EPC 3 ASSIGNMENT 4 TOPIC : MODERN APPROACH

Introduction on modern approach  to ICT in Nagaland

                   Information communications and Technology in education is the mode of education that use information and communications technology to support, enhance and optimise and delivery of information. Worldwide research has shown that ICT can lead to an improved students learning and better teaching methods.

                     In Nagaland the department of Information Technology was created in November 2003 with the view to promote the use of Information Technology and act as a promoter and facilitator in the field of Information Technology in the state and build an IT interface with the rest of the country and the world.

                    ICT has become one of the basic building blocks of modern society. The recent effort of the government of India seems to deepen the use of ICT in almost every sphere of life. The digital campaign in India since 2015 strive to transform India into a digital empowered society and knowledge economy by focusing on 3 vision areas-digital infrastructure as core utility to every citizen, e-governance and services on demand and digital literacy and empowerment of citizen.

                    The present curricular for ICT in education in Nagaland is a in step towards realizing the goals of both the national policy, the National curriculum Framework 2005 and the recommendation of digital India campaign. For students, it is an initiation into creativity, problem solving and an introduction to the world of information and technologies which could also sphere pursuits. 

ICT TOOLS USED BY SCHOOLS IN NAGALAND.

ICT, which includes radio and television as well as other high technology newer digital services such as computers and internet have been treated as generally powerful enabling tools for educational change and reform.

Some of the the ICT tools used by schools in Nagaland are:

COMPUTERS: This is one among the many tools that is utilised by schools in Nagaland to carry out the teaching-learnning process. Word Excel, Access, PowerPoint, animation, graphics, etc.  are used to enhance the learning content and explain the learning content and explain complex processes.

SMART CLASS: Some schools have begun to avail the facility of teaching students through digital whiteboards by accessing information pre- installed in the system. They also make use of devices like CDS, DVDs, pendrive and other connecting devices to aid their teaching through this.

ON-LINE TEACHING: This includes on-line networking, e-moderator, e-learning,etc. Some schools and colleges are conducting online examinations, evaluations, attendance with the help of the internet facility and electronic devices.

BLOGGING: Teachers and students are also creating and making use of blogs to share and gain knowledge.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Another popular tool that the schools are making use of is the social media like WhatsApp, Facebook,Telegram, YouTube, Email, Gmail etc. to circulate important notices, share study materials and work collaboratively.

ROLE OF TEACHER IN MORDERN APPORACH TO ICT IN NAGALAND:

The classroom is now changing its look from the traditional one i.e., from one way to two way communications. Now teachers as well as students participate in classroom discussion. Now Education is based on child centric education. So the teacher should prepare to cope up with different technology for using them in the classroom for making teaching learning interested. For effective implementation of certain student-centric methodologies such as project-based learning which puts the students in the role of active researches and technology becomes the appropriate tool. ICT has enabled better and swifter communication; presentation of ideas more effective and relevant way. It is an effective tool for information acquiring-thus students are encouraged to look for information from multiple sources and they are now more informed then before. So for this reason ICT is very much necessary for Teacher Education.

ICTs can be used to support change and to support/extend existing teaching practices
Pedagogical practices of teachers using ICT can range from only small enhancements of teaching practices using what are essentially traditional methods, to more fundamental changes in their approach to teaching. ICTs can be used to reinforce existing pedagogical practices as well as to change the way teachers and students interact.

Some of the roles the teacher can play in applying modern approach to ICT are as follows:

1.   As a facilitator the teacher must help his students to develop the positive attitudes towards the changes that are taking place in their environs and also make them ready to adjust and adapt these changes.

2.   As a knowledge provider his learners must be exposed to unending process of knowledge and make them capable to choose between the right and wrong at the same time.

3. As a guide he must enable his learners to get acquainted with new ICT based digital knowledge and advancements.

4. As a trainer his learners must be trained and mastered upon the new technological tools or instruments and make them ready to utilize all these at the maximum.

5. As a capacity builder his learners must be capacitated with all those practicum and life skills that are necessary for living a happy life.

6.  As a keen observer his learners must be observed for their activities during the exposition of new and vast world knowledge.

7.  As a learner he must update his knowledge to keep pace with global knowledge.

8.   As a team member he must work by taking the help of his fellow teachers.

Today teachers are required to be facilitators helping their learners to make judgments about the quality and validity of new sources and knowledge, be open-minded and critical independent professionals, be active co-operators, collaborators, and mediators between learners and what they need to know, and providers to scaffold understanding.

