The Integration of Technology and innovation in the classroom

1. The Integration of Technology and innovation in the classroom Education has evolved over the years with new pedagogical methodologies, practical immersions, and most of all the use and integration of technology in the classrooms. Student experiences and learning styles have made a paradigm shift as children rely on the use of laptops, ipads, mobile apps, and virtual classrooms rather than just using the traditional pen and paper. Educational technology refers to the introduction of software and hardware that enables modern teaching methods and makes learning easy and interesting. It gives students and educators access to multiple digital resources that helps students master the teaching materials. The increasing role of technology in education cannot be undermined in today’s tech enabled times, and its role is set to expand in the coming years. The technological integration has also ushered in an era of innovation as online materials are easily available to read, research upon, and utilize for bringing out new ideas that can be commercialized and converted into products and services that better human lives. Technology has given rise to innovations in the fields of medicine, economics, engineering, astrophysics and space science, agriculture, environment and disaster management to name a few. Thus the importance of technology in education at school level is imminent as it prepares students early in life for becoming scientifically creative. Though technology has been adopted worldwide, some countries such as India and many in the South Asian region have faced challenges in adopting educational technology. The reasons for these are many, some of which include: ●Lack of internet connectivity in all parts of the country ●Hesitation among educators and students to transfer to use of technology ●Non availability of good instructors in computer technology ●Poor understanding of English that is used in technologically enabled classrooms Despite this in the recent years strides have been made in making a very large number of schools adopt technology in teaching and learning. Top ICSE schools and some of the best CBSE schools in India have already transitioned to technology fully. Why is technology so important in the present world? As a parent you may have thought about this sometime. To grasp this, there are many key roles that technology plays in education, which need to be understood. Some of these are: 1.Enhancing Access to Education Through technology a classroom instruction can be given to students who may be present in the class or located geographically elsewhere. It also brings to the students of a certain region facts about new discoveries that may have taken place in another part of the world. This helps bettering the access to education for rural and semi rural areas, which is crucial for developing economies especially. 2.Improving Student Engagement and Motivation Looking at an actual experiment on a computer screen, or understanding the structure of human body, parts of flowers, or the process of germination by looking at an online 3D enabled video makes learning fun, varied and easy to understand. This motivates students to be engaged in the class and gain in-depth knowledge that is practical and real life oriented rather than just theoretical concept based. Some of the best schools

2. in Pune, of which MIT Gurukul is a leading institution, have adopted technology in all grades for its students. 3.Providing Individualized and Personalized Learning Experiences A student can revisit a lesson, virtually enabled experiment, tutorial or subject based concepts many times when she has access to technology in the school and when real time and deferred online materials are available throughout the year. This is a great enabler of self-learning, doubt clearance, and imbibing the learning deeply. Such personalized learning makes it possible for every student to study at their comfortable pace and feel empowered in their educational journey. 4.Facilitating Collaborative and Interactive Learning Students in different parts of the country or the world have come together in collaborative projects, competitions, classroom learning and buddy programs through technology amalgamation in schools. This leads to group projects, international collaborations between partner schools, exchange of ideas, innovations and cultural understanding. It is not only studies that have been facilitated this way, but also pursuits in art, online sports, Model United Nations, debates and quizzes and much more. For holistic development of students all these form a crucial aspect of their personal growth. 5.Preparing Students for Global Success The long term benefits of technology in education is to hone skills, aptitude and tech savvy abilities in students that help them traverse the later higher education and professional years easily. With technology impacting every aspect of life, a student who is comfortable with technology from an early age has an edge over his peers and feels more confident in sourcing information, finding creative ways to use it and apply it for practical use. Such a person will be at par with his contemporaries from any part of the world and do well in life. Most Middle Year programs in IB schools, such as MIT Gurukul, understand this and make all efforts to provide adequate technology within classrooms for a seamless learning experience. In conclusion we can say that the wheels of education are now powered and propelled by technology and the necessity for helping every students become adept at using technology to innovate and grow is the need of the hour. MIT Gurukul urges all parents to also help their children in becoming comfortable with use of technology to learn. For brainstorming ideas on how best to do it, parents are welcome to schedule meetings with the education coordinator and the technology officer at the school.