Firm Canvasses Smart Classrooms for Students
Peace Obi
The Senior Manager, Product Portfolio, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Mrs. Funke Atanda has called on parents, teachers and governments to put necessary facilities in place to prepare for the classrooms for the future saying that the conventional classrooms will soon be a thing of the past.
Speaking at the 9th edition of the Total School Support and Exhibition (TOSSE) recently, in Lagos, she said the days when a teacher’s desk sits at the front and students’ desks neatly arranged in rows will soon be over, adding that in the future, classrooms will no longer be described as rooms within a school, where students are taught, but any space where learning takes place.
Explaining the present and future place of technology on education and the need for teachers to embrace Internet and Computer Education, Atanda said, “today, assignments are completed online and uploaded through classroom portals. Posting of grades and results are also done online. However, in the near future, group projects will be completed through collaborative software and students will use cloud storage instead of flash drives or paper to store their work. Teachers, parents, students and administrators will communicate through social media platforms designed specifically for education or for a school. All this will be made possible through the power of the Internet.
She stressed the need for teachers to embrace the internet and be computer literate, noting that laptops and other educational technology will eliminate the use of paper.
“As the Internet and computers become more accessible and cheaper; instead of teachers copying handouts and exams to give to students, they will be pushed online to students.”
Manager, Product Portfolio emphasised the role of the teacher in the classrooms of the future, noting, “teachers will change from instructor to guide, and the responsibility now lies with them to become tech savvy and ready for the future classrooms as well as for the learners.”
Enumerating some of the Internet giant’s contributions to providing affordable Internet connectivity solution for different sectors, Atanda said, “Vodacom Business Nigeria has been at the forefront of creating reliable and affordable connectivity solution for corporates and schools. Vodacom has now gone a step further to create EduLink Wireless Internet services that gives schools across Nigeria access to fast, reliable and cost-effective Internet. This solution offers access to curriculum content from primary school to local and international qualifications preparations such as SSCE, UMTE and ‘A’ levels. Educators are now well placed to reach more students and improve learning ability using content and curriculum available online even where books are scarce.”
She applauded the federal government’s efforts in bridging the digital divide in the country, said that it needs to step up efforts in making sure that Internet connection is made available to everyone, more importantly to schools.