Tech-enabled education is a global trend. Not only are teaching methodologies being reworked, technology is helping plug demand-supply mismatches. A north London school, for ins-tance, has outsourced maths classes to India, courtesy a felt dearth of teachers in the subject at home. Thanks to online classes arranged by a UK firm, British students can turn to tutors in India on condition interactive sessions are booked in advance. Another example is cross-border English teaching whereby instructors in, say, Asia are getting to teach students in America.
Via internet, access to quality education anywhere in the world becomes a possibility, scoring a goal for choice. Knowledge acquisition gets truly globalised, broadening the horizons of both students and instructors. Those forwarding protectionist or nationalist arguments against technology's revolutionising potential fail to see that. Equally, proponents of pedagogical orthodoxy don't realise that fun is the key to successful teaching. Happily, in India, educational institutions are increasingly seeing virtue in smart classrooms.
Multi-media content for syllabuses creates scope for innovation. With interactive whiteboards content stored in them can be viewed online and facilities like video-conferencing and live broadcasting, smart classrooms can boost pupils' interest in studies like never before.
Some say tech-dependence makes students inattentive and impairs basic skills such as speaking and writing. Surely making technology an asset rather than a liability depends on a teacher's skills, inventiveness and sense of balance. Conventional teaching by and large encourages bookishness and can dull students' sense of engagement. With access to classroom audio, video, graphics and 3D animation, children can embrace learning as a pleasure, not a chore. As time goes on, tech-savvy will increasingly be demanded of youth. So, let's catch them young.