Shiv Shanker Shukla &
Rakesh Chaturvedi
Introduction-
The future of India will be fashioned in the classroom. While India has
made great strides in improving the education system but much still remains to
be done. If you see the current scenario then you will find that there is a
flood of advanced technology all over the globe but our education system is not
benefiting due to the lack of information and knowledge of teachers, students
and the administration. The students have their own restrictions, teachers have
there own and the administration is also admitting the fact that the education
system is really in a poor shape today.
The goal of this paper is to outline how information
technology can help to create an education system that is based on the
principles of helping teachers, students and administration to be effective in
what they do, improving the quality and relevance of teaching learning process.
If we see the present scenario
of school then we are sorry to say that not much has changed since the 90ies.
We still are using black board; we are still using the contents of text books
which are too old to needs updating. Teachers are referring to the same text
books which are the only source of information and knowledge available to most
of the students as well as teachers. So we see that almost nothing has changed
ever since.
So when a computer technology can change
and when a mobile technology can change why can not the educational technology?
From the convincing point of view let us share some benefits of using information technology
in education:1
a) It
induces scientific, economic, technological, information and multicultural
literacy and global awareness.
b) It
promotes inventive thinking.
c) It
develops effective communication which leads to teaming, collaboration and
interpersonal skills. Moreover, it induces personal, social and civic
responsibility.
d) It
leads to high productivity which given the ability to plan and manage results.
It also gives you a sense of using real-world tools with effective, relevant,
and high quality results.
Now suppose a decision is taken to use technology in the field of
education shifting the focus from traditional teaching to educational
technology then a question still needs to be answered? How and where do we fit
in?
For this to answer, we need to explore the
various ways of clubbing and implementing information technology in education.
Aim
a. To examine the education scenario in the
present context.
b. To explore various possibilities of
implementing technology in education for the betterment of the students,
teachers and in turn the society.
II. The Two Communication
Channels–
The teacher and student play an important role in education where
teacher acts as a facility center of information and knowledge and student acts
as a learner of information and knowledge. The teacher after gathering
information from specified sources like text books, personal notes, library etc
communicates it to the students. That means communication plays a vital role in
the delivery of information and knowledge from teacher to student. Now, if the
teacher’s as well as student’s scope of gathering information and knowledge is
limited how can you expect magic and wonders from teachers as well as students?
So far we have explored those aspects of the problems faced
equally by the teacher and student. Now let us explore those aspects of
problems which the teacher, students and administration face as an individual2.
A.
The student’s perspective (with technology less
education)
The students are facing the following problems in a technology
less educational environment:-
a) They are missing information.
b) They do not know exactly what to
learn.
c) They go to classes that were
cancelled without any notification.
All
of this decreases the motivation level of the students.
B. The teacher’s perspective (with technologyless education)
The teachers are facing the following problems in a technology
less educational environment:-
a) They do not know what students are
doing.
b) They have difficult with spreading
information.
c) They are hard to reach for
students.
d) A majority of teachers themselves
are either not updated or under-qualified and due to lack of information &
knowledge they do not benefit from new advances and continue to teach outdated
material.
e) They have often complains of high work
load.
C.
The administrative perspective (with technology
less education)
The school administration is facing the following problems in a
technology less educational environment:
a) Significant absenteeism of teachers in
schools.
b) There do not appear to be mechanisms in
place to ensure that the curriculum keeps pace with developments in the fields
being taught.
c) There do not appear to be any established
principle on the timely revision of textbooks.
These
above problems were identified when they have no idea of technology and its use
in the field of education.
III. Benefits of
Information Technology in Education-
Now, in order to convenience the teacher, student and management
to use information technology in education we need to share the following
benefits3:
a. It induces scientific, economic,
technological, information and multicultural literacy and global awareness.
b. It promotes inventive thinking which
induces the following:
a)
Adaptability & managing complexity.
b) Curiosity, creativity and risk
taking.
c) High-order thinking and sound reasoning.
a) It
develops effective communication which leads to teaming, collaboration and
interpersonal skills. Moreover, it induces personal, social and civic
responsibility.
b) It
leads to high productivity which given the ability to plan and manage results.
It also gives you a sense of using real-world tools with effective, relevant,
and high quality results.
IV. Education without Technology versus Education with Technology-
To measure the benefits of using
information technology we are dividing education into two categories4:-
If we impart education without technology
then these are the outcomes:-
a. It is Passive.
b. It is formal.
c. It is instructor
driven.
d. It is time
dependent.
e. Content defined
by others.
f. Grade is given
only after final evaluation.
g. Not all the
students fully participate.
Now, if we impart education with
technology then these are the outcomes:-
a. It is Active.
b. It is informal.
c. It is student
driven.
d. It is not time
dependent.
e. Content defined
by students.
f. Individual
contribution is measured.
g. Progress is
accessed throughout.
h. All students
fully participate.
