“Every disruption can prove to be an opportunity. This can best be exemplified by the present scenario at our school; we decided to face the COVID-19 pandemic with a different approach. Our school community has lived up to our motto of ‘service before self’. Encountering looming challenges in our daily life, all staff collaborated to help the students and the parents by creating a quintessential virtual world.

The school went ahead setting benchmarks one after another. With tailor-made notes for each class, assignments and online assessments, we took a leap with co-curricular activities with the help of the parents. Videos of students went viral as they sang to tune the ways to remain calm and composed during the lockdown. Apprehensive of anxieties and fear in the mind of students, parents and teachers during this lockdown, we are providing them with online counselling. We have made technology a fad among students and they are enjoying learning from home!”

 – Surender Pal Sachdeva, principal of the CBSE affiliated Delhi Public School (DPS), Bopal — top-ranked co-ed day school in Ahmedabad.

Ranked #2 co-ed day school in Gujarat in the latest EducationWorld India School Rankings 2019-20,  DPS, Bopal, Ahmedabad is the flagship K-12 institution promoted under the Kalorex banner by the Ahmedabad-based Calorx Foundation (regd.1995). A pioneer in integrating technology in the teaching-learning process, the school ranked #1 in Ahmedabad in the Digital Learning Magazine’s School Rankings 2017. Keeping with its vision, ‘Lead, care and inspire’, the school has proved its mettle by providing an enriching and engaging learning experience to its students during this testing period besides preparing them for a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world.

DPS Bopal’s swift transition from traditional classroom to virtual classroom at the beginning of the new academic session 2020-21 was seamless. Amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown, the school has been ensuring minimum disruption in the teaching-learning process while enabling learning from home through several initiatives elaborated below.

Online Classes: Teachers working in tandem with the IT department ensured interesting as well as interactive online classes through PPTs, videos, pictorial presentations and online Zoom classes. A well spread out out time-table for students allow them a break of 20 min after every class, mitigating the harmful effects of prolonged screen exposure. To augment the learning process, notes and assignments are regularly uploaded on the school portal.

Students get homework after the online classes. A daily plan is made and notes are uploaded on the school portal. Student attendance is regularly maintained in a Google spreadsheet.

Cyber Support: The Tata ClassEdge e-learning platform — that includes an amalgamation of resource material, homework as well as task for self-learning — has been made accessible to the students with the content and links posted through the school portal. This has been instrumental in providing an extra edge to the students in their learning process. The module is developed as an individual learning programme which is progressive as it provides an assortment of content to augment the learning process besides offering guidelines to the syllabus.

Students are provided links of chapters on the portal through various publishers to ensure that they do not face problems owing to lack of books during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Online Assessment: The school has started online assessments to stimulate active and effective digital learning with different evaluation patterns such as MCQs and descriptive answering. Google forms are helping to assess electronically, allowing teachers to design quizzes embedded as web links where students’ responses are automatically collated and they get a score on the spot with submission of form. Formative assessment is planned for every subject and students are taking online tests weekly. Channelling class environment, the online classes are given a personal touch by all the teachers. Students are allowed to discuss during the live virtual classes emulating a real classroom environment.

Virtual Collaboration: All stakeholders of the school are using this lockdown period to plan, update and upgrade themselves constructively. Teachers are engaged in departmental enrichment sessions on Zoom.

Regular meetings and enrichment sessions among teachers and heads of the school provide varied perspectives and foster a bond to move towards the common goal.

Parents collaborate with the teachers and create videos where students recite poems, sing songs and contribute to the society by sharing the spreading awareness about COVID-19 

Workshops and webinars: Creating an advantageous forum, the teachers, students and parents meet online regularly to display a great camaraderie at all situations. Parents have attended meetings and orientation programmes for the new academic session. In separate meetings, parents were guided on how to make optimum use of available resources and technology in the wake of the current crisis. Online PTMs for all classes have brought together parents and teachers to work for the welfare of the students.

Teachers have enrolled in online courses to grow professionally and make optimal use of the lockdown period. Webinars are being conducted for parents and teachers to generate a common learning platform.

E-library: Using the school’s best-in-class ERP system, a complete library management system can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. The library portal provides links for e-books, videos and digital newspaper clippings.

Counselling Support: The Health and Wellness department of the school has extended constant help to parents, students and teachers in these testing times. The counsellors are sharing articles on emotional well being, breaking screen time and mindfulness to take up this challenge in a dynamic manner.

Extracurricular activities: To infuse positivity among students and break the barrier of the four walls, various activities in art & craft, dance & music, computers and sports are shared with students. Motley links are uploaded for students and teachers to instigate creativity with learning. Teachers from music department have created videos with popular songs to soothe the frayed minds of students and parents.

Parents Voices

“Human race is passing through one of the toughest times. DPS Bopal team has taken excellent steps by uploading comprehensive day-to-day study material complemented by regular guidance and support by class teachers. Uploaded content is appropriate as per their age and is well explained. It’s really commendable to take such initiatives for this age group, which actually motivates them to fulfil their task willingly. We also had interaction with the class teacher that was very informative and my daughter was glad to see her new class teacher. She is waiting eagerly to join her school.”

– Shubhi Tandon, parent of Garvita Tandon, Class II

“I never expected that the initiative of online classes would run so efficiently. The job done by the faculty and all the authorities is commendable. Ranbir is taking high interest in understanding all the topics and completing his assignments. He is not letting the pandemic affect him or his studies. I take reviews about the classes from him every day and he is enjoying it and so are the other students. It’s a great opportunity for all the students and I’m pleased that DPS Bopal is providing them with this prospect at such difficult times.”

– Ritesh Goenka, parent of Ranbir Goenka, Class X