TIG Post

Tag: e-learning

  • Virtual Skuul platform launched

    About 500 students across the country have signed on to an online virtual school created to mitigate the impact of the closure of schools.

    The platform

    he platform, dubbed “Virtual Skuul”, is an initiative by Eclipse Multimedia, an information technology company, to help establish a link between teachers and students for exchange of assignments and learning best practices.

    The platform was also to assist learners and teachers in pre-tertiary schools to access improved learning and teaching resources in the form of video lessons, notes, examination questions,teaching and learning aids at any time.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eclipse Multimedia, Mr John Akwasi Amponsah, expressed his excitement about the quick response,

    stating that the feedback the platform was receiving was an indication that it was serving the intended purpose.

    Services of the system, he noted,were delivered through state-of-the art instructional videos, multimedia notes, computer-based assessment

    assignments,projects and exercises.The platform allows students to access interactive lessons for all subjects of junior high and senior

    high schools, especially regarding Mathematics,Science,English,Social Studies,History and French.Mr Amponsah observed that the

    system could make learning at home easier and fun as it came with features which gave learners the opportunity to access every tool they

    required to carefully plan learning for themselves.In addition, he said, it allowed them to effectively follow a facilitator-led video lessons, revise

    lessons with culturally relevant and new curriculum-based resources,attempt and solve Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and

    the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASCCE) past questions,with instant feedback.A Co-Founder of the platform, Mr

    Micheal K. Ocansey, also stated that the closure of schools as a result of COVID-19 was adversely impacting on the educational system of the

    country.“Currently,the student population of Ghana for final-year students in SHS stands at 1.2 million.What this means is that on the average,we have

    over 12 million student population from Primary One through to senior high schools currently staying at home due to the COVID-19

    pandemic,” he stated.“The platform is a response to how we can make learning and assessment continue for the student population in Ghana and ensure that

    the illiterate youth in general take advantage of the pandemic to learn to read and write,” he added.

    How to log on

    To access the platform, Mr Ocansey explained that patrons would have to log on to www.virtualskuul.com in the browser to sign up for an account, using a valid e-mail address.

    Source: graphic.com.gh

  • Lets begin to look into virtual teaching Educationist

    Ms Eunice Araba Turkson, an education consultant in the United States, has called on Ghanaian authorities to begin looking into virtual teaching for effective education of children.

    She said innovation and creativity were crucial as far as education, especially inclusive education, was concerned.

    “Students are more likely to synthesize the information taught, bring more joy, and make their educational experience more meaningful,” she said.

    Ms Turkson, who recently participated in a webinar, dubbed: “Inclusive Education: Before, during and after COVID-19,” told the Ghana News Agency on Saturday that children were missing out on a lot of things during this COVID-19 period.

    “Children all over the world are missing out on a lot of things including social and emotional interactions. This is because children are not going to school,” she said.

    She suggested that for inclusive education to be effective, classrooms could adopt a co-teaching approach where every classroom would have one general education teacher and a special educator, working collaboratively to achieve a common goal.

    Co-teaching would enable the teachers to complement each other and serve as positive role models for their students, she said.

    “Children pick on the behaviours of adults around them and in co-teaching, teachers need to be intentional about modelling positive behaviours for children to emulate,” she said.

    This teaching model, as well as others, could be explored in an effort to achieve effective inclusive education in Ghanaian schools, Ms Turkson said.

     

    Source: GNA

  • GES releases timetable for KG, Primary and JHS pupils on Ghana Learning TV as lessons start today

    The Ghana Education Service (GES) in collaboration with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), has released the virtual learning timetable for kindergarten, primary, and JHS pupils on the Ghana Learning TV for the month of May 2020.

    A release sighted by ABC News on the Facebook page of the Ghana Education Service indicates that the lessons for the basic school pupils start today, Wednesday, May 6, 2020.

    Given this, the GES has advised parents and guardians to take note of the schedules and guard their wards during the lessons adding that a notebook and a pen or pencil should be provided to enhance the virtual teaching and learning process.

    Find the Timetable for Kindergarten and Lower Primary wards below:

    Find the Timetable Upper Primary Wards below:

    Below is the Timetable for JHS students

    Source: ABCNewsGh.com

  • Ensure all students have access to internet before online exams Education Ministry

    The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, has asserted that before any educational institution carries out an online exam, it must ensure that all students have equal access to the internet.

    Speaking in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show on Happy 98.9FM, he stated: “Any university that will conduct an assessment of students must put in place measures to ensure that all students have equal access”.

    He, however, revealed that most educational institutions were of the position that while the institutions do their part in ensuring an uninterrupted online exams,the students must also “take the necessary steps to ensure that they have internet access during the online exams”.

