Its a tech world now. We are all trapped in this heavily wired world (now getting wireless). At homes, at workplaces, be it anywhere, its technology all the way. In education, its essentially the computer when we talk of technology in education. Information is just a click away, so why not make the most of it? In the classrooms, instruction for all subjects integrating the computer still needs to be put together by the teacher, as just having the gadget around for comfort, and allowing the children to use it for reference, as the teachers most often do, would not make much sense. So what else would be its use? This is what exactly needs to be formulated I think. Besides a whole new set of economics have to be worked out by school authorities, as right from the furniture, to creating an ambience, for wired classrooms needs to be looked into.
Teaching, after all does go on in classrooms in India, without computers, in a majority of schools. And pretty well when it comes to dissemination of information. Our children from good schools, make it to the international arena of education, earning good names for themselves.
So then why this urgent need for for computers in classrooms? It simply clears doubts, informs a little more, and makes the child a little more confident of what he/she has just learned in class.
There is need for a proper curriculum underlining the use of computers, and how it needs to be integrated with specific references to the instructions given, has to be looked into. Shuchi, has in her recent articles in this forum, told us about blogging, wikis, podcasting, which are such useful tools, especially for teachers. I suddenly feel the need to start learning and bring this knowledge to use.
It seems like a vast confusing puzzle, as of now, maybe to most teachers, but it is apparent that we are not very far from using technology in education, in more and more schools in our country.
I came across this article, in the Hindu about the new technology tools that allow anyone "to become an author, a creator, or a researcher" and wondered at the timing of Shuchi's posts. Seems coincidental, but maybe its time...
Thank you for posting this elog, and that link to the Hindu article. I am very glad that teachers have started to think about what can be done with technology in their classrooms. That is exactly where I place my work - technology in education :) Unfortunately, India does not have too many people who are experienced in, and knowledgeable enough about both technology AND education, to serve as resource people for schools and teachers. I find myself in a very small minority when I work with schools and teachers, and organizations/educational institutions working to educate teachers. Much of my work revolves around answering/clarifying many of the pertinent questions you have raised, Varni.
In fact, since I find myself geographically limited mostly to Bangalore (although I do work with some schools/organizations in other metros, and teachers worldwide through some distance teacher education programs I am involved with), I have taken to writing articles in the hope that I will reach a wider audience. One of the articles I wrote in Education World last year had to do with the questions you have posed.
"Technology = Computers" is a common misconception that I tackle. To quote from my article -
"Installing adequate educational technology infrastructure. The most common mistake schools make is to equate ‘technology’ with ‘computers’. The term ‘Educational Technology’ may include a wide gamut of hardware such as digital cameras, audio and video recorders, scanners, printers, Internet, TV, radio, graphing calculators, GPS (for GIS in schools), handheld probes and sensors, digital microscopes, robotics and other science kits; and software that goes beyond the usual Microsoft Office Suite (although MS Excel and Access are also great tools), to include image processing & movie-making software, tools for ‘brain-based’ learning for children such as concept-map makers, GIS for mapping and such, as well as the new Internet-based software tools for collaboration & communication. All these work (with or without computers) to enhance teaching and learning, and allow teachers to truly ‘leverage’ technology to allow students and teachers to do things they could not do otherwise."
To this I would add (since the article is somewhat dated) - software such as Scratch (discussed here on educatorslog.in), Google SketchUp, Microworlds LOGO, Geometer SketchPad and several others that can be used to foster creative and critical thinking and learning among children.
Using technology (computers with Internet access) only for information gathering would be a very poor return on investment. Since there is so much to share on this subject, I will post an elog on all the ways technology can, and should, be used in education today, especially if schools already have some technology infrastructure or have the wherewithal to invest in some.
(I could go on and on on this topic ... :))