County Case Study: India

Synthesis Report on the Instructional Usage of Technologies in India

LaShawn Brown
EDTC 645
6/20/2017
Dr. Derby
Introduction

There have been several advances in technology in society with smart phones, smart TVs,

and even smart cars. Smart being defined as innovative and transformative changes driven by

new technologies (Leahy 2016). With the increase of the availability of technology to improve

and enhance life, there has been a shift in education to increase the use of technology. Students

are exposed more and more to technology in their day to day lives and infusing this technology

into the classroom can enhance learning and provide students with the opportunity to develop

skills that they will use in and out of the classroom. This push to use technology is not occurring

in just one school or one school system or even one county or continent but it is global

Even in underdeveloped countries there have been advances in the use of technology in

classrooms. The goal even in those countries is to prepare their students for the changing

technological world that they live in whether it is directly available to them or not. This is true

for the country of India. There have been several studies conducted on how technology can

enhance a teacher pedagogy and student acquisition of information as demonstrated by student

performance and attitude toward learning. The BridgeIT India project was conducted in two

states in India that were identified due to low social economic status of parents and low

performance of students in English and Science (Wennersten 2015). That project implemented

the use of mobile phone video content in classrooms in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The

students took a pre-test on the content before using the technology and then was assessed at the

end of the study. There was a significant increase in English and Science performance after the

implementation of the mobile technology (Wennersten 2015). This was not an isolated event.

Even when the number of schools involved increased, there was still an increase in the students

performance after implementing technology. Another study conducted on the effectiveness of

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technology in science classroom was conducted were the students performance on assessments

was measured but students were also surveyed to determine how they felt about the increase use

of technology and how it enhanced their learning (Raj 2015). The results of that study supported

the use of technology in science classrooms as being more effective than not using technology.

The entertainment industry portrays India as an underdeveloped country full of vibrant

colors, artistry, and people, living in subpar conditions, in education they are right on track with

their desire to be educated and to use technology where and when possible to improve student

achievement. The issues that India faces in addressing the needs of their students are like those

faced in the United States, teacher training, language acquisition, and infrastructure are obstacles

to the instructional usage of technology but they can be overcome.

Professional Development
Teaching training was addressed in both the BridgeIT India project and in the article on

effectiveness of electronic classroom for Teaching General Science at Secondary School Level

by Mool Raj Sharma and Arun K. Gupta. For any technology initiative to be successful, there

must be teachers adequately trained to implement the instructional strategies. Both articles

acknowledged that teachers do not have the resources or training to be effective in implement

curriculum. In the BridgeIT India program before the mobile technology could be implemented

in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, teacher ability had to be addressed

(Wennersten 2015). Teachers received training on how to use the mobile devices in the

classroom. During professional development, the teachers received a mobile device and were

trained on how to access the videos connected to the current curriculum and how to connect the

device to a television to be shared with students. Before taking the devices back to their

classrooms, experts demonstrated how to use the devices first and then teachers were given time

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to go through a lesson without students so that they could feel comfortable using the equipment

and receive feedback on their lesson delivery. These training is not a one-time event. Those

teachers are visited periodically by the experts and are invited back each year to participate in the

training along with new teachers. This was also the case in the Sharma study. The teachers

received display systems that consisted of a large screen television, a computer, projector, and

backup power supply. The teachers also received training from the company that designed the

equipment being used in the classrooms (Sharma 2015).

Part of the study to prepare for the BridgeIT India project indicated that the students and

teachers may have been unable to access the curriculum due to low English language skills.

Those with access to television programs with English subtitles tended to do better on

assessments due to exposure. Not every household or student had access to television or

technology at home so that use of technology in the classroom helped to expose them to the

English and content necessary to be successful. Teacher training was critical in the success of

their programs and students, as they were leading the work of implementing technology in the

classroom.

