4 teachers who are transforming the lives of students with technology

MUMBAI, INDIA: As the world celebrated Teachers' Day, four teachers upped their endeavor to reach technology to the students in the country. Here are their short stories.

Dipak Tatpuje a senior lecturer at Satara Polytechnic with over 30 years teaching experience, has trained over 150 rural teachers on how to use free online tools. He believes technology can be a great equalizer and says that empowering rural students allows them not to spread their wings and walk further in life.”

Balaji Jadhav, is a self-taught rural teacher who now supports other teachers. A few years back Balaji learnt how to use HTML on YouTube, then developed a series of interactive, HTML-based online tests which are now used by over 500 teachers everyday. He launched a blog for fellow educators in Maharashtra, and is now an advisor for five state government departments and trains teachers in 36 school districts about how to use blogs for teaching.

As director of the Gifted Education and Research (GEAR) Foundation in Bangalore, Sarvesh Srinivasan champions technology adoption for personalized learning. He ran a 10-month pilot program with Google Apps for Education for middle schools to help teachers identify students’ strengths and tailor teaching for them.

Sangeeta Gulati is the Head of the mathematics department at the Sanskriti School in New Delhi, and has championed the use of technology in the classroom for over a decade. Recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching in 2011, Gulati is currently focused on building her students collaborative learning skills by using Google Apps for Education and Chromebooks.