Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Digital Smart Classrooms: Transforming the Age Old Education

Education

Education is not just about being literate enough to read and write, it is about developing your perceptive and observational skills and constructively using them to deduce and infer, education is about becoming aware and making a positive contribution to our society and the world in which we live, education is about passing on the morals, values, literature, heritage, traditions and the vast scientific knowledge we gather in our time to the next generation. Education has never been a one dimensional process. It has always been an engaging triumvirate of teaching, learning and feedback assessment activities. And this is how mankind has developed.

Technology today has become so interspersed with the fabric of our daily life that we cannot in our wildest dreams imagine a life without it. Scientific wonders are a useful part of our everyday life, and so it was only natural that this science and technology enter the portals of the education realm too. Today, all modern schools have incorporated the use of Information and Communication Technology products as a complementary aid to effectively teaching the curriculum content and enhancing classroom practices all over the globe.

The use of such technology media is what transforms an ordinary teaching learning room into a smart digital classroom. With its impressive audio video aids, response systems, feedback analysis programs, big projection screens, interactive whiteboards, multimedia pens, animated content and so on, teaching has become a highly efficacious process engaging the attention and participation of all.

Have you ever wondered or noticed how little children seem to be able to learn the lyrics of a song and remember the story of a movie but not what’s in a 3-4 page lesson?

Here’s the reason why:

It is a fact that the more the number of senses involved in observing a phenomenon or event, the better is the retention of the same in our memory. When a child simply hears the lesson in the monotonous voice of the teacher, he will never be able to visualise and learn as effectively as when he does when shown visual clips with interesting voiceovers. Live experiments are always better than reading about them. The list of examples is very long. The point is that ICT resources have revolutionized the face of education like before!

The elements of ‘Plan and Control’

Not just this, one cannot rule out the twin important aspects of smart classrooms. Not only is the feedback via response systems instant, it simultaneously saves a lot of time which would have been spent by the teacher checking answer sheets manually! Grading papers, compiling report cards and drawing comparisons on the student’s performance can now be done in almost no time at all! The results are processed instantaneously. With the evaluation process a piece of cake, look at the other benefits. Your lectures become very planned and organized. You have control and can easily create a captivating ambience backed by AV support. The benefits are just so many!

Here’s a list of some important items you need in order to set up a smart classroom:
  1. A desktop or laptop acting as the central system
  2. Document Camera/Visualisers
  3. Projector
  4. Camera
  5. CD/DVD player
  6. Graphic Tablets
  7. Remote controls
  8. Big Interactive LED/LCD Panels
  9. Interactive Whiteboard
  10. Multimedia Pens/Stylus
  11. Wireless Microphone for convenience
  12. Speakers
  13. Student Response System
  14. Feedback assessment software
  15. Educational Software
  16. Video Conferencing systems
  17. Printer
  18. Scanner
  19. Copier
  20. Hi Speed Internet Connection