1. Global Class with Durham College, Canada

Students of 1st year MAIS along with Dr. Madhumati Deshpande participated in a Global class, a live 90-minute class between four countries, with three different groups, a host, and a guest held online through a video conferencing facility. The class was hosted by Prof. Lon Appleby of Durham College, Canada and the other participants were from St. Petersberg Lyceum, Russia and our students of our department.

Prof. Elizavete Friesem from Central Connecticut University, United States was the guest speaker and the topic of discussion was “The Importance of Media Literacy in the Global World”.

The lecture began with a discussion on What is media and what does it do and went on to explore various ways in which media uses techniques to disseminate information or manipulate the public mind. Our students logged in from two different locations and several others watched the live stream and participated in discussion. Some students even sent questions and comments on twitter that were read out for the discussion.

The class on the whole was a wonderful opportunity for our students to interact with students and teachers from different countries and being exposed to their views and perceptions. 

2. Global Class for Educators

Department of International Studies and History organised a Global Class for educators on Wednesday January 18th from 7.30pm to 9.15pm in CHRIST (Deemed to be University) in collaboration with Durham College, Canada. The Global Class for Educators event focused on how we as educators can enhance our teaching using the Global Class concept while exploring the theme "Creating Interactive Classes – Possibilities and Challenges" with international academics. A total of 28 faculty members joined the session along with  academics/ post grad students pursuing teaching qualifications from Canada and academics from Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown (ITB) Dublin.  The event was led by Dr. Bill Hunter, Founding Dean, Department of Education, University of Ontario, Institute of Technology.

The session began with institutional introductions from Prof. Paul Dervan and Prof. Lon Appleby and Dr. Deshpande. Dr. Bill Hunter then proceeded to his lecture on the changes that have happened in the way education and teaching has evolved in the last 100 years and what students are looking for in the class rooms. The teams then paused to discuss about the interactive practices in their own classes and share the same with the other groups. Canadian students shared what they would like to see more in their classes. The discussion was very lively and interesting with both sides giving their inputs on teaching and learning.

The class ended with Dr. Hunter emphasising on how to make sure we know what we teach and learn from students, constructivism and connectivism,  and how to be prepared to address the technological changes that challenge the teaching and learning process.

You can watch the whole video of the class at the following link:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/200066909