Month: March 2022

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The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants participates in Fraud Prevention Month 2022 #FPM2022

The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants participates in Fraud Prevention Month 2022 #FPM2022
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants

College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants

BURLINGTON, Ontario, March 01, 2022 (World NEWSWIRE) — As associates of the Fraud Prevention Forum, the Higher education of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (the University) joins co-chairs Competition Bureau, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in their attempts to educate the community on the impacts of fraud and how to stop it. The University has several resources accessible for the general public to aid mitigate immigration fraud and guard prospective immigrants to Canada.

The Faculty encourages these who are contemplating selecting an immigration marketing consultant, to normally validate the guide is accredited with them, by applying the Public Sign-up accessible on our web-site or on the College’s cellular application. The cellular application is accessible for download in the App Retail outlet or Google Participate in by hunting “CICC CCIC”.

“One of the principal objectives of our Fraud Prevention campaign in March is to teach the public on the risks of using unauthorized practitioners to help with their immigration applications,” explained Stan Belevici, RCIC, Chair of the Board of Directors. “This is why we have engaged an influencer, and released a world-wide digital media advert marketing campaign, so that our concept can get to those outdoors of Canada who may perhaps not usually know what the University is or does.”

The University also has a dedicated fraud prevention web site on their web site, underneath “Protecting the Community,” exactly where the community can entry educational means this sort of as a Consumer’s Guidebook and Leading Recommendations to protect against immigration fraud.

“We have made a great partnership with the Large Fee of Canada in India and go on to expand our outreach with other international missions. This has resulted in improved awareness of the Higher education at a floor amount,” stated John Murray, President & CEO of the Higher education. “It can be a obstacle to get our concept to communities in overseas jurisdictions, so we are pleased to have this partnership with the Substantial Fee. It is crucial that we attain audiences that truly want to hear our concept so that they can just take actions to protect themselves from fraudulent actors.”

Be sure to sign up for the fight from immigration fraud by viewing the College’s internet site www.school-ic.ca to master more, and by subsequent our social media accounts, sharing our fraud avoidance ideas, and utilizing the hashtags underneath.

#FPM2022
#VerifyYourImmConsultant

About the College or university

The University of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants is the authority mandated by the Authorities of Canada to regulate the follow of Controlled Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) and Controlled Worldwide College student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs). Its purpose, authority and powers are proven in the Faculty of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (Canada). The Higher education sets and enforces the licensing, instruction and moral benchmarks of the career in the general public desire.

Any immigration marketing consultant who presents Canadian immigration and citizenship products and services, regardless of whether domestically or overseas, need to be certified by the Higher education.

Study extra at www.school-ic.ca.

Press Speak to

Christopher May
Director, Public Affairs and Communications
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants
[email protected]
T: 1-877-836-7543

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$36 million school voucher bill fails in Utah House

million school voucher bill fails in Utah House

A controversial bill to build a taxpayer-funded, $36 million university voucher software failed by a weighty margin in the Utah Residence on Monday.

The evaluate, HB331, was struck down by a 22-53 vote. And there is minimal chance of a revival in the several times left in advance of the finish of the legislative session this 7 days.

By now, the monthly bill had confronted considerable road blocks. Many in the schooling community experienced rallied from it, declaring the evaluate would damage public colleges and siphon even a lot more cash away from them. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox had also promised to veto the legislation if it arrived to his desk.

Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, the sponsor, had made very last moment changes to the measure to attempt to assuage concerns, but it eventually did not transform the tide.

“I fully grasp this is a significant coverage modify,” she mentioned, pleading for support on the Property floor. “I have an understanding of enacting new policies is not an effortless matter to do.”

She argued that supporting general public education and learning and offering households assist to depart public schools, however, have been not mutually unique.

The invoice would have founded the Hope Scholarship Program. The concept was to permit learners to get public faculty funding with them, in the sort of a scholarship, when they transfer to a personal college or dwelling schooling.

The scholarships were set up to be cash flow-primarily based, so family members producing less revenue would have been awarded additional — occasionally double what a scholar would customarily be allocated in the public program.

Pierucci stated she required to give reduced-money and center-class people far more education selections if general public university was not encouraging their child thrive or if their baby was remaining bullied there.

The funds, nevertheless, brought about issues. Educators feared the volume of funds becoming drained from community educational institutions in a point out that ranks amongst the lowest for shelling out per pupil.

Pierucci amended the bill to make it possible for a student’s allocation — recognised as a weighted pupil device, or WPU — to stay with a faculty even if that pupil was presented a Hope Scholarship and remaining. But it still took $36 million from the public university fund.

And even at the highest scholarship total, the funds was not adequate to entirely cover tuition for many private universities in Utah. The typical tuition for most in the point out is about $11,000, in accordance to Non-public School Evaluation. Any numerous go better than that. Tuition at each Waterford and Rowland Hall, two popular private universities in the point out, are equally extra than $20,000.

Rep. Marsha Judkins, R-Provo, argued that there are presently alternatives offered for and paid out for in the general public school technique that mom and dad can select from to help their child. “We could possibly not be conscious of all the alternatives that mom and dad have,” she stated.

She pointed to charter colleges as the primary option. But she also famous that the condition delivers sources for house-schooling and online schooling. And many private educational facilities, she reported, now give scholarships for lower-cash flow households. There is also open up enrollment involving common districts.

Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, a retired instructor, reported he also did not see any accountability actions in the monthly bill to make absolutely sure non-public universities have been providing an sufficient training.

Private educational institutions are not held to the exact standards in Utah. They do not have to hire licensed instructors. They can enroll college students on a preferential foundation. And the state simply cannot established curriculum in these educational facilities. Briscoe explained sending taxpayer income to a place with little to no transparency would be a bad conclusion.

