Critical Self-Appraisal Towards the Better Use of a Webinar Series as an Online Tool for Postgraduate Teaching

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic adversely affected the conventional teaching mode, resulting in an exponential rise in online modalities such as webinars. Simultaneously, the lockdown provided substantial time to pursue potential academic content on the web. It is known that newly admitted postgraduate students of Physiology require a structured program that can guide them to conduct research for the completion of the course.

Gauging the opportunity, a webinar series was conducted on basic research methodology and thesis writing in Physiology. The series comprised hourly lectures delivered between 4:00 and 5:00 pm for seven consecutive days. Suggestions for future topics for webinars were sought through open-ended questions. Additionally, feedback for increment in students' knowledge at the end of the webinar was also inquired on a Likert scale. Open-ended answers were pooled into fields, and Likert scale scores were evaluated.

There were 364 (35.8%) postgraduate students who registered for the webinar. The remaining were faculty (51.6%), research scholars (8.8%), and senior residents (3.8%). Among the postgraduate students who submitted the feedback, a majority (98.4%) of them agreed that their knowledge was enhanced at the end of the series. Most of the postgraduate students (31%) chose Biostatistics for future webinars.

Webinars are a useful tool for postgraduate teaching. They should be constructed with engaging infrastructure and relevant examples. The availability of recorded content on the online forum is beneficial for asynchronous learners. Having an idea about students' choice for essential topics helps in the advanced planning of a demanding webinar.