✍ D. Ramakrishna Rao
Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create or modify the existing process, culture and experiences to meet ever changing needs and requirements. This re-imagining of education, business and other activities in this digital age is digital transformation. Of-course one thing is sure that the Covid-19 pandemic did force many organisations including educational institutions to shift towards digital transformation.
Digital transformation in educational field:
Covid-pandemic did affect economies World-wide including education sector. Approximately 1.5 billion students which include 90% of primary, secondary and tertiary level learners could not go to school physically. The impact has been transformative as education administrators and educators were looking forward for implementing technology-solutions to enable remote learning. Digital transformation is simply not limited online teaching-learning post covid-19. Governments across different countries are making efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of school closures and facilitate continuity of education with the help of new tech solutions.
Digital transformation in the education sector means enhancing its learning environment and administrative systems by applying new technologies, which reduces costs and meet the growing demands of all the participants of educational process.
Target group of digitalisations of education may be students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni. Allowing students to register for admission, providing a wide array of online learning options and using technology to track students’ progress.
Digital transformation in education is under three categories:
- Transformation in campus environment:
- Thermal screening
- Contactless attendance system
- Digital transformation of administrative system.
- Transformation in learning methods:
- Video conferencing systems even for overseas students
- AR/VR for better learning experience
- Adaptive learning
- Learning apps & platforms
- Al and Chat bots
- Transformation in teaching methods:
- Smart classrooms
- AI driven online assessments
- AI based analysis of students
- AI enabled remote proctoring
Virtual classrooms functioning:
Virtual class room activity goes with an assumption that every student has fast access to internet, a laptop or smart phone with a reliable electric connection. Actually, July 2022 report confirms that 833 million active internet users are in Bharat, which comprises of 59.28% of population. This creates a problem for online educators and unconnected students fall behind their connected peers. Of-course for them teachers can record their lessons and upload them on YouTube, which can be downloaded for viewing offline.
Governments Role:
Government wants to truly enable education for all. Under resourced people should also get much needed devices and data. Government is also trying to provide educational content through its apps and portals like SWAYAM, SWAYAM PRABHA, National Digital Library, Virtual Labs, National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), E-pathasala, National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NREOER), SHAGUN, Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) and National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) etc. SCERT and edutech companies should provide educational content in major regional and vernacular languages.
Technology to enhance pedagogy:
Now instead of having the old “chalk and talk” model, we have to consider incorporating technology in a big way to enhance engaging pedagogy having ‘Flipped Classrooms”, Smart classrooms approach, where interactive and interesting exercises are facilitated by the teacher.
Human-teacher should not be replaced by Robot-teacher:
Worlds first Artificially Intelligent robot-teacher at Indus international school, Bangalore was working with 100% precision and students were feeling happy to ask questions. No doubt that you got a teacher who work without casual, privilege, maternity and paternity leaves, while welcoming this, we should never allow this to replace human teacher who has to shape a person though his man-making initiatives and human Sensitive element along will personal care. Of course it necessitates our human-teacher to nurture his native, natural and Artificial Intelligence to become digitally competitive and purposeful.
(Author is Retired Principal and National President of Vidya Bharati.)
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