Schools all over India are integrating technology in their classroom. But despite the significant resources being allocated for teacher training and technology integration, many teachers have struggled with the technology. While some have faced disruptions with new devices, others have had their work impacted negatively by ICT classroom, leading to inefficient use of the technology. Here are 7 reasons why teachers are struggling to use the ICT classrooms to their full advantage: -
Technology isn’t always welcomed. There have been instances where teachers have shown preferences for manual writing instead of typing, and have spent extra time writing notes. Students too have shown preference for reading print. All this leads to teachers shying away from introducing new technology when they feel it adds nothing new to their classroom.
Many a times, schools require students to bring their own devices to school, which can lead to huge differences in the devices. For example, a student may bring in a cheap android device while other students may bring an iPad. Students may also face difficulty in writing on small devices, especially over long periods. Teachers will also need to give different instructions depending on the number of different devices.
Today, students are regularly using devices for social media, instant messaging, text messaging and playing games instead for studying. With the usage of electronic devices, students can easily use the other features and get side-tracked from the lesson.
Introduction of technology often leads to interruptions that reduce lesson time. These interruptions are due to students remaining engaged with their devices even when asked not to, concealing the screens from teacher’s view or pretending that the device is not working properly.
To successfully implement the changes and fully utilize the technology in an ICT classroom, there is a need for teacher training. The training methods need to provide teachers with way to integrate technological resources in their lessons without causing any problems to the students. Yet, in most cases, either there is no teacher training or the training is sporadic in both quality and scope.
Not all students or for that matter even teachers have a computer at home. Even if they do have a computer, chances are that they will be lacking sufficient data or internet access. This digital divide, which is prominent in India, can create challenges for teachers as they need to assign different tasks for different students.
While schools are gung-ho about ICT classrooms and interactive whiteboards and often get these new technologies installed in their classroom, they often forget a vital thing or two for their proper integration. Most schools fail to provide teachers with appropriate technical support, along with proper infrastructure and policies regarding the usage of these technologies.
To overcome these complications, a standardized teacher training classes need to be introduced. These training classes will help tackle various issues plaguing the proper utilization of ICT classrooms, and help in the proper adoption of such new technologies for teaching better.