Category: For Schools

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With smart education in place, experts feel that repetition learning is likely to diminish in the coming years.

 

Technology has brought about a huge revolution in the education sector. Laptops, e-readers, and even e-learning apps are now part of everyday education. Thanks to the advanced learning solutions that generates smart students. Transformation from a class room with dusty duster and black board, chalk dust and a large cane to a smart class with LED, Dell computer, UPS and software teaching aid did not happen in a day. This smart education initiative has been supported by diverse technology brands by introducing various digital learning solutions.

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10 Activities for Teachers to Grow Leadership Skills in Children

Impact of Technology in Education

School as well as college classrooms are now slowly inching towards advanced education, which rules out the most conventional method. Devices including document cameras and projectors make it possible for schools and colleges to implement instructions in smart classrooms.

  • Smartboards – This is an interactive white board which allows the teacher to project an image from a laptop to the front of the room and the teacher can digitally draw on that image.
  • Digital Podium – This advanced lecture stand is all-in-one smart classroom equipment features a Touch Monitor, Document Camera, Visualiser, Public Addressing (PA) System and Uninterrupted Power Supply.
  • Smart Class ICT – The solution includes K-12 Digital content, assessment suite introduced on a most advanced offline or online LMS. The content can be strictly mapped as per school course and can be further localized as per requirement.
  • Visualizers – Also known as document camera, this visual presenter is a real-time image capture devices that helps to display an object to a huge audience. The device can magnify and project the images of actual, three-dimensional (3D) objects as well as transparencies.

These educational products are highly beneficial for Teachers, Educators, Presenters, Trainers and Corporate Professionals.

Smart Classroom Market to Grow

The recent market research report from Technavio predicts the smart classroom market in India to grow at a CAGR of more than 20% during the forecast period of 2016 to 2020.

As per the report, initiatives taken by the Indian government play a key role in popularizing smart ways of learning.

As per the report –

  • With the exponential increase in use of everyday mobile devices in India, schools, colleges and other educational institutes might also implement Bring your own device (BYOD) policies in the near future.
  • To support their digital initiatives, teachers also require software to create e-learning content, which is likely to fuel the demand for learning products during the forecast period.
  • The top players in the market include Microsoft, Oracle, Samsung, Dell, Educomp, HCL Technologies, IBM, Lenovo, and more.

Adobe Supports Educator-Technology Partnership

A new report by software major Adobe indicates that India’s educational institutions should strengthen their partnerships with technical companies to create a reliable platform that can build a new generation of highly achieving students. The study is based on survey results participated by above 1,300 educators from the Asia Pacific. The survey reports that about 85% of educational institutions believed that it is important to provide a fostering environment that has the right mix of technology and education.

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Mobile Learning Apps – They are the Future

Instead of exams, studies and the tension behind all these, learning via portable devices such as smartphones and tablets is what students are getting comfortable with now and in the coming years. The m-learning concept is expected to be a boon for India’s education sector.

Some of the mobile learning apps are-

  • Microsoft OneNote – Though it looks just like a traditional notebook, it rocks interactive whiteboards. The notes teacher write on the board go directly into the notebook that they share with the students. The frontrunner for school note taking, this app also allows teachers to edit simultaneously. With diverse new features rolled out in the last few years, students can write notes, grab screenshots, and make to-do lists as well.
  • Evernote – Evernote is a tool that can be effectively used on iPad in classrooms. With its capacity to type, insert images, explain, and record sound, students can incorporate their iPad with Evernote in a number of ways.

Smart education is the future, where dusty, traditional classrooms are on its vanishing stage. Technology-supported learning environment can generate smart students.

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Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another. John C. Maxwell

While some kids are good leaders by nature, other students need to be encouraged, role modeled, and nurtured to develop leadership skills. By being a leader, a child will develop qualities such as honesty, belief in one, dedication towards the task, being a good listener and positive attitude. Teachers, caregivers, parents and other family members can encourage the development of these qualities in early life.

