Hyderabad: Schools compare notes to learn new practices

"Everyone is looking to optimise the available resources in the best possible manner. Webinars are a great way of connecting with the fraternity and exchanging best practices."

Hyderabad: School principals for once seem to be on the other side of fence during the lockdown. Registering for a webinar and attending at least one a day has become a ritual. "One gets a chance to know how other school leaders are dealing with the challenges that Covid-19 has inflicted on schools and what measures they are taking in matters of academics and keeping the school eco-system intact," says K V Brahmam, Director of Brahmam Talent School, Vengal Rao Nagar.

Keeping the continuity of teaching and learning is a huge challenge that schools face and most webinars address these issues. "It sets a direction to people. While schools have jumped onto the online bandwagon, a few issues such as attendance, checking assignments, keeping the morale of teachers high and many other aspects are discussed," he explains.

Traditionally, webinars have been popular in the corporate world, but it caught fancy of school managements held these days. Anil Kumar Thakur, founder and director of Anish College of Commerce, Saket, says, "Everyone is looking to optimise the available resources in the best possible manner. Webinars are a great way of connecting with the fraternity and exchanging best practices."

Some of the popular webinars are on 'Effective online teaching,' 'Education in times of Covid,' 'Leadership & Empathy in uncertain times.' Sunitha Rao, Principal of DPS School, Nacharam, says, "At times I take part in two webinars in a single day. There are so many points to take away. What is interesting is the fact that one can register and schedule work accordingly to be there at the appointed time."

What ticks for C V Rama Devi, Unicent School, Kompally, is the ease of conducting as well as taking part in webinars. "It sets a direction and one need not travel. Heads of schools want to reach out to one other during these times and the webinar is one medium that is handy." Brahmam says, "We manage to rope in experts on pedagogy, stress management, storytelling and other topics for webinars and the response is good."