Annapolis Middle School vs. Urban Indian Schools
Throughout this case study, I have learned about both rural and urban schools in India. The difference in conditions and available technology between the two different areas was remarkable. According to Mitra, Dangwal and Thadani (2008), school buildings in rural India consist of “small and cramped classrooms that lack electricity, proper lighting and ventilation” (pg. 173), whereas on the opposite spectrum, schools in urban India have “audiovisual rooms, science labs and computer rooms” (Mitra and Thadani, 2008). When deciding how to compare Annapolis Middle School to schools from within India, I decided it would be best to evaluate schools that were located within an urban setting. Since Annapolis Middle School is located in a capital city that is highly populated, I thought it would be inconclusive to compare it to the rural schools of India.
After reviewing the interviews, I realized that there are many similarities between the urban schools of India and Annapolis Middle School including the amount of technology integration, as well as the amount of professional development provided. In both interviews featured on this website, the teachers were very involved in the technology integration at their schools and believed that technology is beneficial to the students and their learning. Anjale Karpe stated that, “using technology in teaching has revolutionized teaching” and Jyoti Roy stated that, “Technology makes a huge difference in the way teachers teach and the students learn” (Karpe, 2012). Though both teachers were very positive about the impact of technology on students and learning, they also expressed concern in relation to the other teachers within the school and their knowledge of technology and how to integrate it into the classroom. Jyoti shared some challenges of technology integration in her interview and one of them was the “teachers’ negative approach towards technology usage and inclination towards their traditional methods of teaching” (Roy, 2012). This is very similar to the issues that we face at Annapolis Middle School. Though we have a few teachers at our school that are technologically savvy, we also have many teachers that are “stuck in their old ways” and don’t see the benefit of using technology with students.
Another similarity between the urban schools in India and Annapolis Middle School is in the amount of professional development provided for teachers. According to Anjale Karpe, “There has been an effort to include training relevant to use of technology in various in-service training sessions held once a year at the start of a new academic term. But post that, it is up to an individual teacher to upgrade her skills. Help is always available with the IT persons in school – but at the end of the day, it is up to the individual to find the time for it” (Karpe, 2012). This situation is very similar to that of Annapolis Middle School. We are provided with professional development, but it is not frequent enough for teachers to continue to learn, which then leaves it up to the teacher to further their learning on their own time. Since the attitudes of teachers at both Annapolis Middle School and at the two Indian Schools can be very negative in regards to the integration of technology, the teachers will most likely not be interested in furthering their knowledge on their own time.
