The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have been involved in education sector for little more than half a decade in Nepal. I am a teacher at St. Xavier’s College; and I run and manage an education venture- Edushala. (And recently an avid follower of crypto-currencies.) Even though, teaching started out as a job for me, but it has become my passion. There’s something meditative about teaching for me.
In these years of teaching, I have grown as an educator. I feel teaching needs a facelift. The way we have been teaching hasn’t changed a bit. I am teaching the students how I had been taught ten years ago. The teaching is becoming obsolete and we might be depriving students a better way to learn. We know that no two students are the same but we treat them all the same. The future classrooms need to be student-centric – shifting focus of activity from teachers to students. It is next to impossible for educators to customize class to need of each and every students through traditional method. The way forward is going digital.
What does going digital mean? Is it replacing the conventional blackboards or whiteboards with computers or digital devices, is it replacing teachers with some other kind of digital device? Well, yes and a no. In this 21st century, the power and existence of great knowledge repository- the internet is irrefutable. The students can easily access and learn directly through Wikipedia, YouTube and Google. You have a question, and you look for the answers in internet and it is there. There is nothing that you cannot find on the internet. Gone are the days that educators are the know-it all in the classroom. This doesn’t mean that teachers don’t have a role. We have a bigger role now, more than ever. The role of the teachers should not just be limited to teaching. The students need mentors and coaches. In this competitive world, students should be taught not just about content, but the core skills that is required for them to compete in the global context. The students should be able to think critically, act creatively, solve non-routine problems and this should be facilitated by the teachers. We should strive to build intelligence and character of a student. We need classes to be more student centric to achieve these goals.
Digital way of learning embeds all these attributes. Digital tools and materials should support the teachers in not only in teaching but mentoring. Sooner the teacher embraces it, the better. The human element of teachers can never be replaced merely by replacing it with some device. For instance, you play a video in a classroom that explains everything; will the students be able to learn more. Can the learning process be fun then? No. Teaching as a process should be as interactive and immersive as possible. The internet can and should never replace a teacher. Teachers should guide students, motivate them, make them curious and eventually, make the process of learning fun. The advancement in technology, like virtual reality and 3D printing, will definitely add on to the much needed immersive and experiential learning.
Going completely digital is a far-fetched reality in context of developing nations like Nepal, where the classrooms lack basic amenities like tables and benches. Having access to computers, internet, audio-visual devices is a big challenge, and moreover, the lacking of human resources who can actually utilize the tools poses bigger problem. Nonetheless, on a positive side, no dream is impossible. It will take decades, but it is a reality that cannot be denied. I think, there are three things that will be ubiquitous in all the classrooms in Nepal in near future.
- Digital classrooms and tools are the future of teaching and will become indispensable arsenal of any educator. The classroom should go beyond physical setting to the ‘cloud’. The bulky textbooks need to be replaced by learning resources in internet and the physical library with the digital libraries. Learning Management System such as Moodle and Blackboard will become immensely popular in educational institutes- as a means to distribute lecture and other course information.
- Massive Open Online Courses, or simple MOOC will let any students take free courses from reputed global universities. A MOOC is a free online web-based distance learning program that is designed for participation at a larger number of geographically disperses students. Educators can integrate these courses into the class curriculum to provide richer experience for the students.
- Lastly, social media as a learning tool should win over students for the learning process. Students are already addicted to the social media. Students should use social media, not only for getting connected, or being updated on other peoples’ how-about, but they should be encouraged to share content, encourage discussions that would be more thoughtful than in classrooms.
The technology will make the teaching more interactive and student-centric if utilized in a right way. Not necessary that all the teachers will and should adopt to digital way of teaching, but if s/he moves out of the conventional way and adopt and adapt certain elements of digitalizing learning, it would complement the teaching process. When learning is fun, it is a win-win situation for both teachers and students.