Amazing Snaps of Flying Storks, Kites and Ducks at the Basai Wetland

Some of the best snaps of large flying birds can be taken at the Basai Wetland. The day I took these snaps was not a great day for photographs because the lighting was not so good. In fact, there was a slight mist in the area, caused without any doubt by the moisture and humidity left over by the previous days' rains.

While Spot-billed ducks happen to the most commonly found and photographed birds, it is the kite's that I find even more interesting to photograph, especially when diving for fish. I was able to take a couple shots of kites diving for fish.

Painted storks also make for some amazing photography, especially those that take off to the sky. These graceful birds look even better when they are flying. In most cases, they are pretty tolerant and will allow you to get close to them. I use a 55-250mm lens for such shots.

But then you might be wondering where these photographs were taken. Well, these snaps were taken at the Basai Wetland on the Gurgaon-Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary/ Jajjhar Road. It is adjacent to the Gurgaon water-treatment plant. The Basai Wetland used to be spread over a vast area. It was fed by rain-water channels and used to host a large number of fresh-water native Indian species. Today it is steadily shrinking, gobbled up by the hungry real-estate industry.

Those Amazing Flying Dragonflies and Damselflies

Just today when I visited the Basai Wetland hoping to photograph some birds, I happened to come across a few dragonflies flitting around. I wondered if I should not take a few photographs of them while flying. I knew it would be a challenge to get them into the frame, and once they were in the frame it would be a difficult task getting them into focus. After a few shots, I abandoned the autofocus mode on the camera simply because it just would not lock into the image. All this happened in spite of the fact that I had set the central focal point. I switched to the manual focus mode and then rotated the focus ring as soon as a dragonfly entered into the frame. Anyways, the photographs came out better than I thought and so I am sharing some of the best ones.

And then after some time, I came across a pair of dragonflies and a pair of damselflies flying in tandem. Well, I guess they had to go about their business. I was able to take a couple of snaps of them too, though I guess they were least bothered by my presence. 

The Damselflies in the above photograph seemed to merge or meld into the green background. Fortunately enough I was able to get them too.

While it is relatively easier to photograph stationary dragonflies and damselflies, things do become a tad complicated when it comes to photographing them when they're flying. Tracking, panning and fine-tuning the focus ring did indeed require a bit of juggling,

Luckily enough I was not tied down by excess equipment, least of all a tripod or any other paraphernalia.

Distractions Can Kill Virtual Meetings - Musings about Virtual Leaning

While great people might argue about the technical challenges behind virtual meetings including online classes, the basic factors are often overlooked because they are so common! In fact, it is funny how ambient noise, untidy surroundings (often the bedroom in a state of disarray), shabby clothes and unkempt appearance, people moving around, an over-excited pet, or perhaps a tempting breakfast might create distractions that defeat the very purpose of the meeting!

One might have come across situations where during a virtual meeting, the cameras are off while the microphones are left on making it possible for everyone to hear strange sounds coming from the microphone of one of the participants. While to some it might sound as if someone was scraping a dish with great fervour. For some, it might look as if someone was scraping the dish not leaving anything for the cat. For others, it might sound as if someone was sharpening knives (such sounds, associated with pots and pans would be more likely to happen during lunch hours). On hearing the remarks of the others in the meeting, the sound stops, the guilty party realising that he or she is audible to everyone -an embarrassment for her, or him, but a moment of levity for the others! However, the damage would have already been done, the distraction would have killed the seriousness of the meeting.

In yet another instance, during a video conference (with mics and cameras on), there might be a loud sound of music from the device of the hapless participants and one might even see the person glaring at whoever was playing the loud music but to no effect (you can't scold a child in front of your colleagues). The expression on the participant's face is not lost on the others. It is true that in most cases switching off the microphone or the camera might help filter out the distraction, but then more often than not, it all happens so suddenly that one is caught off guard! Finding a quiet and peaceful spot for the online meeting might not, after all, be possible when one is working from home and sharing space with family members is a fact of life.

