Mobile will give tips to primary teachers of West Bengal

Mobile has become a one handy world for people these days. It has become a vital source of information and not merely just a piece for communication. Taking the mobile to a next level, the British Council and Pashchim Banga Sarva Shiksha Mission will soon launch an application which will improve the English teaching skills of the teacher.

The application will include very short versions of teaching tips in English, and it would be available as video clips on mobile phones, as part of a project to make teacher education materials easily accessible.

The whole project is funded and developed by British Council in partnership with Pashchim Banga Sarva Shiksha Mission and West Bengal Board of Primary Education.

"By embracing technology for English language teacher training, West Bengal School Education Department and the British Council are pioneering a way of reaching a large number of teachers in remote rural contexts," says director, British Council (East India), Sujata Sen.

She added "these materials were designed to support traditional face-to-face teacher training and professional development by using a blend of high quality, interactive digital sources such as films and audio recordings as well as printed work books."

The context sensitive approach allows teachers to relate directly to the teaching scenarios and the blended approach is likely to enhance the quality of learning of teacher training and benefit learners directly.

The British Council also launched a DVD teacher training series which was available at 726 Circle Level Resource Centers across the state.

The teacher education materials are filmed in government primary schools across West Bengal. The films captured teachers and learners in a variety of contexts and came with a detailed work book and self-access menu.