Pierucci pointed out that she added a requirement to the invoice for college students who go to personal faculty underneath the scholarship to be analyzed on a yearly basis. Rep. Steve Waldrip, R-Eden, mentioned he did not experience like that was plenty of. Public universities, he famous, have considerably extra accountability measures to make positive teachers are geared up and college students are discovering.

“It offers me fantastic pause and fantastic problem,” he reported.

Other explained there were being anxieties about how the funds could be employed, like for treatment applications not at present provided in public colleges. A single explained it did not in fact repair the difficulties with bullying, and she would rather see a targeted plan for that. A further additional that pupils would get cash who have under no circumstances been in the public technique and whose people have now built the alternative to go to a non-public university.

The evaluate experienced been championed by conservative mother or father groups in the condition, who noticed it as a way to develop school alternative and have all selections, which include household education, funded by taxpayer pounds. And a handful of Republican lawmakers defended the monthly bill.

Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, said with the adjustments to maintain the WPU in public educational institutions, it wasn’t harming training but supplying moms and dads more selections. And, he reported, all those are in particular wanted immediately after the pandemic, in which several people learned what worked greatest for their youngsters (in his relatives, he stated, on line studying did not go effectively).

“Parents are determined,” added Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, who mentioned she home-schooled her six kids.

1 lawmaker, Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, suggested generating it a tax credit rating system rather of a scholarship. That strategy was also defeated.

Utah currently has the Carson Smith Scholarship Plan, which is customized specially to give vouchers to college students with special desires.

And the new proposal came even with Republican lawmakers championing a comparable evaluate in 2007 that was finally defeated. It passed, even with potent opposition from moms and dads and academics, but they then rallied to place a referendum on the ballot to rescind the evaluate.

They received. Much more than 62{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of Utah voters sided with the repeal hard work.

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Is online teaching serving the purpose?

Is online teaching serving the purpose?

Introduction

COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a significant and rapid shift in teaching and learning strategies across health professions education and educational programs worldwide. Significantly, the need for physical distancing severely constrained traditional face-to-face lectures and teaching strategies and encouraged a shift to be online and virtual teaching strategies.1–4 COVID-19 pandemic situation posed many challenges to healthcare worldwide and medical education. Rose observed that “The need to prepare future physicians has never been as focused as it is now in a global emergency”.5 The COVID-19 pandemic caused worldwide disruptions to the healthcare systems and medical education.5,6 Institutions of higher learning stopped operations physically, and most of the activities are online. Further, the response of medical schools to the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented.

Avalon University School of Medicine (AUSOM) is established in Curacao, the Caribbean region offering a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program. The M.D. program is of 4-year duration, with the first two years including basic science instruction and the next two years of clinical rotations/clerkships. The first two years of the program consist of basic science courses, including clinical skills. Basic science courses are spread over five semesters, which are from MD1 to MD5 semesters. Basic science courses are multi-disciplinary courses like Human Structure and Function (HSF) 1 and 2 (anatomy, histology, and physiology), Molecular Basis of Medicine (MBM) 1 and 2 (biochemistry and genetics), Mind, Brain, and Behavior (MBB) 1 and 2 (neuroscience and genetics), Diseases, Immunity, and Therapeutics (DIT) 1 and 2 (pharmacology, pathology and microbiology and immunology), epidemiology and biostatistics and clinical skills 1–4.

Face-to-face teaching is where the instructor and the learners meet in an established place for a scheduled time, for either one-on-one learning or, most commonly, in group classroom sessions. The advantages of face-to-face teaching are learners can concentrate better on learning because there’ll be fewer distractions, and learners can gain greater understanding, experiences, and real-world examples from teachers and other students. Learners have a greater chance of completing their course successfully in a classroom environment. (Completion rate of teacher-led classes is almost 5x higher than that of online learning). Learners may feel more comfortable and learn more efficiently in a familiar and traditional classroom environment. Learners can access more information. Learners have the opportunity to connect with, problem-solve, and socially interact with other diversified students from different backgrounds.

The Medical Education Unit (MEU) and dean’s office, in collaboration with the Information Technology (IT) department at AUSOM, provided training and resources for biomedical faculty to develop skills and expertise for delivering courses in virtual teaching methods. These actions were taken for the rapid transition to teaching and learning in virtual environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, drawing on faculty development program experiences and support during the COVID-19, which caused rapid teaching transition, we handled innovative teaching strategies in virtual environments. We designed and trained the faculty who are relatively new to virtual teaching and had no prior hands-on experience. Faculty with previous experience potentially benefit from new and different perspectives on the application and impact of education through technology presented below.

Online Teaching Platforms

Both content experts and the students needed to adapt to the new normal of using available tools on the internet to continue education.7 Popular platforms or software that are frequently used are WebEx®, Microsoft Teams®, Zoom®, and Google Meet® as these were provided free of charge. For example, Zoom® has forgone its time limit to use the Zoom® application widely. But these also have their limitations given vast usage around the globe as the whole world was being locked down.8 We have been using Google Meet® at AUSOM. All assessments were conducted using Examsoft software. Assessments were proctored using the Google Meet application (video-based proctoring).

Methods of Online Teaching

Methods of remote teaching and learning in medicine were primarily divided into two, which are synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Synchronous instruction is where the lecturer teaches and communicates with the students in real-time online using various video conference applications. Asynchronous teaching is where the lecturers record their lectures or hands-on clinical examinations or set up tasks and assignments for students to complete at a specified time. It is not on a real-time basis. These two methods also have limitations, mainly due to internet availability, connectivity, and time difference.9,10 At AUSOM, the main teaching method during this pandemic was synchronous teaching supplemented with recorded video libraries like “Lecturio.” AUSOM has adjusted the course learning objectives as per the requirement of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). AUSOM has given greater attention to students’ engagement during remote teaching. We focused on stimulating students’ interest, concepts around big ideas, required competencies and skills overarching the institutional learning objectives, and integrated multidisciplinary course modules. Different learning strategies, including small-group discussions, problem-based learning, and case-based discussions were employed.

