Published: 12 Sep 2022
Teachers in lower, middle and upper levels schools have a significant influence and impact on the formative minds of their Pre-University students. Among the ways ComSoc Chapter Members can influence local Pre-University Education in their communities is by educating teachers.
A project was developed and delivered by the Educational Activities team within the IEEE Pune Section in association with the Student branches of Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research, GH Raisoni College of Engineering and Management (GHRCEM) and Symbiosis Institute of Technology Pune in India. The strategy of training the Pre-University teachers was conceptualized by Dr. Rajashree Jain in association with Dr Kantipudi MVV Prasad and Dr Simran Khiani and was well supported by the Communication Society and the local IEEE Section.
The team created workshop material and hands-on projects to provide Pre-University (PU) Teachers with more experience in teaching STEM-based curricula with a focus on communications and related technology. Ultimately, if the teachers are more confident in talking about these topics, then it will be easier to excite their students to learn more in this area.
Communication technology has become a key part of daily life throughout the world. With more than 63% of the population residing in urban places and cities evolving toward smart cities, the number of internet users worldwide has increased to an estimated 4.6 billion users. That means about 61% of the population of the world today has access to some form of digital communications and computing technology. Teachers with 21st-century skills are needed to educate 21st-century students.
The main goal of the workshop was to introduce basic knowledge of the Internet of Things (IoT) and provide hands-on programming experience. Participants were instructed on the value chain of IoT – Hardware, Communications protocols, Cloud and Analytics. Once the workshop was completed, these teachers could then take this knowledge and experience back to their classrooms and create learning opportunities for their students.
The first workshop was held at the beautiful campus of Symbiosis International University, Lavale, near Pune and the Labs of Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune on 26 and 27 August 2022. Honored special guests in attendance included IEEE Pune Section Chairman Mr Girish Khilari, Mr. Pradip Mane, Vice-Chairman, IEEE Pune Section, Chairman, Communication Society, IEEE Pune Section, Dr Ketan Kotecha, Professor & Director, Symbiosis Institute of Technology (SIT), Pune Dr Jatinderkumar R. Saini, Professor & Director, Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), Pune. Dr R D Kharadkar, Director, G H Raisoni College of Engineering and Management (GHRCEM), Pune Dr Nitin Khedkher, Dy. Director Administration, Symbiosis Institute of Technology (SIT), Pune Dr Arundhati Warke, Dy. Director Academics, Symbiosis Institute of Technology (SIT), Pune. Dr. Rajashree Jain, Dr Kantipudi MVV Prasad along with our graduate teaching associates, Ayushi Jain, Vaibhav Saini and Aaysuh Dodla conducted the two-day workshop. The workshop covered IoT basics, Target Board programming using hardware and simulation platforms, communication technologies and applications areas. Mr. Prashant Joshi, Founder Leap&Scale, graced the poster presentations and addressed the gathering during the valedictory session. He appreciated the efforts by the organizers to turn around a brilliant set of Pre-University teachers into superb problem solvers and to discuss using IOT architectures to solve realistic issues. “It was a great "Design Thinking" + "IOT" + "Influence" by the facilitators of learning for participants,” he said.
Participants from more than 12 organizations from Pune attended the workshop. It was nice to see the learning outcome from the participants in the form of "Beautiful Posters" showcasing Empathy based problem-solving in the areas of IoT and its applications. A project proposed by a group of teachers empathizing with the “teachers” themselves in manning school children during their stay at school using IoT systems won the best prize from the panelists and peers.
