International conference on education beyond face to face mode, opportunities and challenges

Inter-University Centre for Teachers Education (IUCTE), Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Psychology, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara organized first online International Conference on “Education beyond Face to Face Mode: Opportunities and Challenges” during March 25-27, 2021.

Under the successful leadership of Prof. R. C. Patel, Coordinator of IUCTE and Prof. Sujata Srivastava, Associate Coordinator of IUCTE, the conference has garnered attention from different parts of the globe, culminating into presentation of papers by international and national participants on various themes and subthemes of the conference.

MSU Vice Chancellor Prof. Parimal Vyas addressed the virtual gathering on the occasion and said that in the present tough times teachers have to take a lead role by honing up their skills. Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan in his inaugural address stressed on need to adopt and integrate learning principles from our culture and history and adopts them into pedagogy and learning experiences in the form of blended learning.

Key Note Address was given by Dr. Terry Durnnian chief, Education, UNICEF, New Delhi, on the topic “The New Normal: Learning Post-COVID 19”. He explained the UNICEF attempts to support quality and equitable educational opportunities to rural and urban India through New Normal.

Prof. Vinayagum Chinapah, Emeritus, International and Comparative Education, Department of Education, Stolkholm University, Sweden, delivered Special Address on “Global Online Survey: COVID-19 Impacts on Education and Needs for Distance Education and Digital Solution”. The presentation focused on the informed decision making of stakeholder in education community in designing relevant educational contexts during and after COVID-19 pandemic.

There were altogether 8 technical sessions and one plenary, with presentation of 46 papers on various themes set for the conference. International presentations included, Dr. Tamo Chatopadhyay, Head, Social Sciences Division, Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Education, American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyztan spoke on “From E-Learning to connected learning: Enhancing Global Awareness of students and teachers.”; Janos Gordan Gyori1, Professor, Faculty of Education and psychology, Institute for Intercultural Psychology and Education, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary on Metaphors of Student Teachers in the Pandemic; Prof. Craig Kissock, Director, Educators Abroad, Emeritus Professor, University of Minnesota, USA on A 21st Century Approach to the Education of Education; Fatemah Mardi, University of Missouri, St. Louis, USA on Creating Support Networks for In-service Teachers During the COVID-19 Crisis; Dr. Habil Vilmos Vass, Associate Professor, Institute on International Studies and Social Studies, Budapest Metropolitan University, Budapest, Hungary on The Changing Skill Set for Online Learning at the European and Hungarian Perspective and Dr. Shannon Tamnghe, Ph.D. Program Director (ESL), Associate Professor, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA on Facilitating Global Connections through Virtual Tele-Communications.

Deliberations on three day international conference brought forth various challenges and issues of education during COVID-19 pandemic. The discussions also focused on the emergence of digital technology platforms and the scope of blended learning in future education scenario.