“We (teachers) have to keep running with the pace of technology, otherwise we’ll not be there after sometime” – Prof. Samuel Johnson, Trainer of over 3000 faculty members across India.
Gone are the days when a chalk, a duster & a blackboard were all a teacher needed to train his students for the future! With time, technology has evolved & as a result, the best teachers have upgraded themselves to cater to their students & parents in the 21st-century way. Here’s a look at the 5 ways in which technology has changed education.
Evolution of the Teacher: The role of a teacher has changed from a lecturer to an artist who breaks all barriers to make his/her student get a grasp of the topic. Technology has helped teachers to dig much deeper into the topics by using videos, audios and presentations.
No More Paper Notes: Remember the time when teachers used to get notes photocopied & then distributed among the class? If you think that’s still happening, think again. With apps like Arch – The Way around, teachers & students now share notes (& much more) instantly from their phones & that too without having to collect phone numbers of anyone!
Interactive Materials: Not only the mode of sharing has changed but also what is shared has changed. Notes are no longer restricted to text and pictures. They go beyond that and include videos, audios, presentations, documents – anything that helps a student understand better.
Involvement of Parents: With changing lifestyle, parents have become busier. However the need to stay connected to their child’s classroom activities is more than ever before. This is where technology has kicked in. It is now possible for parents & older students to know what’s happening at school/college through Arch notifications. This is going a big way in involving otherwise-ignorant parents in the development process of the child.
Mobile – The Newest Entrant: Unable to fully grasp the attention of students & their parents by using emails, sms services, social media & what not, educators now are heading towards where students & parents’ attention already is – their mobile phones. Free tools such as Arch empower educators to send homework reminders, motivational messages, files, class schedules and everything under the sun (but not the sun!!..lol) instantly on students’ & parents’ phones. Queries from students/parents can also be cleared through these apps.
Innovative services today are promoting holistic growth of the nation by allowing teachers to update students & parents within seconds & that too by a click on their phone. Moreover, teachers now are saved the hassle of giving out their phones numbers & receiving innumerable calls on their personal phone:) Here’s what Prof. Samuel, Head of Learning and Research Center in Vellore Institute of Technology Chennai has to say about one of the most widely used edtech tool:
“It (Arch – The Way) is very easy to use..they (students & parents) are on tabs, on mobiles & internet access is a cakewalk.”
So why not try out free apps like Arch & make life easier & better for you & your students!
