International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue4, April‐2013 450 ISSN 2278‐7763 Connecting students to the changing world (school
boards vs Edutech)
Mrs. Agnita Basu
Asst. Professor , Department of Geography, Salesian College, Siliguri, India;
Email: agnitam@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Introduction of technology in education in India is a comparatively new phenomenon. The perceived role that
technology now plays in society is so critical that there is an urgent need for all the students to get familiarized
with technology. After completion of education, the students’ venture in the job markets requires great skills in
technology. Thus the utility of technology is done in educational field to accustom students improve their
performance and effectiveness in management as well as in many other social activities. The contemporary
generation is technology driven. Technology usage in education has been more progressive with the
introduction of ICT. The terms ‘education’ and ‘technology’ in the contemporary world have become
inseparable from each other. Technology has transformed the way of our life, the way we live and work, and
most importantly the way we learn. The implementation of technology in the educational field had acted as a
catalyst in the quality of education worldwide. What started as an instrument for improvement of higher
education has now been adopted from elementary level of education. An assemblage technological inputs in
education results in an expansion of access to education and most importantly helps in improving the quality
of education.
Keywords : Education, Technology, Edu-tech, ICT, E-learning 1 INTRODUCTION
HE terms ‘education’ and ‘technology’ in the
T
contemporary world have become inseparable
from each other. Technology has transformed the
way of our life, the way we live and work, and
most importantly the way we learn. The
implementation of technology in the educational
field had acted as a catalyst in the quality of
education worldwide. What started as an
instrument for improvement of higher education
has now been adopted from elementary level of
education. Education technology has not only
changed the nature of classroom learning but has
also changed the very concept of classroom. The
use of technology in the educational field has been
more concrete by the introduction of the ICT
(Information and Communication Technologies)
enabled classes. Adding to this, newer digital
technologies such as computers and internet have
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub. been recognized as potential tools enabling
educational change and reform. An assemblage of
all these results in an expansion of access to
education and most importantly helps in
improving the quality of education.
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW:
Literatures on ICT in schools and colleges in India
are very limited. Several studies on this show the
effects and case-studies of some schools. The
response part of edutech has been portrayed by
some statistically while the need of ICT has not
been much nurtured. Again many studies have
been done on the role of ICTs in higher education.
Ellen R. Bialo and Jay-Sivin Kachala in their report
‘The Effectiveness of Technology in Schools: A
Summary of the Recent Research’, 1996 was one of
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue4, April‐2013 451 ISSN 2278‐7763 the first report to track the effects of United States
in computer-based technology. Report shows that
installation of computers in schools increased from
18% in 1981 to 85% in 1987. This report also
enlightened us with the change that was set among
the students and the teachers with new generation
teaching being implemented thoroughly.
A Blackboard Inc. Report of October, 2007,
‘Learning in the 21st Century’ shows the recent
trends in U.S.A. for the usage of technology. A
sharp rise among the students and the teachers in
edutech has been marked. The change is an
overwhelming one with continuous increase for
the last two decades.
Daniel Light in his paper ‘The Role of ICT in
Enhancing Education in Developing Countries’,
2009 focuses mainly on the changing relationship
of the teachers and the students with the
introduction of ICTs in classroom. His study is
based on 3 countries namely India, Chile and
Turkey.
2.2 OBJECTIVES:
[1] The transformation of education system
from traditional to E-learning
[2] The need for inclusion of technology in
education
[3] The response towards Edutech
[4] The gap between the urban and rural
areas in technology usage in educational
field
this method. This form is being practiced
from the advent of education. The usage
of traditional methods of teaching was
treated as an ideal till now.
Classes held in a traditional classroom
setting have a pre-determined end. The
means to this end being a well-managed
curricula and a well-planned structure of
the classes by the teachers. Teachers are
free to express themselves while they are
trying to explain any particular topic. This
kind of a class needs an energetic teacher
who will draw a student’s attention. The
explanations given by the teacher, has to
be visualized by the students. It is a
general psychological trait of a human
nature to remember anything which they
see. Thus writing on a blackboard while a
teacher is explaining is very crucial in a
traditional
classroom.
From
time
immemorial till recent times, the use of a
blackboard has formed a large section of
traditional method. Teachers also have to
take help of the charts, some physical
models to illustrate their ideas. The use of
these means help the students feel more
connected to the classroom teaching.
Certain traits of a typical classroom can be
identified as follows:
A teacher is standing in front of the blackboard writing some important points on that or even illustrating some diagrams On the other side, students are seated in some fixed rows with a copy and pen ready to jot down the points said by a 3.1 THE TRANSFORMATION FROM
TRADITIONAL METHODS TO E-LEARNING:
Traditional method of education is
typically teacher-driven or teacher-centric.
