5. Data Analysis and Results
5.6 Adoption of Teaching and Assessment Methods
Adopting digital technologies in teaching activities like online classes and conducting an assessment (for example, online oral exam) involve various types of technologies and teaching methods. Universities had little or no experience in conducting online teaching before the COVID-19 lockdown. According to the interview responses, for most universities, the decision of conducting online classes or disseminating learning resources online is much easier than the process for examination. Online classes require internet connectivity, digital devices, uninterrupted power connections — access to learning resources can be achieved through some alternative means. On the contrary, exams are typically time-bound, requires certain rules for the use of the communication channels, and certain formats are pre-requisite. Given the fundamental barriers to access, a significant number of students may feel deprived of achieving desired performance and even attending the exams in the worst case. So, public universities in particular have not yet made any decision about the exams.
Private universities are more conscious and serious about setting up technological infrastructure to run online classes and exams. Because, if private universities are not able to switch to online classes, students are unlikely to show interest to register for courses and pay tuition fees. Moreover, private universities have a significant proportion of financially solvent students.
The Independent University, Bangladesh and Feni University have strong similarities in examination methods in the blended form. They have conducted online oral exams and advised the teachers to be creative in designing examination methods considering the circumstances of the students and other factors. Feni University already developed guidelines for conducting exams and IUB administration planned to announce guidelines.
10 10
had the approval to carry on distance learning. According to the recently obtained data obtained, the student attendance rate has increased from 30-40% to 70-80%.
2DU: The University Grants Commission hosts the Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BDREN), which offers the national Zoom access for educational institutions.
Universities will be able to use all the services if the teachers send requests from their institutional email. Dhaka University administration also suggested the teachers to use Zoom.
Open University has recently launched IP TV and it is running test broadcasting now. From August 2020, OU students are expected to take the required classes from any device through IP TV.
9OU: IP TV was set up in Gazipur in July so that around 1,200 lectures could be watched by students from any device. It is still being piloted and expected to be fully open from August 2020. The government's Access to Information (a2i) initiative has also developed a virtual class. Virtual classes of about 150 teachers have been shown to date as part of the test transmission. The advantage here is that both classes and exams can be conducted in this environment. One of the problems with the IP TV is that its infrastructure can support fewer students than we currently need to reach. Work is underway on how to reach all students via IP TV or web TV.
About all the universities that are continuing their educational activities are using Zoom or Google Classroom. BRAC University created an online platform ‘BUX’ as their learning management system.
Independent University, Bangladesh has customized Google Classroom in collaboration with Google India.
They even started mock spring semester classes before the start of the summer semester. The trial round gave both the teachers and the students an idea of how to do the online classes, and what the process is.
4IUB: IUB was preparing for teaching via online platforms like Zoom and Google classroom.
However, IUB institutionally stepped away from Zoom because at times there are some concerns about the Zoom platform as it may compromise network security. So, IUB decided to use Google classroom. It was a collective decision. IUB also considered Moodle LMS.
Google India helped us to optimize the IUB network. Right now, 61 classes are using Google Classroom simultaneously and at least 700 students are attending the classes simultaneously.
5.6 Adoption of Teaching and Assessment Methods
Adopting digital technologies in teaching activities like online classes and conducting an assessment (for example, online oral exam) involve various types of technologies and teaching methods. Universities had little or no experience in conducting online teaching before the COVID-19 lockdown. According to the interview responses, for most universities, the decision of conducting online classes or disseminating learning resources online is much easier than the process for examination. Online classes require internet connectivity, digital devices, uninterrupted power connections — access to learning resources can be achieved through some alternative means. On the contrary, exams are typically time-bound, requires certain rules for the use of the communication channels, and certain formats are pre-requisite. Given the fundamental barriers to access, a significant number of students may feel deprived of achieving desired performance and even attending the exams in the worst case. So, public universities in particular have not yet made any decision about the exams.
Private universities are more conscious and serious about setting up technological infrastructure to run online classes and exams. Because, if private universities are not able to switch to online classes, students are unlikely to show interest to register for courses and pay tuition fees. Moreover, private universities have a significant proportion of financially solvent students.
The Independent University, Bangladesh and Feni University have strong similarities in examination methods in the blended form. They have conducted online oral exams and advised the teachers to be creative in designing examination methods considering the circumstances of the students and other factors. Feni University already developed guidelines for conducting exams and IUB administration planned to announce guidelines.
10
4IUB: University asked faculties to use their creativity to take the exams and then faculties exchange their experiences with each other. Later, faculties will decide what they will do.
Therefore, the assessment procedure is right now is an open platform. Before the midterm exam, IUB will give the central guidelines for the online exam.
5FU: The UGC gave guidelines for conducting assessment formats they will approve. The university decided that the final examination will be held according to the guidelines. In June, oral exams were conducted by Feni University according to some defined assessment policies.