For pre-clinical teaching, which is integrated with the United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) preparatory curriculum, usually requires clinical exposure and clinical skills right from the beginning. Online teaching posed a moderate challenge to this. Many universities evolved into eliminating lectures and using technology to replace face-to-face interaction, the so-called “active learning” strategy even before the pandemic. They moved towards promoting individualized teaching and enhancing interprofessional education11,12 through active learning strategies. The significant bulk of pre-clinical subjects can be conducted by various platforms, mostly through online, distance, or electronic learning without the face-to-face method. Subjects like physiology, neuroscience, biochemistry, and medical genetics and pharmacology can be taught online. According to Miller’s pyramid,13 most of the skills needed for these subjects are up to understanding the concepts. Hence, the need for face-to-face interaction is not as essential and manageable without face-to-face interactions and hands-on experiences. But it is not the same case for courses like anatomy, clinical skills, microbiology, histology, and pathology, which require labs and hands-on experiences. We aimed to identify advantages and difficulties with this new approach as a necessary replacement for traditional face-to-face lectures. The changes implemented at AUSOM in the first two years of the medical school’s education during the pandemic can be summarized as follows.

  • Basic science instruction- Online didactic live lectures, small group activities, and virtual labs
  • Basic science assessments- being conducted with video-based remote proctoring
  • National board of medical examiners (NBME) comprehensive basic science exams- continuing with video-based proctoring by Zoom

Online teaching has existed for quite some time in a few medical schools, especially during the preclinical period, and there is literature on online teaching and effectiveness. This study aims to study the effectiveness of emergency remote teaching (ERT), which was implemented during the pandemic at AUSOM. This study examines whether online instruction implemented during unprecedented times (ERT) was equally effective as on-campus teaching. This manuscript also explores the stimulators, obstacles, advantages, and disadvantages of remote teaching, which was implemented not as a normal change process but as an emergency change. The effectiveness of ERT and on-campus teaching were compared using course evaluations (student feedback) and students’ performance on assessments. The outcomes that were compared between on-campus instruction and online teaching were course evaluations and students’ performance on assessments (final grades). This is one of the studies comparing on-campus teaching and emergency online (remote) teaching outcomes.

Null Hypothesis- Emergency online (remote) teaching is not effective as on-campus teaching at AUSOM.

Alternate Hypothesis: Emergency online (remote) teaching is equally effective as on-campus teaching at AUSOM.

Methods

This is a mixed concurrent quantitative and qualitative research study. In September-December 2019 semester, the basic science instruction was completely on-campus. In January- April 2020 semester, the basic science instruction was on-campus till March 2020, but it became virtual from March 17th due to lockdown implemented on the island. We did not use the outcomes of the January-April semester to compare with September-December 2019 semester as the January-April semester had both on-campus and online teaching. The outcomes of the May-August 2020 semester which was completely online were compared with outcomes of the September-December 2019 semester. Same faculty members were involved in teaching the same courses between September-December 2019 semester and May-August 2020 semester. The admission criteria and the attributes like grade point average (GPA) remain the same for students of the September-December 2019 and May-August 2020 semesters. There were no changes in the admissions criteria for the selection process of students. The curriculum, including learning objectives, teaching methods, and assessments, were aligned to achieve Bigg’s constructive alignment.

We evaluated the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of students throughout the semester. The students’ “knows” and “knows how” levels (13) were assessed using multiple-choice questions (MCQs). MCQs were employed to assess knowledge, application, and analysis of students. The students’ “shows” level (13) was assessed using standardized patient-based assessments, which were also done virtually. We assessed students’ attitudes and professional behaviors during all sessions, including group activities like small-group discussions, PBL, and case-based discussions. The assessments based on MCQs were standardized using the compromised Hofstee method before the pandemic and during the emergency remote teaching. Clinical skills were assessed using virtual SP-based assessments using Google Meet software. Virtual SP-based assessments by Google Meet replaced the original SP-based assessments. Because we cannot conduct the face-to-face exam format, the students were conducting a telemedicine interview with the standardized patient. Then students type out the encounter after each telemedicine interview. Students will have to verbalize to the Standardized Patients (SPs) the maneuvers they would do if they were in a face-to-face encounter for the virtual exam. The SPs will listen, and after students have finished describing the maneuver, they will report to the student if the findings are normal or any other findings. The borderline group method was used to standardize for performance-based assessments like SP-based assessments before the pandemic and during the emergency remote teaching.

The Research and Ethics committee of AUSOM approved this study.

Quantitative data: Comprised of two components

  • Course evaluations- comparison of course evaluations between September-December 2019 (complete on-campus and face-to-face) and May-August 2020 semesters (complete online instruction)
  • Comparison of students’ performance (Mean class average) in basic science courses between September-December 2019 and May-August 2020 semesters

Quantitative data were collected from the central IT department of AUSOM, where all course evaluations at the end of the semester was compiled using Survey Monkey. Dean’s office and MEU gathered this data every semester for analysis by the dean, quality assurance committee, and curriculum committee. The questionnaire (course evaluations) included a total of sixteen questions (Appendix 1). The responses to the questionnaire were gathered on the Likert scale of one to five. One is strongly disagreeing, two is disagreeing, three is neutral/no opinion, four is agreeing, and five is strongly agreeing. The values of mean and standard deviation were analyzed. SPPSS software was used to calculate p-values by using a t-test to determine any statistically significant difference. The p-values were adjusted to the nearest second decimal values. The students’ performance (grades) on assessments was collected from the Students Information System (SIS). The assessments included multiple-choice questions, oral examinations, objective structured practical examinations, and standardized patient-based assessments. The examinations were similar between September-December 2019 and May-August 2020 semesters. The class averages were calculated using SPSS software and calculated the p-value using a t-test to examine any statistically significant difference. During the collection of data, no personal data was identified.

