Technology is revolutionalising the education sector. Because of this, the role of teachers is also changing and digital classrooms are gaining popularity. To keep abreast of the changes, they need to be more than people imparting knowledge. Today, teachers need to be schools in themselves, says Beas Dev Ralhan
The role of teachers is changing. Today, they are not just imparting knowledge, they need to give back a comprehensive feedback and high-quality assessment of the students. Rather than being just teachers, they are becoming schools in themselves, imparting skills and attributes. In this way, they produce an entire batch of skilled and intelligent students in every class that they head to. However, it is also the responsibility of the teachers to a great extent to incorporate modern education technologies like online assignment and video lecture in the classrooms to help make the study material engaging, interactive and refreshing.
Apart from getting involved in studying through like innovative measures, students will understand the relevance and importance of the entire content, thereby showing more interest in studies and learning. The advantage of digital learning is that it helps both introverted and extroverted students voice their views. With the help of web tools like message boards, forums and online lectures, students who are hesitant can be empowered by the teachers.
Trends in the education sector
Digital classroom/flipped classrooms: Technology is leading to a revolution in the way we learn. It is helping solve the problems of scale, quality of education, and learnability of the student. Teachers can now reach the full classroom through digital screens, enabling each child to get the same base content. Student engagement is higher as it combines various instructional styles. Each student gets exposure to world-class education, something that was just not available in a chalk and talk approach.
learning on the go: Facilitating students to study at their own convenience anywhere anytime
On the self-learning front, we believe that it is still nascent stage due to lot more school involvement of the child (typical student reaches home only at 2:30 pm) and over reliance on neighborhood tuition center. However, the trend is to have proper evaluation of the child by parents to help him in specific areas. Therefore, the new trend will be personalised learning-based on rocket science level evaluation state machine.
learning at the speed of need: Access to online learning material and digital content through various devices.
Due to hi-tech network and multimedia, the education sector has emerged as a fast developing field. Another prominent result of the use of technology in education is that there is an extensive change in the teaching and learning methods, styles, and content across many schools in India.
Students use a unique form of technology called cloud technology wherein they can easily submit and review their assignment regularly. When a school includes facilities in a digital learning environment, the classroom becomes much more comfortable and welcoming to students.
With computers and digital elements in classrooms, students feel find studying more enjoyable. The aim of a teacher however should be to create such an atmosphere which makes every student want to study. Moreover, considering that the young students today are usually surrounded by computers, iPads and mobiles, bringing the same technology into the classrooms makes them feel easy and acquainted.
Video-based learning
This kind of learning makes education engaging and entertaining. The interactive preface of this segment ignites learning with a pedigree of learning out of leisure with creativity, fun and entertainment on cards via the wonderful apps, podcasts, videos, interactive software, e-books and online interactive electronic boards.
Children are excited and operative with interest to manage the showcase via their intelligence, exploring the weak techno skills of teachers and assist them in public with pride and honour and recognition. Now the classes are student-friendly, student-operated and info-packed.
Popularity of online courses
India is the second biggest market for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)in the world, after the US. It is however expected that India in the coming years will supersede the US. Our country has the second largest population in the world after China and is the third in terms of university enrollment worldwide. The US and China are first and second for university enrollment at the moment.
MOOCs have opened the gateways for a lot of Indians in terms of being part of an educational revolution. It gives a great opportunity to avail high quality learning with the help of internet connectivity. Two foremost reasons as to why MOOCs is a good idea is that millions of Indians live in poverty and are unable to afford or gain access to a higher education and secondly there are more applicants than seats in the Indian universities.
Game-based learning
Game-based learning creates an environment where the learners easily relate themselves to and get involved. The world we have today is cultivating children who are more than just well aware of both the developments in their surroundings and their skills and abilities.
Transforming the K-12 sector, game based learning undoubtedly will revolutionise the education world products and give us a better self-trained Gen X.
(The writer is CEO, Next Education India Pvt ltd)