Curriculum Integration
Sharma doesnt mention curriculum development in the article but does indicate that the

lessons became more engaging using videos in the classroom that were followed up with an

activity that was not otherwise available or accessible because of the lack of training. The

technology was noted as allowing the teachers to use computers to enhance their delivery of

content. Based on the data presented the student were more interested and enthusiastic about the

content being presented and had an increase in comprehension (Sharma 2015).

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 When the BridgeIT India project began in 2011-2012 school year, there were 231 videos

available. After the pilot year, the government wanted to program expanded to more schools and

the teachers requested more videos. That expansion was met with 386 videos and 86 schools.

The videos in that project were intended as supplemental content to the current curriculum to be

used a few times a week to enhance student understanding that may not have been available if

the teachers did not receive further training. As curriculum is adjusted the teachers now have a

library of videos and resources to use with their students.

Infrastructure Issues
In implementing technology in Sharmas study and Wennerstens study, considerations

had to be made to the infrastructure and sustainability of the technology. In Sharmas study,

each classroom was equipped with a backup power supply in the event of a loss of power (2015).

In Wennerstens study, schools were selected based on whether they had a more reliable electric

supply. To address infrastructure issues amongst other issues in implementing technology, it may

be worth noting the need to select smart partnerships that can improve the schools infrastructure

(Leahy 2015). In Leahys article cited earlier for its explanation of smart, the importance of

partnerships amongst various stakeholders is critical to the implementation of technology. The

article discussed how smart partnerships can increase equity in education in two different

countries, one of them being India. The partnership would not just be with the teachers, students,

parents, community but with companies that could provide resources to help more the initiative

(Leahy 2016). It is the hope that with the partnerships more students will have access to

technology to prepare for the future. Those partners would be a part of training teachers,

designing curriculum and supporting the use of technology in the classrooms.

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Analysis and Conclusion
It is interested to note that the same issues and concerns in education are also prevalent in

India. India is not considered to be a developed country yet these studies reveal that India is

making strides to expose their students to technology to increase student engagement and

achievement in areas very like those in the United States. We have high stakes tests in English

Language Arts, Math, and Science. That data is used to determine schools progress and is

reported by the state department of education in a report that is made available to stakeholders on

their website and occasionally individual school website. It would be worth considering what

strides technology is having in mathematic achievement since language acquisition is seemingly

not necessary to learn and process mathematics, unless of course word problems are involved.

Since these studies have been conducted has there been growth in the number of states that are

implementing the mobile technology? Are they having similar success? Has the smart

partnerships idea expanded so that schools are receiving funding support to improve their

infrastructure and thus increase technology usage in the classrooms? In the US, we have such

similar issues with budget cuts and teacher allocations be based on student enrollment and not

necessarily the content areas been taught. Administrators decide which content areas receive the

allotted teachers and thus class sized vary based on that allotment. In these studies, there was no

mention of class size issues. When there is a lack of trained teachers and technology, class size

doesnt seem to matter much. The goal is still the same regardless, improve student performance

using technology.

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References

Leahy, M., Davis, N., Lewin, C., Charania, A., Nordin, H., Orlic, D., Butler D., & Lopez-
Fernadez, O. (2016) Smart Partnerships to Increase Equity in Education. Educational Technology
& Society, 19 (30, 84-98.

Sharma, M., & Gupta, A. K. (2016, March 08). Effectiveness of Electronic Classroom for
Teaching General Science at Secondary School Level. Retrieved June 17, 2017, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230815223_EFFECTIVENESS_OF_ELECTRONIC_
CLASSROOM_FOR_TEACHING_GENERAL_SCIENCE_AT_SECONDARY_SCHOOL_LE
VEL

Wennersten, M., Quraishy, Z. B., & Velamuri, M. (2015). Improving student learning via mobile
phone video content: Evidence from the BridgeIT India project. International Review of
Education,61(4), 503-528. doi:10.1007/s11159-015-9504-y.