Parents applaud Elyon College's e-learning mode for students during Covid- 19 lockdown

Engr . Abiodun Fijabi, Proprietor Elyon College and Leadership Academy.

......urges other institutions to emulate Elyon College.

As the world virtually goes on recess with the ravaging Corona Virus causing people to stay at home more than the  usual and while many students are left to play about without chances of additional learning throughout the period of the lockdown,  due to the extant law of avoidance of social gathering, social distancing and above all restriction of movement, an Ogun State based educational Institution, Elyon College and Leadership Academy has brought forth an innovative idea through virtual learning , a system that allows students, especially those preparing for the mandatory examinations to converge on an online platform and gets an intensive training as if they were in the classroom setting.

This innovative approach to learning which has afforded the students the opportunity to continue to have access to quality training and academic exercise despite the fact that the schools remain shut  while not on terminal holiday has however drew the attention of some parents who applauded the initiative and encourage the school authoutities to keep up the good work.

The Business Package  had a chat with Mr Sylvester Egogo , one of the parents who expressed delight at the development as captured below :

Mr. Sylvester Egogo,  Parent 

TBP: As a parent who has a pupil in Elyon College and Leadership Academy, what is your view about the Virtual leaning being organised by the school for students by the College ? 

A: This initiative is a welcome development and a fantastic move by the authorities of ECLA.

TBP:  Do you think your  children  is / are deriving maximum benefits from it ? 

Ans: Yes for the period of time my child has been at home, it has not been a waste. Every morning he wakes up to the call of duty. I.e to learning on the e- learning group.

TBP: What has been your experience on how it operates and from the feedback from your child ?

Ans: Well,  my experience has been so far good. Information across the teachers and students are well communicated.

 

TBP: What advice will you give to the government and other Institutions of learning?

Ans: They should encourage and assist both Private and public institutions to develop and perfect the online teaching portal as a buffer measure to mitigate the inconveniences as a result of disruptions in academic activities.

TBP: Your message to ECLA. Management ?

Ans: I really want to thank the management for this wonderful medium given to help the kids. It has really helped especially the SS3 students  preparing for their WASSCE. Thank you all so much for your efforts and relentlessness. God will continue to uphold you all in Jesus name.

Another parent, Mrs. Ngozi Alao who also spoke with The Business Package shared this view .

Mrs . Ngozi Alao, Parent .

A: Honestly. I am excited by it. It is really engaging because every morning by 10  O clock,  it is as if she is in physical class. She leaves everybody , she goes to the Boys Quarter , seat down and had to be engaged.it is as if she is in class. She is occupied ,steady . I see their class work , I see everything and I am truly satisfied .

TBP: Do you think your children is / are deriving maximum benefits from it ? 

 A: I'm pretty sure my daughter is getting a  whole lots of benefits from the Google class they are using now , unlike the other time they come home and you have to coerce her to get something to read or take up some academic pursuit. This time around, you don't need to prompt her. She knows the time she has to go to class and she doesn't come out of the room where she gets into to get some ambience until 3 pm,. I mean , what more can I ask for. Before now , I have to work hard to get her to take up something to read; to get engaged in her school work. It is not the same. Now she gets up by herself. Even if you are calling her, she would let you know that I have a work to do; I have an assignment I have to submit.And, all these things are done online. The questions come online and they submit online. The benefits are enormous and I just feel good about it.

TBP: What advice will you give to the government and other Institutions of learning?

A: My advice to government, other Institutions, parents like myself. I think everybody should be involved. There should be a course in all schools to teach how to get engaged in learning online, because that's the way the world is going. It is becoming the norm, where everybody is engaged online. How about the place where people are engaged in home schooling. One of the way people engaged in home schooling is through online learning. If you are not exposed to it, it becomes difficult for you. When you go abroad, you will see that the students there are already exposed to all  these things. There is nothing wrong in having some courses done online. It would help our children. There will be no downtime at all. Even during holidays , your kid will still be engaged in their students. The school monitor what the students are doing. I think it is proper for us to introduce that in our schools.

TBP: Your message to the mangament of Elyon College on this wonderful  feat.

A: What can i say. I just want to use this opportunity to say Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Fijabi. To me , they rock. They are always bringing innovation that will make our children get better. They've  done so much tracking our children Leadership and make them take up leadership role wherever they go. And, now making sure that they are engaged at all times when they are at home. I mean, they rock , they just rock .And my love also to Mrs. Akinyemi. You guys rock. I just pray that other schools  emulate what Elyon College is doing. I just hope they will emulate , so that our children wouldn't waste all these time at home for nothing. We never know what will distrupt our calendar again, but we should be prepared to shock whatever might want to shock us. Thank you.

The Business Package also spoke with some of the teachers who are involved in this e- learning exercise to find out how they are pulling it off and their responses were revealing as presented below.

TBP:  Let's get to know you sir.

A: My names are Oyebade Olaoluwa Valentine.

A graduate of Mathematics.

I teach Mathematics presently at Elyon college and Leadership academy. Kemta, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.

Mr. Valentine , Tutor .

TBP:  What is this virtual learning all about.

A: It is all about getting the students engaged academically and putting them in examination mode, despite the lockdown period.

 

TBP:  How did you operate it and what are the nittty gritty ?

A: It  is not very different from operating a WhatsApp group. But in this assignment can be restricted to a number of students as desired by a particular tutor. Assignments can be scheduled and graded. Time limit can also be set for responses from students. All this is done with the  Google classroom app

TBP: How would you rate the student responses so far ? 

