Remote Learning Initiatives in Tripura

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is going to severely affect not only the economy but dynamics of the social sector also. The state Government of Tripura is up to the task in its reply to the current COVID-19 crisis by introducing a series of interventions across all sectors. As the socio- economic profile of students studying in state run Government schools and their limited access to other resources of learning beyond school, prolonged periods of lockdowns and an interrupted academic session will severely affect the learning outcomes of children. The current state-wide school shutdown presents the unprecedented challenge of keeping students meaningfully engaged in academic learning without running regular school operations. Recent crisis also brought with its wake an opportunity for extensive use of IT- based platforms in the education sector for teachers and students alike. After a long lockdown the department will have to address these challenges. These include infrastructure and facilities, teaching-learning environment, alteration of class routine, teacher training, organisation of co-curricular activities etc. while maintaining personal hygiene.

During the current lockdown in wake of COVID 19, the School Education Department of Tripura has proactively taken upon the task of ensuring that children do not lose out on any opportunity to learn and to continue their academic progress by providing access to technology-enabled learning resources. Digital learning is being resorted to more and more as the time progresses.

Creation and telecast of E-Classrooms

E-Classes are recorded in Studios. After editing and other technical works, the same is then sent to SCERT, the State
Academic Authority for vetting. After obtaining vetting, the episodes are then transmitted over Doordarshan and Local
Television Channels. Copies of the Digital Classrooms are also uploaded in the YouTube Channel of the Department, titled:
`TripuraSikshaBandhu‘. The students and teachers can refer
to these E-Contents anytime later on. This initiative has been highly beneficial for both the students and teachers especially during
this COVID-19 Lockdown period. Classes have been conducted for covering subjects like: English, Maths, Science, Bengali, Social
Science for Classes III to XII. The digital contents are also uploaded in a popular privately-managed website: Tripurainfor Student Helpline

Digitization of Textbooks

Textbooks of all the Classes have been digitized in pdf and e-pub formats and hosted in the website of SCERT Tripura. This is done so that the students have access to the digital copy of their Textbooks from anywhere and continue their study. All the Textbooks of all the Classes (from I to XII) have been digitized. The web address of the books is: SCERT

State Repository of Open Educational Resources (SROER)

Another remarkable initiative of SCERT, Tripura is creation of the State Repository of Open Educational Resources (SROER). It is a platform containing around 200 Audio-Visual contents for reference. At this moment, the repository contains quality audio / video contents for students of classes VI to XII free of cost, covering subjects like Bengali, English, Physical Science, Life Science and Mathematics. The link of the repository is: SCERT

EDUSAT Programme

A special initiative by using Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs) in the State is the EDUSAT Programme. Under this initiative, live and interactive classes are conducted by expert teachers and the same is transmitted through the EDUSAT network. Students from far-flung areas of the State are able to participate in the classes. Science, Mathematics, English, Physics and Chemistry of Classes VI to XIII are covered under this initiative.

Use of App

An educational app is already in use in the State Education Department, titled “EmpowerU Shiksha Darpan“. During these hard times, for facilitating the appraisal of students in Annual Examination for the Academic Year 2019-20, the marks secured by the students of Classes III to IX and XI, have been uploaded in the App.

Other efforts

To explore the feasibility of circulating the study materials to the students and parents through e-learning / social media platforms, all the teachers have been requested to take necessary actions.

Source : Remote Learning Initiatives Across India