Two teachers, Sudhir Suresh Pai and Nilesh Raya Pai from Goa, have won the National Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Award for 2018 and 2019, respectively. The duo talks to NT BUZZ
RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT BUZZ
Two teachers from Goa have done the state proud by winning the National Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Award, given by the Central Institute of Educational Technology, NCERT, New Delhi.
While Sudhir Suresh Pai from Canacona was among 25 selected teachers to win the award for the year 2018, Dona Paula-based Nilesh Raya Pai was selected for the same award for 2019 and is among the 24 awardees.
“I feel proud to be the first National ICT awardee from Goa and I am representing 650 computer teachers,” says Sudhir, a computer teacher in S S Angle Higher Secondary School, Mashem, Canacona for the last 19 years, who is grateful to SCERT and his school for always supporting him for the cause. In fact, he says that it was his mentor Ajay Jadhav who told him about the ICT Award and so he applied for it through SCERT Goa.
And according to Sudhir, innovations introduced by the advancement in technology have completely redefined the teaching-learning process and ICT needs to be an integral part to make learning interesting and enriching. “Now it’s the right time when we are implementing NEP 2020. A teacher should upgrade in all the ways possible, especially with technology which is the need of the hour,” he adds.
He further says that online resources need to be tapped effectively even when the in-person education system resumes. “The internet is an ocean of resources that should be systematically used for the benefit of the students,” he says, adding that he is upgrading himself and other teaching communities in his taluka and also in the rest of the state about the use of ICT tools in the teaching learning process.
Talking about how he has used ICT in his teaching, Sudhir says that he has introduced smartphones as a very useful tool in ICT. “Students also like game-based learning techniques and participate in these with full enthusiasm. So, I introduced game-based learning tools,” he says.
Further, he suggests workshops for teachers as well as students to keep themselves updated on the new developments in education. “I will always work for the cause by giving my 100 per cent,” he says, adding that he has also started conducting workshops for the teachers who are teaching in Children with Special Needs (CWSN) and special schools by showing very simple ICT tools to engage the students.
Meanwhile, an ICT teacher at Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Panaji for the last 11 years, Nilesh is also the NSS Programme Officer in the institution.
And according to him, education is one sector that demands accountability but doesn’t promise reward or limelight. “Your reward is seeing your students do well in life,” he says, adding that he has been using his subject excessively for preparing classes, helping teachers to prepare educational content, design quizzes, competitive exams, etc.
Overwhelmed at the amount of love and appreciation received from his colleagues, family and friends upon receiving the ICT Award, he states that it has in a way given him recognition and a platform to voice out his opinions on different educational matters.
“This award is indeed a validation for all the work I have been painstakingly doing during the last decade and I am greatly humbled and honoured to be a recipient of the state award,” says Nilesh who was recently also honoured by the Salesian Society of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School with the Bosco Innovators Award 2018-2021.
His journey as an ICT teacher, he says, has been very interesting and it’s a constant challenge to keep himself updated with the innovations and technological advancements in his field. “This field is very, very challenging and exciting if one is passionate enough to learn and explore the endless possibilities in this arena,” he says.
And he definitely believes online education is here to stay even post-pandemic. “Access to both online as well as offline education will help students in achieving much more than the four walls of a classroom. Rote learning and rigidity have no scope in education anymore especially in the digital world,” he says.
As an ICT teacher, he has also tried to help the underprivileged. He has imparted practical hands-on computer knowledge to the needy and less deprived students of Don Bosco Night High School and Night Higher Secondary, Panaji from the year 2002 to 2012. “My goal as an ICT teacher is to integrate technology in education making digitally native learners and bringing about digital transformation in students to succeed in careers of globalised world,” he says.
Nilesh has also trained all his teaching staff with the existing online virtual platform technology and demonstrated how to use it for the benefit of the student community at large. “On a daily basis I share the resources on all WhatsApp groups which were created during the Goa teachers training so that all are benefitted and utilise these in their teaching process and make teaching more effective,” he says, adding that he is also conducting webinars and training for ICT teachers to upgrade their knowledge. “I feel students grasp the subject matter better if the classes are conducted in audio visual manner. Every teacher should also have his/her own YouTube channel or website so that students can refer to this for further study or reference,” he says. In this way, he adds, in a crisis situation such as the present pandemic, students can refer and utilise their time effectively, instead of spending most of their time in tuition.
“I strive to promote the holistic education of the young, making them agents of transformation for a better tomorrow,” says Nilesh, adding that he intends to see Goa as a state where technology is used widely and is also made affordable for teaching and learning.