Educational transformation in the digital age

By Rudraksha Mishra

Technology is something that has affected us a lot in our lives. Especially in the education sector that too in various forms. Today, in schools, we have smart boards which have made things simpler and easier to understand.

Smart boards are interactive whiteboards which is extremely useful in a classroom as they can enable students to remain engaged and provide interactive opportunities that a traditional whiteboard, blackboard, or flip chart can’t. This also develop students’ computer as well as their english skills. Anything written on the board can then be saved for future reference, or printed out. As it is said anything is possible If you don’t want to draw with the pens, you can use a keyboard and type onto a program such as Word, and have it appear on the screen for everyone to see. 

If you have internet access, you can access internet sites and put them onto a whiteboard. This is great in an EFL classroom if you have online quizzes or games, you want the students to use. With the right software, you can also create resources (or download them) such as gap-fill exercises or multiple-choice quizzes, where students can come to the board and drag and drop their chosen answers into the gaps. 

A smart board can make your lessons more varied and can give students a more active role in the lesson. If used correctly, they shall provide a greater range of resources to students, and develop their computer and internet skills. 

Besides just the board itself, there are many add-ons available. A wireless keyboard and mouse can be used with it, but a write-on tablet can be purchased that allows you to interact with the tablet and have everything appear on the projected screen in front of you. 

Digital Podium is a new high-level teaching training and conference presentation method in the international arena. It is a high-tech product researched and developed by gathering high-tech means such as advanced electronic technology, software technology, and internet technology. 

Digital podium mainly has functions like the projector, computer, and touch screen. The computer’s display is a touch screen, which you can further use via an electronic pen instead of the mouse to operate the computer on the screen. You can easily use the electronic pen to achieve seamless writing and drawing on the screen. All images and sounds can be simultaneously recorded and recorded and can be edited and managed in the background, and can be printed, sent via the Internet, and burned. It is possible to realise the interaction between both parties. 

As you know everything comes with its own disadvantages, let’s start with the smart board. If looked at the screen for a long time, it affects our eyesight adversely. Moreover, this can also be addictive and affect our day-to-day life. Interactive boards may turn out to be high maintenance. They require continuous power and internet, good network connectivity at the teacher’s and the student’s end, and this makes them impractical in many non-Metro locations  

Repair costs are super high and service centres are still tough to find software difficulties can frustrate teachers as incompatible formats and malfunctioning apps can clog up teaching.

Not all teachers are tech-savvy, neither are all students. An interactive board may end up slowing down lesson delivery and lowering learning quality instead of raising standards.

The biggest disadvantage of Podium is that the app only works with Facebook pages and Google Maps. 

Some customers like to leave reviews on Yelp or other social media platforms. The app’s reach would be greater if it could connect with all of these sites. Podium wants you to pay for simple tasks like editing your business name or address. Still, there are free alternatives to do this. This app has many good features, but some reviews have said that it can get glitchy and not work properly at times.