 ADVANTAGES OF USING MORDEN APPROACH TO ICT:

The use of ICT is changing teaching-learning process in several ways. Presently our class rooms are not simply designed to feed the brains of the students, these are designed and equipped with higher level technology. It is generally believed that ICTs can empower the teachers as well as the learners to contribute their best in sustainable development of the nations. Its effective use can bring efficiency in teaching-learning process and also make excellent contributions towards the achievement of educational targets.

1. Has an improving effect in terms of quality of student work and practical examples through visualization.

2. Improves poor handwriting and languages skills through word processing.

3. Facilitates self-pacing with increased capacities to deal with individual learning styles as students can work at the pace and intensity suitable to their needs

4. Enables collaborative learning with little indication of the isolated learner.

5. Encourages use of peer coaching and peer reviews.

6. Develops communication skills and awareness of different audiences

7. Has impact on resource–based learning and access to real world information through the Web.

8. Enhances information consistency and accuracy adding to authenticity of learning tasks, with pragmatic and advanced information

9. Augments learner motivation through practical activity, visual demonstrations and improved modes of presentation

10. Promotes independent learning and individual preferences for process, outline, method and design.

11. Furnishes learners more control

12. Lets learners to produce high quality multimedia products.

13. Transforms teacher practices, planning tools and assessment rubrics.

14. Boosts opportunities for classes to advance and for learner experiences to shape results.

15. Can inspire students to be committed to learning and to contribute in learning activities.

16. Can develop students‟ higher-order thinking: their ability to apply knowledge and skills to analyse challenging problems, grasp broader concepts, and devise new ideas and solutions.

LIMITATIONS OF USING MORDEN APPROACH TO ICT:

Besides too many advantages of ICTs use in enhancing the quality of teaching- learning process, it also has so many limitations which, in turn play a role of barriers in way of ICTs implementation.

Some of the challenging barriers are as follows:

From Learner’s Stand Point:

1. Over- reliance on ICT limits students critical thinking and analytical skills

2. Learners often have only a superficial understanding of the information they download

3. Computer-based learning has negative physical side-effects such as poor vision and stiffness problems.

4. Learners may be easily distracted from their learning and may explore unwanted sites

5. Learners tend to explore internet for its easy access and neglect the other useful learning resources

6. Learners tend to use copy-pasting techniques rather than using their creative powers.

7. Learners feel pleasure in typing and printing and may have less opportunity to use oral and written skills.

8. Weak students may get difficulty with use of ICTs because they may have problems with working independently and may need more support from their teachers.

 From Teacher’s Stand Point

Although teachers‟ attitude towards use of ICTs is vital, many observations revealed the fact that teachers do not have clarity about how far the use of various ICT techniques can be beneficial to facilitate and enhancement of learning. Some of the basic problems related to teacher‟ attitude are as follow:

1. Negative attitude of teachers towards the use of ICTs

2. Reluctance and hesitation to use the ICTs in class-rooms

3. Lack of proper technological skills in use of ICTs

4. Lack of self-efficacy and enthusiasm among teachers

5. Lack of professional training in field of ICTs implementation in education.

  6. Having poor critical and scientific temper.

Technology related Limitations:

The other limitation of ICT use in education is technology related. The high cost of the technology and its maintenance, high cost of spare parts, high cost of anti-virus packages, interruptions of internet connections, slow speed of internet connections, and poor power supply are some of basic technology related limitations in the way of implementation of ICTs.

Conclusion on modern approach. 

One of the typical features of our information society is the fact that more and more social processes take place in digital networks and many elements of our life can be stored and analysed in digital format. Non-formal and informal education is gaining strength and more and more people can access knowledge, voices which have not been audible until now have grown louder, open discussions have been initiated in topics of connectivism, networked learning, social media involvement into teaching process etc.

The world is changing so rapidly that it is difficult to foot step with this change. The knowledge explosion is a concept of today's world. ICT has made it more complex that it is very difficult to pace with this fast changing world.

The modern world is now moving towards digitalized e-learning, virtual classroom and teachers, digitalized textbooks and depending lesser on printed materials which were considered most important in the past. Technology has brought a complete transformation in and outside the classroom. And with the recent announcement made by the Prime Minister of India that the country will now provide internet/wifi facilities in panchayats and schools, adopting the technology for daily activities is inevitable. 

