A one-day TEFL National Webinar “Emergency Remote Teaching Challenges: Creating Activities and Facilitating Learning” English Language Education Study Program, FKIP, Universitas Pakuan
On January 15, 2021 (Wed.), a TEFL National Webinarwith Dr. Gumawang Jati, .M.A. (President ofiTELL) and Made Hery Santosa, Ph.D (Director of Program Development of iTELL) held at English Language Education Study Program, FKIP, Universitas Pakuan. Dr. Entis Sutisna, M.Pd, the Dean of Faculty of Teacher Training and Educational Sciences of Pakuan university opened the webinar. Dra. Atti Herawati, M.Pd. served as both the coordinator of the event during preparations and the moderator on the day. A total of 194 participants all over Indonesia that consist of teachers, lecturers, and university students, attended the webinar. The workshops with TEFL course programme have been held annually, but this year workshop is different in that it took place online via a Zoom meeting in response to the spread of COVID-19.
The webinar proceeded first with Dr.Gumawang Jati noting how he reacted and felt about theteaching and learning processduring the pandemic. He responded to questions about what possible activities to facilitate students learning at home-based learning mode and how teachers facilitate their students learning throughout the mode. Dr. Gumawang Jati narrated today’s world beset by educational technology applications, and in particular, the various home-based activities that have facilitated students learning in the context of schools more broadly, and particularly higher education, based on his own teaching experiences and from a TELL standpoint. However, he also noted the emergency inherent in discussing all of today’s problems by connecting them to remote learning and argued for the importance of looking at the various evidences that have been developing in globalacademic society recently (particularly since the turn of the millennium) in accordance with instructional technology in education.
The webinar talks also turned to the four pillars for considering remote teaching in pandemic time. It refers to Mr. Made Hery Santosa’s talk as the second speaker of the webinar. He pointed out the pillars as follows: 1) new paradigm of being able to witness and come to understand remote teaching, 2) learning environment and learning dimensions, 3) strategies employed during teaching in pandemic time, and 4) assessment distributed in response to home-based learning activities. He further noted that coming into contact with various educational technology should also be done through the exploration of history and frequently mentioned the importance of looking back at the preposition of “technology is only a tool to help teachers and/or course facilitators in the teaching and learning process, thus structured instructions play a must in it”. This preposition touched upon Mr. Hery’s career as a researcher, which he has developed by gazing broadly at remote teaching models now and deeply at learning activities and skilfully weaving both into his works.
The planned three-and-a-half hours for the event seemed to pass in a blink of an eye before the webinarwas concluded.
■Webinar Overview
Date and time: January 15, 2021 (Wed.), 08:00 am to 11:30 am
This year’s webinar was held online, connecting any regions in Indonesia, because of COVID-19.
■See the FKIP YouTube Channel for clips of Mr. Gumawang Jati and Mr. Made Hery Santosa speaking on the day of the event at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SCewFV0hfI8