Building Leadership in Kids – Teacher’s Role

Let us consider a school environment. Teachers can give children opportunities to serve in leadership roles. They can teach the skills necessary for children to take on leadership roles now and in the futureTeacher app ad banner

  1. 1. Leadership activities can help kids to-
  2. 2. Check the positive as well as negative aspects of their behavior
  3. 3. Identify areas where they lack courage and improve
  4. 4. Boost self-confidence
  5. 5. Express themselves to others correctly
  6. 6. Develop organizational skills

Certain ways to develop leadership skills in children include helping them learn to see different viewpoints in a situation which will help to manage multiple opinions in a group setting, teaching them to set goals and try to do their best at everything, helping them maintain a positive attitude even when others make things difficult or tell them they can’t achieve something and teaching them that mistakes will always happen and are a natural part of life and not to let the mistakes beat them down.

Activities That Teachers Can Adopt

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1. “Create a New You” –  The game requires materials such as a crayons, poster board/construction paper, magazines, scissors, and newspapers. Ask children to sketch themselves on the board or paper. Tell them to make identifications to clearly show that the picture is theirs.

They can use magazine or newspaper cut outs which include their favorite activities and food, pets, whatever makes them special and where they live. Once completed, children can present the poster to other children. This artistic activity will improve the kid’s confidence to lead.

2. “Same or Different” –  This simple game doesn’t require any material. Ask the children to sit in a circle. Select one child to go first. The kid should be asked to point at someone in the circle who looks similar to him in appearance, hair style or even dress color. When the kid chooses one, ask him to point out what differences and similarities they have with one another. The game will help the teacher to explain that everyone has differences and everyone also has things that are the same.

3. “Move the Egg” – Divide the students into groups of four or five members. Students have to choose a leader for their team. Provide spoons and eggs for each participant. The leader should find an effective way to transfer the eggs from one point to another. While one child creates a line to pass the egg, other child might ditch the spoons and simply instruct the team members to run for it. The team that gets their eggs across the finish in a creative manner will win. The game helps to teach children how to lead their peers.

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4. “Lead the Blindfolded” –  The game reveals the importance of communication skills in a leader. Choose a large indoor or outdoor area for this activity. Divide kids into two groups and provide them enough blind folds. Place the teams at opposite sides of the space and instruct everyone except one member of each team to put on a blindfold. The one member, who is not sporting a blindfold should lead his team across the field by providing clear commands. Make sure that each member in the team is getting a chance to lead the team in regular intervals. The team which successfully leads their members across their finish line wins.

5. “Charity Support” –  Teacher can support charity activities by assisting the kids with planning a fundraiser. Assign each child with different tasks. While one student finds a worthy charity to support, the other one should find a space to have the fundraiser. And other should get donations. Along with teaching the importance of being a leader, the activity also help to learn about supporting worthy charities.

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6.“ Planning Strategies”  – Planning strategies, taking time to discuss and create strategies are very vital leadership skills. Teach the student to split a large task into small groups. Assign them a large task just like conducting a class function. Show them a plan as to how to do it step by step. Many children can be involved so that they can share their task. Evaluate each kids job and provide suggestions for better improvement.

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7. ” Volunteer Roles”  – Volunteering is a key on leadership roles. Talk to children about how they would like to help any one in need. Interested kids can be directed to organizations in your own community that may need assistance. For instance, if a poor family needs home, you might suggest students to collect fund that would help the poor family in any way. Teachers should make sure to choose volunteer opportunities that give children a chance to lead and work with other children.

8. “Untangle Human Knot” –  Ask students to have a group and have them put one hand out and grab someone else’s hand. Once this is done, ask everyone to put their other hand out and grab someone else’s hand. The goal is to figure out how to untangle and create a big circle, without releasing their grips. Also assign few kids to help everyone get untangled.

