Testing The Creativity Of Teachers In Banyumas In Distance Learning

Distance learning illustration (doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Education Office (Dindik) of Banyumas Regency, Central Java, encourages teacher creativity in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes areas that are not covered by telecommunications networks, which can make it difficult for students to study.

"For areas with 'blank spots', yesterday we encouraged the creativity of teachers to be able to visit homes. It's just that you have to keep using health protocols," said the Head of the Banyumas Irawati Dindik, as quoted from Antara, Monday, 24 July.

Nevertheless, he said, teacher visits to students' homes were only for areas that were completely unreachable by telecommunications networks and parents or poor people who did not have the ability to purchase internet data packages.

Asked about the possibility of a community providing free wireless internet (WiFi) services or radio communication to support distance learning, Irawati admitted that she had not received any information regarding the existence of these communities.

Meanwhile, he continued, his party is working with RRI Purwokerto and Banyumas TV in broadcasting distance learning material.

"Students can listen to RRI broadcasts or watch Banyumas TV including TVRI so they can participate in the distance learning," he said.

Furthermore, Irawati said that his party completely left it up to teachers to create creativity or innovation in providing distance learning that was adjusted to the Merdeka Learning policy.

"How to provide learning is in the authority of the teacher. It only remains how the teachers are, the important thing is that the learning material is delivered," he said.

However, he acknowledged that currently all teachers who are under the authority of the Banyumas Regency Dindik will return to the work from home (WFH) mechanism within the next week.

"With many positive COVID-19 findings in Banyumas Regency and by chance there are some of our teachers whose sons were positively exposed yesterday, so we are WFH this week, while looking at developments later," he explained.

On a separate occasion, the Head of the Public Broadcasting Section of the RRI Purwokerto Public Broadcasting Institute, Wahyu Hadiarthana, said that his party had collaborated with the Banyumas and Purbalingga District Education Office and the Regional Education Office Branch of Central Java Province to organize educational broadcasts to support distance learning.

According to him, the learning material was delivered by the teacher in accordance with the subject and the applicable curriculum.

"However, for the time being this distance learning is only for junior and senior high school students with a schedule that has been arranged in such a way. We also plan to broadcast distance learning for elementary students," he said.