Report

As part of the UNICEF funded project, an in-person teacher orientation programme was organized on December 17, 2022. The Online Digital Skills course was also launched. At a time when students are digital natives, teachers must adapt to the rapidly changing technological landscape. Given this background, it is crucial that teachers acquire new digital skills and embrace a growth mindset by being open to learning new technologies and skills.

The NEP 2020 emphasizes the importance of teacher development programmes. Through the development of the online course and in-person training programme, teachers are supported with tailored modules to meet their classroom needs. The workshop and digital course aim to improve the overall teaching-learning process with technology adoption. 

Dr. Manjusha M. Nair, Associate Professor, School of Computing, Amritapuri, delivered the opening remarks. Dr. Manjusha emphasized the value of lifelong learning for educators and the increasing significance of ICT use in the classroom. Next, Dr. Prema Nedungadi, Associate Dean, School of Computing, and Director, Amrita CREATE, touched upon the results of the National Education Survey and the urgent need to raise the quality of teaching in India. With this goal in mind, the curricular framework and training programme was developed to provide self-paced high-quality teacher training modules that can be accessed online.

Dr. Jyothi S. N., Associate Dean, School of Engineering, Amritapuri, delivered the presidential address. Dr. Jyothi explained that the key objective of the programme was to instil confidence to utilize and explore the newly acquired digital skills. Following the inaugural event, seven sessions with expert speakers based on the curriculum framework were held. The teachers enthusiastically participated in the discussions and activities throughout the day-long programme. Teachers completed surveys and feedback forms, and then certificates were distributed to mark the end of the orientation programme

There were two expert talks, two demonstration sessions, and three hands-on sessions among the seven sessions that were organized. The sessions included:

Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (Tpack): Dr. Yogesh concentrated on the nuances of NEP 2020 and how these guidelines should be translated into curriculum design and the creation of learning experiences that leverage technology.

The Teacher in the Loop: Sashi emphasized the importance of adopting evidence-based teaching practices in which content creation and pedagogy are complementary in nature. 

Digital Learning Initiatives by the Government of India: Dr. Rejul discussed several government initiatives that are relevant to teachers. He showed the participants how to navigate various platforms with ready-to-use instructional resources.

User Interface for Teachers: During the demonstration, Dr. Rajlakshmi showed examples of how teachers can retain students’ attention by considering User Interface design.

Cyber Security Awareness: Arun’s hands-on session covered key aspects of cyber security and the importance of protecting information in cyberspace.

Inclusion and Digital Screening for autism: Teachers were introduced to autism characteristics and trained teachers to use a digital autism screening app during Selina Shah’s session.

Digital Assessment and Evaluation Tools and Techniques: Ms. Reshma demonstrated the various components of the OLabs platform. Dr. Swaminathan introduced participants to the latest Computer Science labs developed at Amrita as part of the OLabs project.

The training programme was attended by 114 teachers out of the 121 online registrations received. Most of the participants were from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.