    He furthered that while the Ministry has arranged with telcos in Ghana to allow for zero rate when accessing online learning platforms, some educational institutions have made their own arrangements with other IT platforms.

    According to him, the Ministry does not have the autonomy to determine what specific platforms that institutions should use.

    He was, however, hopeful that with some bills in parliament at the moment, the Ministry could be given that right in the future.

    In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the President directed that all educational institutions be closed while taking advantage of online learning. After about a month, some institutions in Ghana informed their students of an online exams which was not favourably accepted by students.

    Subsequently, the Minister of Education in an interview on an Accra-based TV station kicked against the online examination by stating that “there is no public school that is conducting any exams online”.

    Source: happyghana.com

  • Coronavirus: Online examination will be discriminatory PUSAG

    The Private Universities Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG) says it will not be advisable for the Ministry of Education to permit public Universities to organise an online end of semester examination for students across the country.

    According to the group the policy could be discriminatory as many of the students studying in private universities and other university colleges will be left out.

    The group is also lamenting what they term as the neglect of private university students by the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    PUSAG says all interventions from the education ministry so far including the e-learning platforms have only benefited a few public universities.

    “We are of the strong conviction that the government has neglected us in its plans towards combating this novel coronavirus” PUSAG President Aswel Annan told Class News adding that “ because a lot of packages have been announced for SMEs in this country and we believe that as private universities we also in a way help government to ensure that ordinary Ghanaian students have access to tertiary education. So, we want to indeed plead with the government to come out with modalities to ensure the smooth running of private universities at this critical moment”.

    Mr Annan also noted that as the academic calendar draws to a close, many public universities have issued notice that end of semester examinations will be online but Private Universities Students Association is of the view that the Ministry of Education would have to come to the aid of over 50 members because the move could be discriminatory against private universities who are finding it difficult to smoothly run their activities in the wake of the outbreak.

    “Not all private university students in Ghana have access to the internet and most of them are also in remote areas and we all know that internet connectivity and electricity in Ghana are not stable so you can imagine when someone has low battery or there is no light at where students are and at that time it been scheduled for them to take the exams, they will find it difficult to access the internet. So, we think that writing exams online is not advisable and we think most of the private universities would be left out”.

    Source: Class FM

  • Education Ministry must negotiate with telcos to reduce data cost for basic schools Nortsu-Kotoe

    Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, wants the Education Ministry to negotiate with telcos for a reduction in data prices for basic schools across the country.

    This follows concerns of lack of access to teaching and learning by pupils after the closure of public institutions by government, as part of measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

    Many academic institutions have migrated course modules and activities online, to allow students catch up with lessons amid the ban on social distancing.

    Even though it has become a novel way of dealing with the issue, students whose families do not have the financial muscle, cannot afford the luxury of devices and the internet connectivity to access these resources.

    In this regard, Nortsu-Kotoe called for a dialogue between government and the internet service providers to bridge the equality gap in tuition.

    “The Ministry of Education can negotiate with the telecom providers so that they can reduce the cost of data for students who are on the e-learning platform,” he said on Joy FM Midday News on April 24.

    The Member of Parliament for Akatsi North Constituency added that, students in this bracket “should be given a subsidy so that the parents can afford.”

    He also explained that government should have provided students with smartphones as part of its preparation ahead of the roll-out of its various online interventions.

    E-learning platforms receive boost from Telcos amid Covid-19

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT) on April 14, announced that it has allowed “free access to over 100 educational online sites, e-learning platforms and libraries (public, private and foreign)” to enable students continue with academic activities from the comfort of their homes.

    In a press statement, the Chamber also revealed, it was supporting “over 240,000 customers consuming over 3,000 GB (3TB) per day for educational purposes.”

     

    Source: myjoyonline 

  • GES raises red flag on GNACOPS online terminal examinations

    Undoubtedly, the educational sector has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana causing curriculum disruptions. As a result, virtual or e-learning has been adopted by most educational institutions to enable them to complete their academic work.

    Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools GNACOPS, Enoch Jetuah, explained the introduction of an online examination platform. He hinted that more than 18,000 students from Private schools nationwide have written their online terminal examinations from Nursery to JHS 2, Mr. Jetuah noted that the platform is disability friendly.

    Reacting to the adoption of online terminal examination by GNACOPS, Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Opoku Amankwah said the move although laudable leaves much to be desired.

    Speaking to Radio Ghana, Prof. Amankwah said that the priority of the GES is content, practical based learning and assessment and not terminal examination.

    Hence, the introduction of the virtual learning channel on GBC TV dubbed GL TV. This he said will help students in Junior and Senior High Schools to catch up with the curriculum while at home. He also hinted of plans to replicate this on radio soon.

     

    Source: gbcghanaonline.com