Topic: Thinking on the method of distance teaching of practical courses during the epidemic period

Author: Utegenova Saltanat

Corresponding Author: Wan Yongzhou

Author affiliation : CUMT(China university of mining and technology)

Annotation

Coronavirus outbreak mediated pandemic impacted most of the sectors globally. This includes the academic world that consists of millions of enrolled learners and active teachers who previously had regular classes in their institutions, and due to the pandemic, got stuck at the home. To continue the education process, the online class was introduced in most of the countries, including China .COVID -19 pandemic and its restrictions bring new challenges to all aspects and phases of higher education. At universities, new remote formats have been developed and deployed for lectures and laboratory exercises. The article was introduced, the possibilities of how to adapt the lectures during the lockdown.

Keywords

Education; Covid-19; Online teaching; Home lab; Remote laboratories

Аннотация

Пандемия, вызванная вспышкой коронавируса, затронула большинство секторов во всем мире. Это включает в себя академический мир, состоящий из миллионов зарегистрированных учащихся и активных учителей, которые ранее регулярно посещали занятия в своих учебных заведениях, а из-за пандемии застряли дома. Чтобы продолжить образовательный процесс, в большинстве стран было введено онлайн-обучение , включая Китай. Пандемия COVID - 19 и связанные с ней ограничения создают новые проблемы для всех аспектов и этапов высшего образования. В университетах были разработаны и внедрены новые дистанционные форматы для проведения лекций и лабораторных занятий. В статье представлены возможности проведения лекций во время карантина в онлайн формате.

Ключевые слова

Образование; Covid-19; Онлайн-обучение; Домашняя лаборатория; Удаленные лаборатории

1.Introduction

The COVID-19 Pandemic has dramatically changed teaching at many universities. It is still unclear how long the measures will last, and there is no uniform guidance to help universities quickly transition to a new, full-fledged form of teaching. This situation is particularly challenging for technical universities with large amounts of practical activities and laboratory exercises initially, as they have had to set up a stable, full-fledged online learning system quickly. Everything that had previously been done in face-to-face form, from the actual lectures, seminars, practical demonstrations, and laboratory exercises to written tests and oral exams, had to be converted into digital form, not to mention all the legal and administrative processes behind [[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]].

2.My experience

In 2020, when the first outbreak of coronavirus infection began, we all switched to online training. Since this was the first experience of online lessons in our lives, we had quite a hard time. All lessons were taught online. In particular, it was difficult with laboratory lessons and physics.- Roy. In the beginning, it was difficult to imagine what format these lessons would be in, but after 2.5 years in quarantine, we got used to it. During the first half of the quarantine, we were not allowed to take laboratory lessons online, as the teachers hoped that we would be able to return and continue our offline lessons. Our Chinese classmates also studied online at the beginning, and then switched to the traditional training format. Many foreign students were unable to return to the university because the borders were closed. And they had to continue studying online. Fortunately, my classmates helped me, found textbooks in electronic format, explained what I did not understand, and helped me contact teachers, and continue to study with them. And the teachers all entered into my situation, treated me with understanding, and conducted a live broadcast of lessons in the classroom, recorded on video so that I could study together and keep up with them. There were of course some lessons that I had to teach myself, often these were laboratory lessons. But even so, I didn't give up, and I tried my best. During distance learning, I developed the ability to self-study and discipline. These skills helped me get through all the difficulties.

Recently, I was allowed to take some laboratory lessons online, such as a laboratory lesson in physics and chemistry. To be honest, I didn't know what to do, or how to do it, but thanks to the support from classmates, friends, and teachers, I was able to cope with the task.

When I took a laboratory lesson in physics in English, the most important condition of the lesson is to download the Phyphox (Physical home experiment) mobile application. With it, we did experiments such as Measurement of sound speed, Measurement of the geomagnetic field, Measurement of light illumination with phyphox, The experiment to research how the diameter of a megaphone affects the sound volume, Measurement of acceleration due to gravity by a single pendulum and The experiment to determine which material are the best sound insulator. To do these experiments, we used improvised materials, for example, paper to make a megaphone, a soccer ball, a ruler to calculate the diameter, etc. In general, doing experiments at home was very interesting and I liked it.

