Article on Subject Teacher Forum program in Times of India

[Ashok]

ಆತ್ಮೀಯಾ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರೇ,

ಟೈಮಸ್ ಆಪ್ ಇಂಡಿಯಾ ದಿನಪತ್ರಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಪ್ರಕಟವಾದ "ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆ" ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಲೇಖನವನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೊಡಿ.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Google-groups-help-22k-govt-school-teachers-to-learn-share-innovate/articleshow/52458406.cms


Times of India had an article today on the "Subject Teacher Forum" program, see http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Google-groups-help-22k-govt-school-teachers-to-learn-share-innovate/articleshow/52458406.cms


Google groups help 22k govt school teachers to learn, share, innovate
TNN | May 27, 2016, 03.58 AM IST

Bengaluru: A science teacher in a remote Koppal village uses a software to impart astronomy lessons, sometimes even under the night sky. A maths teacher in Nelamangala taluk has devised methods to make complicated concepts fun. Google groups are transforming the learning experience of both educators and students in Karnataka.

The Subject Teacher Forum (STF) comprises Google groups for mathematics, science, social science, English, Hindi and Kannada high school teachers. Of the 37,000 government school teachers in the state, 22,000 are part of it. When STF was initiated in 2011, its objective was threefold, said Gurumurthy Kasinathan, director, IT for Change (ITfC) a not-for-profit training teachers to tap information technology.

"Not only did we want to connect teachers via email and enable them to help one another but also train them to use various software applications to understand and teach their subjects better. These tools could then be used to create teaching materials," said Kasinathan, visiting faculty at Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

It began with workshops to train teachers in technology. A Google group was formed to connect the trainers and the teachers to continue the learning process and clarify doubts. The 22,000 teachers are now using free and open-source software such as Stellarium, Geogebra, Marble and Phet to comprehend topics and break them down to students.

What the initiative has also led to is the Karnataka Open Education Resources (KOER), said to be the only online repository of study materials prepared by and for teachers, available in Kannada and English. The STF-KOER programme was lauded as the best practice at a national conference for seconday school education quality in March. Taking a cue from Karnataka, Telangana and Assam have begun a similar programme, while Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are mulling its implementation. "Earlier, a good teacher was restricted to the school he or she was teaching in. With the help of STF, the teacher community can share its experiences, best practices and teaching tools," Kasinathan pointed out.

The use of software tools means teachers have moved ahead from explaining the 'what' of a concept to encouraging students to look at the 'why'. This has not only made classes more interesting but also taken the focus away from rote learning, he added.  The project is funded by the Centre and implemented through the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan, Karnataka (RMSA), department of state educational research and training, Karnataka (DSERT).


Regards
Guru
IT for Change