9. “Just Listen” – This is a listening test. Agree on that you and your student (s) will not talk about yourselves for an entire day. Ask them only to listen to others, and in case if they talk, it should be about the other person with whom you are talking to. The game will force them to become completely others-minded. Also the listening skills will emerge. The activity will help to learn the power of focusing on others instead of themselves, which is the foundation of relational leadership

10. “A Quick Quiz” – This is an activity to build good habits. Prepare students to interact with others while on the trip. Just ask them to be ready to evaluate their experience when its over. Ask them questions like Do you remember the name of the dog we saw? What was it? Did you touch that dog? What is that owners name? and more.

Other artistic activities for exploring leadership include writing a poem about leadership, drawing cartoons, and creating a recipe for how to cook up leadership.

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“The discipline you learn and character you build from setting and achieving a goal can be more valuable than the achievement of the goal itself.”

Discipline plays a vital role in maintaining a civilized life. Proper discipline can significantly decrease unnecessary chaos existing in daily life. For the effective operation of an institution like a school, discipline is very much essential.

School discipline is a system of a certain code of conduct, behavior and punishments for regulating students and making school well organized. For making teaching learning process effective, the classroom environment must be favorable and opportune.

Must Read: Top 12 Classroom Management Tips

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Here are the ten awesome tips to manage discipline issues:

1. Be Organized

If there is no proper organization in the classroom, kids feel bored and starts to misbehave. It will be better if the lessons are properly planned, make supplies ready and thus be organized in everything as possible. Always think about items that can be displaced and figure out a system that help to keep track of those items.

2. Deal with Problems Right from the Start

It is advisable to deal with problems before they become too large to handle. You can address each and every small issue happening in the classroom. A tiny mistake in discipline issue can be a nightmare in the future.

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3. Have Good Control Procedures

Certain good control procedures are developed to prevent problems. For instance, a cover sheet can help prevent children from cheating during written exams. Such procedure should be easy as possible for the students to choose the right thing and be difficult as possible for them to misbehave or take imperfect decisions.

4. Teach the Procedures Well

Making good and appropriate procedures is not enough. They should be taught to the students properly as well. Four steps involved in teaching them are:

a. Clearly explain the procedure

b. Practice it with children

c. Correct the parts that were done incorrectly

d. Repeat it constantly until they do it in the right manner

If you don’t take time to teach procedures properly, students may not follow them which leads to utter frustration.

5. Keep your Students Engaged

The more students are engaged in activities, the less they cause problems. Make sure you give interactive classes and teach the students passionately. It is better to make students involved than just giving lectures. Hence it would be advisable to make the students write while teaching.

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6. Move Around the Classroom

Most of the teachers stand at the front of the room without even moving their position. It would be a good idea to walk around as you teach. It is not only a different approach of teaching, but also helps to keep an eye on what the students are doing.

7. Develop a Rapport with the Students

If we want students to follow us, they not only need to respect us, but also create an impression that we care about them. Always be genuine, kind, approachable and ready to admit mistakes. Also, students must be given compliments, and show that you love them. With the above qualities, you will be able to create a good rapport with students.

8. Be Professional

Rather than becoming a too friendly teacher, try to become a good mentor. Interactions must be made friendly but not familiar.

9. Require Students to Clear their Desks

Students should be asked to keep only the required items on the desk. When desks are cleared, teachers will be able to know exactly about the activities done by their students. Teachers will have better control of students.

10. Establish Structure First

Train students to work and do their activity in a structured environment. Once they understand the structure, they should be able to work in an unstructured environment without losing control.

All these tips help to manage disciplinary issues in school. No institution can be operated successfully without proper maintenance of discipline. Hence, discipline should be given top priority.

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Every child is unique and they learn and develop at different rates and in different ways”- Beverley Hughes

Every child deserves the best possible start in their learning life. Early Year Foundation Stage(EYFS) provides support to children and helps to fully utilize their potential. Most children develop and learn during their early years. And the experiences they have between birth and age five have a remarkable impact on their future life.

