1. Infusing Dynamism in Teacher Education through ICT Integration
Technology Integration for Quality Improvement of Pre-Service and
In-Service Teacher Training Programs
IASE, Andhra University
- Madan Mohan
The Institution
The Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (IASE), Andhra University was establised in the year
1999. The institute provides B. Ed. and M. Ed. Programs. It also imparts in-service training to teachers
working in secondary schools for improving their skills in modern trends and techniques.
The Institute is doing remarkable work in the area of teacher education in all the districts of coastal
Andhra Pradesh. It has successfully produced quality teachers and teacher educators to cater to the
needs of teacher education. The faculty members are well qualified and competent to handle the
various components of teacher education. The entire administration is looked after by the Principal
under the direction of Vice-chancellor, Andhra University. The financial control is with the university
authorities.
The students come from the all districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and different socioeconomic
backgrounds. Most of them are from rural backgrounds where their parents’ main occupation is
agriculture. Very few students hail from urban areas.
The quality of a teacher who is at present working in schools is neither remarkable nor outstanding.
Efforts need to be put forward to enhance the teacher quality at schools for which our institute provides
in-service training to secondary school teachers.
Objectives of the Practice
The main purpose of trying out the practice is to ascertain quality teachers and teacher educators who
can meet the standards of the international order and organize quality teaching learning wherever they
work. To achieve this goal, the IASE, AU, aim to be the nodal point for all the colleges of education and
schools and to prepare it self to cater to the specific needs of these institutions. To achieve this objective,
IASE intends to introduce innovative trends and techniques in the field of teaching learning process,
specifically the use of ICT. For this, both the student teachers and teacher educators must be well
versed in ICT. So, IASE is striving hard to incorporate ICT in teaching and learning process.
Need Addressed and the Context
The IASE,AU, imparts training to B. Ed. and M. Ed. students. The B. Ed. program has a course for 100
marks on Educational Technology and Computer Education. The ‘Education Technology’ section
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2. Infusing Dynamism in Teacher Education through ICT Integration:
deals with an introduction to various electronic equipments like tape recorders, LCD projectors, OHP
and films strips for teaching, etc. Training and skill development of audio-visual aids in education has
thus become essential both for teacher educators and teacher trainees.
In ‘computer education’ course, students learn only basic components like M S Office. The Institute is
striving to introduce and integrate ICT in the teaching-learning process and impart higher order ICT
skills. The M. Ed. students are required to do their dissertation (200 marks) using only computers and
also presenting his/her work using ICT. This has helped not only in making the students ICT savvy, but
also in creating a technology culture and positive attitude towards ICT integration.
Implementation of the Practice
The B. Ed. students have to undergo micro-teaching and macro-teaching. In micro-teaching, the
various skills of teaching are taken one at a time and are practiced by following the teach and re-teach
cycle till perfection is achieved. The trainee teacher has to present the microteaching components by
using PowerPoint. After micro-teaching, they have to go for macro-teaching or block teaching. In
macro-teaching, they first observe the demonstration lesson given by the teacher educator. The
teacher educators are required to give demonstrations extensively by using ICT. When their
demonstrations are over, they have to teach 15 lessons in this block-teaching. In block teaching, the
trainee teachers have to teach at least three lessons using PowerPoint presentations and other ICTs.
The trainee students prepare the unit plan, year plan and lesson plan using computers. The B. Ed.
students also prepare their achievement record using computers. Thus, by the end of the program the
students acquire the required computer skills not only related to classroom teaching, but also in
management and administration aspects.
The B. Ed. students have 100 marks for technology and a computer education paper which is taught by
using ICT. In this paper the trainee teachers are trained in using various audio-visual instruments in
teaching learning process. The M. Ed. students, as mentioned earlier, have a 200 mark dissertation
which has to be done using computers. The M.Ed. students have to plan seminars every week-end. All
the student teachers use multimedia presentations for these seminars.
All the B. Ed. and M. Ed. students learn the use of ICT in teaching learning process. Apart from pre-
service training the IASE offers in-service training to secondary school teachers. In the in-service
programs, teachers learn various computer skills. They are trained to write their lesson plans using
computers and use Internet facilities to enhance their knowledge. They are also trained in using
computers in other activities of school management as well. This, it is expected, will result in transforming
the practice teaching in schools by developing ICT facilities.
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3. Infusing Dynamism in Teacher Education through ICT Integration
Resources Required
The IASE is funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and thus sufficient
funds are available for conducting B. Ed. program and in-service programs for secondary school
teachers. The M.Ed., program is a self finance course. Overall, the institution has, to a certain extent,
assured finances from the MHRD and the University.
Ten Assistant Professors, two Professors and a Principal assisted by a core team of six non-
teaching staff, organize the academic activities of the institution. In addition to the 12 teaching staff,
guest faculties in specialized areas are invited to visit the department. One faculty member is in-charge
of computer education in the department. He looks after every aspect of computer education like the
Intel Teach program, ICT introduction into teaching learning process and any other issues related to
technology integration and deployment.
Challenges Faced and the Solutions Devised
In the beginning, due to lack of a competent computer faculty we had a little difficulty in organizing the
computer education classes. By the induction of a competent faculty, students received better computer
education and started working with confidence .The institution has also provided for in-house training
of its faculty and as of now, sufficient faculty is available to teach computers for both pre-service and in-
service programs and also to conduct practicals. The faculty have gained experience and skills and
are in a position to conduct in-service training (computer skills), to school teachers and also to students
of the distant mode B. Ed. programs (Padmavathi Mahila University, IGNOU, etc.) Initially there had
been a little difficulty in adjusting timings , which was overcome by providing time slots to students after
regular class-work (during evenings). Also the financial situation has improved as ample funds, to
upgrade our computer lab and impart training to trainee teachers, and teachers, have been received
from the funding agencies and resource generation by the institution.
Impact/Outcome
The impact of introducing ICT is tremendous and is visible from the improvements in the process of
imparting education in the institution. The students and faculty feel very confident in facing the challenges
of a knowledge based society. The various facilities available in the computer education (Internet,
computer based learning, etc.) have made us all very enthusiastic , dynamic and abreast of the latest
developments. The student trainees use computers for writing their lesson plans, maintaining records,
student profiles etc. The faculty use the computer and Internet services to do research, publications,
present papers in various seminars and conferences and guest lectures. Overall, the faculty and students
enhance their knowledge and are well informed because of their access to the Internet and other
computer facilities. Now, we are in a position to utilize the skills obtained through Intel Teach. We are
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able to make our student trainees computer literates and cope with the changing needs of the school
system.
Requirements for Adoption and Adaptation
The Institute of Advanced Studies is a nodal institute for catering to the needs of all the B. Ed. colleges
affiliated to Andhra University. The various B. Ed. colleges can share the resources in areas of computer
education. Having a nodal agency with a good ICT facility and provision for industry-institute linkage
would certainly be a value addition. Imparting INTEL training and other similar professional training
would bring quality into the teaching system as a whole. The B. Ed. colleges need to establish computer
labs at least with minimum facilities, and later, like those in IASE in the long run. Institutions like the IASE
can become a nodal point for inspiring other B. Ed. colleges for introducing ICT in the teaching and
learning process.
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57 Infusing Dynamism in Teacher Education through ICT Integration