Characteristics of an Innovative educator

Reflective – As an educator, it is important to reflect on what is working and what is not.  Even though it can be a little uncomfortable, we have to admit when a great lesson was really a flop.  We must constantly examine our processes and our concepts to make sure they are what is best for the students we teach. For example, we need to change tactics when we find that a particular task, however important, is not being done well by the students, and find a new way of doing it.

Learners- An innovative educator is always learning, reading, listening.  Every student, staff member, professional development opportunity is viewed as an opportunity to get better and be better in the classroom and in the education community at large.  They create local and global professional learning communities.  They take responsibility and initiative for their learning. For example, we need to learn to be on social media creatively and use IT enabled services and technology for media education.

Creative- When I say creative I don’t mean in the sense of artistic even though some innovative educators fall in this category.  I mean creative in their thinking and approach.  An innovative educator is very uncomfortable with doing business as usual, especially when it yields no result.  So they go to work brainstorming ways to make things better.  They may change up a lesson to make it more engaging or increase student motivation.  They may adopt a more unconventional approach to handling challenging students so as to develop a stronger rapport.

Connected- It’s hard to be classified as innovative when you are disconnected from your students and trends in the profession.  How can you know what your students need and what will be the best approach to use with them if you are not connected to them personally?  Innovative educators close the gap between the traditional images of teachers so he can determine what is best for each student.  In addition, because they are life-long learners, they are abreast of changes occurring in their field and how to best apply these new changes to their instruction. Every one of us must be 24X7 connected and have a multi dimensional virtual personality.

Collaborative- Education is one industry where sharing is necessary and vital to true innovation in the classroom.  When teachers work together to solve problems and share successes, our students perform much better in the classroom.  An innovative educator is always exploring topics with other educators, sharing what they know with others.  They are members of Professional Learning Communities where they learn and share with others.  They know that none of us is as smart as all of us. We must learn to collaborate among ourselves and with the industry friends to bring in value, content, assignments, projects, exposure, internships and jobs for our learners.

Inquisitive- How can I improve?  What did I do wrong?  When is the best time for this approach?  How should I adapt this for my struggling readers?  What can I do to extend this lesson for my gifted students?  What if I did it this way?  Innovative educators are always asking questions.  After all, it’s not about having all the answers; it’s about asking the right questions. We must change cases, examples etc in our sessions each year and add new facts and figures too.

Principled- Innovative educators live life according to strong values. They want to make a difference.  They believe that being an educator is a great way to make their mark in the world and they don’t take it for granted.  They believe in being a role model to the students they serve and look for opportunities to show they care by their actions not just with words.  They also care enough to make tough decisions even when it’s not popular and accepted.  They stand up for their beliefs. We must aim for productivity and not popularity and a uniformity in basic principles for all stakeholders.

Prof. Ujjwal K Chowdhury

Dean

www.dgmcms.org.in

Prof. Ujjwal K Choudray is presently the Dean of DGMC (Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies, Mumbai). He is a Senior Education & Media Consultant, Delhi, Kolkata & Kathmandu; President, Advisory Board, Whistling Woods School of Communication, Mumbai; Former Director, Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication & Dean, SIU, Pune; Former Media Adviser, Textiles Ministry, GOI; The Nippon Foundation; and WHO, India.

Media Education for the Mass, with a Class

We all know that the media, entertainment and communication industry is on a roll. With an annual growth rate double of the national economic growth rate, ME&C industry has crossed one lac crores turnover annually engaging more than 2 million people across the nation. And, this is about the organized section of the ME&C industry.

However, what is often missed out is that the traditional way to look at media & communication and learning the art, craft and science of the same has completely changed over the last one decade or more.

From an analog mode to the digital, from stand-alone media expertise to convergent media, from one skill focus to multi-skilling, from content-mindset to consumer-mindset, etc, the media industry is into a major overhaul. Consequently, the skills necessary in this field and the route to enter into the media domain have also altered significantly since the dawn of the new millennium.

Gone are the days when just way with words or knowledge of one camera or ability to speak well, etc were good enough to earn you a place under the media sun. Today, we are in a convergent world. Media content development knowledge needs to move across the written word, the visual, the moving images, the sound and the blend of all of these. And content production must go along with content delivery technologies and content marketing techniques. So, an understanding of all forms of content production and their delivery and business is the base or foundation of any new-age effective media education.

There is no denying the fact that specialization is necessary, but it is to be pursued on the foundation of this convergent media knowledge. And when you specialize in one media vehicle or communication function, there is further integration of content, business and technology within the domain of specialization. Thereby, the synergy of convergence and specialization goes further within a domain, whether it is a media vehicle (radio, print, internet, television, cinema, et al) or a communication function (infotainment, edutainment, persuasion, interaction, engagement, behaviour change, etc).

DGMC rises to the occasion, brings forth high-end media infra-structure, blends theoretical university degrees, certificates and diplomas with hands-on exposure and internships, brings in qualifications from University of Mumbai and AICTE approved PG diplomas, synergizes with research and media organizations, and is creating a media research centre too. And, all these at a cost which is highly affordable in the crowd of high costs institutes across India.

You are welcome to embark upon your journey into the world of media with DGMC…..

Prof. Ujjwal K Chowdhury

Dean

www.dgmcms.org.in

Prof. Ujjwal K Choudray is presently the Dean of DGMC (Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies, Mumbai). He is a Senior Education & Media Consultant, Delhi, Kolkata & Kathmandu; President, Advisory Board, Whistling Woods School of Communication, Mumbai; Former Director, Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication & Dean, SIU, Pune; Former Media Adviser, Textiles Ministry, GOI; The Nippon Foundation; and WHO, India.