There are a number of primary schools in rural areas of Nepal seeking a change in traditional form of classroom. Incorporation of digital technology in teaching and learning is one of the recent practices in Nepal to bring change in instructional activities of teachers. The Government of Nepal allocates the largest budget for education in Nepal and has emphasised the transformation of traditional form of schooling with digital technology in teaching and learning. The Department of Education in Ministry of Education and Sports, Nepal has been working with OLE (Open Learning Exchange) currently in altogether 180 primary and secondary schools in 34 districts since beginning with 2 schools in 2008 (OLE, 14 December 2015). Unfortunately a major earthquake in Nepal on 25^th April, 2015 has destroyed at least 25000 classrooms in over 8000 schools in 41 districts in Nepal (BBC, 31st May 2015). The focus of the research is also to assist with getting education up and running in earthquake affected areas.

Findings from previous research have informed my insights into embedding digital technologies into pedagogy. The literature suggests that integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as tools in teaching and learning has both strengths and weaknesses. This is especially so in Nepal where 84% land is covered by hills and mountains, and about 80% of the total population still reside in villages in rural area (CBS, 2011 published in November 2012). There lies a challenge of executing the government policy on ‘ICT infrastructure including internet connectivity, human resources, content development and system enhancement (MoE, 2013 & UNESCO, 2015)’. Somekh (2007) critically states that ICTs can be used pedagogically to transform students’ learning but teachers and students should have widespread access to internet-connected ICTs to utilise their flexible time.

Although there are many challenges in integrating ICTs in instructional activities in the classroom, their use seems unavoidable in and out of school life because the youth generation has already got those digital technologies outside school. Though the use of ICTs in classroom teaching and learning was initially introduced in British schools in 1980s (Syncap, 2015: online), it has become the need of growing generation throughout the world. Educational technology development and its influence can be observed in Nepalese educational practice too. Previous research suggests use technologies in teaching and learning may help the youth generation use them in a meaningful way. However, such use is probably more common in the urban contexts of Nepal than in the rural ones. Rural youths have less exposure to social media. Therefore, this study will explore the space of ICTs in the rural context of Nepal.

This study will explore how the primary school teachers in rural primary schools in Nepal integrate ICTs in their classroom teaching and learning plans and deliveries, why they have incorporated the technologies in their pedagogies, and how the major earthquake in Nepal on 25^th April, 2015 has impacted their use of ICTs in the schools. The research will explore challenges of merging digital technologies in classroom instructional activities and crystalize ideas of how the technologies can be effectively incorporated in teaching and learning. As a result of the impacts of the earthquakes, the research may also explore interconnections between technology and various social, economic and psychological aspects of human life.

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