Since DU have a large number of students living in the residential halls, the task will not be easy for Dhaka University. So, Dhaka University focused on teaching and some of the departments have taken the tests in different ways. DU faculty members are waiting for the new exam date to be announced at the end of September, in anticipation of better condition.
2DU: Some departments of DU initiated on their own to take online exams. Access to Information (A2i) of the Bangladesh Government made a platform named ‘Muktapath’.
Using this platform Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University has taken the exams. The Institute of Education and Research is conducting tests using Moodle software. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering are also using Moodle for conducting online exams. The main concern is that now we are not thinking of taking the exams. Now, the main goal is to reach the students with the curriculum.
6. Conclusion
Based on the online interviews with senior academics and administrative roles of six universities of Bangladesh, this chapter reports the perceived decision-making and action-taking factors regarding the adoption of blended learning in the universities of Bangladesh. The factors identified are categorized into 1) institution type and governing system,
2) flexibility to circumvent the barriers: participation and power, 3) location of the university and diversity of the students’ profiles 4) financial need of students and strategy to address the need 5) technological knowledge and institutional technological resources 6) adoption of teaching and assessment methods
At the macro-level, the universities are responsible for maintaining consistency and standard in close collaboration with the university grants commission (UGC) of Bangladesh, which is responsible for public, private and international universities that operate with different types of funding mechanisms. The decisions and initiatives by the UGC, regarding approval for teaching and conducting online, and support provided for Zoom access to universities have influenced the integration and adoption of digital technologies for teaching online.
At the meso-level, the university administrations have given flexibilities to the teachers –adopt suitable technologies, convenient channels and formats for giving access to the teaching resources. The teachers were given the flexibility to address the situation in participation with others and with access the all the resources in their power.
The external factors, the location of the university and students’ socio-economic profiles, play a significant role in the successful adoption of digitally blended learning. The universities and students located outside the major cities in the country are disadvantaged due to insufficient infrastructure for electricity, internet, social attitude towards Internet as educational media, and the average income level. Every year, parts of the country become submerged and the access to electricity, internet, and restrictions of commuter services are also barriers to blended learning in Bangladesh.
The financial needs of students, especially for a significant proportion of students in the public universities and some of the international universities, is a major external barrier. The students without the affordability
1111
to purchase a smartphone, computer and Internet subscription need social support and the faculty members and student communities of some of the universities have offered support.
Technological knowledge at the micro/individual level and technological resources including infrastructure at the meso- or university level are both required for a successful digital blend. While some of the universities are developing infrastructure, the need for continuous support for both teachers and students are prerequisites to quality education.
Adopting ad-hoc methods for conducting teaching and assessment by giving flexibility to the teachers is an indication of a strong ability to tackle the difficult situation. To maintain quality education, further research should investigate the teaching and assessment methods that are considered good experiences. The subject culture often governs how professional identity should be established and it is important to conduct further research in the complex and diverse conditions of students in Bangladeshi universities.
The qualitative insights from ten interviews representing six universities out of more than 150 universities in Bangladesh provide a partial understanding and narrative of the phenomena. Insufficient response and lack of participants from each of the universities restricted the scope of intra-university validation.
Therefore, in future studies, an extensive qualitative study might be conducted for the inclusion of more universities and participants from each of the universities. The factors identified in this study paves the foundation for developing questionnaires for conducting quantitative studies identifying the decision-making and action-taking factors regarding the adoption of blended learning in the universities of Bangladesh.
References
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2017). Bangladesh: An Overview. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/86b66335_4fa7_4143_a03 4_9abe3c537553/2020-05-15-16-21-919737265f99c7c1397ac87a11cdbcf6.pdf
Bonk, C. J., & Graham, C. R. (2012). The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs. John Wiley & Sons.
Farhana, Z., Tanni, S. A., Shabnam, S., & Chowdhury, S. A. (2020). Secondary Education During Lockdown Situation Due to Covid-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: Teachers’ Response on Online Classes. Journal of Education and Practice,11(20), 97–102.
Hasselgren, B., & Beach, D. (1997). Phenomenography — a “good‐for‐nothing brother” of phenomenology? Outline of an analysis. Higher Education Research & Development,16(2), 191–
202. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436970160206
Hossain, Md. A., Salam, Md. A., & Shilpi, F. (2016). Readiness and challenges of using information and communications technology (ICT) in higher education of Bangladesh.The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education,6(1), 123–132.
Khalid, M. S., & Buus, L. (2014). Paper II. A theoretical framework mapping barriers of integrating and adopting educational technology. In Secondary Educational Institution Centered Diffusion of ICT in Rural Bangladesh(pp. 101–124). Aalborg University.