Every child deserves a secure, good, safe and happy childhood. EYFS sets the standards for learning, growth, development and care of children from birth to five years old.

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There are seven areas of learning and development by which a child develop skills, gain knowledge and demonstrate their understanding. Usually children develop three areas first. Those areas are

1. Physical development

2. Personal, social and emotional development

3. Communication and language

Proper development of these areas are essential for healthy growth and to have a better future learning. As children grow, they need to develop in four specific areas. And those areas are literacy, mathematics, expressive arts and science, and understanding the world.

All these seven areas help to plan the child’s learning and activities. It is the responsibility of teachers in supporting and teaching children according to their unique needs.

A separate curriculum is designed for child in primary and secondary schools. Hence it is most suitable for young children only. It is designed in a very flexible manner so that staff can change it according to the unique needs and interests of the child. In EYFS framework, children learn by playing and exploring both indoors and outdoors. Each child develop their own skills according to their creativity, imagination and critical thinking.

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How can Parents help their Child in Learning?

Learning and development actually begin at home itself. All the fun activities that are done at home have a vital role in the growth and development of the child. Learning done at home will have a long lasting effect on the child during their progress to schools. Even when the child is too young and unable to talk, never ignore them. Try to talk to them so that they could learn and understand new words, ideas and thus give them a motivation to speak. As a young learner, we should care to have at least some time with our child. Parents can do the following activities with their children:

  1. Sing and tell nursery rhymes
  2. Tell them about numbers, colors, letters and words when we go out
  3. Allow them an opportunity to cut out and stick pictures from magazines
  4. When we go out for supermarket tell them about different packaging shapes
  5. Show them how to plant seeds and water it
  6. Cook or bake together
  7. Explore the park and give them an opportunity to mingle with other children
  8. Try to read and share stories from good books

All these activities can greatly help children in their growth. It is better to seek some professional for knowing about different activities and books the child may enjoy at different ages. If the parents work together with caretakers or professionals, one will get a better result in their child’s development. They should exchange information and discuss things together that can provide benefits to the child. There should be a proper check and thus prepare a brief summary done by parents and teachers regarding the progress of the child at each age. This summary can help in the future learning and development of the child.

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Today schools seek technology for improving their communication and involvement with parents. Use of student information system and parent portal features complements home school communication and thus keeps parents involved in every activities of the school. Student information system is a software which helps to store data on each student’s performance. This system has been widely used by schools.

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Parent portal helps parents to log in to the system for seeing child’s data, tracking attendance, read teacher’s comments on child’s performance, and thus able to contact teachers for expressing their concerns and questions. By providing access to student information system, a sense of responsibility is created between parents and schools about student learning. School authorities should give proper awareness to parents about how the data in the system help to improve studies of their child. If proper education and training is not attributed to parents about the effective use of student information system, parent portal would never aid in student learning. Parent portal helps to foster and improve parental involvement.

Reasons for using Parent Portal

Out of concern, parents use the portal for checking the academic performance of their child. Specifically they use the portal for checking or monitoring their child’s grades and not for checking child’s attendance or checking teacher’s comments about behavior, class performance etc. Parents will have a feeling that it is their responsibility to check out those details.

Reasons Indicating How it Contributes to School-Home Communication:

Parent perceived parent portal as an excellent medium of school home communication without completely replacing traditional way of communication via phone calls, email and progress reports. Among other communication methods which schools offer, parent portal is the most used and preferred one for parents. It was found that there is improvement in communication between parents and teachers with the usage of parent portal. And mainly it is done with the help of e-mail correspondence set up in the portal.

How do Parents use Data from Parent Portal

Mostly parents use the portal to know about their child’s grades. Such information will be useful to parents as they are able to know and thus be aware of their child’s progress in schools. With the help of parent portals, parents could also keep up a proper communication with the child on their performance in schools and behavior. Parent portal helps to change the attitude of students towards school and thus show a huge improvement in their studies. Parents can check the data and understand their child’s grade for each submitted assignment. But without proper training, some parents are unable to get access to the data stored in the portal.

