Speakers at a workshop called for adopting modern and innovative teaching tools for sharpening the professional skills of students to compete with the world.

Speakers at a workshop called for adopting modern and innovative teaching tools for sharpening the professional skills of students to compete with the world. They were addressing the concluding session of four-day workshop on hybrid course design and development. The session was chaired by UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan and was arranged by The US Pakistan Center of Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said the UAF was working on introducing the hybrid courses. He said that in the modern world, it is imperative to adopt the technology for the teaching to maintain the interest of students. He said that the University was setting up teacher resource center for equipping the teachers with the modern trends. He said that the UAF had kicked off massive open online courses mechanism and the lectures were being put on the internet. Prof James R Carey and Prof Thomas L Rost from the University of California, USA imparted the training among the 50 teaching staff of varsity. The workshop included lecture material, demonstrations and exercise in which participants gain hand-on technical experience. Prof James R Carey said the teaching methods with technological support had become vital to gain the interest of the students. He said that best practices in information design, presentation concepts and video production methods were imparted Prof Thomas L Rost said that the specific aims for the workshop were to increase the participants knowledge of efficiencies in the use of learning management system. USPCAS Chief of Party Dr Bashir Ahmad urged the teaching community to adopt modern means of communication to refurbish the skills of students. Dr Nancy from University of California and Dr Ghulam Murtaza also spoke on the occasion.