Ways
of implementing information technology in education-
We can find the following ways of
implementing Information Technology in education5:
a. Becoming a volunteer in
promoting Information Technology in the field of Education by using blogs,
forums, etc.
b. Adapting to e-learning
techniques.
Becoming
a volunteer in promoting information technology in education
Now looking at this slide we can see how a
volunteer can help himself and the society in promoting information technology
in education. Presently, we see the old face of the volunteer i.e., as a
consumer mugging up outdated text books. And the new face looks very promising
in which the volunteer plays the role of a:
a. Creator b. Contributor c. Communicator d. collaborator e. coordinator
a)
Changing Teacher, Student and Administrative Perspective (with technology in
education)
When students have access to up-to-the-minute, current
information, and when that information is shared with their peers and faculty,
the learning experience changes dramatically. Teachers, who used to be the
subject matter experts and the deliverers of all content, will transfer more of
the learning process and responsibility to students. Students then become
responsible for understanding where to access information and how to
collaborate in a Web-based environment. Students must ask themselves: How do I
learn? How can I use information and technology to gain information? Such an
experience prepares an individual to be a life-long learner, which is critical
for success in the workforce of tomorrow. So the whole learning paradigm
changes. On top of that, technology enables students to express themselves
differently than they ever have before. Students are no longer limited to using
a piece of paper and a pencil or pen, but instead have a unique online
environment in which they can express what information they have been able to
gather, internalize that data, and then integrate it into their assignments.
b) Information Technology Tools &A volunteer can find the following tools
useful in promoting information technology in the field of education: Blogs,
Forums, Communities, Webcast, PodCast, User Groups, Picassa (Google) and Flickr
(Yahoo), W3Schools.com, Webopidia, Wikis, Webconferencing, VideoConferencing,
Chat, E-mail, Instant Messaging, Bulletin Board, VOIP, Data Conferencing, Shout
Box, Image Board, YouTube, SlideShare
A. Adapting to e-Learning
Techniques- We have
seen the volunteer part of implementing information technology in the field of
education. Now see the administrative part of implementing information
technology in the field of education i.e., adapting to e-learning techniques6.
A new model should be developed or an
existing model could be used which contains the following features:
a) A model for designing
relevant curriculum- A
system that encourages the mass participation of experts, teachers, and
students in shaping and updating curriculum in a timely manner.
b) A model for authoring
training material and teaching aids
A system that:
a. allows teachers and students
to comment and discuss sections of text books.
b. Link supplementary material
for further study.
c. share lectures, assignments,
exercises, tests and so on.
d. allows development of training material
for helping teachers and administrators
update and enhance their skills.
c) A model for providing
access to teaching aids
a. A system where every teacher
is able to access and use teaching aids developed anywhere, and by anyone.
Conclusion-
Instructors still need to direct student
learning activities, but they must also put responsibility for learning on the
students. It is going to be an uncomfortable, but worthwhile transition. The
measure of success should not simply be test scores, but instead, increased
attendance, attention and participation.
Once teachers see their students engaged
and excited about learning and producing thoughtful work, they will find it
easier to make the transition from actor to director.
In order to educate students to be
life-long learners and successful contributors to the new global market,
educators must change the way they teach and the way students learn. We need to
remember that if we want to help students achieve a high level of competency
and competitiveness, we have no choice but to make technology an integrated
tool in the field of education.
References
1. Aiyer, S.S. Management of Education:
Efficiency of computer based training, proceedings
of
seminar on International Training and Development Conference, New Delhi, 1987.
2. IT Action Plan, July 4, 1998, by National Task Force on IT and
Software Development, Government of India
3. Khurana, R. Emerging Trends in
Educational and Training Methodologies,including Satellite Based Techniques,
Interactive Techniques, Technical Support for Learning, Seminar cum-workshop on
Systems Approach to Training and Modern
Instructional Technique Military College of Telecommunications Engineering,
Mhow (M.P.), September 23, 1997.
4. Leider, Dorothy E. The use of IT to
Enhance Management School Education: A Theoretical View. MIS Quarterly,
September, 1995.
5. Prashant, Praveen, Technology and
Management Education Delivery, best student paper competition of Association of
Indian Management Schools, 1997.
6. Rawlings, B. New Technology- New
Problems: The knowledge Gap between Management
and Computing, The new Management Challenges, 1988.
Website, News Papers & Periodicals.
2. Kozma, ICT, Education Reform, and
Economic Growth.
4. www.aace.org/pubs/
5. Times of India
6. The Hindu
7. Economic Survey of India.
Shiv Shanker Shukla* &
Rakesh Chaturvedi**
*Research Scholar,
Department of Commerce &
Business Administration,
University of Allahabad, U.P.
**Research Scholar, Avadh Pratap Singh
University,
Rewa, M.P.
