Technology is a tool for steering education towards creative thinking, opines Adilakshmi C, Principal, Oakridge School, in conversation with Rozelle Laha
Please share with us the school’s initiatives.
Oakridge continues to be in tune with time and we strive to incorporate the techniques useful for the children to have effective learning. We train our teachers continuously. And the best schools are those that have continuous upgradation of their teachers through the training processes as they are the facilitators of imparting knowledge in the classrooms.
Why did you shift from a CBSE school to being an International school?
Since the inception of the school, we wanted to have a smart school and make technology an important tool for teaching in the school. The school has the best smart classes, multimedia and computers and equal emphasis is laid on training the teachers in using the technology effectively. The school has seen a shift from blackboards to whiteboards, and the children have access to laptops and tablets.
The assignments are sent to the students in advance and some teachers also do flipped classrooms. The teachers record the lessons and send them to the children. The children watch the video of the lesson at home and have a fair understanding of the topic when they come to the classroom. Thus, the teaching method changes from teacher-centric to discussion-centric. In the flippedclassroom-style of learning, the time in class is used for discussions among the children and teachers.
The children are able to connect to other children in the world through Skype. With the availability of the Internet, children are taught the concept of framing the right questions so that they can search the right information from the Internet.
How do you see the future of school education with the advent of ICT tools?
The most important thing in education is that the children should learn and understand the core content of the lesson. They should acquire the domain knowledge without any hiccups.
In the near future, the change will happen in the delivery of the knowledge to the children. There are various types of learners in the class and technology helps them in learning effectively.
How often should technology in e-Learning be upgraded?
Technology needs to be upgraded so that the children get more opportunities to inculcate creative thinking. The children should have confidence and should learn to communicate well. Technology gives them a medium to express themselves and explore the depth of their inquisitiveness. Technology has to be continuously upgraded to keep pace with the requirement.
Please tell us about your teachertraining programmes.
We put a lot of effort in building our faculty. The teachers are always in sync with the latest pedagogy techniques and philosophy of the school. Thus, they are able to deliver effective learning in the classroom based on these principles. All teachers have to undergo mandatory hours of training on the effective use of technology deployed in the classrooms.
How can we bridge the gap between the government and international schools in terms of technology deployment?
The awareness of computers in CBSE and government schools is rapidly rising as they have also come to realise the importance of using technology in their schools. With the launch of Akash tablets, the deployment of cost-effective solutions in education will come forth so that everyone can benefit from the use of technology.
