The University Grants Commission (UGC) is developing a hybrid system of training teachers. This system will offer training to 15 lakh teachers in the higher education sector. This new training aims to prepare teachers for higher education which is set for a drastic change owing to the integration of NEP, UGC and AICTE Chairman Jagadesh Kumar said. He went on to say that the online mode of training will be done through the Indian Digital University. This is set to start working from July of next year. There will also be physical 15-day training. Jagadesh Kumar added that experts from IITs and IIMs will be a part of this training. This hybrid training system will be a great way for teachers to get more technology exposure which can greatly improve the quality of education in the country.
Creating a Digital Infrastructure for Teachers
A recent survey done by TeamLease EdTech which is a learning solutions company shows the alarming situation related to the digital proficiency of teachers. The survey found that 31 percent teachers are still not proficient in digital tools while more than 75 percent learned by practice due to a lack of training. Today’s youth is tomorrow’s leader and people who are responsible for nurturing the youth plays a crucial role in the development of a country. In the present-day rapidly moving world, it is important that teachers like every other professional, keep themselves updated with the changing world. As technological advancements have become game changers in the educational sector like in many other industry verticals, it is imperative that teachers are exposed to the latest technologies in the education market at regular intervals.
DIKSHA is a unique initiative introduced by the Indian government. It will act as a national digital infrastructure for teachers. This will help teachers in India to be well-versed in advanced digital technology. This, in turn, will help them become more skilled teachers. It will also help them to integrate technology into the classrooms seamlessly. This is crucial as it will provide better technology exposure to the students which will make them better prepared for life after campus. Let’s analyze how tech-savvy teachers can better integrate technology into the learning process.
Simulation-based Education
Simulations can bring a breath of fresh air into traditional classrooms as it allows teachers to make the learning process more engaging and interactive. If implemented correctly, this will be open new learning opportunities for students especially from the engineering, science and management space. It will also help the educational institutions to cut down their expenses and the teachers to track the progress of each student more accurately. The Advanced Optimisation course in the Doctoral degree in Applied Mathematics and Modelling offered by Universidade Aberta, Portugal is a great example which showcases the positive impact of simulation-based education. In this course, students will deal with complex decision making problems. This is related to real-life logistics, transportation, production and financial systems. Majority of these problems are large-scale and includes dynamic components. To solve these problems, students will have to analyze different heuristic-based algorithms which are implemented in programming languages. Simulation techniques are usually integrated inside the algorithm. This will help in dealing with the real-life uncertainties in these systems. Incorporating simulation-based education in a program will be nearly impossible without teachers who are tech-savvy and are proficient with digital tools.
Conducting Online Field Trips
Field trips are a great way for students to get out of the classroom and experience as well as learn on the field. That said, for most educational institutions, there is a geographical and financial limit to where they can take their students on field trips. Now, with the rapid advancements in technology, teachers can use digital tools to put together virtual field trips. Some of the tools that will help teachers here are Google Maps, and Google Arts & Culture. Apart from showing routes, Google Maps have plethora of other features including helping students to travel back in time by comparing old and new photos, and using shortcuts to navigate through maps to name a few. With this tool, teachers can take their students on a virtual tour of places across the world. This is not only significantly cheaper but it is also much more engaging than traditional classroom lectures. Google Arts and Culture is another unique online platform. This has high-resolution images as well as videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from across the world and as many cultural institutions have digitized their collections, students can experience it all from the comforts of their classrooms. Both these are easily accessible digital tools which requires a basic knowledge of technology to operate.
Creating a Classroom Website and Blog
Creating a classroom website is an effective way to create an interactive classroom which in turn increases the participation of each student. Aside from this, class website can turn into a valuable platform for teachers and parents to see what is happening in the class as well as the development of students. Creating a classroom blog is taking it a step further as it not only improves student engagement but it also helps in improving the writing and reading skills of the students. In the mean time, both of these will also help the students to become tech-savvy. WordPress will be one of your best allies if you want to create a website or a blog. This free and open-source content management system helps one to create a website quickly. Google Sites is another popular website creation platform which is simple and easy to use. In order to realize the true potential of classroom websites and blogs, it is essential to have a tech-savvy teacher which again highlights the importance of offering regular training to the teachers on the latest technologies.
Aside from the aforementioned points, Gamification is yet another way in which educators can integrate technology into the classroom. This will help them to make the learning process more fun and engaging for the students. If used properly, teachers can even leverage social media as a teaching tool. For example one can use an educational video from YouTube to discuss in class or conduct a Q&A based on it. The opportunities are limitless and the more technology exposure teachers get through training the better it is for the entire education system.
