Achieving Educational Continuity under COVID-19 – Early Experiences and Lessons to Share

Abstract

Singapore progressed to DORSCON Orange on 7 February 2020 when a local case with no history of travel out of Singapore was confirmed COVID-19 positive. With the impending lockdown, decision was made to move all postgraduate programs online. The objectives of this paper are to document early experiences and lessons learnt in the conversion of face-to-face to online teaching; and to conduct a literature search for tips on effective online teaching. METHODOLOGY Each online session was observed by one of the authors (A/Prof Cheong Pak Yean) for glitches in video and audio transmission and speed of resolution by the technical team in attendance. Quality glitches were analysed and noted for future reference. A literature review for quality online teaching tips was also done. RESULTS Good internet connection, speaking to the microphone of transmitting devices, speaking within audible distance between speaker and device improved viewer ratings. Monitoring chat boxes for audio glitches and timely actions helped to ensure quality of each session and these were confirmed by the poll results. Our experience with sound quality challenges were also noted in the literature review. The potential for greater access and wider outreach was discovered with online learning and this potential of online learning post-COVID-19 needs to be highlighted. CONCLUSION DORSCON orange triggered video conferencing to achieve educational continuity. Sound quality glitches and timely resolution are challenges in each online teaching session. The potential of online teaching post-COVID-19 is highlighted.