The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has introduced an online learning platform as part of measures to keep academic activities in session during the COVID-19 period.
According to the University, since they could not tell when the COVID-19 pandemic will end, there was the need for the full implementation of the online learning platform to keep academic work active.
“With the recent coronavirus pandemic that has virtually stalled the traditional system of education where students sit in classrooms, the online learning platform provides students with the opportunity to finish their academic activities for the semester,” the university authorities said.
Speaking to Citi News in an interview, Public Relations Officer for the University, Ernest Azutiga indicated that the decision was necessitated by the outbreak of the coronavirus adding that the uncertainty surrounding when the coronavirus will be completely eradicated was what prompted the university to take to online learning.
“The migration started way back on March 18 after the closure of schools as a result of COVID -19. There was a further directive from the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Tertiary Education to inform universities to look at the possibility of migrating the academic activities online and since we already had the infrastructure in place–the Learning Management System (LMS)– it came in handy. So, with this new directive, we moved all our activities full time onto the platform,” Ernest Azutiga said.
The Public Relations Officer indicated that a document which set out the modalities for the implementation of online academic activities was put together prior to the migration.
“The Management of the University put in place a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee for the implementation of the migration. This Committee, prior to the mid-semester examinations took the decision that since the system had been used by fewer numbers in the past relative to the numbers we now have, there was the need to test the readiness and resilience of the system. The Committee, therefore, requested all lecturers to conduct mandatory quizzes. Based on the outcome of that exercise, we had to make some adjustments to the learning management system and provide further guidelines to enhance user experiences on the system”, Ernest Azutiga added.
The Public Relations Officer indicated that although teaching and learning activities have gone online it has come with its own challenges.
“Some students have occasionally complained of the slow nature of the system and unstable network but we have worked with Vodafone and MTN to zero-rate the system. With the upgrade of the system, user experiences have become far better. We will continue to review and strategize along the implementation process to ensure that things are done very well,” the University PRO said.
