(1) to improve synchronous online/blended teaching, by (a) conducting a systematic literature review on the technological and pedagogical factors associated with user experiences in synchronous online classes, (b) by collecting scenarios of educational video conferencing (EdViCon) and identifying challenges, following the Design Thinking methodology, and (c) designing two toolkits/institution for EdViCon based on ideating and testing multiple prototypes in various contexts. (2), to facilitate capacity building among educators to become professional online and blended tutors or teachers’ trainers (a) by designing and evaluating teacher training materials on EdViCon, (b) by presenting the technological and pedagogical best practices in the form of educational materials and a competence matrix for engaging students using online applications, (c) by organizing two educator training workshops and form a reproducible model (3) to improve the quality of VCS-supported teaching by (a) producing training materials on EdViCon (b) developing competence matrices for educators and students, (c) developing self-assessment tools for self-reflection and evaluation of training (d) involving stakeholders, and (e) disseminating project results.
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the higher educational institutions’ educators and students were meeting in hybrid modalities, where an educator was in a classroom with some students and the rest were attending from home. The software video conferencing systems (VCS) alone were not sufficient to communicate the teachers’ writing on a board, presentation slides, gesture and posture, and engage students in groups or individually with differentiated or engaging activities. Additional online applications and accessories were used along with VCS for sending the information interfaces a student gets in a face-to-face classroom. Research showed that the students engage and participate less in online sessions, get excluded by turning off video and microphone to avoid technical issues, and require higher levels of motivation to be active in the courses. The problems are endorsed by educators, students, and e-learning consultants at higher educational institutions. Understanding the classroom environment (i.e. lecture gallery, design studio, science lab, etc.) and the project addressed by making portable video-conferencing toolkits, a list of online applications to engage students, and training resources to uphold the quality of teaching.