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Parent portal usage help parents to improve their involvement as the child progresses to higher grades. It also helps parents to increase involvement and thus take extra care in their child’s schooling. The only thing to be noted is that parents should have proper understanding about features and usage of the portal. Training given by school authorities can help to best use and thus lead the child to a meaningful and learning centered environment

Parent portal can indirectly improve the parent’s involvement in their child’s education. It is used in a proper and meaningful way to support their child’s education. Also, it helps to bridge the communication gap between the home and school. Parents are able to get a meaningful data on child’s progress. By using internet based student information system parent portals, education and behavior of students can greatly be improved. Apart from these benefits, it helps to make sure safety of children as well.

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School inspections improve the quality and standard of schools. Hence it is the responsibility of each one of us to take care of our valuable schools and maintain its worthiness.

Dubai government have taken an initiative to improve the quality of private schools, known as Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). The KHDA inspection use four -point scale to rate the schools.

The four levels in the scale are as follows:

  • Outstanding
  • Good
  • Acceptable
  • unsatisfactory

KHDA publishes the rating of each inspected schools in its website. The rating of each school helps parents in deciding the school for their children. This obviously improves the standard of the school.

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Why school inspection matters?

          School inspection is the process of monitoring and evaluating the academic performance and development of schools. The inspecting team inspects qualification and fitness of staff, provision and appliances of instructions, health and recreation activities, discipline among students, infrastructure, fee structure, attendance, subjects taught and examination results. They also look for personal development, welfare and behaviour, moral, cultural and spiritual growth of the children.

The inspection team assess quality of teaching based on their observation. To make the inspection beneficial, a proper relationship should be maintained between school authorities and the inspection team.

Here are some reasons why inspecting schools is necessary:

  • To grant approval from government:

Schools are inspected with respect of their pupil’s enrolment, number, teacher’s qualification, infrastructure, equipment, curriculum etc. If they meet all these necessities according to the requirement, then government nods approval.

  • To inspect for operational improvement:

The inspection team takes details about staffs, student population, school finance, academic programmes, co-curricular activities, health and sanitary aspects in the school. Based on this record, they call a meeting with school authorities to improve the operation of school.

  • To inspect the school’s programme recognition:

This is conducted to recognize and approve various academic performances. The team inspect in terms of quality, quantity, staffing and equipments which are used to present students effectively.

  • To inspect school if there is any situational demand:

Here the school is not inspected for measuring the productivity but for evaluating the specific case or situation. Such inspection is essential when there is any crisis.

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Inspections Evaluates and Sustains Quality

More inspection improves the standard of the school as the inspecting team focus on the development of the school. The suggestion put forth by inspection team is practical and accurate. Credibility and respectability of the inspection team is very much essential. Without proper inspection, no school will undergo development. Hence regular inspection is necessary for a school.

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ADEC strive to develop education and educational institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Established in 2005 by the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) is recognized as a driver of superior education system. The council aims at meeting the development goals of the emirate by managing, guiding and implementing various educational development strategies and initiatives in Abu Dhabi. 

This council manages the education system by dividing it into three – Public Schools ranging from kindergarten to adult education centers, around 185 Private Schools, and around 18 Higher Education institutions. From January 2008, the council became the supervising body of the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone (ADEZ). The council’s future vision is to make the Abu Dhabi education system world class with support for all learners in reaching their full potential to compete in the global market.

Role of this educational framework is to

  • Deliver technical assistance for developing education and education institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
  • Plan education strategies in synchronization with the Ministry of Education within the framework of the UAE’s general education policy
  • Improve the capabilities of education institutions and employees by conducting studies and making suggestions to develop education and vocational training
  • Offer technical and solid assistance to educational institutions
  • Support relations between educational institutions and the private sector
  • Provide training for graduates and expose them to wide range of employment opportunities, thus raising the standard of education and vocational training.
  • Enable educational institutions to implement the education plans of the Emirate by providing them with assistance, counseling and technical services.
  • Create an educational database for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
  • Inspire the private sector to provide quality education services, based on existing laws.

