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Young World
Getting smart in the classroom
P. SUJATHA VARMA
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“No chalk and talk” any more, schools are moving towards digital boards.
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PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR
Going visual: The digital board in the classroom
Feeling dozy in the classroom when teacher is busy explaining the dreary Pythagorean Theorem is all too common. The theorem says that the sum of the squares of the lengths of the sides of a right triangle is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse. Many students have trouble understanding abstract concepts. Instead of plopping children into a complex formula, there is an option available now to ‘show’ them the intricacies involved in various mathematical or scientific theories and principles.
Over the past few years, Information Technology has ushered in substantial changes that have permeated all facets of life. The IT revolution sweeping all sectors could not elude the classroom any longer. A classroom is no more a mere hole in the wall or a room with few benches populated by eager children. In this IT-driven age where people cannot do without the pings and beeps, there is no reason why a school-going child should be kept away from the rewards of technology.
School children have finally found an answer to the constant harping by their elders about the vast choices in the electronic gadgets they flaunt. They now boast about their ‘Smart’ classroom, the digital boards and their tech-savvy teachers.
Getting attention
Integration of visual teaching in classroom is the latest trend catching up in the local schools. Realising that ‘seeing is believing’ and that a child’s attention in the classroom can be lost in the blink of an eye, the Akshara International School at Ashok Nagar chose to move away from the conservative ‘chalk and talk’ method by introducing digital boards in the classroom. The whiteboard with plasma screen beneath tags an element of excitement to the classroom teaching. The interactive whiteboard is not just another expensive gadget but it’s a powerful teaching tool, certainly better than a blackboard.
Video clippings playing simultaneously in the background, even as the teacher draws the students’ attention to the moving images, is an impressive mode that can shatter all misconceptions in the young minds.
In a tie-with with New Delhi-based Educomp Solutions Limited, the Akshara School has ushered in the ‘Smartclass’ concept by hiring a set of modules that help students comprehend their lessons.
Tech time
Fuelling the technology surge, other institutions like Kennedy High School and V. P. Siddhartha Public School in the city have also followed suit. In its endeavour to generate a smart breed of citizens, the Kennedy School has collaborated with NIIT, a leading computer education and training organization with exclusively designed IT syllabus for schools under its ‘NIIT @ School’ programme. The move entails adequate training to teachers in handling the new equipment that has transformed the classroom into a chill-out zone where children learn things the fun way.
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