The research methodology was mixed methodology. After the initial analysis of quantitative data, identified that ERT (online teaching) was equally effective as on-campus teaching. Then we wanted to take the experiential account of students and faculty members of their perceptions and experiences regarding emergency remote teaching using the phenomenology approach. We conducted individual interviews (qualitative data) with students and faculty members to gather their experiences and perceptions regarding emergency remote teaching. The sampling strategy was simple random sampling for students and purposive sampling for faculty as these faculty had experience with remote teaching during the pandemic. We did conduct a total of 19 interviews during September-October 2020. We randomly selected two students from each semester from MD1 to MD5 semesters, and a total of ten students were invited to participate in the interview. We invited all 12 faculty members teaching basic science courses to participate in the interview. All participants were required to sign the consent form. The interview schedule consists of five questions (Appendix 2). All interviews took time around 10–15 minutes. Interviews were audio-recorded. Interviews were conducted either by telephone or personally. Two students who were involved in this research study as authors conducted all interviews to avoid bias due to power relationships. Students were trained on how to run the interviews by the principal investigator. The faculty authors did the data analysis.

All interviews were recorded and transcribed using Happy Scribe software. After verification of its content, we read the transcript carefully, line by line, for familiarization. The transcribed texts were shared with all interview participants for word member checking and validation. We used thematic analysis. The thematic analysis included familiarization, identifying a thematic framework, indexing, charting, and mapping and interpretation. Thematic analysis was done manually. Certain ideas cropped up in the transcript readily, and we gave these a preliminary code. The coding was done by two authors (SBA1 and SBA2). Both SBA1 and SBA2 are physicians by training, and SBA1 completed his master’s in health professions education. Once we generated codes, we shared them with all authors. If there was a disagreement on any of the codes, it was resolved after discussing with other authors. Then we began to identify themes or emergent concepts and engaged in re-coding to develop more well-defined categories.

Results

The response rate for course evaluations was as follows. The response rate for Mind, Brain, and Behavior 2 in September 2019 was eight out of 11 (73{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), and in May 2020 semester was 11 out of 13 (85{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). The response rate for Diseases, Immunity, and Therapeutics 1 in September 2019 semester was nine out of 11 (82{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), and in May 2020 semester was 10 out of 14 (71{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). The response rate for Human Structure and Function 1 in September 2019 semester was 12 out of 12 (100{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), and in May 2020 semester was 19 out of 19 (100{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). The response rate for Human Structure and Function 2 in September 2019 semester was eight out of 10 (80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), and in May 2020 semester was 10 out of 13 (77{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). For Clinical Skills I (CS 1), in September 2019 semester, the response rate was eight out of 10 (80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), and in May 2020 semester was 17 out of 19 (89.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). The response rate for Clinical Skills 2 (CS-2) in September 2019 semester was nine out of nine (100{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), and in May 2020 semester, 16 out of 16 (100{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). Students’ responses for most of the questions, mean values have no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between on-campus teaching and online teaching (Tables 1–Table 4). The t-test was used to assess the statistical significance as the responses on course evaluations were normally distributed with homogeneous variance. Even if there is a difference, the mean values or students’ responses were better with emergency online (remote) teaching (Tables 1–4). Students’ performance in assessments in each course was compared between September 2019 and May 2020 semesters. Students’ grades were normally distributed with homogeneous variance, and the t-test was used to assess the statistical significance. There was no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the two semesters (Table 5) except for two courses, Mind, Brain, and Behavior 2 and clinical skills 2.

Table 1 Comparison of Course Evaluations for the Courses Mind, Brain, and Behavior (MBB) 2

Table 2 Comparison of Course Evaluations for the Courses Diseases, Immunity and Therapeutics (DIT) I

Table 3 Comparison of Course Evaluations for the Courses Human Structure and Function (HSF) 1 and 2

Table 4 Comparison of Course Evaluations for Clinical Skills 1 and 2 Courses

Table 5 Comparison of Students’ Performance in Different Courses Between Two Semesters

We were able to interview all ten students out of ten students that were invited for the interviews (100{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} response rate). We were able to interview nine faculty members out of 12 faculty members that were invited for an interview (75{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} response rate). Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified the following themes.

Earlier Experience with Online Teaching and Learning

Most faculty members said they did not have any previous experiences with online teaching. Four faculty members did distance learning programs for their education. All other faculty members felt that this online teaching and training were new. Few students did some online courses in the past but not in medical school. Before joining the medical school, the students who did online programs felt that it could help the students with part-time jobs. Most faculty members felt that they had never thought of online teaching in medical school before the pandemic.

Stimulators for Emergency Remote Teaching

Current Circumstances and Ongoing Pandemic

All faculty members and students felt that the major stimulator for remote teaching in the current circumstances is the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. All of them felt that this pandemic forced us to do remote teaching. Online instruction for basic science courses is the only option to complete education, especially in this tough and unprecedented time. One of the faculty members quoted that,

we have all kinds of resources and technologies and this can be simulated on devices like laptops, mobiles, and then the students can learn and practice using those technologies that are available. (faculty interviewee 1)

Saving Time

The other major stimulator mentioned by students is saving time. One student quoted that, “I think it’s

Time, even before if I wake up at 6 am, I will spend most of the time in getting dressed up for school and getting ready and now even though I wake up at 6 am I will spend 15 min for fresh up, and I can use the rest of the time to pre-read (student interviewee 1)

Students also felt that online education could be helpful for students with financial issues and physical disabilities.

