|
Students of today have the problem of plenty when it comes to studying materials and resources, but what they lack is time and ability on how to use them to the best of their advantage. Shalini Chauhan – a primary teacher at Indirapuram Public School, Indirapuram, took this as an opportunity to experiment with Gamification and used several online tools and games to make learning Mathematics fun for her students.
Challenges in Online Learning
During this experiment, Shalini faced many challenges most prominent among them being lack of attention and engagement. She believes, the best teaching experience is where one can see the students engaged in interacting with each other, exploring, questioning, and explaining each other, applying their knowledge towards new situations, and reflecting on their knowledge & learning strategies.
Concept of Fun in Education
During the initial phases of the pandemic, Shalini realized that it was important to make online education fun and engaging while retaining the learning benefits. As a result, she decided to integrate online gaming and fun activities into her teaching pedagogy. This initiative immediately showed results with students engaging more in the virtual classes and positively contributing to their own learning.
Using Online Tools and Games as part of Teaching Pedagogy
Shalini made online games to help her students learn math effectively and in a fun way. She tried to make her students use the online medium efficiently and happily. She started integrating online tools in her teaching pedagogy based on the 5E Inquiry-Based Instructional Model which helped her students to prepare for learning by cultivating skills for all areas of learning, getting a deeper understanding of new concepts, creating ownership, and promoting engagement.
To keep the students engaged and motivated, she not only explored new dimensions of digital education but also made effective use of pedagogy in the best possible manner. Technology helped her in promoting awareness about SDGs. Online Tools like 3DBear, flipgrid, wakelet, Twitter, and padlet made it possible for her to pursue her objectives. She partnered with Kamla Nehru Public School, Punjab which would have been impossible without the video conferencing platforms like MS TEAMS.
Other Achievements
Backed by her new learning with fun techniques, she became an effective contributor not only for her own students but also started collaborating and reaching out to others. She earned badges and got recognition by becoming MIEE, Wakelet, 3D Bear, Buncee, Nearpod, and Flip grid ambassador. She also collaborated with MS TEAMS in the virtual celebration of Global week #Act4Sdgs.
Her students actively participated in different activities like building comic strips using the pixton.com platform, creating jingles, ppts, and posters using various online tools. She has also participated in global projects such as #act4sgds #KindnessMatters.
Shalini Chauhan is a finalist for Best Use of Edutainment - Making Learning Fun Because…taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the ‘New Normal,’ she adapted and integrated online tools and games in her teaching pedagogy to make mathematics fun for her students.
To Reach the Information Dossier Shared by Shalini Chauhan Click Here.