User:Gita Mathur/Teaching and Learning-My Experiences of three decades

I have been teaching Botany to undergraduates for more than twenty five years. I have seen a sea change in the approach and perspectives in both teaching and learning.

'''When I was a student in University of Delhi the scene was as follows: '''
 * teacher knows all and can not be challenged
 * Very few books available, only international editions and out of reach for purchase
 * students had to sit in the library and make notes on every topic
 * for that we had to reserve a book and wait for it to be returned by the student who was reading it
 * the paper we used was rough and pens were only fountain pens with liquid ink
 * libraries had ink pots to refill ink in our pens
 * no personal vehicles for commuting, only overcrowded buses
 * no bookshop on the campus, only University cooperative store which had a strong smell of cheap brown washing soap
 * Coffee house which served hot water with only the smell of coffee

The improvements started with :
 * advent of the photocopy machine
 * release of Indian editions for many good books
 * new books by Indians, many of our teachers, with examples from our country
 * better quality paper notebooks and registers
 * improved lab instruments
 * advancement in techniques
 * computers with DOS

The scene today:
 * Computers at home as well as work place


 * easy to use operating systems
 * Internet which is a total revolution for education
 * totally new approach to access to learning materials
 * advanced gadgets filled labs
 * finer and more accurate instruments
 * power backups