How to convert ICT tools for educational purposes in rural areas of Nagaland?

India can boast a gigantic telecom customer base, the world’s lowest call rates, the world’s cheapest mobile handset and most affordable 3G phone, but internet penetration in rural India is still around 20%, against 65% in urban India including Nagaland. So far, policy making efforts have largely focused on overcoming infrastructural barriers to rural access. However, access to ICT devices and internet is only part of the problem of digital inclusion in rural India and rural schools.

The demand for education is very high, often beyond the conventional system’s ability to provide it. There is a growing realisation that ICT-based resources can extend opportunities to previously under-served and scattered populations. To do so, ICTs must be embedded in educational systems to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of education in formal and non-formal settings, as well as to acquaint, familiarise and skill students with digital tools and environments.

The Government of India (2012) formulated a national policy on ICT-enabled school education “which aims at preparing youth to participate creatively in the establishment, sustenance and growth of a knowledge society, leading to all-round socioeconomic development of the nation and global competitiveness.” Practitioners and academicians concur that integration of ICTs in education has an overall positive impact on the learning environment. ICTs have the potential to innovate, accelerate, enrich and deepen skills; motivate and engage students; relate school experience to work practices; create economic viability for tomorrow’s workers; and strengthen teaching.

In the rural Nagaland education landscape, teachers are the most important stakeholders. They are not mere disseminators of information; they are life-coaches, with the school becoming a sanctuary of learning rather than just a building. However, teachers in rural schools are inadequately trained, and often overburdened with multiple roles such as administering mid-day meals, assisting in immunisation programmes, and aiding healthcare and social awareness.

Effective implementation would mean overcoming the following challenges:

Quality content, high-speed connectivity and proper devices:

 Availability of quality content in regional languages acts as a barrier for delivering ICT-based education in rural areas.  A number of surveys have highlighted infrastructural deficiencies such as small size of classrooms, non-availability of continuous electric supply, non-availability or poor quality of hardware, software or e-content, and insufficient time to integrate ICT with the knowledge dissemination framework.

·         Attitudinal readiness of schoolteachers: 

     The feeling that ICT-enabled education might replace teachers could create resistance to the digital revolution in educational technology.

·        Absence of private sector in rural education: 

     Most schools in rural areas are run by the government. The involvement of the private sector in rural education is very limited. The government appoints ad hoc teachers instead of permanent ones, who are poorly paid compared to the remuneration of a full-time trained graduate teacher (TGT). Non-permanent teachers have no future prospects and thus no motivation to excel in teaching. This leads to dissatisfaction, eventually resulting in a dearth of teachers because they move away to more permanent jobs.

·         Exemption of candidates from Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET): 

S   Several states have exempted candidates as only 20% of aspirants clear the TET. This has led to deteriorating teacher quality.

·         Teachers’ proficiency in integration of ICT in existing curricula: 

      Teachers should be willing to modify traditional educational theories and practices to meet the future demands of ICT-dominated global markets. Incorporating training for ICT use in pedagogy would be more beneficial than training teachers to use ICT tools per se.

·         Problems related to language and content:

      Despite the rising popularity of English as the language of communication, the average Indian student and teacher is accustomed to content and knowledge dissemination in the vernacular medium. As most web-based resources are in English, it is important to focus on content development in regional languages.

What can be done to convert available technology as ICT tools for education?

Some of the ICT tools that can be used for educational purposes in rural areas in Nagaland are:

The Internet is not widely available in most LDCs; radio and TV are:

Broadcast technologies such as radio and television have a much greater penetration than the Internet throughout much of the developing world, and the substantial gap is not expected to be closed soon.

Radio and TV can have high start-up costs, and reinforce existing pedagogical styles:

Educational initiatives that utilize radio and television typically have quite high initial start-up/capital costs, but once they are up and running, on-going maintenance and upgrade costs are much lower (making initiatives utilizing radio and TV for distance learning in the education sector particularly appealing for donor support in many cases). One-to-many broadcast technologies like radio and television (as well as satellite distribution of electronic content) are seen as less ‘revolutionary’ ICTs in education, as their usage is seen as reinforcing of traditional instructor-centric learning models, unlike computers, which many see as important tools in fostering more learner-centric instructional models.