This form of education reflects age-old
usage of blackboards. Teaching tools such
as lecture notes, charts, blackboard
writing, showing physical models,
laboratory experiments are adopted under
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub. teacher As soon as the teacher is saying points, students are writing them down since they are expected to study these notes and write in the exam.
These practices resulted in the spoon-feeding of the
students and to a large extent this also affected the
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue4, April‐2013 452 ISSN 2278‐7763 thinking process of the students.
Some most important Reports on Education such
as DISE data and ASER report, 2010 in India still
counts the number of classrooms with a
blackboard as one of the indicator of progress in
the educational field. When we are talking about
progress in 21st century, ‘technological aspect’
automatically comes into this sphere. So inspite of
counting the classroom with blackboards,
computers should be installed in the classrooms.
In the contemporary world, the scenario that we
get to see is somewhat different. With the
development in technology now we have a large
section of tech-savy population. They are largely
dependent on technology. Uses of technology in
various forms and in various aspects of their life
find significance. The contemporary generation is
technology driven. Technology usage in education
has been more progressive with the introduction of
ICT. The role of ICT can again be divided into two
broad categories i.e. a) the need for ICTs and b) the
response from both teachers and students’
communities.
and technology in recent times, goes hand in hand.
Education combined with modern technology is
fundamental for the construction of globally
competitive economies and democratic societies.
The perceived role that technology now plays in
society is so critical that there is an urgent need for
all the students to get familiarized with
technology. After completion of education, the
students’ venture in the job markets requires great
skills in technology. Thus the utility of technology
is done in educational field to accustom students
improve their performance and effectiveness in
management as well as in many other social
activities. 2007 data findings of Blackboard Inc.
show that over 41% of students believe that online
classes will have the greatest positive impact on
their learning, a growth of over 20% from the 2006
data findings.
The following illustration from the same report
shows some aspects as to why students want to
take up online education.
3.2 THE NEED FOR E-LEARNING:
Smt. D. Purandeswari, the former Minister of
Human Resource Development, Andhra Pradesh
in a press release on ‘Adequate infrastructure in
school’ in 2008, has commented “that the challenge
before us is to provide adequate infrastructure in
every school irrespective of its location and
backwardness, have every teacher trained in the
enabling environment of ICT and make every
school a hub for its community in exchanging
information.”
India is a nation where a significant proportion of
population still suffers from inequality and does
not even get the basic needs. Education has been
identified as the most important instrument by the
virtue of which these inequalities in society can be
curbed out. In 21st century, the definition of
education has altered from that of a mere transfer
of knowledge to that of the facilitator of the social
and economical development of a country.
Through education, a nation can build up human
resource which again will contribute to the
development of the nation. According to Noble
Laureate Amartya Sen, ‘education builds human
capabilities which in turn lay the foundation for a
sustained economic growth. These all will
ultimately lead to a global development.
Facilitation of education thus has adopted
technological inputs in it. Age of modernization
means development of technology. Thus education
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub. Source: Learning in the 21st Century: A National
Report of Online Learning, 2007
Roger Faxon, a board member of Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore has opined “Online
education is about to change the entirety of
education in the elite university system,” but then
what becomes a matter of concern is that whether
the teachers are ready or not. Universities have
always been considered as conservative. The more
ancient the universities are, the more prestige they
get and the tag of being more ‘conservative’ also
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue4, April‐2013 453 ISSN 2278‐7763 symbolize them. Blackboard Inc. has correctly
commented ‘being ancient sells’ while he talked
about this industry. Application of information
technology needs a whole new set of skills.
Students in higher educational field or in the job
sectors need to learn these new skills to be more
adaptive. Thus teachers within the schools must
incorporate technology into their teaching. Since
last decade, the role of the teachers has changed
from knowledge transmitter to that of learning
facilitator.
The following chart represents the advantages for
which the teachers chose online classes.
Source: Learning in the 21st Century: A National
Report of Online Learning, 2007
In this process of facilitation, the teacher himself
also learns the usage. However, using technology
in education does not curb a teacher’s importance.
In this case, the teachers are co-learners with the
students. Technology usage in the classroom helps
in creating an automatic interactive session
between teachers and the students.
3.3 THE RESPONSE:
Implementation of technology in education has
thus four components according to Smt. D.
