Smart boards to be installed in Tamil Nadu govt schools

To make up for the loss of learning for students from schools during the pandemic, the installation of smart boards in classrooms of government schools will begin shortly. Accordingly, training will be imparted to the teachers on handling the smart boards.

The School Education Department has already planned on installing 80,000 smart boards in over 7,000 government and aided schools across TN in the first phase. The government’s move has come against the backdrop of teachers finding it hard to write on blackboards.

A senior official of Samagra Shiksha, State Project Directorate, Chennai, in a circular to all the Chief Educational Officers (CEOs), said that in the wake of the pandemic, students have faced immense learning loss. “To fill in the gaps, it is necessary to utilise information technology to help raise test scores, improve student learning, enhance literacy, boost attentiveness, and increase comprehension,” he added.

Stating that teachers have witnessed improvement in classroom teaching with smart boards thus engaging students. Smart technology in the classroom can boost interaction among students, enhance classroom transactions by integrating various technologies to understand and learn better, the official said, adding, the training programme for the first batch of teachers started on Thursday. Claiming that the programme aims to upskill teachers with access to smart boards across the State and equips them with basic knowledge of using interactive smart boards, he said training will be conducted through hi-tech labs located in high and higher secondary schools.

He said the schools need to have computers, projectors and internet facilities and institutions without the aforesaid facilities should collaborate with nearby school hi-tech labs.

“All teachers taking up the assessment during training will be considered attendees of the programme,” he said, adding hands-on practice will also be provided to them.