Country Case Study: India Interview Report

LaShawn Brown
EDTC 645
Summer 2017
Dr. Leann Derby
Brown Interview Report 2

Introduction

The purpose of this interview report is to present additional information on technology

integration in classrooms in India. India being a large county so the focus of the report is on the
Tamul and Andhra Pradesh regions of India. Several educators were contacted in India but only
one responded to the request. The interviewee does however represent two different schools
as she has recently changed schools and her new role is for the advancement of technology
usage in the school. The information presented here is just a sampling but indicates the need
for more teacher professional development.

Interview Questions

1. How does your district/school support technology integration?

Rationale: This was the introductory question for me. This question helped to establish
just how technology is integrated in the current school assignment. Based on readings,
technology integration can vary drastically across the country.

2. What technology do you have in your schools/classrooms?

Rationale: This question allowed for the interviewee to list the specific technology being
used in the school or classroom to allow for more specific details to come.

3. How is that technology used in the classroom?

Rationale: This question may seem a lot like the previous question but having technology
and how it is used is different. This question allows for specific details about usage. The
answer to this question could have been a specific lesson or content related

4. Is technology mostly used by teachers to present lessons or by students to access

information or demonstrate an understanding of content?
Rationale: This question could have been added to question# 3 making a compound
question. The goal of the question was to find out how the teachers and students use
technology.

5. How have student achievement been impacted by the integration of technology?

Rationale: This question was instrumental in finding out the impact technology is having
on student achievement.

6. How do the two schools compare based on technology integration?

Rationale: This question was asked separate from the other five questions due to the
interviewee changing schools. The goal was to get more details about technology
integration in India at two different schools since two different interviewees werent
available.
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Strategy Used

On July 5, 2017, the authors of the various articles on technology integration were
contacted as they presented information about specific schools that could be evaluated for
technology integration. Upon further research of the educational system in India, a website
entitled Central Board of Secondary Education Physical Education and Sports was located. This
site listed schools by location in India. Locations mentioned in the articles were contacted first
to help with comparison of information from the article matched implementation in the
schools. There was no response.

On July 14, 2017, the letter that was emailed to the authors and secondary school
emails was posted on Edmodo under instructional technology, educational technology,
technological education, science, technology, and India. There was one like and one response.
The person who responded was not from India nor did they teach in India. The person who
liked the post did not subsequently answer the request.

On July 15, 2017, an email was sent to all of the original email sent to the 31 schools was
resent to those contacts and additional 10 schools. On July 17, 2017, the membership to TIGED
was complete so emails were sent to educators in India. There was no response.

On July 16, 2017, an email was received from Nirmala@mahindraworldschool.com

stating that Dr. Nirmala Krishnan was resigning from Mahindra World School after 8 years of
working at the school. There was contact information for the Vice Principal and Administration
Office as well as a personal email. The original email message was sent to all of the contacts
provided including the personal email address of Nirmala@shrishti.org. A response was
received from Dr. Nirmala Krishnan asking for more information about the purpose of the
contact and to verify that the school represented and attended were official. A subsequent
email was sent from work email address of lbrown12@bcps.org along with links to the school
website and the UMUC degree program website describing EDTC 645. Dr. Nirmala agreed to
participate by answering questions. A series of emails were sent to reassure Dr. Nirmala that
the purpose of the questions were for an assignment to highlight the technology integration
efforts and for future collaboration when school begins in the fall.

On July 22, 2017, Dr. Nirmala answered the questions and subsequent question about
previous school assignment. No other responses were received from the email and Edmodo
process.
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Person Interviewed

Dr. Nirmala Krishnan (Email Interview)- Previously Head of the Institute for Mahindra
World School. Dr. Krishnan worked at Mahindra World School for eight years and is
now Head of Schools for Shrishti Group of Schools, Vellore. The new role is technology
advancements, quality, and brand building.

Findings and Reflections

Dr. Krishnan provided insight in line with the research findings of technology integration
in India. Finding can set technology integration back in a major way. Schools that receive
government funding follow the government implementation polices where as private schools
allocate funds to technology integration with no regulation (personal communication, 2017).
Teachers in both settings use smart phones in the classroom but are not comfortable with using
technology. This is in harmony with the BridgeIT India project as far as mobile phone usage
(Wennersten 2015). Teachers have the devices but more PD on how to use the technology in
the classroom and increase the comfort level of the teachers is an on-going concern across all
borders (Sharma 2016).

Technology usage in the classroom is evident in the language arts, math, and science
labs. Some classrooms have smart boards and individual devices such as Kindles are available
to students in the library and for home use for students to complete online assignments.
Technology is used more by students to access information and demonstration understanding
than by teachers. Teachers have a phobia according to Dr. Krishnan with using technology.
This is true in the United States as well (personal communication, 2017). Many teachers were
taught with little to know technology and they teach the way they were taught. Teachers are
slow to embrace technology as a tool but students are more vested.

Student achievement has grown with the use of technology according to Dr. Krishnan
because it addresses all kinds of learners (personal communications, 2017). Students with
different learning pace and styles can receive personalized learning in classrooms with 35 or
more students. The class size is a concern in schools in the United States and the goal is to
personalize learning or create more student-centered learning opportunities using technology.

Dr. Krishnans recent change in roles and schools helped add a second perspective to
this report. Her new role as technology advancement indicates the diversity of technology
integration in India. Technology usage at her current school is limited to record keeping in the
admin and accounts. A few classrooms have smart boards which are used sparingly due to
teacher comfort and experience (personal communications, 2017). This again points to the
need for more professional development for teachers to increase technology usage (Sharma
2016).
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Conclusion

It was reassuring to see that technology integration as represented by research was true
to life. The process of reaching out to an educator in another country was tedious but
worthwhile when a connection is made that can be used for the benefit of all. To reflect on the
process and the benefits of using technology in the classroom for students. Students improve
in their content knowledge and their access to information. Teacher Professional Development
is still a need with teachers having a phobia in technology usage and students being willing able
to use technology to the full.

Attachment

Email communication with Dr. Nirmala Krishnan

o 7/17/17 Initial Response
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2VJJCQUWG06SmdvRl9jU1RPMHM
o 7/22/17 Second Correspondence-
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2VJJCQUWG06WFl2b3B0MGo3d1E
o 7/22/17 Third Correspondence-
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2VJJCQUWG06WFl2b3B0MGo3d1E

References

Sharma, M., & Gupta, A. K. (2016, March 08). Effectiveness of Electronic Classroom for
Teaching General Science at Secondary School Level. Retrieved June 17, 2017, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230815223_EFFECTIVENESS_OF_ELECTRONI
C_CLASSROOM_FOR_TEACHING_GENERAL_SCIENCE_AT_SECONDARY_SCHOOL_LEVEL

Wennersten, M., Quraishy, Z. B., & Velamuri, M. (2015). Improving student learning via
mobile phone video content: Evidence from the BridgeIT India project. International
Review of Education,61(4), 503-528. doi:10.1007/s11159-015-9504-y.