ADEC is responsible for dealing, guiding, adopting and implementing various educational development strategies and initiatives in Abu Dhabi. Along with the core activities, the council has also implemented a number of key initiatives to ensure world class education in Abu Dhabi. Initiatives include-

  • Irtiqa’a Program, a comprehensive school inspection system to monitor and benchmark performance quality education in our schools. The council’s school inspections are similar to the Dubai school inspections conducted by the DSIB division of the KHDA (Knowledge& Human Development Authority).
  • School master plan to ensure high quality education for all school-aged children
  • Library upgrade project to transform traditional libraries to 21st century  Learning Resource Centers
  • P-12 education system to organize education from Kindergarten through to Grade 12

ADEC also shows special concern for students with special education needs. Special education is offered for students with disabilities categorized as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, hearing impairment, speech and language disorder, and multiple disabilities. Most schools in Abu Dhabi provide a broad curriculum within the framework outlined by both the UK Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Abu Dhabi Education Council guidelines.

Being an educator under the council provides an extremely rewarding as well as exciting opportunity to practice your teaching expertise. It also offers some of the best salary and benefits packages worldwide. The council's “Teacher Guidebook” helps teachers understand the key philosophies, values, and guiding principles of ADEC’s New School Model. It also promotes training program to assist teachers in professional development.

The role of the council’s professional development for educators and school leaders is to help them achieve the ADEC Professional Standards. This also supports school leaders to lead their schools more efficiently. With higher education as the major concern of the Emirate, they have 18 HE institutions, offering a superb range of courses and facilities.

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“School is the second home” and rightly so.Home away from home, school is the place where children spend their maximum time away from home. When we send our children to school, we not only expect a firm hand of a responsible adult to guide them, but also of a conducive, secure environment. And school infrastructure certainly plays a hand in creating that kind of an environment.

Imagine sending your child to a school where the building looks rundown and is left unrestored. Would you feel secure sending your child there, or rather would the child feel secure going there? Well! The answer is certainly no! So, does the school infrastructure matter? Does it have any impact on the performance or behavior of students? Let’s take a look.

Impact of School Environment & Infrastructure

It’s essential for any school to create an environment that not only encourages learning, but also focuses on the mental and physical well-being of the student. Researchers and psychologistshave constantly conducted studies to find out if there is any relevance on students’ performance and environmental factors. And here are some of the takeaways.

  • Students in schools with poor building conditions had lower achievement scores when compared to school with better buildings
  • Schools with good literate blocks and infrastructure not only increased academic performance of students, but also motivated attendance
  • Overcrowded and heavy teacher workloads created a stressful environment that had an adverse impact on learning
  • Noise and temperature levels were termed as detrimental factors in learning
  • Physical conditions have positive and negative impacts on  morale, sense of personal safety and also affects the feeling of belonging

With the school infrastructure and environment having this kind of effect on students, the question remains what the schools can do to better the environment make school a place to look forward for the students?

First and foremost is the physical infrastructure:

  • School Building: A well-planned, spacious and functional building can work wonders. Classrooms should be spacious, well-ventilated allowing natural lighting and breeze.  A school should be built keeping various facilities like well-equipped labs, halls, open fields, games equipment, dormitories and sanitation facilities in mind. Libraries, provisions for different labs like physics, chemistry, computer science and biology are a must. Art and craft workshops, playgrounds, assembly area, multimedia rooms boost the overall development of the child. In addition to all this, another very important factor is architectural design of the school. Buildings and classrooms should be designed in such a way that students can move in and out of the classroom freely. There should be provisions for transportation and parking of personal vehicles like scooters and bicycles.
  • Classrooms: They are the backbone of any school infrastructure. There should not only be adequate number of classrooms for students, but each and every classroom should be pleasant and well-designed. They should be carefully decorated and painted with some light colors.

