Education is the most powerful weapon

Education is the most powerful weapon

 

The education industry is one of the oldest industries in the world. In its rudimentary form, nomads had to develop a sign language or symbols so that they can educate other members about various processes, discoveries and any information that will aid people to live life safely in caves. Fast forward to today’s era, the purpose of education is no different from those times. The role of education is primarily to equip the children/students for future with all the necessary knowledge and skills.

Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” and it is a universal truth. Education is an integral part of one’s personal and social growth, a person is incomplete without education. It has the power to liberate and lift people from old norms or old ways of doing something. Education is hailed as a powerful tool because it influences a person’s thoughts, decision making, situational responding on a small or day-to-day basis as-well-as on large scale.

The most important aspect of education is that it has the power to transform - an individual, a group

and a nation. Using the power of education the most deprived communities have been able to achieve the desired goals - women earned their right to education, to vote, to work and more; People subjected to racism and slavery rose above the obstacles slowly with courage and by means of education, and Nelson Mandela is one of them. With right set of education, many states and nations have been able to address various social issues that have directly or indirectly impacted their economic growth. For instance, it is witnessed that the regions with high number of educated citizens has gender equality at home as well as work. Eradication of gender inequality enables a nation to a larger pool of workforce and hence it becomes a lucrative destination for companies to do business activities.

Source | https://www.freepressjournal.in

Union HRD Minister launches NISHTHA to build capacities of government teachers across the country

Union HRD Minister launches NISHTHA to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country

 New Delhi: Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launchedthe National Mission to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level- NISHTHA, National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi today.During the programme, NISHTHA Website, Training Modules, Primer Booklet and a Mobile App were also launched by the Minister.

 Speaking on the occasionthe HRD Minister said that this is the largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world. Giving further details, the Minister said that the basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students. He said that teachers will get awareness and develop their skills on various aspects related to Learning Outcomes, Competency Based Learning and Testing, Learner-centered Pedagogy, School Safety and Security, Personal-social qualities, Inclusive Education, ICT in teaching-learning including Artificial Intelligence, Health and well-being including yoga, Initiatives in School Education including library, eco club, youth club, kitchen garden, School Leadership qualities, Environmental Concerns, Pre-school, Pre-vocational Education and School Based Assessment in a joyful learning manner.

 The teachers are the powerhouse of the nation and they must be of the highest quality, the Minister elaborated. He further said that it is the Prime Minister’s dream that the quality of our teachers should be such that they should command worldwide respect.

 Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ disclosed that this training programme has been included as one of the two transformative ideas from this Department for the 100 days programme of the Government. This integrated programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government schools, faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) as well as Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States and UTs.

 Shri Pokhriyal highlighted that the initiative is first of its kind wherein standardized training modules are developed at national level for all States and UTs. However, States and UTs can contextualize the training modules and use their own material and resource persons also, keeping in view the core topics and expected outcomes of NISHTHA.

The Minister informed that the training will be conducted directly by 33120 Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and State Resource Persons (SRP) identified by the State and UTs, who will in turn be trained by 120 National Resource Persons identified from National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), KendriyaVidyalayaSangathan (KVS), NavodayaVidyalayaSamiti (NVS), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Non-Government Organisations.

It was observed that the expectation from teachers in the present day is different and includes many new attributes. Teachers today are also expected to be aware of the provisions regarding Gender, The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The integrated programme therefore seeks to train all heads and teachers as first level counsellors to be alert and responsive to the needs of the students, in addition to promoting joyful learning and taking special care of the requirements of special children.

The prominent features of this integrated programme are activity based modules including educational games and quizzes, Social-emotional learning, motivational interactions, team building, preparation for school based assessment, in-built continuous feedback mechanism, online monitoring and support system, training need and impact analysis (Pre and Post training).

In order to enhance professional development of teachers, special emphasis has been given on design and development of training modules. The training Modules for NISHTHA have been developed through a consultative process involving the suggestions from the States and UTs and CBSE, KVS, NVS, School Principals and Non-Governmental Organizations, such as Kaivalya Foundation, Tata Trust, Azim Premji Foundation and Aurobindo Society.

