Over 2.10 lakh teachers from government schools across Tamil Nadu will be trained in Basic Computer skills over the next one month.
Through this, teachers will be familiarised with handling computers and mobile devices, various platforms available for them to take virtual classes, seeking appropriate educational resources online, use of Hi-Tech labs on campus and hands-on practice on the EMIS portal.
Kickstarting this massive training exercise organised by the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and the Samgra Shiksha, a five day program for around 420 master trainers began on Monday.
Minister for School Education Mr. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said that 2.10 lakh teachers will be trained over the span of a month in August. “This is an extremely important module as owing to the pandemic, teachers have had to take classes online. The training will help them with that as well as how schools and teachers can effectively use and build up the EMIS portal as a database,” he said.
The master trainers who will be subsequently training the teachers are from a joint resource pool which includes teachers who have been selected on the basis of their experience and handling of ICT.
The five-day training program for teachers will have four components. Teachers will be trained in computer basics on Day 1, followed by how they can effectively use the infrastructure in the hi-tech labs in their schools on Day 2.
A session on internet basics will be held on Day 3 and a session on how to use the EMIS portal will follow the next day. The fifth day will be dedicated to a revision of all the components.
“Apart from the training sessions, time has been set aside every day for assessments to see at what level teachers have absorbed the module. Every teacher will be given a Unique ID that they can use to log in and complete these assessments. It will help the department plan for any subsequent training programs that will follow,” said Mr. R. Sudhan, State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha.
Stating that 6,029 high and higher secondary government schools had Hi-Tech labs on campus, Mr. Sudhan said that the teachers will be trained to handle the infrastructure to handle classes both in-school and remotely. “The focus on computer and internet basics is so that they can be comfortable with platforms to take online classes as well as access extra content online if needed,” he noted.
Teachers will also be trained and given hands-on experience on the EMIS portal so that they can understand the various components pertaining to school, student and teacher data.
