A teacher must be a good “netizen” too

Today’s children are SMART – Systematic, Meticulous, Active, Realistic and Tactful. Their awareness level is higher than that of their previous generations. They tend to stay more informed than their predecessors do. And there is where lies the need for today’s teacher to be a good netizen.

Often, students are told things they already know – from parents, friends, online tutorials, internet, and so on. They now have access to several sources of information, especially with the advent of the Internet. Therefore, they may say, “Sir/ Madam, it is already in the book. Please tell something new.”

With the advancement of technologies and the spurt of digital education, time has come for teachers to be a good netizen too. Teachers must keep themselves abreast of all technical developments and try to use technology in the teaching-learning process.

Now, the question is how a teacher can be a good netizen. An appetite for exploring various sources of information on the internet is undoubtedly a sure-shot way to become a good netizen. However, there are some other must-do things for them. These are as follows:

• Running own website, which will be used for the teaching-learning purpose
• Sharing the link of the website with students
• Being open to learning
• Being socially networked
• Writing blogs regularly

Further, to become a good netizen, a teacher must adopt learning as a module rather than classroom-based theory or standard. H/She must strive to make education a learning experience. The teacher should go beyond the traditional chalk and talk teaching approach and encourage his/her students to leverage ICT in order to understand a subject deeper and better.

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