Each and every classroom should be well-lit in all corners and ventilated enough to be comfortable even during power failures. Seats and tables should be ergonomically designed and provide comfort to the students. There should be enough desk storage space, in addition to built-in cupboards for keeping school material, apparatus etc.

  • Playground: Sports and games play a vital role in the development of any child. So, invariably a school infrastructure should have provision for a well-maintained playground. There should be facilities for both indoor and outdoor stadiums. Playground are not just a medium to develop physical strength and balance, they are an opportunity to develop social skills, thinking and problem solving skills.
  • Staff Room & Administrative Block: Not just students, the school infrastructure should also focus on facilities for teachers. There should be a proper staffroom, where teachers can prepare for their classes, do corrections and interact with each other.  This room should also have lockers where they can safeguard theirinstructional materials, books and personalbelongings. Apart from the staff room, the school infrastructure should create special provisions for the administrative block. Not only should the school office be centrally located, but also should be easily accessible to visitors, students or teachers.

On the whole, the school infrastructure if planned properly will be one of the key factors in effective teaching and learning. It will also play as a stimulator for increased student attendance and staff motivation.

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Technology in classrooms has become a necessity. They have simplified tasks involving classroom management and also, the lessons in the form of school apps inspire students to keep learning.

But, there are some barriers that schools or teachers have to face while introducing technology to classrooms. Some schools may find it a difficult task to integrate technology to the existing curriculum. But, to change the curriculum as a whole is much more difficult. Not to use technology cannot be a solution either. With criteria such as computer knowledge becoming a must for various jobs, not using technology in schools mean denying students of their right to compete in future for the best opportunities. Hence, integrating technology in education is a must and the best way for schools is to find suitable solutions to overcome the barriers.

Now, what are the barriers that schools or teachers face while implementing technology in education?

Unwilling to develop professionally

For most schools that have not yet integrated technology with learning, this may be the problem they are facing. Teachers refuse to lend support and they don’t care about professional development at all. They may not be prepared to handle the various gadgets or to integrate technology into classrooms. Meanwhile, their students may be well versed with using the same gadgets. The schools may not be providing training to familiarize the teachers with the apps or mobile devices that can help them simplify their jobs. If teachers are not technically updated about the technology, how can they impart the same knowledge to the students?

Shortage of innovative ideas

Those with a creative mind find it easy to deal with technological tools than the non-creative ones. Some people tend to learn the usage of technological tools on their own and they may even try to implement them into solving a problem. Technological tools keep on getting updated from time to time and therefore, you have to keep learning to integrate them to your challenges and also how to use them. It’s nothing that others can teach you but you have to find out on your own. Most of the technological tools support multitasking and therefore, to figure out how to work with them and integrate the, to your needs require new ideas.

Lack of facility

This is another challenge some schools tend to face. They may not have access to the technological tools such as projectors that make visual learning possible. Some schools don’t even have a proper computer lab with enough computers and Internet facilities.

The list of barriers does not end here. But, to find solutions to them requires lots of thought.

What can be done to overcome the barriers?

Overcome your fear of being introduced to unknown technological tools

You are not born with knowledge of each and everything on the planet. You have familiarized yourselves with them with time as part of a natural process. Teachers can form small communities where they can discuss the challenges they face while integrating technology with education and share their knowledge of the technological tools they are familiar with. Also, schools can hold training sessions for teachers to have a better understanding before they go on to introduce the technological tool or school app into their classrooms.

Be innovative with the tools you are familiar with

Take the risk. Even if it is a PC with Microsoft Office and Internet connection that you are familiar with, put it to good use by assigning projects or assignments to your students that they can complete using these tools. You can start with familiar tools and then go on to use newer ones. This can boost your confidence.