Obstacles for Emergency Remote Teaching

Technological Difficulties and Technical Challenges

The major barriers mentioned by faculty members and students are technological difficulties, power issues, and network problems, sometimes. Some of the faculty members might not understand or acknowledge the technical challenges that students are going through. The other obstacle is time differences (different time zones). This is especially an issue with synchronous remote instruction.

Online Fatigue and Lack of Personal Interactions

The other obstacle for synchronous remote instruction is that faculty members get fatigued with online education as they must spend more time explaining the same concept. It could have been done in less time in on-campus teaching. One student felt that some of the faculty members were not ready for remote classes. One student felt that class could be very monotonous in remote education when no personal interaction between the students and faculty members.

Advantages of Emergency Remote Teaching

Convenience and Flexibility

The major advantages of remote teaching are the availability of many resources and technologies and complementing the didactic lectures with these technologies. Remote teaching is very convenient and flexible. The other advantage cited by the faculty members and students is that remote teaching can have sessions recorded, and recorded videos can be played again. Students can always go back to the point where there was a conclusion that, as in in-person lectures, we cannot do that. The other advantage mentioned was that faculty and students could be anywhere in the world.

Saving Time and Other Benefits

One of the most important advantages students mentioned is saving time with remote teaching, as they are not required to go to the school’s campus. The other advantage is that introverts and shy students became very communicative and interact well during online classes.

Disadvantages of Emergency Remote Teaching

Limited Hands-on Experience and Personal Interactions

Most of the faculty members and students felt that the major obstacle to remote teaching is the lack of hands-on experiences and personal interaction. Even though we were conducting virtual labs, some faculty members and students felt that they were missing labs and hands-on experiences, especially for courses like anatomy and clinical skills. Remote teaching lacks classroom experience, which is the major disadvantage of missing personal connection. One faculty member quoted that “there is verbal communication and there is nonverbal communication.

As a teacher, you can look into the students” eyes and ask them questions, and they can also look into the teacher’s eye and answer or ask questions (faculty interviewee 3)

Professional training requires visual, auditory, tactile, and every part of your faculties to be ministering to the student. Sometimes students can switch off the camera and disappear from the class. Some faculty members quoted that it is very difficult to track students’ attendance during class hours.

Lack of Motivation

Another disadvantage associated with remote teaching is the lack of motivation for students. Procrastination is one of the problems in online learning and training. Students must be kept motivated, and communication between faculty and students is the key. One of the faculty members quoted that,

The main obstacle for online teaching is the students” self-motivation might be missing. In face-to-face interactions, they learn from group studies and with the faculty interaction and then the personal experiences they have and then hands-on experiences. They are missing like a lot of group interaction (faculty interviewee 7)

.

Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing and will remain to disrupt medical teaching and training. COVID-19 has caused unprecedented interruption to the medical education process and healthcare across the globe.14 The current COVID-19 pandemic presented various challenges like challenges to faculty in shifting from face-to-face to online teaching challenges to students in moving to remote learning, challenges in conducting the assessment, challenges in accessing the internet and using digital technology, and challenges to an institution in organizing online teaching and learning activities during the lockdown. It is said that challenges bring opportunities. COVID-19 may also bring opportunities. Medical educators have initiated the process of transforming education and improving quality before the COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has, however, changed the landscape of medical education. The situation has forced medical educationalists to think “out of the box” and act innovatively using advanced digital technology. The existing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated us to transform education methods, modalities, and processes, initially requiring greater effort. Still, it provides teachers, faculty, and facilitator impetus to keep pace with current technology trends, eg, digital gadgets, programs, and software, modified forms of media with innovative audiovisual aids. This is a new experience or opportunity to learn, understand, and update unique needs and new modes of delivery of medical education for all stakeholders involved. It may also have a long-lasting impact on healthcare.

The attitude and readiness of educators running or engaging in remote education are crucial. As key stakeholders, educators should be seen as educators and be supported and developed, including the faculty development in both delivery and design of online teaching.15 This could be evident in our efforts to emphasize the requirement of faculty development activities for our biomedical educators. We did a few faculty development activities just before the transformation to emergency remote (online) teaching. These faculty development activities were focused on how to use digital technologies for online teaching. This led to successful emergency online (remote) teaching for our basic science courses, which is evident in course evaluations.

The literature on remote learning in medical students before the COVID-19 pandemic has found that though students feel it complements their education, they do not see it as an acceptable replacement for in-person learning.16,17 By now, many medical schools due to COVID-19 have created online coursework so that students can continue education and training from home.18,19 In most medical institutions, alternative virtual coursework was adopted, such as e-learning modules, video vignettes, and virtual reality simulators.20 Although the significant amount of time in the medical curriculum in pre-clerkship is allotted for didactic lectures, anatomy labs (Grant’s Dissector Videos), clinical skills lab sessions (telemedicine/telehealth concepts), small group sessions, problem-based Learning (PBL) sessions, and other labs (virtual labs like virtual microscopy in histology and pathology) at AUSOM also implemented and incorporated in emergency remote (online) teaching and training. This allowed students’ active engagement and participation during online instruction, which was done during these emergent times. This could be evident from course evaluations. The last but one question on the survey (courses evaluations) is that if students contribute constructively to in-class activities, there is no statistically significant difference between on-campus teaching and remote teaching (Tables 1–4). We recommend adapting interactive remote learning lectures using highly sophisticated technologies and virtual clinical case-based discussions. Such measures would help students adjust to this way of medical teaching even during emergent times.

Emergency remote (online) teaching could be successful if learning objectives, teaching methods, and assessment methods are in alignment, which is referred to as constructive alignment.21 The other important key factor is students’ engagement in classroom activities. This was achieved by emphasizing the pedagogy of adult learning principles. Adult learning principles were implemented using various teaching-learning strategies, including small group discussions, self-directed learning, pre-reading assignments, and hands-on experiences, including labs employed during our emergency online (remote) teaching. This led to sufficient satisfaction of learners, which could be evident in course evaluations.