Using ‘old’ technologies (like radio and television) in new ways:

While most of the attention, and pretty much all of the hype, around the use of technologies in education focuses on the latest shiny gadgets, in many places ‘old’ technologies like radio and television are still in widespread use – although often with slight twists. Under Interactive Radio Instruction, radio broadcasts are used to prompt specific actions by teachers and students in the classroom. The use of Interactive Educational Television helps remote schools with situations where you have many students but no teachers. Same Language subtitling of Bollywood movies help promote the acquisition of reading skills to millions of ‘low literate’ people in Nagaland.

Sharing one device with lots of people:

While much press attention is paid to projects that promise things like ‘one educational tablet for every student’, it is not only in the case of communal technologies like radio and television where the benefits of using one device can reach many learners at once. As part of some projects, classrooms of up to 50 students can each ‘operate’ a single computer independently, as long as they each have their own mouse. Such efforts are enabled where technologies are available to help transform simple projectors into low-cost versions of digital whiteboards. The Hole in the Wall project in India demonstrates how placing shared computing facilities outdoors in slum communities can bring about lots of interesting benefits to children outside of formal schooling.

Caching on-line content for offline use:

In places where Internet connectivity is sporadic, unreliable or intermittent, innovative approaches to caching and distributing digital content can enable off-line access to vast numbers of online resources in ways that can simulate on-line environments. The emergence of low cost e- readers is enabling groups to distribute vast amount of books in digital formats to students who read them on small, purpose-built reading devices.

Promoting literacy and learning, and supporting teachers, with mobile phones:

In remote places in Nagaland where teachers may face daunting challenges related to isolation of peers and a lack of resources (including textbooks and other teaching materials), mobile phones are helping support teachers in small but meaningful ways by providing access to education content and regular prompts and tips on how to utilize this content . Using such methods, students can send short quizzes via SMS to their mobile phones to help them (and their families) gauge how well they can understand the topics being discussed in class.

Using low cost video to support peer learning and support:

The increased availability of very low cost video cameras (including those in mobile phones) can provide opportunities for reflection and peer support for teachers who may have received little (if any) training on pedagogical approaches to delivering their curricula. So the teachers in Nagaland take short videos of their peers and then jointly review and discuss pedagogical approaches and particularly difficult topics to teach in informal, low stakes ways as part of their professional development.

Developing content and tools locally:

In places where learners do not speak one of the major language for which lots of educational content already exist in digital formats, the capacity to produce such content locally -- in local languages, in line with local curricula -- is often constrained by the fact that there simply is not sufficient indigenous know-how to create and distribute educational content easily in digital formats. We can put efforts to show that such approaches can work in rural environments, especially where they utilize the technologies with which people are already familiar (e.g. low end mobile phones) in ways that simple to use and very user-friendly.

Conclusion:

These sorts of practices and projects are just the tip of the iceberg, of course. In and of themselves, certainly none of them provides a silver bullet solution to address all the challenges confronting educators and learners in remote rural areas of Nagaland. That said, and as the short list above hopefully suggests, there are a lot of encouraging developments around the world – sometimes (depending on one’s perspective) pioneered by the most unlikely people doing the most unlikely things in the most unlikely places (although quite a few of them, it should be said, are seeking to do things with a very likely device: the mobile phone).

While monitoring and sharing what people are doing can be quite useful, such basic information is even more valuable when its accompanied by efforts to evaluate what results such efforts are (or purport to be) having. While the people and groups pioneering educational technology initiatives targeting populations and communities all over the world have until recently had to rely as much on instinct and ‘learning by doing’ than on an established knowledge base informed by rigorously collected evidence.

We know that technology changes – rapidly – and newer, more cost-effective and more powerful technologies will continue to emerge of potential use in education. At the same time, evidence shows that, once installed in schools, ICTs continue to be used for the life of the functioning life of the technology, whether or not newer, more cost-effective and powerful technologies emerge (especially as upgrade paths are seldom part of initial planning).

Submitted by : Group 6

Name                                          Roll no.

Easterly T. Aye                              51

Esther Swuro                                  52

H.Akim Jimo                                  53

H.Martha Touthang                        54

Holika A Achumi                           55

Imtiyala Jamir                                56

Imyarila Changkire                        57

Julin Zhimomi                                58

Kanitoli Assumi                             59

Kavili Chophi                                 60