Purandeswari, the former Minister of Human
Resource Development, Andhra Pradesh such as
follows:
A proper and adequate ICT infrastructure
Training of the teachers for adopting ICT
in their classroom
Providing
different learning resources
most specifically a set of curriculum
Presence of the internet connectivity
Technology includes a set of complex tools thus a
proper adoption strategy is very crucial. For the
last two decades, the use of technology in
education has risen significantly. Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) on 20th September
2004 has launched The ‘EDUSAT’ or the Education
Satellite. This is a real great move in the history of
India’s education. This was done so that education
is available to all people specially children from
remote areas who cannot even imagine of going
school ever due to their socio-economic conditions.
Various organizations such as State Education
Boards, National Council for Educational Research
& Training (NCERT), Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE), and Universities etc. had taken
up the use of these classes together with the
common black board. Use of power point
presentations has become a common habit now in
classroom. Large sections of school also nowadays
submit their projects in the form of power point
presentations. Audio visual classes have
considerable positive effects on the students.
Studies demonstrated by using computers improve
students’ attitude towards learning and also
relieved the teachers from the monotonous classes
since they could be more creative. Even animated
videos were also largely used which made the
classroom sessions all the more interesting.
There are even central government’s schemes for
the usage of ICTs in schools. The Centrally
Sponsored
Scheme
of
Information
and
Communication Technology (ICT) in all the
schools (private, government and government
aided) have been revised and a new component on
National Award for teachers for use of ICT in
education has been introduced as on 31.12.2012.
Certain responses which have been seen with the
introduction of ICT in classroom can be identified
as follows:
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub. International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue4, April‐2013 454 ISSN 2278‐7763 
Changes in teachers’ knowledge, belief
and attitude

Changes in how students engage
themselves with the contents taught in
class
rural areas still suffer from the improper ways of
educational approaches. For these schools, many
do not even have the basic infrastructure. Thus
technology integration in the curriculum remains a
distant dream for them.

Changes in teacher-student relationship
4 CONCLUSION:

Improvement in teachers’ skills with
innovative teaching methods
Introduction of technology in education in India is
a comparatively new phenomenon. So it has a long
way to go. India is a developing nation. The basic
problems of the country such as poverty can only
be curbed through the most powerful tool which is
education. It augments higher productivity and
development in the long run. When we are talking
about development or modernization, social
inclusion becomes the centre-stage. But looking at
the Indian scenario, ICT to reach to all the sections
of the society need a longer time. Moreover the
advantages
that
are
facilitated
by
the
implementation of ICT in various schools should
have a prolonged effect. Development of education
along with technology is only possible if it has a
sustained long-run effect. Statistics show a
considerable positive result of using edutech. Thus
edutech in India and in all other nations will earn
great command.
3.4 THE GAP BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL
AREAS IN THE CONTEXT OF USING ICT:
But all these glorifying effects in the field of
education have been largely concentrated in the
private schools only. Since technology use also
incurs cost. It is seen largely that private schools
are concentrated in the urban areas and the
government schools in the rural areas. There is a
wide gap in the infrastructure and quality among
these schools. The former intakes primarily upper
section of the society who has the affordability to
use technology in all the spheres of their lives.
Government schools on the other hand attract
mainly lower sections of the society because of low
expenditure. These people cannot afford using
technology since it has a price factor with it.
Several policies in India support ICT integration
but expert reviews by Vyasulu and Sinha, 2003
have showed that there is still a great variation in
the implementation of these policies and access to
ICT still is limited for a handful proportion of
students. Teachers are expected to cover a large
curriculum and thus often the textbook becomes
the focal point of a class. Moreover, the syllabus
from one board to the other also varies. Even this
distinction can also be found among private and
other schools.
However, implementation of ICT in education
should be an inclusive process since modernization
or progress of a society is not possible without the
effects of modernization reaching in all the pockets
of a country i.e. forward as well as the backward
regions of the country.
While much has been changed by the advances of
Science and Technology in the urban areas, the
Copyright © 2013 SciResPub. 5 REFERENCES
[1]
Daniel Light, ‘The Role of ICT in
Enhancing Education in Developing
Countries:Findings from an Evaluation of
The Intel® Teach Essentials Course in
India, Turkey, and Chile’, June 30, 2009
[2] Learning in 21st Century, A Trends
Update, Blackboard Inc. Report, October,
2007
[3] D. Purandeswar, Adequate Infrastructure
in
every
School,
Press
Release,
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
[4] Ellen R. Bialo and Jay Sivin-Kachala, ‘The
Effectiveness of Technology in Schools: A
Summary of Recent Research, SLMQ
Volume 25, Number 1, Fall 1996
[5] Shubhangi K. Jadhav, ‘Project on Virtual
Classroom’, CDAC, Navi Mumbai
International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 2, Issue4, April‐2013 455 ISSN 2278‐7763 Copyright © 2013 SciResPub.