Students’ satisfaction with feedback was satisfactory because of providing effective and specific feedback provided on time,22 even during the emergency remote (online) teaching. The feedback was provided to all students using the Google Meet platform. All departments were instructed to give feedback at least twice a semester. In addition, students can request an appointment and meet with the faculty member to receive feedback and academic guidance using the Google Meet platform. Students’ responses for most of the questions, mean values have no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between on-campus teaching and remote teaching (Tables 1–4). Even if there is a difference, the mean values or students’ responses were better with remote teaching (Tables 1–4). Students’ were satisfied, and they felt they were achieving course learning objectives, and they were actively engaged in classroom activities because of innumerable opportunities for them. This was achieved due to small group activities, including case-based discussions and PBL, virtual labs, and clinical skills teaching using standardized patients. Students practiced history taking and interviewing skills with standardized patients using Google Meet, verbalizing physical examination, and physical examination videos.

Students’ performance in assessments in each course was compared between September 2019 and May 2020 semesters. There was no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the two semesters (Table 5) except for two courses, Mind, Brain, and Behavior 2 and clinical skills 2. AUSOM has given greater importance to Bigg’s constructive alignment (21) during this emergency remote teaching. The course learning objectives, instructional methodologies, student involvement in classroom activities, and assessments are aligned. This could be evident in course evaluations (student feedback). Students were satisfied with course learning objectives, and students were aware of course learning objectives. Students were satisfied with teaching methods, and they felt that they were achieving course learning outcomes and involved in classroom activities. Students also felt that the assessments were in support of course learning objectives.

Even though the quantitative data have shown no statistically significant difference between on-campus teaching and remote teaching, we did interviews to investigate whether quantitative and qualitative data complement each other. The data analysis of interviews has shown both advantages and disadvantages to emergency remote (online) teaching. The advantages include the availability of different technologies, resources, and platforms for online teaching. The other advantage is remote teaching is flexible and convenient. The other most important advantage is saving time for students as they do not need to get prepared and travel to the campuses. Students and faculty are well adopted during difficult and unprecedented times. All students and faculty agreed that emergency remote (online) teaching is the only option to teach basic science courses during this pandemic as campuses are not open. This change in medical education is seen as an emergency change rather than as a standard change process.

But most of the faculty members and students also have expressed their dissatisfaction with emergency remote (online) teaching. The main disadvantage of remote teaching is the lack of classroom experience and personal interaction. The other disadvantage is limitations on labs and hands-on experiences even though virtual labs are conducted. This was of major concern for anatomy and clinical skills courses. The biggest challenge for students is not having study groups as they are not on campus and lacking motivation. This can be rectified if students contact their peers using social media and online platforms and adequate communication with their faculty members. The other difficulties with online teaching are technical challenges and network issues.

Limitations

This study was conducted at a single institution. Another limitation is the cross-sectional nature of the study design. This necessitates the requirement of conducting longitudinal studies in different institutions. Another limitation of our study is the small sample size that was used for quantitative data. But the sample size for qualitative data is adequate as we were able to do 19 interviews, and there was no further new information added after some interviews.

Conclusions

We found that medical students had different knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the emergency remote (online) learning process. Our quantitative data results have shown no statistically significant difference in either course evaluations or students’ performance on assessments with a very few exceptions. This shows that emergency remote (online) education served the purpose in the first two years of medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of effectiveness regarding students’ performance in assessments and students’ feedback on course evaluations. The thematic analysis of interviews revealed the advantages and disadvantages of emergency remote (online) teaching. The advantages of online instruction are flexibility and comfort, and students are able to save time. The disadvantages are technical challenges, network issues, students lacking motivation, lack of personal interaction, and limitations on lab and hands-on experiences. The results may not be generalized to other institutions. Further studies in different institutions must validate them to see the remote learning platform’s utility as a teaching and learning mode, especially for basic science courses. Such replication studies in multiple institutions could help determine whether remote education can replace traditional medical lectures in the first two years of medical school. Medical schools might look at didactic lectures online either during urgent times or as a regular change process, and small group discussions, seminars, and labs require on-campus instruction. Remote education in the first two years of medical school can succeed if students and faculty are appropriately engaged and actively involved in in-class activities. Provide structure to the classroom activities, give students time, and provide feedback to students to make online education successful.

Abbreviations

AUSOM, Avalon University School of Medicine; M.D, Doctor of Medicine; HSF, human structure and function; MBB, Mind, Brain, and Behavior; DIT, Diseases, Immunity, and Therapeutics; MEU, medical education unit; IT, Information Technology; USMLE, United States Medical Licensing Examinations; NBME, National Board of Medical Examiners; GPA, grade point average; MCQ, multiple choice questions; PBL, problem-based learning; SIS, student information system.

Data Sharing Statement

Raw data and materials are available.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

This study is approved by the Research and Ethics committee of Avalon University School of Medicine. Informed written consent was taken from all participants (students and faculty members) and they had a right to decline participation in this study.

Consent to Publish

We haven’t used any identifiable personal information or 3rd party images or videos.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge all faculty members and students who participated in the interviews.

Funding

No external or internal funding received.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this work.

