Several schools in the city will take into account teachers' technological skills during their appraisals this year.

In a couple of schools, the format of the appraisal forms have changed and heads of institutions said teachers' adaptability to technology will be given more weightage because classes were held online.

Earlier, technology was used to supplement in-person classes but it was not as integral as it has become now, the heads said.

Schools have also realised that this system of learning is here to stay and are taking technological skills into account when making new recruitments.

“How teachers have used and navigated technology will become an essential part of the appraisal this year. It includes making use of learning apps or customising them to make the classes interactive,” said Anjana Saha,a the principal of Mahadevi Birla World Academy.

In the last one year when digital learning became the norm, teachers had to not only take classes online but also conduct exams and invigilate them online. All of these will be taken into account across schools now.

"There was a training for teachers on how to proctor exams online and weightage will have to be given to technology because it is part of the system now," said Basant Biswas, the principal of Calcutta Girls' High School.

Schools have had to change the learning process as well as the examination pattern.

"We will also see how effectively teachers designed question papers online because it is time-based, competency-based and module-based where the format is different," said Saha.

In some schools, the appraisal has started and in at least one school it is done quarterly.

Earlier, the blackboard was an important feature in a classroom. Some schools had smart boards but not everything was taught using them.

“We don’t see ourselves going back to the system of teaching that was there before. Teachers are expected to switch to different platforms, do screen sharing, make presentations and also show experiments online,” said Suvina Shunglu, the principal of Sri Sri Academy.

Adapting to change is the key now. “Teachers will have to be flexible and accept this transition,” said Seema Sapru, the principal of The Heritage School.

Schools envisage a change in the system and the need to adapt to that change.

“In a post Covid world both the technological knowhow of the teacher and the taught will be important. If we do not make changes to emerging situations we will not be equipping the children,” said Raja McGee, principal of Calcutta Boys' School.

A teacher's ability to keep students engaged in a virtual class will also be considered and whether he or she was able to navigate technology and effectively maintain discipline in an online class.

In the initial months, teachers were using phones to take classes and schools asked them to switch to tabs or desktops to avoid interruptions of messages.