A:  Perfect and very encouraging (96%). They like it so well. I got to know this from their participation and quick response to questions.

The 4% is due to network palava

TBP: Are you using any of the learning app we can find around to reach the students or the institution generated it's own app by itself.Tell us how this is done.

A: We use the googleclassroom app. Available in the play store.  How it is done?

Get an administrator

Download the app

Invite teachers and students to the classroom via their email.Then you are good to go.

 TBP: One of the parents remarked that if not for sentiment , he would prefer his child learn through that mode, is it that exciting and effective ?

 

A: It  is so exciting if you ask me.

TBP: How do you measure performance on this system ?

A: Questions are sent.

Solutions are turned in and graded just the same way in the  classroom setting in the school. If a solution is turned in late, the app itself marks it as late.

Also contributing, another tutor in the Institution, who handles Physics has this to say:

TBP: Let's get to know you sir.

 A: My name is Azeez Edun, the Physics Teacher at Elyon College and Leadership Academy.

Mr Edun  , Tutor 

TBP: What is this virtual learning all about ? 

 A: The virtual learning is the emergency intervention brought up by the management to cushion the effect of abrupt closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a continuation of the regular teacher-students session, except for the fact that it's done over the internet.

TBP: How do you operate it and what are the nittty gritty ?

 A: All participants ( Teachers and Students) are  required to download and install Google Classroom on their devices. An invitation to join the class is sent by administrator to all involved. Once this is settled, the class is ready.  At the allotted time ( there's a time-table) the teacher comes into the classroom, takes the attendance to ensure that the students are connected, then begins the business. He either types or attaches his questions or materials for discussion for that period.  If it is a question for instance, the students gets to work immediately. They are allowed to ask for clarifications and make comments under the 'class comment' section. At the end of  the allotted time, they turn in their answers privately and the teacher will get to grade them accordingly. The class is as interractive as possible with conference call on WhatsApp when necessary. 

TBP: How would you rate the student response?

A:   It has  been awesome. 

TBP: Are you using any of the learning app we can find around to reach the students or the institution generated it's own app by itself. Tell us how this is done? 

.

A: We currently use Google Classroom for individuals, supported by a WhatsApp group. For classes that require video tutoring to drive points home, we deploy the use of the application called Zoom which allows for video conferencing between the teacher and the students wherever they may be at the appointed time.

TBP: One of the parents remarked that if not for sentiment , he would prefer his child learn through that mode, is it that exciting and effective ?

A: Surely, the mere connection of students and teachers from various locations at an instance is exciting to all of us. What's more exciting is that even though there is a time-table, the students work far beyond the stipulated times beating deadlines for assignments.

The management and the parent are now rest assured that the students aren't idle as they are constantly engaged, albeit in a more relaxed mode. 

TBP: What lessons for other Institutions? 

A: When events through lemon at you, you make lemonade out of it. We look at the inherent opportunities presented by any situation, instead of appearing helpless. 

TBP: How do you measure performance on this system ?

A: It has been great but not without challenges, majorly internet connection and power for the devices. It can only get better with time.

And, the Proprietor of Elyon College, Engineer . Abiodun Fijabi capped  it up while explaining the rationale behind the e- learning mode.

Engr. Abiodun Fijabi.

TBP:  Your College was able to put up a wonderful virtual learning show in this period of lockdown to ensure that your students keep learning even while miles away from school , how did you pull that off ? 

A:  We were driven by our commitment to our students and our desire to assist our parents to get the best out of their investments in their children’s education.

TBP: Is it a one off thing or something that had been part of the institution ? 

A: Not one-off. We are always on the cutting edge in the delivery of excellent service to our students. To this end, we have developed a lot of novel ideas to build a new generation of leaders out of our students. We are a leadership school, with a robust leadership curriculum. We hold entrepreneurial and public speaking classes. Our students are exposed to community development efforts. To increase our level or care giving, each of our experienced teachers is a surrogate parent to a group of students. We started a Saturday school to help the weak students to catch up with the rest of the class because of our commitment to ensuring no child is left behind.

TBP:  What specifically does it entails ?

A: We started with SS 3 students and then later with JSS 3 and SS2 students. It involves the use of an app that is available on all smart phones. It is driven by a technical committee that is creative, deliberate and versatile. 

TBP:  In terms of cost , how huge is the resources devoted to it ?

A:Aside from investments in ensuring our teachers have access to the Internet, the  outmost important resource is in the quality of our staff members. 

TBP:  Is virtual learning the future of education in the world ? 

A: No doubt, it is. It’s a matter of time before classroom without walls becomes the rule rather than the exception. 

TBP:  Do you think Nigeria is fully prepared for this when our University of Technology can not even put up such a show to ensure continuous learning for the students.

A: There are just a few reasons why any school whatsoever would shy away from deploying technology to ensure continuous learning. First is ignorance of the opportunities available. Second is incompetence. Where knowledge and competence are available, then lack of will may be the drawback. 

TBP: What is the success rate of that method of teaching and learning ? 

A:Because of its simplicity and adaptability, the success rate is near 100%. This is made possible by a dynamic feedback and follow up system. 

TBP: What are the hindrances to virtual learning ? 

A: When virtual learning is a stand-alone method, it tends to build students without adequate social skills to meet the challenges they face in life. The result is the curtailing of their leadership capabilities. 

TBP:  Your final word.

A: With commitment to service excellence, an organization - any organization- will always find a way to continue to deliver on its promises to its clients. This is the Elyon College and Leadership Academy’s story.