Chief minister of Bihar launched computer education and computer-based learning in 500 secondary schools of the state under the 'Information and Communication Technology' (ICT) for Education programme by the state education department.

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar spoke to the principal and students of a government school in Dhanarua block of Patna district through videoconferencing. The state government plans to cover 1,000 schools under the ICT@school programme in a year. 

 

He said the state government launched a pension scheme for contractual teachers with effect from January, 2013.

It would benefit over 2.5 lakh teachers. An agreement was signed between UTI and the education department in the CM's presence on the occasion.  

Computer, electronic device that can receive a set of instructions, or program, and then carry out this program by performing calculations on numerical data or by manipulating other forms of information. Computers are playing an increasingly important role in education, for both the teacher and the student. Their use enables each student to develop at his or her own pace and makes the whole learning process more flexible.

Since their arrival on the market in the late 1970s, desktop computer systems have revolutionized business. Computers can also aid the research and compiling aspects of school projects, and many teachers now incorporate the machines into the learning process. A primary advantage of computers is the amount of information they offer via networking to a wide range of databases.

Computers, during the last two decades or so, have been instrumental in bringing about changes in the way we communicate and gather information and/or knowledge to such an extent that it is hard to find any sphere which has not undergone changes after the advent of computers.

The system of teaching in elementary schools, and of course higher education, is one such area where the advent of computers, coupled with the growth of the World Wide Web, has brought about a complete metamorphosis in the way knowledge is being imparted even in elementary schools.

The conventional mode of teaching by way of imparting knowledge only through books and the written word is fast becoming outdated. The transformation is so forceful that not only do schools provide computer teaching but also put them up in classrooms to aid in the teaching process. Those of us, who see children learning with the aid of computers in a manner that is fun as well as educative, lament why these beautiful machines could not be made available to us.

To the traditional teacher or an older person, it might appear that books and the written word are the last word in teaching. The present day scene with computers even in elementary schools is difficult to imagine for those who have not actually seen and experienced the change that come about in the method of teaching.

Varying from school to school, knowledge is being imparted with the aid of PC’s or Macs. Mac’s may appear to be simpler to operate but they serve the same purpose as the PC’s. It depends on the type of deal that the schools strike with the companies and the content that they require as part of the knowledge they intend to divulge to the students. The Internet is a storehouse of knowledge which can be accessed through a simple procedure, resulting, in most of the cases, a bypass to bulky books which in any case are no match for the content that the Web is able to provide through the aid of a computer.

To sum it all, the use of computers as a tool of imparting knowledge to students in elementary schools is a judicious tool in the hands of the teacher.