Tech-Savvy Teachers are Future Ready, Thanks to the Dreadful Pandemic

2020 was one of the life changing years in the history of mankind. Even though covid brought almost everything to halt, learners continued to learn thanks to online learning. However, this did not only save more than 1.2 billion students from falling behind but two years fast forward to 2022, it has enabled teachers to become tech-savvy in ways that were beyond imagination prior to this dreadful pandemic. 

It is because of Covid that everyone realised how poor our technology integration was before this Pandemic. So, how did everything change?

Technology is a Necessity; However, Teachers are More Crucial than Ever

According to reports by Brookings education, among the schools that started remote instructions, only a little more than half attended all the classes online. Whereas, the schools with better technological infrastructure and tech-savvy teachers were more engaging than their poorer or government-operated counterparts. 

To enable this transition from face-to-face to remote education, training teachers was imperative. However, majority of teachers adapted to online classes. Thus, making it their go-to solution to educate children. 

But, is online learning going to perish with students going back to school now? 

With the commencement of offline classes, educators wonder if they will be required to teach online or will teaching online even be an essential skill. Truth be told, being tech-savvy is an important skill to have as a teacher now. The future holds complex trends of automation, artificial intelligence and others that are expected to change the way we function. With a progressive scenario like that tech-savvy teachers will be in-demanding to teach students through video calls, videos, AR/VR etc. 

Skills Teachers Learnt During the Pandemic & Upskilled

Majority of teachers were not accustomed to technology or remote learning. But, have come a long way with attractive online teaching strategies for their beloved students. While hybrid, as well as in-person modes of learning have begun, teachers still continue to use some of the tech-friendly features they learnt back in covid. 

Some of the best lessons teachers upskilled with are: 

• Learnt to use online white board. 
• Teachers have learnt to use plagiarism tools to catch the copy-paste culprit. 
• Have developed better visualisation. 
• Teachers have also become a pro at maintaining virtual attendance.
• Muting and unmuting students to maintain the decorum of class online.
• Smart testing and interactive learning grabs students’ to stay attentive. For instance, by conducting online polls, quizzes and MCQs on interactive portals like Menti, Quizlet and Kahoot.
• Taking class even when the teacher cannot come to school giving both teachers and management a sense of flexibility.
• Using platforms like Blackboard to provide students with class material and notes to promote paperless habits.

Empowered Teachers of the Future

Tech-savvy teachers have also become entrepreneurs by producing their own courses on various platforms. Doing this their knowledge is not limited to the four walls of one school or institution. Now, any teacher can teach anyone anytime giving them a sense of freedom and independence.

As a typical example of “Crisis bringing out innovation”, the Pandemic made the teachers realize the importance of being tech-savvy for the future. The number of students that were impacted established an urgency among the governments across the world too. Therefore, everyone including teachers upskilled to now be empowered.