Schools are incorporating information and communication technology and Internet rules as a mix of online and offline classes is expected to become the norm. At least three schools are making policies that would be put in the school diary or almanac in the new session.
Even if schools were to resume in-person classes, teachers would not be able to tell their students “no mobile phones”, the head of one school said. Schools in the state reopened for in-person classes twice — once in February and again in November— but the rising Covid cases resulted in suspension of classes.
Calcutta International School, Mahadevi Birla World Academy, BDM International are making additions to their tech rules.
At Calcutta International School, the ICT (information and communication technology) rules says: “The use of ICT facilities...such as computers and the network by students and staff is regulated by rules of use.... Use of computers and networks is intended for study or work catering to educational and research purposes only.”
The senior students were using devices for research purposes even when school reopened briefly. Now, the management is contemplating allowing the use of gadgets (laptop or tablet) from middle school onwards.
“We are planning flipped classrooms, sharing of resources (question papers, content), and for all of these the use of devices will become imperative,” said
Ayan Pal, the chief executive officer of Calcutta International School.
“Even after this wave is over there will be a panic amongst parents and they might be reluctant to send children to school regularly and hybrid classes will have to continue and so these policies have to be in place.”
Some of the policies that the schools are working out are also based on the problems that they faced in the last two years and these are challenges that will continue in a hybrid set up, teachers said.
For example at Mahadevi Birla World Academy, the instruction to students has been not to share details of a webinar on social media.
While in-person seminars have become a thing of the past, most schools organise webinars.
“We create posters with links and children in their excitement and for a validation share the posters of the webinar on social media. To protect the sessions from outsiders, we ask students not to make these public,” said Anjana Saha, the principal of the school, who plans to include this rule in the school almanac.
BDM International will set rules like using Internet facilities positively, refraining from using inappropriate images of their peers and cyber bullying.
“Earlier, we would tell students that they cannot bring mobile phones to school. But now they will have to use it because it has become an educational tool. So, we have to teach them to use it responsibly,” said vice-principal Madhumita Seal.