Augmenting the Skills of Higher Education Teachers in Sri Lanka to Use Virtual Labs
Virtual Labs are an effective alternative in situations when science and engineering teachers and students cannot access physical labs due to resource and/or mobility constraints, as experienced by majority of them during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. These Labs, as innovative and interactive multimedia platforms, have the potential to enhance their teaching and learning experience and outcomes manifold.
The optimal utilisation of Virtual Labs by teachers and students requires their effective integration in the teaching and learning process. Recognising this need, the Commonwealth of Learning's regional centre, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) is enhancing the capacity of higher education teachers from science and engineering streams in Commonwealth Asia to use Virtual Labs and engage their students in virtual experiments to support their learning.
In this regard, CEMCA organised an online workshop on Virtual Labs for higher education teachers in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka. The virtual training, facilitated by the Centre for Media and Information Literacy (CMIL), Sri Lanka, was spread over two days – 22-23 November 2022. It aimed to enhance the capacity of higher education teachers to successfully integrate Virtual Labs in their teaching and learning. The workshop was inaugurated with an address by Dr. Madura M Wehella from the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka. She applauded CEMCA's efforts to enrich the teaching and learning processes in Asia through media and technology. The virtual labs are yet another achievement to augment science and engineering teaching, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Dr. B Shadrach, Director, CEMCA, added that Dr. Wehella's suggestion was instrumental in materialising the workshop. He stated that the outcomes of the workshop should not remain in raising awareness among the community of teachers in Sri Lanka, rather should result in a nation-wide effort to create Virtual Labs in higher education and TVET institutions of Sri Lanka. Dr. Wehella also introduced Dr. Hasini Thalagala, Director of Education, MoE, Sri Lanka, as her representative to CEMCA's forthcoming Country Focal Points' and Advisory Council meeting.
The workshop was facilitated by Mr. M. C. Rasmin from CMIL, and Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi from CEMCA. Mr. Saneesh P. F., Project Manager, Value Virtual Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kerala, India conducted the virtual training as Resource Person.
The workshop, conducted on the Zoom platform, was attended by more than 700 participants from various science and engineering streams. Mr. Saneesh initiated the training after providing an overview of the Virtual Lab and how to access it. Post the demonstration of its modalities, the participants got an opportunity to explore virtual labs, assimilate, practice, and apply what they learnt. The workshop was highly participatory with interactive sessions where participants received feedback on their assignments; raised queries and their doubts were clarified by the resource person.
