Union ministry of education has put forward two teachers from Jharkhand for national awards for their innovative teaching methods using technology. Shweta Sharma,44, an assistant teacher with Vivekanand Middle School in Deoghar district, and Nirupama Kumari, 40, a teacher at Ram Rudra Plus Two High School at Chas in Bokaro, are among 24 teachers who have been selected from across the country for the National ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Awards, 2019.
The selected 24 teachers will be awarded an ICT Kit, a laptop, and a commendation certificate. Since 2010, no teacher from Jharkhand had been nominated.
Shweta Sharma said, “It (the award) would certainly motivate us more in using ICT tools. I had set up a digiclass in elementary schools of Deoghar on my own and used ICT tools for blended teaching and created state-specific subject-based content. I also took training and orientation of teachers through the ‘Deoghar Quizathon’ and also at the state-level for online classes with the latest ICT apps and tools. I converted textbook lessons into comics to make the content more attractive. I am planning to create an English-speaking course app for government school students.” She had used special animations and live tools for her educational videos and also created video content for elementary and secondary students on a YouTube channel which has over 6,000 and 5,000 subscribers respectively.
Besides winning National Teachers Award 2020, Nirupama Kumari, Bokaro-based, assistant Hindi teacher, made videos using former students for teachers in the Digisath programme (digital content through WhatsApp). She said, “In order to have community participation in the Digisath program, I created video content using former students for teachers. I also developed content on a YouTube channel for digital education which had nearly 3,800 subscribers, 3.5 lakh viewers and 12,000 hours of watch time. I also made my own website (www.econtenthindi.org). I helped students learn about the usage of ICT in small groups”.
As per the guidelines of the Union education ministry, The Central Institute of Educational Technology set up a jury for selecting the names for national awards. The jury considered 205 entries (both for 2018 and 2019) received from 28 states/ Union Territories and five autonomous bodies. The jury recommended the names on the basis of evaluation of the presentations done through online mode between February 5 and February 11 this year. Later, the names of the teachers to be appreciated with national award were approved by the ministry.
Meanwhile, two other teachers were also selected from eastern India including Kangkan Kishor Dutta from a government school in Assam and Sukanya De, a teacher in an ICSE affiliated school in Bengal. CIET joint director Amarendra P. Behera said, “We disclose the state of the selected teachers from the state quota but we do not disclose the states of the teachers from the autonomous boards like CBSE and ICSE.”
However, a source in the CIET disclosed, “The only teacher selected from the ICSE quota for 2019 is from Bengal while none of the teachers from CBSE, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samity (NVS) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) are from eastern states.”
Three teachers from CBSE, two teachers from NVS and one teacher from KVS have been nominated for the award.