Look for free easy-to-use digital resources

There are many user-friendly digital resources like online applications available that you can use on your own. You may not need any one to guide you. After you learn to use them, introduce them to your students. Also, this is cost effective.

Learn with your students

Teachers can learn the working of technological tools along with their students. They can discuss about various ideas that they can implement to create projects and learn. This technique works better than one day workshops and training sessions.

The benefits that integration of technology in education offers are plenty like-easy access to any subject-related information, expansion of knowledge at a global level, visual learning through school apps such as smart apps for preschoolers etc. Therefore, schools must make sure that they integrate technology with learning.

 

Posted on by Edsys

 

‘Blended learning’, they say is the new mantra in education. But the concept is alien to most schools, even for the ones in the developed countries. The next positive step in education can be achieved only by embracing technology. Blended learning is the love child of education and technology. So it definitely is the future.

Some schools have already implemented blended learning in the form of smart apps for preschoolers. They have found success with this innovative type of education model that it provides. Even though the implementation of blended learning through school apps requires vast transformation of the existing educational model, the benefits that it gives are in plenty.

What is Blended Learning?

As the name suggests, blended learning is an innovative type of education model that integrates online learning with face to face interaction to create personalized learning opportunities. The rise of Internet within the past decade was something beyond the expectation of even its creators. Coupled with this, the simplicity of the devices such as mobile phones and laptops has made the Internet access ‘child’s play’, literally!!!

The fact that a substantial amount of Internet and mobile device users are school going kids has shown how much they are mesmerized by the technology. This has paved way to implement blended learning by developing smart apps for preschoolers in educational models. As we move away from an industrial era to an age of knowledge workers, we need a workforce that can adjust to the latest innovations in technology and blended learning is the way to do it.

Benefits of Blended Learning

  • Makes students self-directed learners

With blended learning, students can be assigned with learning core concepts through online school apps as homework and later learning how to apply them to solve problems can be done in the classrooms. This makes students self-directed learners, where they are free to use their imaginations on what they have learnt. Students also find it easy learning online since they can refer the resources again and again.

The vastness of the Internet would ensure that students will never experience a shortage of information. This may not be the same when a teacher is involved in the teaching process. He/ she may lack the knowledge to clear all the student’s doubts.

It was initially felt that the students being completely plugged into their devices and the teachers being mere passive monitors would have an adverse effect on the learning process, but the results say otherwise. What blended learning has done is it has improved the student-teacher relationship than what it was before.

  • Improves student-teacher relationship

As said before blended learning has greatly improved student-teacher relationship. But how has this been possible when everyone thought that combining education with technology was a bad idea.

Blended learning has freed teachers from their administrative and instructional roles. Now it is possible for teachers to give basic instructions to online tools or resources which will take care of what the kids need to learn. This gives them more time to develop the critical skills of students and also contribute to their character development.

Teachers can spend less time on lecturing and more time for creating high-value learning experience through monitoring and coaching. Moreover they can now address each student’s unique learning needs by customizing instructions.

  • Better learning space

As the student-teacher relation improves, the schools will become a better learning space. No more rushing to complete the syllabus. Students will no more learn just to score high marks in exams, but to fit better into the 21st century working environment.

With less workload on the teachers they find more time to spend with the students, allowing them to understand the students at a more personal level. Also with extra time on hand, teachers can focus on each student individually, giving equal opportunity to all children. Blended learning also helps teachers to learn from students, on what mode of teaching to adopt or how to make teaching more effective.

Challenges of Implementing

  • The task of implementing blended learning is not that simple as it requires tons of research, planning, collaboration and perfect execution.
  • Just purchasing high quality devices and licensing the best online learning software won’t work. Students and teachers have to be educated about it and should be made to feel comfortable.
  • Blended learning might require a complete change in the classroom management strategy, physical layout of the environment, teaching methodologies, current educational models and the role of teachers and their responsibility.
  • Even now, an apt model by which we can implement this technology is being researched and since it mandates a lot of changes, it will take some time before we can completely reap its benefits.