This mega capacity building programme has been integrated with technology to ensure smooth facilitation, availability of digital content and technology enabled teaching methods to support the teachers. A Mobile App and Learning Management System (LMS) based on MOODLE (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) have been developed by NCERT (https://nishtha.ncert.gov.in/). LMS will be used for registration of Resource Persons and Teachers, dissemination of resources, training gap and impact analysis, monitoring, mentoring and measuring the progress online.

In order to ensure sustainable impact on classroom transactions, this integrated training programme is embedded with post training interventions including provision of mentoring. After the completion of KRP training, National Resource Persons will regularly be in touch with KRPs through WhatsApp/Facebook groups etc and will form Quality Circles that will work to share ideas, challenges and their solutions and best practices. This will help in building pedagogical skills and connecting with peers, thereby leading to improvement in learning outcomes of the students.

The programme was launched by in the presence of Smt Rina Ray, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy and other senior officers from MHRD, all States and UTs, Senior Policy Makers and Heads of Institutions.

Source | https://indiaeducationdiary.in/

Learning the Ytube way

Learning the Ytube way

The trend of learning various educational concepts using Youtube tutorial videos is on the rise among students in India.

Education or the art of learning should constantly evolve and change. In India, the use of technology to enhance education has been sedate with traditional teachers having more faith on their tried and tested ways. But, that isn’t stopping students from changing the way they explore different subjects. From high school pupils to college-goers, people nowadays prefer Youtube tutorials to their conventional classroom tutors.

With faster Internet connectivity and cheaper network providers now existing in India, the trend of students opting for these videos as their teachers is on the rise.  Mehar Kathuria, an engineering graduate shares, “To be honest, I have passed subjects like physics and thermodynamics because of Youtube lectures, during my undergraduate college days.” Kathuria who is currently pursuing a correspondence psychology course alongside her work further adds, “Even today, I mostly study through Youtube because the concise videos really save my time and help me grasp them faster.” Mehar is a regular follower of channels like ‘nptelhrd’ and ‘Khan Academy’. “Sometimes even our professors would recommend us some of these channels for further reference,” says Kathuria.

Whereas for Ilina Bhattacharya, a PhD scholar, the best part of Youtube studying is that it is a visual platform. She says, “These free videos have taught me complex concepts better than a lot of expensive course books authored by Indian and international writers. The opportunity to grasp a concept by understanding it visually, in a concise manner, is a boon for me.” 

Screengrab from Youtube video for representational purposes only.

For school student Apoorv Kumar, Youtube proved to be a game changer when a friend suggested some videos to him. “History lessons are not easy for me to mug up. I had a really difficult time with them till I found out about some Youtube channels like Vox and The School of Life. I love the storytelling style of these videos and the fact that I can pause, reverse and play it helps a lot too,” says the high schooler.

Suman Bhattacharjee, an educator turned content creator, has around 70k subscribers on his Youtube channel where he talks about various concepts of biology. “Initially, I had started my Youtube channel when I was pursuing my Masters course. It was my place for storing my videos on different biology concepts. I didn’t know anything about the monetary aspect of Youtube back then,” recalls Bhattacharjee. He believes that there are a number of reasons why students prefer these videos to conventional classroom. He elaborates, “Youtube gives the advantage of re-watching a video as many times as a student wants. Different students have different grasping potentials and the variable speed setting on this platform helps them study more efficiently.” Bhattacharjee also points out a drawback of the Indian educational scene where teachers often get recruited simply on the basis of their degrees and not their teaching abilities. “It’s not that they are not knowledgeable, but many teachers in India lack the capability of explaining and passing on their knowledge to students,” he says.

However not everyone is a blind fan of this method. Media student Audita Bhattacharya believes,  “For a lot of subjects, Youtube provides simpler and faster ways to learn. But, nothing can replace a good professor. I genuinely feel that teachers somewhere hold a moral high ground for me. I don’t think any video can teach anyone economics the way my college professor did. So, I feel one is not completely better than the other.”

Source | Asian Age | 22nd August 2019