Science Popularisation during COVID-19 Pandemic: Participants Perspective on e-learning

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted all facets of our daily lives. It has impacted the educational system as well, forcing the inclusion of technology tools to extend the outreach to the masses and to build scientific temper in the society. The present study is aimed to investigate the viewpoints of students, teachers, and the general public engaged in webinars, online workshops/camps conducted by Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala during COVID-19 pandemic in India. A nominal registration fee was charged for online workshops/camps, however, participation in webinars was free of cost. An online Feedback form with a questionnaire on participants’ perspectives was developed and shared with participants after every event. Feedback data comprising 634 webinar participants and 398 Online workshops/camps participants was analysed. Results indicated that E-learning has become quite popular among the students during restrictions imposed due to COVID 19 pandemic. Webinars and online workshops/camps helped to continue and extend the outreach of the Science Popularisation activities during lockdown. This paper presents the geographical, demographic, mobilization, usefulness and category wise analysis of the findings conducted during the study.