TEACHERS are people who play a key role in deciding the future of students, particularly in the field of education.
They should be recognised for their unwavering commitment, especially during this Covid-19 era that caused a shift in how a normal classroom lesson is conducted.
Although the medical crisis took the world by storm with almost unbearable circumstances, educators remained resilient in their duties as they continued to give their students the best possible learning avenue.
One of the ways was for them to conduct online classes more innovatively.
Talking about innovation, recently, S. Premalatha, a teacher in a rural primary school of 250 pupils did the country proud by bagging this year’s Google Innovator Academy’s certified coaching award.
The distinction here is that she was the only Malaysian to have done it!
Premalatha, 37, teaches mathematics and information and communications technology (ICT) at SJK(T) Ladang Krian in Nibong Tebal for the past 11 years.
“I am truly honoured to have won this award, and importantly, I feel recognised for all the efforts I had put in to receive it,” Premalatha told Buletin Mutiara during a phone interview recently.
The award is part of the Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia under the Digital Certification Training Programme, recognised by the Education Ministry.
During the interview, it was evident that she was someone who would always go the extra mile when conducting workshops for many other schools, including national and Chinese vernacular schools.
“Technology will be the one and only tool for education in the future. If students fail to keep up with the pace of learning through this method, they will be left behind.
“This also applies to teachers as well,” Premalatha added.
Premalatha officially entered the first stage of learning how to use digital tools when she won the Google Innovator Academy certification in 2015.
She has also conducted 130 workshops between 2015 and last year.
“Moving forward, I hope to train as many Malaysian teachers as possible, share my expertise with them as an innovator, and of course, I aim to get at least 50 applications for certification from Malaysia,” Premalatha said.
Besides being the only Malaysian winner, she was also one of the 11 winners from the Asia-Pacific region.
Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix courtesy of Premalatha Selvaraj