Empowering School Teachers for Emerging Technologies: An Action Plan

Vol. 6 No. 1

Year: 2010

Issue: Jun-Aug

Title: Empowering School Teachers for Emerging Technologies: An Action Plan 

Author Name: Pradeep Kumar Misra 

Synopsis: 

Possessing openness to emerging technologies is critical for teachers in the technology-rich 21st Century as technology continues to accelerate at a rapid rate. Readiness for new technologies is a challenge associated with change. Teachers who resist change may impede and/or limit their students’ learning and skills. Teachers, therefore, must prepare students by teaching knowledge and skills necessary for students to be successful in the technology-rich 21st Century” (Niles, 2007, p.27). In this context, school teachers need to understand how emerging technologies work, what they offer, and to use them for betterment of teaching learning process. Here a pertinent question arises that what approach should be adopted to empower school teachers for emerging technologies. To critically and systematically deal with these issues, author talks about emerging technologies in education, their impact on teaching-learning process and need for Tech-savvy teachers. This discussion is followed by a detailed action plan to empower school teachers for emerging technologies. The proposed action plan is based on the approach that three parties namely NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education), Teacher Education Departments/Institutions and school teachers themselves are key to fulfill this promise.