References

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7. Moszkowicz D, Duboc H, Dubertret C, Roux D, Bretagnol F. Daily medical education for confined students during COVID-19 pandemic: a simple video conference solution [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 6]. Clin Anat. 2020. doi:10.1002/ca.23601

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11. Irby DM, Cooke M, O’Brien BC. Calls for reform of medical education by the Carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching: 1910 and 2010. Academic Medicine. 2010;85(2):220–227. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181c88449

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13. Miller GE. The assessment of clinical skills competence performance. Acad Med. 1990;65:S63–S67. doi:10.1097/00001888-199009000-00045

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Minecraft Active Citizen wants to teach students “small actions have ripple effects around the world”

Minecraft Active Citizen wants to teach students “small actions have ripple effects around the world”

“Why is that man crying, daddy?” As if watching a grown gentleman sobbing into the fluffy hood of his daughter’s pink parka jacket is just not heart-wrenching ample, this line, delivered by my very own young daughter, peeking at my phone about my shoulder, is the twist of a proverbial knife. Torn concerning defending his family members and a perception of obligation and satisfaction, this gentleman has made the decision to bid farewell to his cherished ones – they, boarding transportation certain for a selected Ukrainian safe and sound zone he, staying set to fight for his state – in an exchange so emotionally-charged that it is really difficult to look at. 

I skip my wee daughter when she goes to nursery school for a number of hrs 3 days a 7 days, for goodness’ sake, how on Earth do I demonstrate to her what is actually heading on below? Minecraft Lively Citizen – a new playable venture that sees Minecraft: Training Edition partnering with the Nobel Peace Middle – possibly cannot clarify precisely what is going on in Eastern Europe correct now to my a few-and-a-50 {e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} 12 months old, but it is created to explore and extol the virtues of serious-world peace to a younger viewers. “In-recreation, learners follow the life of four Nobel Peace laureates,” describes Allison Matthews, the head of Minecraft Training, “and by immersing them selves in the steps these laureates took in purchase to enhance their group or build peace in their section of the entire world, we hope pupils can learn that modest steps have ripple outcomes all around the environment and by time.”

World creating

Minecraft

(Picture credit: Microsoft)
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Gentry Middle names 2022 Teacher of the Year

Gentry Middle names 2022 Teacher of the Year

Pfitzner pulls out of city race

February 27, 2022

DOBSON — Somewhat than expanding on the next day of a reinstated applicant submitting period on Friday, the field basically obtained smaller wherever city races are anxious.

Will Pfitzner exited the ballot for a North Ward Mount Ethereal Board of Commissioners seat he’d thrown his hat in the ring for in December when filing at first began — ahead of being suspended practically 3 months by condition redistricting courtroom issues.

Pfitzner reported soon just after submitting that he prepared to withdraw his identify thanks to getting unaware that a revered loved ones good friend, Joanna Refvem, also was looking for that business, who he considered would do a far better occupation. And he officially did so Friday, according to Surry County Director of Elections Michella Huff.

The proprietor of a small business termed LazerEdge Designs, Pfitzner, 28, experienced reported his causes for looking for general public business office involved seeking to inject an ingredient of youth into town leadership, and he vowed to do once more in the long run.

Friday was a somewhat tranquil working day for submitting at the elections workplace in Dobson immediately after a occupied day Thursday when a flurry of exercise surrounding Mount Ethereal offices unfolded.

With all court docket issues operating their class, the applicant submitting interval for the 2022 election cycle was authorized to resume statewide Thursday after staying halted in early December.

A major election is scheduled in May perhaps for different community, state and federal places of work ahead of the general election in November.

The prospect submitting period ends Friday at the Board of Elections workplace, positioned in the Surry County Support Centre at 915 E. Atkins St. in Dobson.

It will be open up for submitting every single weekday from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. via Thursday and from 8:15 a.m. to noon on Friday, when filing closes.

Marion seeks re-election

Countywide, only one prospect filed Friday dependent on a breakdown from Huff, Kent Whitaker for the District 3 seat on the Surry County Board of Schooling earlier held by Early Coe, who resigned previous yr.

Whitaker, 69, who lives on Siloam Highway, Dobson, is a Republican, the same celebration as the only other man or woman to enter that race so far, Jessica George, 33, of Cheyenne Trail, Siloam, who did so in December ahead of the shutdown.

Other earlier unreported filings, from Thursday, incorporate these of incumbent county commissioner Mark Marion, 63, a Republican who signifies the Central District and is looking for his next four-calendar year phrase, and fellow GOP member Landon Tolbert, 30, for the similar seat.

Marion lives on Lake Elva Lane, Dobson, even though Tolbert is a Mount Airy resident of George Chandler Road.

Metropolis campaigns shaping up

Some appealing battles are developing in Mount Airy, wherever elections are non-partisan.

Former Mount Airy Mayor Deborah Cochran, 59, of Allred Mill Street, filed Thursday to operate for the at-massive seat on the city council which she also as soon as held in advance of becoming elected to the municipality’s greatest workplace.

Current longtime South Ward Commissioner Steve Yokeley, 74, a resident of Greystone Lane, also is in search of the at-significant seat now occupied by Joe Zalescik, a further commissioner candidate.

Puzzled nevertheless?

Zalescik, 61, of West Devon Drive, submitted Thursday for the seat now held by Yokeley.

This was aspect of an comprehending involving the two, Zalescik explained, thanks to a quirk in the municipal election method whereby the individual winning the at-significant seat will provide only the last two several years of an unexpired term in advance of facing re-election.

Considering that Yokeley is reported to be “winding down” and is fascinated in a short-expression proposition, he opted to operate for that office environment even though Zalescik desires a for a longer time tenure that the South Ward would present with a full 4-calendar year time period.

Gene Clark, 59, of Newsome Road, also filed Thursday for the South Ward write-up.

John Pritchard, 77, who life on Ridgecrest Generate, tossed his hat into the ring Thursday for the North Ward commissioner race in which Refvem, 67, of Montclaire Drive, is now the only other applicant.

That seat presently is held by Jon Cawley, 59, of Country Club Street, who is managing for mayor in a industry that now features the existing mayor, Ron Niland, 66, of Folly Farm Circle, and Teresa Lewis, 63, another former at-large commissioner for whom no avenue address is detailed.

