Seriously…!!!???? Is that even a Comparison!!!!!

When I think back I remember most of my teachers who played a very vital role in my life. Each and every teacher had a unique personality and approach, who were passionate about their subject, who made us think, who challenged us, supported us, encouraged us and influenced us. None of these characters can be replaced by technology.

The human connection is necessary for something as key as the act of learning. It would be like asking if a calculator can replace a math teacher!!! A calculator will help you calculate faster but the methods and formulas need to be taught by a skilled teacher. Instead of asking whether technology has reached a point where it can replace human teachers, we must ask what aspects of teacher’s job it can take over to make our lives easier.

Teachers world over are overloaded with multiple roles they handle, they take on a caring role, they advocate for students who might be otherwise forgotten, and they are the ones to shape the nation’s future citizens. Computer cannot encourage, motivate or inspire our kids the way a good teacher can. At the same time good technological tools can definitely enhance the teaching learning process.

Now with all of us grappling with the pandemic situation, technology has been very deeply interwoven into our daily lives be it payment of bills, shopping, gifting or for that matter teaching !!! Hence it becomes very important that teachers of today are digitally literate More so because the younger generation is far better technologically literate than us.

A teacher in a classroom can look into the child’s eyes and understand exactly what the child is thinking, can read the body language and figure out if the concept has been understood by the kid and can clear the child’s doubts and queries, a trait which the computer lacks completely !!!!

Instead of merely remembering teachers on specific days like Guru Purnima or Teacher’s Day, (Of course the cards are appreciable !!!!) we should perhaps be focusing on building technology that aids them in their efforts which will help them to stay better organized and enhance their teaching methodologies by making the content more lively and interesting.

As Rightly said by George Couros, Technology will not replace teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational !!!!