Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Oct 6: What is a teacher expected to do if an obscene video suddenly pops up on the screen. What if the sounds of shouts or shrieks are heard when classes are conducted by a lady teacher?

One such incident happened in a degree college in the city. When an online class was on, someone all of a sudden uploaded an obscene photo through screen share. All the students saw the photo but the professor could not find who did this mischief. It might be the handiwork of some students or some others who would have collected the password of the class.

Experts feel that the main reason for such things is that the professors do not have the latest knowledge about online things.

Online classes have been around since April. In the early days, improper knowledge, internet and network problems etc as well hacking had bothered the classes, says Prof Anant Prabhu, who is a cyber expert. Prabhu feels that things like the sudden appearance of obscene photos are happening because of lack of proper information on the selection in Google Meet, Zoom, CISCO and such other online forums. He says that anyone can sneak into online classes and seminars if proper processes are not followed. When creating a meeting room, the password is a must otherwise anyone can create an ID and gain entry into the meeting. No posters containing passwords should be issued. It is better to send the same to personal emails.

Before entering the class meeting room, the choice of waiting room should be selected. When the username and password are used, it leads to the waiting room. There, the genuineness of students can be checked before allowing them into the meeting rooms. Miscreants can be controlled. Prof Anant Prabhu has shared the link providing information about online classes by the state government.

Prof Prabhu says that no student should be allowed to share the screen during online classes. Sometimes there are possibilities of some faux pas happening automatically. There is a provision for the professors to disable the screen share option of the students. They can also disable microphones to regulate sound and commotion, he says.