All three had submitted in December.

Candidates slate so significantly

As of Friday at the near of business, this slate of office-seekers considering that December was in put, aside from metropolis and county races presently detailed, with four much more filing days remaining:

• Walter D. Harris, 68, of Tanglewood Drive, who is running for a Mount Ethereal District seat on the Surry Board of Commissioners now held by initial-time period incumbent and fellow Republican Invoice Goins, who has not submitted

• Incumbent South District Commissioner Eddie Harris, 60, of Condition Road, and GOP challenger Tessa Saeli, 48, of Claremont Drive in Elkin

• Incumbent Republican Sheriff Steve Hiatt, 58, of North Main Avenue, Mount Ethereal

• A further GOP incumbent, District Legal professional Tim Watson 62, of Edgewood Push, Mount Ethereal

• Four folks vying for a few neighborhood District Court docket choose seats, which include incumbents Marion Boone, 59, of Phillip Branch Highway, Mount Ethereal, and Thomas Langan, 48, of Deer Trace Lane, Pilot Mountain Gretchen Hollar Kirkman, 48, of Saddle Creek Way, Mount Airy, a former judge and Mark Miller, 39, of Mitchell Ridge Highway, Elkin. All are on the GOP ticket

• Republican clerk of courtroom candidates together with initial-phrase incumbent Neil Brendle, 45, no street listing specified Teresa O’Dell, 60, a previous clerk, of Kate Road, Mount Ethereal and Melissa Marion Welch, 41, of Surrey Courtroom Drive, Dobson

• Candidates for the District 2 seat on the Surry Board of Instruction, which includes Democratic incumbent Mamie McKinney Sutphin, 44, of Pilot Mountain, no road listing given, and Republicans Tony L. Hutchens, 57, of Swansboro Lane, Mount Ethereal, and Brent Lengthy, 56, of Tom’s Creek Bluff Lane, Pilot Mountain

• Just one prospect for District 4 on the county school board, Republican T.J. Bledsoe, 40, of Stone Harbor Lane, Dobson.

• Democratic incumbent Tim Matthews, 65, of Barrington Drive, the at-substantial member of the Mount Airy Board of Schooling, with no one particular submitting so significantly for its District A and B seats

• Republican incumbent 90th District point out Rep. Sarah Stevens, 61, of Margaret Drive, Mount Ethereal, and challenger Benjamin Romans, 36, of Roaring River, also a GOP member

• Four Republicans in search of the 66th District point out Senate seat serving Surry and other counties: Shirley Randleman, 71, of Wilkesboro, who previously represented Surry Eddie Settle, 62, of East Carter Mill Street, Elkin Vann Tate, 57, a retired member of the N.C. Freeway Patrol who life on Previous Toast Street, Mount Airy and Lee Zachary, 75, of Yadkinville.

Candidates for N.C. Household and Senate races file at their respective county boards of elections.

These in search of federal offices such as seats in Congress total their filings at the state Board of Elections in Raleigh.

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Atlanta elementary school to close amid Forest Cove relocation

Atlanta elementary school to close amid Forest Cove relocation

With so much up in the air, it is not feasible to retain the college open, he informed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a Monday interview.

“It’s the full uncertainty about the timeline for redevelopment, and it’s the finish uncertainty about how and when men and women will be relocated. You require certainty about those people things to say, ‘Yes, we’ll continue to keep the college open and bus children back again …,’” he explained. “You can’t do that if the timeline is two to 3 yrs.”

Children who are living at Forest Cove can go on to attend Thomasville Heights for the remainder of this school 12 months with transportation furnished if family members are relocated in the coming months or months. In the drop, all those pupils are envisioned to enroll in other colleges based on their new addresses.

The around 60 Thomasville Heights students who do not dwell at Forest Cove will be rezoned to Slater Elementary School, an additional APS campus managed by Function Created and found about 3 ½ miles away.

University officials said they count on Thomasville Heights to reopen on the apartment complex’s redevelopment.

ExploreFar more stories about Atlanta Community Educational facilities

Purpose Built experienced been performing with the property’s proprietor, Millennia Providers, and other companies for much more than a year to determine out a way to retain students though Forest Cove was overhauled.

The system experienced been to move family members off-website, likely for eight to 18 months, whilst the residence underwent a extra than $50 million renovation. All through that temporary relocation, officials supposed to bus kids back to Thomasville Heights so they could proceed to attend the school.

That system was halted immediately after a municipal courtroom choose in December requested the 396-device sophisticated to be demolished. The Ga Division of Neighborhood Affairs also rejected an application to economically subsidize the renovation.

The demolition get came immediately after the metropolis of Atlanta submitted a lawsuit to raze the flats, citing hundreds of code violations and problems about criminal offense.

Millennia spokeswoman Valerie Jerome stated the firm is captivating the demolition order and it is uncertain when inhabitants need to vacate the house.

In an e mail, she reported Millennia is doing work with the metropolis, point out and housing authorities and “remains committed to gaining the important assistance and approvals to go ahead with the relocation of citizens and preservation of inexpensive housing at Forest Cove.”

Take a look atForest Cove freezes hire as tenants protest deplorable conditions

In a published assertion, APS Superintendent Lisa Herring claimed the “redevelopment will drastically boost living ailments for citizens and finally end result in constructive results, and we are delicate to the unexpected character of this scenario.”

Herring mentioned the district will work with Reason Built to lessen disruption to people. She mentioned she appears to be ahead to the school’s return following the residences are redeveloped.

APS signed a deal with Goal Constructed in 2016 to control and personnel 4 faculties as section of the district’s push to convert close to lower-doing educational facilities.

Giornelli stated closing Thomasville Heights will do away with about 60 positions. He expects about a 3rd of those staff will fill other spots that open up owing to attrition.