Article written by Dr. Mohammad Fazlurrehman Khan

Principal Noorul Islam Urdu High School & Jr. College

Govandi-Mumbai

Kotak Education Foundation Partner Schools 

Why do people send their children to schools? 

What is the purpose of schooling? 

The primary purpose of schooling is to provide students with comprehensive education and develop the knowledge, skills, and values they need to become responsible as well as productive members of the society.

The present school going generation (born between 1997 and 2012 called Generation Z or post Millennial Generation) is growing up in an era of rapid technological change and highly connected digital world and as a result they have unique learning needs and expectations. They need to develop strong digital literacy skills for communication, collaboration, strong critical thinking and problem solving skills (21st Century Skills) to succeed in a world that is expansively globalized and interconnected. Digital education has become an increasingly important need of time. It refers to the use of digital technologies such as computers, tablets, smart phones, and internet to deliver educational content and can include a wide range of approaches such as online learning, virtual class rooms and educational applications. Schools that embrace digital teaching learning and adopt teaching practices to the digital age can help prepare their students for the opportunities and challenges of the future.

The role of a School Leader is critical in making digital learning possible in schools. School leaders are responsible for creating a vision for digital learning and providing the necessary resources and support to make it happen. They need to engage with all the stakeholders including teachers, students, parents and the community to ensure that digital learning initiatives are well supported and understood. School leaders need to monitor and evaluate the progress of digital learning initiatives to ensure that they are achieving their goals and objectives and digital learning is working effectively.

The role of teachers is crucial in making digital learning successful in school because they play a central role in designing, implementing and facilitating digital learning experience. Teachers should develop digital learning materials and activities that are aligned with the curriculum and learning objectives. Blended learning, flipped learning model and pedagogy (self-determined learning) are some of the best teaching practices to engage the students.

Government has also launched various digital learning platforms like Diksha, e-Pathshala, National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) and National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER) to provide access to quality digital content to students and teachers.