Technology makes teachers head back to classrooms

This summer vacation, while you think of newer ways to push your classes out of your mind, your teachers may actually be heading to one.

To keep up with technologies being put to use in classrooms, more and more teachers are looking to add more feathers to their cap with technical qualifications. And, this is not a trend among just ‘young’ teachers. Even those who have for long shied away from adopting new methods of teaching are lining up for certificate programmes in the use of technology.

Arundhati Chavan, principal of Swayam Siddhi College of Education, explains why the idea of a technical qualification has caught the imagination of so many teachers. “Modern classrooms are getting more and more complicated with interactive boards, iPads and web-based learning, among others. The role of a teacher has changed so much that it’s not enough for one to merely know academics.”

Popular courses range from those involving simple computer skills, like using PowerPoint and preparing online worksheets, to e-learning and instructional designing.

The state education department as well as private companies, like Pearson Education Services, offer several such training programmes. Those looking for courses which are easy on the pocket go for MS-CIT, offered by the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited.

Summer, find many teachers, is the perfect time to acquire these skills. Neelima Wagle, who has been teaching science and mathematics for 15 years now, reasons, “When the school is out, we have plenty of time to join additional courses.”