Why teacher training becomes an essential part of online education?

गुरु ब्रह्मा है, गुरु विष्णु है, गुरु हि शंकर है; गुरु हि साक्षात् परब्रह्म है; उन सद्गुरु को प्रणाम ।

Where contemporary news articles fail to do justice to the stature of a teacher in society, ancient manuscripts have done a good job in explicitly depicting the same. No wonder Indian scholars and their preaching transcends geographical boundaries and generations.

That said, the role of a teacher hasn’t changed since the Vedic Age, their job and responsibilities have just amplified. Since time immemorial, teachers have played an important role in building the nation’s future generation. With time, teachers replaced ‘gurus’ and ‘shishyas’ became ‘supersonic’ kids.

To deal with the evolving needs often, the basic criteria to be a teacher kept getting stricter. Earlier where a guru was somebody who knew all the Vedas by heart, now need to be duly qualified, trained, and technologically sound to be called that.

And that’s why Teacher training came into play where rigorous training makes them perfect to meet the needs of a modern-day classroom.

Why teacher training needs an overhaul again?

The world was going at its beautiful pace and people were taking care of their responsibilities quite well until the pandemic broke and changed the course for a lot of entities globally making education the worst-hit sector. Traditional learning shifted online where students are still getting their heads around this sudden boom of technology in their lives.

How different online teaching is from traditional classes?

Online education includes synchronous and synchronous ways of teaching for which teachers need to be in touch with the ways that facilitate them. Even if teachers are well-versed with technology, software changes so rapidly that it becomes difficult to keep up with these developments. Hence, it is imperative to focus on understanding effective pedagogical strategies for online teaching rather than the technology itself. E-learning has become an invaluable resource to educators and classroom teachers, harnessing a new model of knowledge sharing wherein students possess the tools to learn at their own pace. But to understand how these tools function and optimise their usage can be only be achieved with proper training.

A good teacher loves to teach but the best ones are those who enjoy the opportunity to learn constantly. Teaching with e-learning resources needs skills and teachers must hone their approach to up their game.

How is Teacher Training combating the challenges of eLearning?

Teacher training for online platforms is important because the methodology of teaching online is different from the traditional ways of imparting knowledge.

The training makes sure the shift from the traditional classroom to eLearning remains seamless. Online teaching includes creating new teaching strategies that will bring back the interest of their students in the classrooms. Since online learning is also a new paradigm for children, they need to be in trusted hands where their transition can be taken care of impeccably.

Trained teachers are equipped to execute various nuanced tasks related to online learning such as tracking student progress with reporting tools and analytics, devising timetable for every class, understanding student’s performance via tools, customise their learning curve, etc.  To put all of this in an orderly fashion, trained teachers with the specific knowledge of operating these online integrated platforms are required.

Online teaching isn’t just about empowering students to progress beyond the course expectations, it is also about inspiring them to discover and learn ahead of the curriculum in a way that makes learning functional, pertinent to today’s mounting inclusion of technology.

The tools that are used in an online integrated management system need to be paired with excellent teaching to render high-quality eLearning and blended learning opportunities. Even the best teachers will begin to lag if they don’t keep striving for excellence. Because of this, technology and educational specialists need to be mindful of remembering to invest in their teaching staff as well as up-to-the-minute digital teaching tools

Once a teacher becomes an expert in teaching online, they will be capable enough to navigate teaching tools for increased efficiency. They will also organise the course better and will be able to automate certain activities such as tests, quizzes, scoring, etc.

How LEAD School’s teacher training programme making a difference to the online education space?

LEAD School has been one of the frontrunners in providing partner-schools with an excellent and comprehensive learning experience. With LEAD School’s Integrated System, schools can deliver uninterrupted quality learning, both online and in school, while using world-class teaching pedagogies to achieve a great outcome for every child. Also, LEAD School’s tech solutions enable continuity in teaching – online, offline, or hybrid – while ensuring the best teaching standards and guaranteed results.

Digital Learning Content, Physical Reader & Workbooks, Learning activities, E-books, Regular assessments & Practices quizzes, Personalised revisions, Home practice, live classes from a LEAD School expert teacher, and National competitions are some unique features of the LEAD School. LEAD School aims to build the largest community of teachers in India under the umbrella of Lead Teacher Academy, to create successful teachers via the ‘3C’ approach:

• Connect by building a community and provide a safe learning environment
• Coach on latest Pedagogy, Digital and Communication skills
• Create career opportunities for the community across partner schools & in LEAD

Times have changed and teachers have to gear up more than ever to stay relevant. As the demand for technology soar in the education space, an enhanced version of teachers are now accepted by schools nationally and teacher training programs facilitate that.