Headstart cites Musaeus College as model of successful shift to e-learning in lockdown

People, rather than the technologies deployed, are the key factor in driving a successful transition to online teaching, a leading facilitator has concluded after working with numerous schools during Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 lockdown. 

Headstart (Pvt) Ltd, the award-winning internationally-recognised Sri Lankan e-learning solutions provider, cites as an example the success of Musaeus College’s online teaching model, steered by the company’s involvement in teacher capability improvement. 
 
One of the first schools in the country to adopt the virtual teaching model in the lockdown period to deliver lessons on a regular school timetable, Musaeus College’s quantifiable accomplishments include the active involvement of over 300 Primary grades to Advanced Level teachers in the tech-based teaching method, the participation of over 6,000 students from all grades via Headstart’s single online platform, the development of a substantial digital content library by the teachers themselves, and the successful completion of online examinations for the second term for the entire school, the company said in a media release. 

Headstart attributed the focus on teacher capability improvement, rather than preoccupation with tech support and hardware, as the cornerstone of Musaeus College’s success. 

While providing digitised learning material to Musaeus College, Headstart’s role in fostering e-learning also encompassed assessing teachers for their tech capabilities, training them on teaching with technology, and continuous engagement for training, support, and monitoring of key performance indicators (KIPs).

Commenting on Musaeus College’s quick transition to e-learning in response to the pandemic, the Principal, Ms. Nelum Senadira said: “Our plans helped us to adapt very quickly and allowed us to begin conducting a very successful online teaching program which started from 20th March 2020. The lessons were meticulously planned according to a set timetable for all classes from Grades 1 to 13 corresponding to the needs of the syllabus. This focused approach has, we are proud to report, seen us complete the 2nd Term’s work targeting the end of 2nd term by the beginning of August.  This would not have been possible if not for the special training provided by Headstart to the master teachers and IT teachers who trained all the others, usually in the late evenings or during the weekends along with the team from Headstart.”

Headstart Director/CEO Hasitha Dela said: “The unwavering leadership from the Principal and Management of the school in embracing the shift to digital education, the investment commitment provided for teacher training and capability enhancement, and the dedication and adaptive mindset of the teachers to make e-learning work played a vital role in the school’s digital teaching success. Although technology for education has been available for a while, the pandemic highlighted its necessity. An institution may have the best technology and hardware but how teachers make use of this to deliver lessons is what makes the difference in a student’s learning experience. This is where Musaeus College excelled.” 

Notably, when the country went into lockdown-mode due to COVID-19, Headstart made available its digital learning content platform Guru.lk containing resources of digitised material to schools and private tuition institutes whose regular classes had been suspended. This enabled these institutions to maintain their interaction with students via the platform, and keep up the learning momentum without any physical contact until the situation could return to normal. 

Above: Students continue with digital learning after the end of the lockdown