Best Practice II: CMP-Live & LMS

“CMP-LIVE & LMS”

ENHANCING ONLINE TEACHING-LEARNING EXPERIENCE

CMP-LIVE PORTAL LINK

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS) PORTAL LINK

OBJECTIVES OF THE PRACTICE

CMP-Live and LMS (Learning Management System) is the integrated online teaching-learning and e-learning resource management platforms of the CMP Degree College. The college has been practicing this ICT-based education platform since 2020, intending to facilitate the three cardinal principles of NEP, viz., access, equity, and quality.

THE MAJOR OBJECTIVES ARE TO

1. Provide inclusive education and minimize the digital divide
2. Facilitate a centralized learning management system for self-paced learning.
3. Promote cost-effective and ICT-based teaching and learning pedagogy.
4. Foster flexibility in the teaching-learning process.

THE CONTEXT

The unprecedented event of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant challenge for higher education institutions (HEIs), requiring rapid adaptation to changing public health regulations and guidelines. CMP Degree College serves about 12,000 students from diverse backgrounds. Managing a large student population and securing a suitable platform strained the institution financially, but it was crucial for ensuring safety. Our objective was to provide inclusive education, bridging the digital divide. This initiative offered an alternative to costly subscription-based platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, addressing security concerns, allowing the sharing of class presentations in the form of PPT or PDF during learning sessions, and ensuring the availability of e-resources for reading and downloading.

THE PRACTICE

The new online teaching-learning portals were developed and designed according to the college’s requirements. Meanwhile, IQAC collaborated with the Teaching-Learning Centre (TLC) at IIT-BHU to conduct a Faculty Development Program (FDP) for training faculty members in using online teaching platforms and developing MOOC-based learning modules for our LMS portal. The CMP-Live classrooms and LMS were used as a secure platform, allowing only college students with valid login IDs and passwords to join online classes and access e-learning course modules during the pandemic for all classes and after the pandemic for remedial classes. Online classes were created by the faculty members according to the centralized college timetable. Students were able to see classes and the live status in their dashboard and could join as per the schedule. Notes were also provided during the live classes. In addition to these e-learning resources, assignments, discussions, and question answers were managed through the LMS portal. These practices are still in practice for online remedial classes and e-resources.

EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

The digitalization of teaching and learning at CMP Degree College was covered in bold headlines in the leading newspapers, as CMP Degree College was the first college not only in Prayagraj but in UP to develop such a system of online teaching and learning in 2020. The college has managed nearly 12000 students across 22 departments enrolled in 54 different programs of UG, PG, and Ph.D. during the pandemic years. On average, 10 classes were engaged per hour and 80 classes per day during the period. Currently, the CMP-Live platform is used for remedial classes on Saturdays and Sundays, with a total of 48 classes being held every week. In addition to this, there are nearly 600 e-learning course modules, and 1400 lessons have been uploaded on LMS by the faculty members to provide e-resources to the students.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND RESOURCES REQUIRED:

The major problem was the digital divide affecting equitable learning opportunities, server issues due to the large number of students, difficulties in addressing mental health concerns, and limitations on practical training.