eKelas seeing a more collaborative learning environment

It was a bright and breezy Saturday morning at Kampung Quop, Kuching, Sarawak. Daphne Xandria with 19 of her Year 6 school friends were heading to the Pusat Internet to have their first experience learning about fractions with eCikgu. They are part of the first batch of Year 6 students from 48 Pusat Internet who engaged with Cikgu Salmizee and Cikgu Denis via the live chat forum which is part of the eKelas portal. With headphones on, they chatted with their teachers and asked questions, fully engaged throughout the eCikgu lesson plan over 40 minutes which included a tutorial and Q&A segment.

eCikgu, which went live in January 2019, was introduced to encourage greater engagement with teachers and make digital learning even more vibrant and interactive within an expanding eKelas student population. Features like eCikgu are important tools and part of our desire to help nurture our ekelas students into more knowledgeable digital citizens. Embedded in the eKelas Portal, this live chat platform helps connect more students simultaneously during scheduled lessons.

Students can learn and collaborate with eCikgu in just 3 simple steps:
1. Log into eKelas Portal via ekelas.com.my
2. Click eCikgu from the menu
3. Select the assigned virtual classroom

While the eKelas live tutorial provides an interactive and fun learning environment, eCikgu encourages students to ‘speak up’ and be curious by having the courage to ask questions, especially for those who are less vocal in a classroom environment. They get answers immediately from teachers during lessons, either in text, images, diagrams or video links, which students can refer to during and after lessons. It is also heartening to see fellow students helping their friends by providing answers to some of the questions posed.

Learning is becoming increasingly participative and collaborative, with requirements for more skills in creativity, communication, critical thinking and teamwork. eCikgu has certainly shown its potential to be that learning platform, as it is starting to facilitate idea sharing, foster better communication and collaboration amongst students and teachers.