The fact of the matter is that one can expect distractions to be a challenge when working from home, (which is, in any case, an informal environment). I would like to share some of my personal experiences of how extraneous factors might result in distracting noises during an online meet. In one instance I could hear the sounds of Cattle lowing during a class with my students. Perplexed I asked the participant if she had Cattle as pets and she responded embarrassed that the sounds were coming from Cattle that were passing by - she had left her window open. In a yet another humorous incident, I spotted an old student of mine walking by while I was in a meeting with an existing student. I immediately called out to him realising that he was my students' brother. We caught up with old times and then reverted to the matter in hand.
While such incidents might appear innocent enough, they might in the interim cause an unwelcome break while in the middle of important discussions. While some of the participants in an online meeting might take the distractions as a welcome break from the tedium of hectic parleys and negotiations, others might take offence, especially those who feel that they might compromise the seriousness of the meeting. Another, rather interesting incident, happened while I was having an important talk with one of my students - his younger brother came into view and gestured towards him, danced a jig and then moved off-camera.
It might not be possible to iron out some of the extraneous distractions in an online meeting, but then setting expectations might mitigate some of them. One of the most important expectations that could to be set before an online meeting should be the dress-code. Being shabbily dressed up can be a great dampener for an online meeting especially as it might be an indication of casualness and lack of seriousness on the part of the participant. The sanctity and seriousness of any meeting (unless otherwise) should be established well in time. Even if you are working from home, you should be presentable and well-dressed.
In some cases, certain allowances can be made during online meetings but then eating food, taking regular sips of water, or even drinking tea while in full view of the camera can be a problem. This can apply to meetings between professionals or even online classes between teachers and students. Many of us, our students included, prefer to hide behind emojis as D.Ps. or even just initials of our names with our cameras switched off. This makes the online classroom transaction look most unreal and weird. It is as if you were addressing inanimate objects on a screen-which is akin to talking to a wall with roundels of initials painted on it. If so much effort can go into the designing of D.Ps, then one wonders if some more effort could not have been put into switching the cameras on!

Well, jokes apart, the year 2020 has been a roller coaster year, especially for teachers and students all over the world. They were first pushed one way and then the other by administrators and heads who were themselves confused. The request for cameras to be switched on fell on deaf ears, and then the microphones of most students caught a cold and so they could not be switched on (although you could hear the student responding to the attendance), and then it became a trend for students to log in to the video conference and then conveniently mute themselves (their cameras would be switched off) and leave the link on and then go off to sleep, or watch TV (Indian Matchmaking being one the most-watched series by school students in the metros of India today), or even play a video game on another device, all while the teacher is droning on! The same would be the case with eager program leads hosting online video conferences hoping to share some nuggets of information with teachers who are already mentally, emotionally and physically depleted after four or five hours of online teaching. While some of these distractions might not be visible or even audible, it is this lack of engagement itself which is sensed and felt that makes an online meeting distracting for the host or the organiser. Often one might come across situations where there is total silence during an online meet, which can be unsettling in nature. One gets distracted by the possibility that you might be spouting into the ether without anyone really listening to you, perhaps because of a break in the internet connection, or perhaps even some kind of a prank that the students might have pulled on you. These are certainly some interesting challenges faced in online classes that need to be addressed in the context of the use of a new form of technology to connect to an audience that might not, after all, be 'there' physically. In a regular classroom scenario, or a regular staff meeting you have a 'captive audience' but in a virtual meeting you can only have a 'notional audience.'

Textual Bloopers make for great Entertainment!

Well, that was funny, wonder what they were thinking when they wrote all that!

It is funny how everyone wants to advertise their businesses in English and what matters for them is to see letters in English painted on their banners, vehicles advertising services, and even labels attached to products being sold in supermarkets. However, a single spelling error or a semantical error is bound to draw attention, although for the wrong reason!  Of course, the viewing of such an error is bound to fill your day with laughter!

Take for examples what is written on the side panel of this truck, taken literally, what it says is that the owner provides customers service related to transportation of freight (in this case misspelt). 

I wonder if anyone would want to hire this fellow's services, not, at least with the word, 'Fright' stencilled on his side panel.

Another of my favourite textual bloopers is in a photograph I took many years ago while returning from the airport. What was written on the back of a truck almost made me split with laughter! It left me wondering why a trucker would want to write such stuff on his truck. In fact, most trucks in India have been turned into mobile information centres, moving billboards and canvasses for varied artwork. In the midst of all that artwork, a discerning person will spot a gem of a blooper and spend the rest of his day either laughing to himself or making others laugh.

While the message is sobering, especially for those who floor the accelerator, the way it is written makes you wonder about the state of mind of the person who painted it. Perhaps it was the fumes from the paint can that made him substitute the word, 'better' for 'water' or it was that he was thirsty and so the feeling transferred itself from the subconscious to the hand painting the said message (I am not even talking about replacing the word 'than' with 'then' as that would mean doing a lesson in grammar!).

But then,  it is not just trucks that have some interesting bloopers on them, in fact, even some of the labels on products being sold in supermarkets have some of the most interesting stuff on them. Take for example this new breed of A GREAD prawns, they must be special, without a doubt!

Now if you have a notice with the word 'trail' on top of the women's trial room then I wonder if you will really have many guests trying the clothes. The word 'trail' suggests something different from what it was supposed to have meant. The fact that this word remained on for quite some time is an indication that the manager was not alert enough!

