Classrooms go hi-tech

Learning tools

Power-point and multi-media presentations, slide shows, documentaries, film screening, LCD monitors, wi-fi, LAN, electronic white boards, video conferencing and other equipment are being used to impart lessons to students.

“Power-point presentations have grown enormously in classroom teaching making discussions more lively by keeping it short, crisp and to the point required.

Documentaries and short films have enhanced hackneyed versions of teaching. On the flipside, technology is ‘happy-to-use’ only to those who are tech-savvy,” says Maaya Kashyap, a student of journalism. Father Biju, a co-ordinator for communication studies in Christ University, says, “Images, audio, video, and technology creates a number of opportunities for us to explore new horizons. It is one way of engaging the classroom. It is a way of enhancing the communication process. The transformation of information is much higher and saves a lot of time. Plus with a centralised technology, it is easy for us to track the results and the overall performance of students in all aspects.”

Karthik K, an engineering student, says, “I basically see technology as an empowering tool, if used in the right sense. It helps strengthen key facts that are best presented in a visual manner, or in places where complex simulations are required.”

“Use of technology in classroom is beneficial to both students as well as teachers. From a teacher’s perspective, it becomes easy for him or her to organise the content efficiently in the form of presentations. With recent advancements, use of handwriting recognition tools have enabled teachers to add annotations into their presentations. It helps in conveying the subject matter in a coherent manner, and also increases the student’s participation in the class. Distribution of lecture materials becomes very easy and helps save paper and other printed forms,” feels Abhinava Shivakumar, an engineering student.

Technology has made education a more interactive and creative learning experience for many. At the same time, it has also hindered the opportunities for learning through conventional modes. Bhaskar Naidu, an MBA student says, “Using technology is certainly helpful. But I think it makes us lazy since we don’t really make note of what is being presented in class as we are provided  soft copies of it. Our handwriting also takes a backseat. At the end of the day, it is the explanation provided by a good teacher that will certainly remain etched in our minds rather than tech-learning,”he says.