Technology makes for easier learning, greater retention

New Delhi, Sep 22 (UNI) The younger generation should be exposed to technology in a regulated manner so that their emotional development and social skills do not get overwhelmed by addiction to computers, internet or mobile phones, veteran Congress leader Salman Khurshid, MP, said here today.

Mr Khurshid was the chief guest at a 'National Conference on Information Technology for School Principals' organised by Educomp Solutions, a pioneer in Education Process Outsourcing and Delhi Public School(DPS), R K Puram.

Mr Abhinav Dhar, Senior VP of Educomp Solutions, talked about the ways technology enhance the learning experience in schools.

Elaborating on the theme, National Head of the company Divya Lal talked about 'instruction' and 'assessment' in the classrooms being the targeted areas of the company's software packages.

She said the system has wide-screen displays in all the classrooms, a dedicated person present in the school for everyday trouble-shooting and monthly visits by the academic coordinators to train the teachers.

The special classroom-oriented technologies are instructor-led and the digital content is mapped to the curriculum. The concepts are explained with the help of visuals, colour and music stimulating the right side of the brain that is normally left latent in the traditional methods of teaching, she said.

"We are not here to replace teachers but to assist them use their time more efficiently", she added.

Dr Shayama Chona, Principal of DPS, R K Puram, said technology has become a way of life today. Children grow up in an environment of technology all around and even infants can use TV remote, laptop and cell phones with enviable ease.

"Thus, we need to help the students equip themselves better for the times to come and enable them to keep up with the fast pace of technological advancements to their advantage," she added.

Mr G Balasubramaniam, former Director of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and a noted academician, likened the need to keep up with the speed of change in technology with the example of a deer which runs fast, so that it does not lag behind the herd to fall into the clutches of the lion, and the lion who needs to run faster so that it can catch the deer and does not have to remain hungry. "So like the deer or the lion, we need to run faster to survive", he said.

Other speakers in the conference included Dr Bindu Rana, who talked about the need of teaching method that helps to communicate with all types of learning styles - visual and auditory. Also, the teacher should not only be able to assess the children's grades but also help them overcome their weak points.

Principals of some other schools, participating in the conference, however, expressed the opinion that that Educomp's 'Smart Class' software and 'Smart Assessment' technology were too expensive, and only schools like DPS, R K Puram that have the necessary funds and infrastructure could afford the facilities.

UNI