If there is one thing that the Covid-19 Pandemic has taught all school teachers, it is to prepare for the unexpected. But, if perhaps, one were to analyse its impact on teaching, one would realise that the focus has shifted almost entirely from subject competence to IT competence. The shift from physical teaching to online teaching has forced teachers to adapt to new learning platforms, LMS modules, ERP platforms and various other third-party solutions.
While most operating systems provide good enough platforms for online learning, some of the more discerning schools like to explore various other tailormade applications software that requires constant upskilling in teachers. The demand on teachers to constantly upskill themselves to use newer application software to run their online classes has added to their stress levels.
An unfortunate impact of the pressure to learn to use newer application software has resulted in teachers now focussing more on IT skills than on their subject matter. The same is true for students who are forced to keep adapting to newer software applications has added to their anxiety levels. It is surprising that some of the software applications meant to help run online classes are not compatible with smartphones. In a world that is steadily moving away from desktop and laptop computers in favour of smartphones, this comes as a big surprise indeed.
A large number of the third-party software solutions being offered for the conduct of online classes are, unfortunately, beta versions, still in their trial phase. When new software applications are launched in schools they often end up causing more chaos and confusion than one might expect. Often, addressing the problems thrown up by such software applications takes a lot of time, forcing teachers to spend more time on polishing their IT skill thus taking away from the time that could have been spent on developing lesson plans and other materials.
In a twist of fate, teachers today are spending more time as data entry operators than as actual teachers. The roles of IT experts and Subject experts have merged so much that one wonders if subject teachers have not become less attentive to the subject areas they had been appointed for.
The unfortunate fact is that most teachers are left grappling with new software solutions each month which leaves them perplexed and confused. One wonders if the expectations from teachers is more about their IT skills or their expertise in their subject areas. If teaching is only about IT skills, then I guess there is no reason to work on subject areas. The world is skewed in its perception of what makes a good teacher. It is high time we needed to reflect on the minimum basic skills to cater to the industry. While no doubt basic IT skills are a requirement of the teaching industry, it is equally important to understand that most teachers, while adept in their subject areas might not be skilled enough in handling the expectations required to constantly upskill themselves as IT experts.
It is a fallacy to expect all good teachers to be experts in IT solutions for the very fact that their expertise differs in terms of their subject areas. It is unfortunate for IT experts to impose their suggestions on all teachers believing that they will be able to use their innate skills in the use of third party software solutions. The least that school heads can do is to give teachers at least a year to switch over to a new E-Learning platform. Not all teachers are IT experts and not all IT experts are teachers.
What we need to ask ourselves is whether we want teachers who are experts in their subject areas or teachers who are mediocre in their subject areas but are skilled in using information technology. Teachers today are challenged by the demands of the day. Expertise in IT skills cannot, however, replace teachers who are purportedly experts in their subject areas.
We cannot and should not allow teachers and students to act as guinea pigs for each software solution that needs to be tested. Good teachers who are experts in their fields need to be given time to adjust to the learning platforms that have been offered to them. Too many changes in the use of new learning platforms or IT solutions will only add to a sense of confusion.
Administrators in all educational institutions should not impose too many demands on their teachers to keep adopting new IT platforms even before they have become used to the existing ones. Too many changes in the learning IT platforms can only add to the confusion in the system of education that exists today.
We need to draw a line between what we believe to be good teachers and what we believe to be IT experts. We cannot expect all teachers to have superior IT skills and yet be experts in their subject areas. IT experts keep introducing new IT platforms in a span of a few months and what they don;t realise is that it takes a lot of time and mental skills to keep adapting to new IT platforms.
