Preeti Gahlawat

Presentation

Vem är du och vad jobbar du med?
– A digital immigrant teaching digital natives to be ready for future. I am a passionate science teacher teaching grades 7-9 who believes in learning and updating myself according to the needs of my students. I have been teaching for 16 years in three different countries (India, Japan, and Sweden). Most of my teaching experience is from Sweden. I migrated to Sweden in 2002 and since then I call it home. We are a happy family of four: we two our two!

Jobbat med digitala verktyg i undervisningen?
– I have used many tools as a teacher as well as with my students. I never blogged myself, however, I motivated my students and gave them the proper platform and therefore my students started blogging in 2008. They used to write weekly blogs to inform parents about their weekly classwork and would interact with each other using comments. As technology is changing and new tools are evolving day by day, I have equipped my students with the latest so they feel ready for the present situations surrounding them. Various tools that I have introduced my students are WordPress, Kidblog, Nearpod, Seesaw, google classroom and the latest Microsoft tools for education. I never bind myself to one tool rather keep updating myself and my students with the latest.

På vilket sätt kan elevernas lärande förnyas med stöd av IT?
– Digital tools (IT) help in reaching different types of learners and therefore help in inclusion. Due to so many digital tools available to us teachers, it becomes easier to differentiate based on their needs. Eg Those who need extra challenge can be given different tools to create new things based on the content being taught eg. a video, an infographic, a digital poster or an ebook or questionnaire using Kahoot, Quizlet etc. while the teacher is busy helping the students who need 1-1 help. Students with special abilities can record themselves using various tools, watch videos to understand the content. Usage of IT also helps them connect with the students from other countries through skype that motivates the students to learn new things from each other.

Hur påverkar de digitala verktygen din lärarroll?
The digital tools have helped me grow as a teacher, as they help me to connect with teachers from around the world, collaborate and instant reach out to them with a press of a button. I must admit using digital I have learned so much from my colleagues through twitter, facebook groups, Linkedin etc these platforms have helped me to learn from each other’s experiences to implement in my class to give my students the latest and best tried and tested teaching strategies and tools. The digital tools have helped me to reach each and every student in my class and have made inclusion very easy.

Hur påverkas din undervisning av att digitaliseringen och den digitala kompetensen numera finns inskriven i läroplanen?
– Although I have been using digital tools for a long time and I have been very lucky to get support from my principals, however, the inclusion of digital competence in the curriculum has given me the motivation to help my colleagues as well. It has also given me a wow feeling that I have been doing the right thing all through this time.

Har du någon favoritwebbtjänst eller app som du gärna använder?
– Its difficult to call one or two tools as favorite, however, if you ask me about one then Google classroom has helped me reach each and every student even if they were not present due to some reason or if I was away. I could use it to keep the lessons going. I am now learning to use Microsoft tools for education and started using it in my class. It saves so much time and helps me keep organized. eTwinning to collaborate with toher schols and teachers in Europé for projects. www.golabz.eu (I am ambassador for golabs) , www.scientix.eu