam, along with deans, chairpersons, section heads, and distinguished faculty members also attended the virtual training workshops. The participants had a live and energetic discussion to explore some of the suitable TLA tools.
The resource persons showed how online classes can be organized, arranged and conducted using Google Classroom, Google Meet, Google Calendar, and some digital whiteboards like Google Jamboard and Whiteboard. They also showed Google Chrome extensions to augment the power of Google Meet such as Meet Attendance, Grid View, Dualless, Scissors, Nod, Kahoot, Padlet, Flipgrid, among other things. Furthermore, two video tutorials were launched on YouTube on how students can use Google Classroom and submit assignments/tasks.
The resource persons focused on organizing learning materials and resources using Google Classroom. They demonstrated how new classrooms could be created in Google Classroom, and students can be invited to join the newly created classroom. Making online classes more engaging and interactive through various apps was also emphasized. Besides, managing and grading assignments, quizzes, using rubric and originality report features of Google Classroom were also demonstrated.
Important discussions took place about academic honesty as well. Canvas as a Learning Management System (LMS) was also shown as to how an online quiz or exam could be organized using question bank features. Two essential features (locking questions and presenting questions sequentially) were emphasized to eliminate the problem of online exam cheating. These two features are very significant and effective in creating obstacles in unethical exam practices.
The training workshops were very lively, vibrant, and interactive. The participants enthusiastically participated in the five-hour workshops.
