Industry Speak
“Technology has Made Teaching Easy” A mechanical engineer with specialisation in operations management from Yamaha Motor Company, Amit Gupta, CEO, S Chand Group realises that e-learning is a way of life. In an interaction with Dr Rajeshree Dutta Kumar and Pragya Gupta, he shares insights about e-Learning and school education in India.
Share your views on the current education scenario. What is the role of e-learning in our school education? I personally feel, e-learning is something that is already a part of life. Today, computer based learning, the internet, mobile and technology in general, across multiple domains has made information accessible to everyone. It has a major role in our school education. In school education your subject knowledge is not very important, but social skills are. The technology has made teaching very easy. Policy makers should provide teachers and educators with flexible technologyaided educational solutions tailored to the unique needs of students. I feel that e-learning is a way of life. How can the private players facilitate e-learning? Let the private players interact at large with the education system. Giving an ‘actual shape to PPP models’, allowing more private participation and benefit to maximum number of schools. Students today are exposed to technology in every aspect of their life. Therefore, it is key that our schools provide them similar 21st-
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century learning environment in their classrooms too. Healthy competition stimulates growth and ensures striving for excellence, avoids complacency. elearning is an exciting, growing field; but a large number of challenges are there. I am hopeful that the strengths of S. Chand will ensure our leadership in this new arena as in the field of publishing.
tion of video and other media to support instruction links students with outside resources and enables teachers to address many learning styles at once. Never before have we had so much information as to how children learn, and we must seize this opportunity to bring about the much needed change in the way curriculum transaction takes place in our classrooms.
What is the role of technology in creating a better teaching-learning environment for students and teachers? We should train our teachers and empower them to be able to use tools and technology effectively in their teaching practices. We should provide the basic infrastructure for sustained change in the form of technology – enabled learning environments. We need to provide spirally organised multimedia content based on sound pedagogical approach. This will ensure that the students can grow from one level of learning to the next, constructing new ideas based on their existing knowledge. Project-based learning allows students to acquire 21stcentury skills in the context of real-world scenarios. The integra-
What specific issues within the e-education sector can your product or services address? We have our own standing in the field of academic textbooks. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt brings with them the complete understanding of emerging needs; they bring experience, content, products and investments. This is complemented by us to help meet local needs and carry out joint development. We launched a programme called Destination Success. This programme is a technology-enabled education solution using world-leading K-12 content. It is an interactive learning proposition that meets all the elements of CBSE’s directives. We have implemented this programme quite successfully in huge private schools in India and abroad and