Khalid, Md. S., & Nyvang, T. (2013). Application of Participatory Learning and Action Methods in Educational Technology Research A Rural Bangladeshi Case. In M. Georgsen & P.-O. Zander (Eds.), Changing education through ICT in developing countries(pp. 105–128). Aalborg University Press. https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/202169415/Changing_Education_OA_version.pdf Khalid, Md. S., & Pedersen, M. J. L. (2016). Digital Exclusion in Higher Education Contexts: A Systematic
Literature Review. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 228, 614–621.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.07.094
Larsson, J., & Holmström, I. (2007). Phenomenographic or phenomenological analysis: Does it matter?
Examples from a study on anaesthesiologists’ work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being,2(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482620601068105
Mamun, S. (2020). Coronavirus: Bangladesh declares public holiday from March 26 to April 4,Dhaka Tribune, https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2020/03/23/govt-offices-to-remain-closed-till-april-4
Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography ? Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science,10(2), 177–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132516
12 12
to purchase a smartphone, computer and Internet subscription need social support and the faculty members and student communities of some of the universities have offered support.
Technological knowledge at the micro/individual level and technological resources including infrastructure at the meso- or university level are both required for a successful digital blend. While some of the universities are developing infrastructure, the need for continuous support for both teachers and students are prerequisites to quality education.
Adopting ad-hoc methods for conducting teaching and assessment by giving flexibility to the teachers is an indication of a strong ability to tackle the difficult situation. To maintain quality education, further research should investigate the teaching and assessment methods that are considered good experiences. The subject culture often governs how professional identity should be established and it is important to conduct further research in the complex and diverse conditions of students in Bangladeshi universities.
The qualitative insights from ten interviews representing six universities out of more than 150 universities in Bangladesh provide a partial understanding and narrative of the phenomena. Insufficient response and lack of participants from each of the universities restricted the scope of intra-university validation.
Therefore, in future studies, an extensive qualitative study might be conducted for the inclusion of more universities and participants from each of the universities. The factors identified in this study paves the foundation for developing questionnaires for conducting quantitative studies identifying the decision-making and action-taking factors regarding the adoption of blended learning in the universities of Bangladesh.
References
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2017). Bangladesh: An Overview. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/86b66335_4fa7_4143_a03 4_9abe3c537553/2020-05-15-16-21-919737265f99c7c1397ac87a11cdbcf6.pdf
Bonk, C. J., & Graham, C. R. (2012). The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs. John Wiley & Sons.
Farhana, Z., Tanni, S. A., Shabnam, S., & Chowdhury, S. A. (2020). Secondary Education During Lockdown Situation Due to Covid-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: Teachers’ Response on Online Classes. Journal of Education and Practice,11(20), 97–102.
Hasselgren, B., & Beach, D. (1997). Phenomenography — a “good‐for‐nothing brother” of phenomenology? Outline of an analysis. Higher Education Research & Development,16(2), 191–
202. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436970160206
Hossain, Md. A., Salam, Md. A., & Shilpi, F. (2016). Readiness and challenges of using information and communications technology (ICT) in higher education of Bangladesh.The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education,6(1), 123–132.
Khalid, M. S., & Buus, L. (2014). Paper II. A theoretical framework mapping barriers of integrating and adopting educational technology. In Secondary Educational Institution Centered Diffusion of ICT in Rural Bangladesh(pp. 101–124). Aalborg University.
Khalid, Md. S., & Nyvang, T. (2013). Application of Participatory Learning and Action Methods in Educational Technology Research A Rural Bangladeshi Case. In M. Georgsen & P.-O. Zander (Eds.), Changing education through ICT in developing countries(pp. 105–128). Aalborg University Press. https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/202169415/Changing_Education_OA_version.pdf Khalid, Md. S., & Pedersen, M. J. L. (2016). Digital Exclusion in Higher Education Contexts: A Systematic
Literature Review. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 228, 614–621.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.07.094
Larsson, J., & Holmström, I. (2007). Phenomenographic or phenomenological analysis: Does it matter?
Examples from a study on anaesthesiologists’ work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being,2(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482620601068105
Mamun, S. (2020). Coronavirus: Bangladesh declares public holiday from March 26 to April 4,Dhaka Tribune, https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2020/03/23/govt-offices-to-remain-closed-till-april-4
Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography ? Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science,10(2), 177–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132516
12
Oliver, D. G., Serovich, J. M., & Mason, T. L. (2005). Constraints and Opportunities with Interview Transcription: Towards Reflection in Qualitative Research. Social Forces, 84(2), 1273–1289.
https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0023
Rahman, K. F., & Yeasmin, S. (2013). Learners’ Preparedness for Digital Learning Materials as Supplement of Self-Learning Materials of Open School of Bangladesh Open University. Universal
Journal of Communications and Network, 1(3), 105–109.
https://doi.org/10.13189/ujcn.2013.010304
Shawon, A. A. (2020) Bangladesh closes all educational institutions till March 31, Dhaka Tribune,
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/2020/03/16/govt-directs-shutting-all-educational-institutions-mach-17-to-31
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage Publications.
1313
14 14
14