Teaching has always been my passion. To meet the diverse needs of my students and make my teaching more engaging, I am motivated to incorporate various useful tools into my teaching pedagogy. I believe, with digital tools the online and blended learning experience becomes more dynamic and equitable and makes sure that every student should get an equal opportunity to succeed in their life. All these tools have become the lifelines in our education system. 

The first tool I would prefer in my online and blended teaching is Zoom or Microsoft teams because of the multiple features like live sessions, Breakout rooms for small interactions, Recording capability etc. These features not only allow real time collaboration but also creates an inclusive, engaging and flexible learning environment. Another tool which I would prefer is Kahoot as this tool successfully keeps all the students engaged in the online setting, which is quite a difficult task for the teachers nowadays to manage their students engaged during online classes. The special features like collaborative boards and quizzes foster learning that is more interactive and fun. The third digital tool which I would select as an Educator is Google classroom as it allows the teachers to organize the course content, assignments and easy communication with the parents. This tool supports adaptable learning and helps the students to access all the resources at their own pace. 

If I would have to shift from my in-person teaching practice to an online educational format, I think this experience will be a blend of both opportunities and the challenges. In my perspective, digital tools like zoom, google classroom or the other learning platforms, have a great potential to create an engaging and accessible learning environment, But it would involve more deliberate efforts to adapt to this setting and to meet the students’ needs effectively. With the trend of online education, the new pathways are open supporting the needs of diverse students and making the learning more impactful. 

During COVID, When I was working under the “Education for all” program at BYJU’s I witnessed firsthand how these digital platforms are bridging the gap of digital divide by making education more accessible to the children especially who belong to the underserved communities. The recorded or live video based lessons provided by BYJU’s help the students to captivate with the educational content despite their physical location.