COVID-19 : Challenges for Schools Today

The lockdown forced by the COVID-19 pandemic across the world has exposed schools and colleges to numerous challenges, challenges that have changed the very concept of education forever. One of the major issues is that parents in many schools have started questioning the very efficacy of so-called online classes. Many have even withdrawn their children from private schools amid growing financial difficulties, poor quality of online classes, and the resulting health problems associated with hours of exposure to laptop screens. A majority of such parents have begun withdrawing their children from 'nursery and pre-nursery schools' according to an article in the Hindustan Times newspaper appearing in the July-17 2020 edition. Some parents have decided to home-school their children, especially in families where only one of the two parents is working. Home-makers who have had a decent level of education believe they can do a better job than schools in teaching their children at home.

While financial considerations matter, what has forced parents to withdraw their children from schools charging a hefty amount of fees, is the poor quality of online classes conducted by them. Unfortunately, the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to adopt online teaching platforms. Unfortunately, most of these schools have not had enough experience in such platforms and as a result, they have taken to posting pre-recorded videos of lessons and units with nominal use of blackboards in the background. Most of these pre-recorded videos are one-way lectures and they don't cater to a healthy interaction between the teacher and her students. This is even worse in many senior classes where online classes take place in this manner.

The way most schools have taken up to posting pre-recorded videos in the name of online classes has exposed the large divide that exists between traditional schools and progressive schools. While traditional schools post pre-recorded videos on Youtube and Whatsapp, progressive schools conduct classes on Google Hangout or even Zoom. Online classes conducted on Zoom and Google Hangout are interactive, innovative, and offer immense scope for teacher-student interaction. But then, few can afford the fees of progressive schools with the result that a large number of parents who can't afford to send their children to such schools have expressed dissatisfaction with the kind of online classes their traditional schools have been conducting. In most of the so-called online classes being conducted, it is the lack of two-way communication during the class that is missing. The ability to discuss or answer topics and other important points is what affects the quality of the session.

Similarly, the manner in which many traditional schools have been conducting so-called online assessments has a lot to be desired. Questions are shared on WhatsApp and then students submit multiple photographs on Whatsapp often overburdening teachers with the number of sheets to assess. Errors are bound to emerge in such cases, often leading to teachers to do a hasty but ineffectual assessment of the answers submitted by their students ( but then, you can't blame them). Progressive schools have bought licenses in various LMS platforms like Teamie which makes it easier and more efficient to check online submissions on the laptop, offering the advantages of annotating the answers, submitting comments and adding up marks against each answer. The attachment of a rubric to the answer-sheet helps students to see for themselves, apart from the annotations made by the teacher why they scored fewer marks.
With many teachers taking to online classes for the first time, it is not surprising how misunderstood the concept is. While it is true, many schools cannot afford paid LMS platforms, some platforms like Zoom and Google Hangouts might be explored to make the shift to the online learning platform more viable. Unfortunately, few schools and their students are tech-savvy and fewer still are privileged enough to afford a decent laptop-let alone a smartphone. Looking at how things are, it is high time school heads and curriculum planners did something to resolve the matter. To make looking at pre-recorded videos for hours less tedious and stressful it is important to explore different learning platforms that can cater to healthy interaction, emotional connect and meaningful learning.
It is within the context of the recent switch to online learning and the poor quality of it that one wonders if existing open-learning and distance learning platforms might not, after all, be more viable than the existing traditional school and college full time learning models. The National Institute of Open Schooling is doing a good job with its contactless learning programme which has however a few contact sessions. It is better equipped to handle the situation we are facing as educationists all over the country right now. The Indira Gandhi National Open University or the People's University has become even more viable in times of lockdown. MOOCs or Massive Online Courses have become even more viable today. Carefully designed webinars that offer two-way communication or student-teacher interaction could be a viable option for better online education at the post-school level. However, these learning platforms are better suited for mature learners and perhaps not young children at the pre-school level or even intermediate school levels.
The fact remains, in spite of all this that school education is undergoing a crisis right now from which it will be very difficult to recover for years to come. The most important task is to regain the trust of parents about the efficacy of online platforms. We need to convince parents to bring their children back to school. We need to equip not just teachers but also students with 21st Century skills that include research skills, skills in collaborative learning. What is most important of all, as Prime Minister Narender Modi has said, is to "Skill, reskill and upskill" not just the teachers but also the youth. As of now what matters most is to be tech-savvy, to know how to handle technology pertaining to the dissemination of learning online. Not knowing how to login to learning platforms, adjust mics, switch on cameras and enter data, answers and comments online are skills that will make or destroy the efficacy of online learning modules.
Unless we address the issues faced by the stakeholders in education today, we will see more and more parents pulling their children out of school. More and more parents will resort to home-schooling rather than traditional schooling. More and more students will switch over to distance learning platforms. Many schools, mostly private schools will face a financial crisis and they will be forced to shut down. By the time things get back to a "new normal" things will have deteriorated so badly that normal schooling will have become a thing of the past! While content knowledge might continue to be an advantage, it will be tech-knowledge that will be the deciding factor in the new tomorrow.