Intel Teacher Training at Al-Azhar Maha Vidyalaya, Hemmathagama, Mawanella, Sri Lanka.

ICT has added more colors to a child’s rainbow making education varied and beautiful.  But to get the child to be able to access these colors we need to enable our teachers with the power to use this technology as a part of their teaching and guide the students to the opportunities open to them.

As a Master Trainer of Intel from Sri Lanka, I have had the opportunity to see this change come about by being a part of the change.

ICT use has today become all pervasive in our daily lives.  ICT use has also developed in the educational sector and education has become more interactive and far more interesting than before.  Training all teachers on ICT has become even more important to provide equitable opportunities to all.  The effect of this training being evident in the way education is being imparted to students and the paradigm shift that has come about in the confidence level of the teachers as they feel more empowered and professionally far better equipped.

The Navodya School in the rural area of Hemmathagama, in Mawanella education zone, is one such school.  The ‘Intel teacher training’ in the school has opened up new avenues for students and teachers.  Although I have had the experience in training hundreds of teachers, the experience that I gained when I trained 39 teachers on Intel teacher training was quite different.

Throughout the program the content made the teachers stay enthusiastic and very active in group work and discussions.  Since the course was a full time one for the required duration, the teachers were able to incorporate what they learned in the course into their teaching methodologies and even got practice on how to bring about a change.  Back in school they eagerly employed these changes in their teaching in class and are now trained to incorporate technology to all aspects and subjects of their curriculum.

The Teach program has motivated the teachers to pursue further avenues also and today most of our teachers from the school have completed the CAL, ICDL, ICT, GIT, IPICT and e-learning courses. The training has given our teachers a different experience and the strength to teach the lesson using Information and communication technology.

The teaching - learning process has also been greatly enhanced for the teachers and the students. The students who are the benefactors of the change find new resources open to them and have learnt how to use them for themselves and for the good of the community.  Gifted students find new challenges open to them while those who need a little more space and time are able to understand and pace themselves out better.

The Computer Learning Center (CLC) is today buzzing with activities, like a new life in the system and we owe it to the Intel Teach program.

I believe and pray that this empowerment reaches all teachers in Sri Lanka to make teaching and education more progressive and qualitative.

We need to replicate in the classroom the world in which students are living.
If we teach today the way we were taught yesterday we aren't preparing students for today or tomorrow.