The Progressive School Vol 01 Issue 04

Gearing up teachers for
change…
Since smart classrooms needs a
different skill set of teachers, schools
need to prepare their teachers for the
same. Here are a few tips to make change
over easier for teachers:
• Teachers should have basic
understanding of the computer
operations.
• A software-specific training may be
required to be given at initial stage.
• Teachers should develop a kind of
inclination towards this technology
in the classroom, keeping in mind
that this is to make their work easy
and not to burden them with extra
work.
• At initial stage, teachers may
require to devote some extra time
to understand the system and to
practice the system.
• When teacher is planning to use
any technology in classroom, she
should ensure in advance that the
equipment is functioning properly
and the material that she plan to
take up in the class is up to date and
relevant to the topic.
• Teachers should verify the
authenticity of the digital material
before it gets delivered in class.
Key elements that lead
to success in an online
learning environment…
The key elements for success in an
online learning environment include:
• A quality audio-video material.
• Readily available reference material in
the form of audio, video or graphics.
• Saves lots of time of teachers as
figures and diagrams are available in
electronic form which they otherwise
need to draw on board.
• Facility of recording the lecture (audio
and video both) – so that the lecture
can be delivered by the co-teacher in
absence of the main teacher.
• The interactive exercises make the
lesson summary and conclusions
interesting.
Benefits of a blended
learning approach over a
fully online approach
It is seen that a blended learning
approach of traditional and online
learning methods if far better that a fully
online approach as:
• Presence of teacher in class is
mandatory to solve the student
specific doubts.
• In subjects like Mathematics and
Sciences, teachers’ explanation is
required along with the audio visual.
• After/during the session, teacher
interacts with the students and
ensures that each one of them have
understood the topic in a correct
manner.
• Teachers’ experiences are important
source of learning for the students
which cannot be ignored.
However, sometimes a fully online
approach is a boon for the students. For
example, a fully online approach has its
advantages when student is not in a
physical condition to attend the school.
He can go for online learning and
attend the audio-visual lectures and can
mail his/her queries and doubts to the
teacher. Besides, online approach can be
utilized for the difficult territories where
geographical conditions are abnormal
most of the time, the places where law
and order is always an issue – like riots
and terrorism affected areas. Students
of such territories can learn online and
complete their schooling.
Road ahead…
With the educators having adequate
skills and passion for the field of teaching,
the blended learning approach is having
a bright future. With the span of time, the
technology for the education may become
cheaper and come within the reach of
lower middle class segment of the society.
With the use of technology, education
institutions would be able to cater to the
individualized needs of the learner. With
online approach, the other stakeholders,
like parents, guest lecturers, subject
experts, counselors, psychiatrists may get
involved in teaching-learning process and
help to achieve the desired results.
jul-AUG-SEP 2017
THE PROGRESSIVE SCHOOL
47