Technology a reality; teachers need to be prepared accordingly: Prof. Ramesh Babu

Bhopal, 05 September 2021: With increasing use of technology that has almost replaced face to face learning, there is a dire need to prepare teachers accordingly, leading educationist Prof. B Ramesh Babu said on Sunday.

“You cannot set aside technology which has almost replaced face to face learning. Therefore, how to integrate technology in teaching-learning process is extremely important. The New Education Policy 2020 has given a big space for promotion of technology integration,” NCERT RIE-Bhopal Prof. Babu said while delivering an expert talk on Technology in Teaching & Learning.

The expert talk (online), which was organized by MANUU College of Teacher Education-Bhopal on the auspicious occasion of Teacher’s Day, witnessed participations of students, research scholars, and faculty from across the country.

Prof. Babu opined that teacher must understand the difference between tool and weapon prior to using technology during teaching-learning process. “For example, computer is a tool as well as weapon. Teacher must understand the difference between tool and weapon in classroom,” he said.

Stating that a tool is used for productive work whereas weapon used for destruction, Prof. Babu emphasized that teacher must know and use the right kind of technology or most appropriate one as per the need of diverse classroom.

Explaining the nature of technology, Prof. Babu stated, “technology simply amplifies ‘what is’ (referring to society)”. Whatever is prevalent in society be it inequality, inaccessibility or digital divide is amplified by technology, he opined.

He suggested a model of affordability, accessibility, and sustainability for technology integration. He said special attention should be given on cognitive accessibility as conceptual knowledge is not easily accessible; and here the role of teachers plays a crucial role.

“Technology is going to redefine teaching, learning and education that would bring in radical change. Relationship between teacher and student will undergo a change,” he stated.

According to Prof. Babu, there are four kinds/layers of teachers: preacher, teacher, transmitter, and facilitator. In the light of growing use of technology replacing offline teaching learning process, he said even transmitter has become facilitator. He also stated that students must be critical because education is always a critical process. 

The presidential address was given by Prof. Noushad Husain, Principal of MAUU College of Teacher Education-Bhopal. Prof. Husain, also the Chairman of the Expert Talk, thanked Prof. Babu for the excellent lecture on technology in teaching and learning.

The programme was convened by Dr. Neeti Dutta, Assistant Professor, MANUU College of Teacher Education, Bhopal and programme coordinators were Dr Naheed Siddiqui and Mr. Saifuddin Ansari.

Source:

Issued by MANUU CTE-Bhopal 

Mr. Shabbir Ahmed

Assistant Professor

MANUU CTE-Bhopal