Amid reassurances from the government of Tamil Nadu that the Board Exams for Class 10 students will be definitely held after the lockdown is lifted, a government school in Tirupur is doing whatever it can to ensure students remain in touch with their books till their exams.
The initiative in the Municipal Higher Secondary School in Kumar Nagar, Tirupur is spearheaded by N Kalpana, an English teacher in the school. Speaking to TNM from her home in Tirupur, 32-year-old Kalpana says that the motivation to rope in technology to keep the students engaged in their studies came after a message from the Headmistress (HM) of the school.
“When we came to know that the Class 10 Public Exams were delayed, our HM posted on the school group to come up with ideas to keep the students in touch with the syllabus. She was telling us to figure out innovative ways to reach out to students who will be locked inside their houses and support them,” says Kalpana, who recommended connecting with students via video calls through the Zoom app. She adds that though there are privacy issues, no sensitive information is going to be communicated through the app and hence she felt it was better than Google or Microsoft tools.
A 2016 National Award winner for using technology in education, Kalpana says that of the 40 students in her class, 15 join her regularly for the classes between 11 am and 12 noon and between 5 pm and 6 pm.
“All the teachers already have WhatsApp groups with the students to circulate question papers and other study materials during the lockdown. Students who cannot access this have been told to contact us directly through phone calls,” Kalpana explains, adding that a few students even give her missed calls and she calls them back to clarify their doubts on the portions to study.
Kalpana was attracted to implementing technology early on in her career. Starting her career as a government school teacher in 2014 in the same school, she says that her interest in knowing about new technology helped her think about using it to engage students in the classroom.
“I had converted English textbooks into the e-book format in 2014 and had also made videos of every chapter in English syllabus with subtitles and voice-overs. With help and support from the Knit City Rotary club, I got a smart board installed in one of the classes back then and used to play one video every week. It encouraged students to complete the assignments on time to be present for the video class,” she says.
Her drive to set up English classes via videos and smart board helped her earn the ‘National Award for School Teachers for use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education’ in 2016, which motivated her further to explore ways to make learning engaging.
Recollecting that she was excited when the government sent new computers to set up a hi-tech lab in her school, Kalpana says, “I talk a lot about new technologies with my friends and think about what all can be used to make learning more interesting for the students.”
As she awaits normalcy in the situation, Kalpana says that moving forward, she will try to pique the interests of the students in robotics and artificial intelligence. She also says that she has ordered a basic robotics kit for this purpose online sponsored by Dr Saran of Daisy Hospitals, which will be delivered to her around June.
Attributing her interest in English to her school teacher, Kalpana says, “One thing I try to tell the students always is to have genuine interest in whatever they want to do. Marks do not mean much in the larger scheme. But having interest in subjects will help them go a long way in their career and build their confidence also.”