I took a laboratory lesson in chemistry in Chinese, of course, it was much more difficult. It's not because of the language barrier, but the fact that there is no chance to do the experiment yourself. At the physics lesson, it was possible to do an experiment with improvised means, but there is no such thing here, I did not have any proper equipment or reagents. The only thing I had was a book of laboratory chemistry lessons and a book of chemistry (theoretical lesson). Fortunately, my friend carefully explained to me how to write a report on the experiment, and with his help, I wrote a report on each experiment. I looked at the necessary digital data on the Internet and from classmates, but I did all the calculations and graphs completely by myself. Here the knowledge gained during the theoretical chemistry lesson helped me. Topics on which I wrote the report: Drying experiment, Experiment on basic characteristics of fluidized bed, Measurement experiment of constant pressure filtration parameters, Flowmeter performance measurement experiment, Centrifugal pump performance measurement experiment, Heat transfer experiment, Pipeline resistance measurement experiment, Distillation experiment, Absorption experiment, Observation and determination of fluid flow morphology, Thermocouple experiment, Liquid-liquid extraction experiment. Each experiment is unique in its own way, each has its own difficulties and nuances. Before writing a report, you need to first learn about this experiment. I read on the Internet and watched a video of how this experiment is done. In the report, you need to write the purpose of the experiment, the principle of the experiment, the stages of work, and descriptions of the device. After the experiment, you need to enter experimental data, and accordingly answer several questions in the book.

3.Distant teaching

The drastic changes in today’s world place additional demands on the education system. A large number of universities across the world are shifting the focus from traditional education to a web-supported education that can be provided either fully online or through blended learning (hybrid learning). It has been recognized that online learning has many advantages. The chief educational advantage is that students enrolled in online courses offered in asynchronous learning environments are able to access information in a flexible way without ever leaving home. Other advantages of online learning include the following: well-structured and efficient management of assignments, competitive advantage (online learning provides access to good quality education), cost effectiveness etc. However, the results of some studies carried out on online education highlighted weaknesses in the teaching-learning process from the students ' perspective as well as from the perspective of teachers involved in online education.There are still local problems caused by the application of Information and Communication Technology. The lack of access to the Internet at home, the lack of computer availability, slow internet connection and login problems are cited as the main obstacles to access online educational resources. Improving Internet access and enhancing ICT literacy and information literacy in the developing world is still an area of great concern.

Another prominent problem faced by online students is the isolation of an online course.More particularly, students experience hurdles in learning situations that involve group work and group assessments. The barriers to participation can be of a personal nature: inability to build interpersonal relationships with peers, stress and anxiety states associated with using technology, being pushed out of one’s comfort zone. The importance of effective online collaboration/group work cannot be overestimated; However, potential barriers to achievement may serve to isolate the students resulting in Disengagement or withdrawal.

A significant advantage of universities is that the vast majority of them already have extensive experience in delivering online education and have a range of tools that can be used for this purpose. However, a transition from face-to-face to distance learning requires a rethinking of the concept of the organization of teaching and the provision of a number of related activities, especially in the areas of communication, planning of learning activities, and selection of appropriate methods and tools [6,7].

The Pandemic brings new challenges for universities:

• Sustaining quality: the long duration of the Pandemic - entering graduates spent half of their studies in distance learning in the case of undergraduate programs. In the case of the master's program, the situation is even worse - three of the four semesters were spent online. Will these graduates become good engineers? [8].

• Social aspects: Building own network of contacts (classmates, roommates) is a big part of higher education . How is this traditional process affected in a situation where many students spend a large part of their studies with their parents?

• Staff: rapid transformation is demanding on human resources. Technical universities have a clear advantage over, e.g., humanities-oriented universities in dealing with the digital environment and distance learning tools. However, even some teachers in technical universities may be less comfortable with digital tools, and it is best to see if they need help or someone to consult. Being cooped up at home can be isolating and deepen the fear of dealing with a global crisis. Regular checking in on their feelings of anxiety is as important as checking in on ongoing learning. What tools can lecturers use to ensure continuity of learning and transfer of teaching from the university to home?[9]

• Tools: Various tools are available to help, many of them free or licensed by the university. Therefore, it may be tempting to try to use everything. However, students have asked in their regular semester feedback to limit the number of tools, apps, and platforms to not become overwhelmed. If possible, only a few online tools should be used[10].

• Privacy: if the tool is designed to work with the Internet, it must be covered by privacy: videoconferencing introduces teachers and students into their homes, so it is important to consider privacy. Blurring the video background is very appropriate if the tool supports it. In addition, teachers should dress as if they are attending a university and expect students to do the same. Online teaching is also a very appropriate opportunity to review digital etiquette[11].

• Share experiences: it is important to share experiences quickly not only through scholarly channels such as journals or conferences but also to use tools such as social networks to share insights, advantages, and disadvantages of the approach being tested, tools, trials, etc[12].

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