- Studies worldwide showed that successful technology transformation requires effective redefining strategies for the sustained professional development of teachers. Read to know more
The world came to a standstill in mid-March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic raised its head resulting in economies crashing and the educational sector being the worst affected. This however, accelerated digital transformation. Over the last three years, the teachers and schools have witnessed a paradigm shift in teaching and learning methodology by the use of tech tools.
The pandemic induced education crisis has caused a massive learning loss. And the teachers, who are at the heart of the responsibility to recover the learning loss, have managed the unprecedented situation quite well by adopting to the changing landscape of teaching and learning without any proper teachers professional development programmes. In the present scenario, educators are experiencing a mix of both remote and in-person learning making the learning experiential and a bit complex for the novices. Upgrade in teacher’s teaching quality through well-laid professional development programmes not only improve their confidence but also make them technology enabler for the learners. Therefore, they get attuned naturally to the significant digital transformation.
District and school leaders realised that to spur the learning productivity, it is necessary to integrate and collaborate the digital Learning Management Systems (LMS) platforms with the schools system in every district and cities. Instructional coaches and trainers can be recruited to train teachers on how to handle new tech tools and LMS platforms.
Digital transformation paving the way
With the constant evolution and shift in technology, educators need to upskill and upgrade their knowledge, pedagogical skills to maximise learning outcomes by professional development programmes so that they can use edtech tools effectively for class instruction. Ritu Garg, a senior school teacher, says, “I never used technology until the pandemic struck, there was no option left but to adapt to the changing scenario. Remote teaching was challenging for me initially, I took help of my husband in understanding how to use technological interface and quickly learned the nuances of using the digital tools to conduct hybrid classes. Now, I am empowered and confident in using the technology.”
As per the 2020 GBH Education report, from among more than 1900 educators nationwide, only 66 percent educators felt extremely confident in using digital tools and services for teaching when the education sector shifted to remote learning due to the pandemic.
Integrate digitisation with teachers’professional development
A lot needs to be done on improving the teachers’ dexterity in using technological devices and gain confidence in using them. For which school authorities need to support teachers by providing instructional technology trainers to train them in using edtech tools. The purpose of the edtech training should be to teach them how to use these tools and also make them understand the fundamentals of when and why to use these digital services.
To address the problem, an in-house cohort of edtech experts, teachers and principals can come forward as instructional coaches to mentor teachers and have a robust professional development strategy in place to elevate educators through transformational practice.
Many sectors have already witnessed gargantuan transition models taking place within the work spaces; hence, school leaders recognised that a dynamic approach of “learning while working” is needed to reconcile with the latest technological devices. Other major strategies include school authorities embed LMS platforms to provide professional development to teachers.
The LMS can help organise virtual training sessions by engaging teachers with the edtech interface, course modules etc. The process ushers teachers to reflect on their learning and simultaneously get hands-on practice in using the edtech tools.
As the world economies are gradually opening, the learning and teaching mechanisms have shifted rapidly, so to make technology transformation learning beneficial, educators need to re-imagine and think differently in using edtech tools to maximise students learning. District leaders and schools authorities can collaborate with edtech ventures to analyse where improvement is required in leveraging teachers’ professional development by constituting a framework where students and educators can use the edtech devices adroitly.
