Teachers must embrace technology

For the last 10 years, the Ministry of Education has been on a mission to have our teachers become computer literate. The truth is that the students who are in today's classrooms are technologically inclined and exposed, therefore the challenge is placed on teachers to embrace technology and include more use of it in their classes.

The truth is that many of our mature teachers (and some young ones too) are very much intimidated by the new gadgets called i-pod, i-pad, i-phone, tablet, laptops etc. To be honest, the demand is on teachers to invest and utilise the technology available in order to bring an exciting learning experience in the classrooms.

The schools and teachers who decide to adapt to technological changes are the ones who have captivated the interests of the students. Their classes are memorable and automatically those teachers are called "best teachers" in the schools for students see their "facilitators" identifying with the new age trends. As for the teachers who still hold on to the old traditional teaching styles, they are viewed as boring and dead and as a result, many students become disinterested in school and learning and fall prey to boredom and hyperactivity.

Currently, many of our graduating teachers are not taught how to integrate trending technology in the classroom and even if they do, their schools are not equipped to utilise them. However, I have some suggestions for those teachers.

They should:

(a) Read up on the gadgets that the students use daily so that they can be informed when they speak with the students.

(b) Invest their money into purchasing gadgets for themselves and learn how to use them, and

(c) Ask or pay someone to teach them how to use and integrate its usage in the classroom. Teachers who are perceived by their students to be technologically savvy will earn their respect.

Let us face it, the learning environment of students extends outside of the classroom and the 21st century teacher must be prepared to become a "techi" and be up to date with the times. According to Farrant (1980), "In the teaching process, the teacher has an important role to play because he/she acts as catalyst, actively stimulating learning."

Our teachers should recognise the trends and interests of the students and become "catalysts" in the minds of the children. When that happens the learning environment becomes very productive and fun and in the end the students will be motivated to do assignments beyond what was given.