As Social Science teacher J. Rajani Radhiga begins her class on methods of food collection, students ready themselves to capture every bit of information that comes their way.
The students have their eyes fixed firmly on the visuals in front of them at the computer-aided teaching room at the Corporation school in Rathinapuri. Using pictures, videos and audio clippings, the teacher takes them through a series of neatly presented slideshows to help them understand the subject.
This is for the first time that Ms. Radhiga is using such a technique to teach students. This was after she and other Corporation school teachers underwent a training programme in computer-aided teaching, which the Coimbatore Corporation conducted in association with the American India Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation.
The teacher says that the use of the audio-visual aids has changed the way the teaching-learning process happens in the classroom. “Now it is like a journey we all [the students and I] take together. Earlier, it used to be as though I was leading the students.”
In preparing the slideshows, the teachers also get to learn a lot as they go beyond the content available in the textbook to cull out information, pictures and even videos from the Internet. This additional information helps them present information to the students in a better manner, says G. Ananthi, Assistant Head Mistress, Corporation School, Ranganathapuram.
In the classroom, the use of audio-visual elements draws students, who, otherwise tend to lose their attention. Ms. Radhiga says that she got to realise this when an average performer, who usually does not answer questions, picked up points from the presentation and performed well in the impromptu question and answer session at the end of the class.
The students too find it easy in comprehending the subjects. “Use of visual aids is a plus because it will help us recollect points better during the examinations,” says E. Gandhimathi, a Class VIII student of the Rathinapuri school. “In this process, two of our faculties – ears and eyes – are engaged. This is unlike the earlier method, where we had to strain only our ears,” complements G. Gomathi, her classmate.
The students of the Ranganathapuram school say they also get to understand the subjects when they are asked to prepare slideshows and gather more examples from the Internet. Ten Class IX students recently prepared a slideshow on measurements, which was adjudged the best.
V. Alexander of American India Foundation says that under the ‘Digital Equaliser Programme’, the organisation has been able to train 322 teachers from 27 Corporation schools. It has also trained around 5,000 students. The Corporation sources say that in the months to come, there will be more good news from the schools and the students will be as tech-savvy as any other.
