Asia’s premier Monthly Magazine on ICT in Education
volume 8
I issue 02 I february 2012 I ISSN 0973-4139 I ` 75 www.digitalLearning.in
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DSPACE
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Thermoforming Machine
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RMSA
featuring innovations in education
/ 2011 10 digitalLEARNING December www.digitallearning.in
digitalLEARNING
volume
08
issue
02
ISSN 0973-4139
contents
08 Educating India
45 Angel Hearts Academy
13 NIOS: An Institution with a Difference
46 DLF Public School
Dr S S Jena, Chairman, NIOS
Technology Practices in Schools 17 The Millennium School 18 Scottish High International School
47 Pole Star School 47 Shree Ghanshyam Academy 48 Shreevallabh Ashram’s M.C.M. Kothari International Girls’ Residential School
20 Raffles International School 22 Indu IT School 24 BGS National Public School
52 Vibes from the Industry Leaders...
26 Guru Shree Shantivijai Jain Vidyalaya
Technology Practices in Higher Education
28 St Josephs Boys School
62 MIEL Academy
30 DSK Supinfocom International Campus
63 Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
31 Shemrock School
64 Vizag Institute of Technology
32 Sri Venkateshwar International School
66 Manipal University
34 American School of Bombay
67 BIIMS & Imperial College
35 Ramadevi Public School 36 Kennedy High School 38 A’s Steward Morris School
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50 Arwachin International School
68 Jaro Institute of Technology,
Management & Research
70 The Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS)
38 Avelon International School
72 C & K Management Ltd
39 C S International School
74 Jamia Millia Islamia
39 Shri L G Haria Multipurpose School
75 Institute of Management Technology
40 Udgam School
76 Jaipuria Institute of Management
41 Navrachana Higher Secondary School
78 Newton’s Institute of Engineering
44 River Valley School
80 B S Anangpuria Educational Institutes
45 APS Academy
82 Vidya Academy of Science & Technology
FEBRUARY / 2012
editorial
> Welcoming the digital future Dear Readers, Warm welcome to the 75th issue of digitalLEARNING. Looking back, I can say that digitalLEARNING began its journey at a crucial point of time, because it was about 75 months ago that digital teaching tools began making deeper inroads into our system of education. To mark the 75th month of its publication, digitalLEARNING interacted with a galaxy of stakeholders, to find out the most compelling issues being faced in education. We have reached out to the schools and higher education institutes located in all parts of the country to get an overview of the digital technologies that have been deployed and the systems they would like to have in future. The overwhelming view from the academia is that the digital push is set to go far beyond gadgets. It will transform the very nature of pedagogy; it aims to turn the teacher into a guide instead of a lecturer. The government too has warmed up to the idea of using ICT to expand the reach of education in the country. But this is not the whole story. At best, the digital technologies have met with mixed results. Many of our schools located in far-flung areas are lacking in basic infrastructure like electricity, so they are not in position to use modern technological tools. The future of education in the digital age will mostly be determined by our ability to improve the overall infrastructure in the country. Lot of work has been done by digital learning organisations, but much more work needs to be done. By diligently reporting on the successes and the struggles of different sections of the industry, digitalLEARNING has helped in strengthening the foundations of the educational system in our country and beyond.
It is possible that in times to come we may have educational approaches that will be more appropriate to the digital era than what we have now. This is the view of many stakeholders in education. Today companies in the digital learning space are doing well. But the leading members of the industry, whose views we have covered in this issue, are forthcoming about the challenges that lie ahead. We would like to thank all the co-travellers who have shared our vision during the magazine’s journey of 75 months. We hope you will find the 75th issue of digitalLEARNING informative and enjoyable.
Dr. Ravi Gupta Editor-in-Chief Ravi.Gupta@elets.in
FEBRUARY / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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inbox Advisory Board Prof. Asha Kanwar, Vice President, Commonwealth of Learning Dr. Jyrki Pulkkinen, CEO, Global eSchools & Communities Initiative (GeSCI) Subhash Chandra Khuntia, Principal Secretary to Government, Public Works Department, Government of Karnataka Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Former Vice Chancellor, Indira GandhiI National Open University (IGNOU) Prof S S Mantha, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) President: Dr. M P Narayanan Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Ravi Gupta gm Finance: Ajit Kumar dgm strategy: Raghav Mittal programme specialist: Dr. Rajeshree Dutta Kumar Partnerships & Alliances: Sheena Joseph, Shuchi Smita Editorial: Divya Chawla, Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Anand Agarwal, Pragya Gupta, Shally Makin (editorial@elets.in) Sales & Marketing: Delhi & ncr: Fahimul Haque, National Sales Manager, Mob: +91-8860651632, Jyoti Lekhi, Ragini Shrivastav, Rakesh Ranjan (sales@elets.in) Mumbai: Rachita Jha | Pune: Shankar Adaviyar Bangalore: Puneet Kathait | Hyderabad: Amit Kumar Pundhir | Ahmedabad: Sunil Kumar Circulation & Subscription: Jagwant Kumar, Mobile: +91-8130296484; Gunjan Singh, Mobile: +91-8860635832 subscription@elets.in Design & Creatives: Bishwajeet Kumar Singh, Om Prakash Thakur, Shyam Kishore Web: Ishvinder Singh, Anil Kumar IMG: Gaurav Srivastava, Prateek Mittal IT infrastructure: Mukesh Sharma, Zuber Ahmed Events: Vicky Kalra Human resource: Sushma Juyal Legal: R P Verma Accounts: Anubhav Rana, Subhash Chandra Dimri All India Distribution by: Ibh Books & Magazines Distributors Pvt. Ltd Editorial & Marketing Correspondence digitalLearning - G-4 Sector 39, NOIDA 201301, India, Phone: +91 120 2502181-85, Fax: +91 120 2500060 Email: info@digitalLearning.in digitalLEARNING is published by Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd. in technical collaboration with Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS). Owner, Publisher, Printer - Ravi Gupta, Printed at Vinayak Print Media D-320, Sector 10, Noida, U.P. and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30, Sector - 50, Noida, UP Editor: Ravi Gupta
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Executing such projects in Tier-2 or 3 towns will be a completely different game. Availability of trainers is the first and the biggest hurdle, and secondly training youth in larger volume is still undone - Shivam Singh commented on the project- ‘Milind Deora Youth Employability Initiative’ via www.digitalleanring.in. Congratulations to Prof Dr S S Mantha, who has now been appointed as the head of the mighty institution - AICTE. I request Dr S S Mantha to bring single common entrance test for all engineering colleges in India. Also, please make all engineering course test to go Online with 5. 20 percent marks allotted on online examinations conducted every month end. More interaction from IITs, IISER and IISc with the engineering colleges all over India is also required. Also look forward for strengthening transparency, accountability and integrity in all engineering colleges in India - Hemanta R Naik , on news ‘Prof S S Mantha Appointed as Chairman, AICTE’ featured in www. digitalleanring.in Totally agree with your views, there is no linkage between blocks in the system. So chances are there that education may lose the uniformity. Standardisation may get disturbed. Governance can also be difficult for such education methodology, though we progress much in terms of technologies ethics, discipline and morals must be part of these. Congratulations for nice article - Kiran, via email, on article -The Side-effects of Digital Learning published in the January 2012 issue of diigitalLEARNING It is for sure the one side of the coin and one point of view. Question is how you level the field so that every student in every village, town and city can have access to the same quality of education that is available at MIT or Stanford or Harvard. It would be the responsibility of the Administrators of Education to ensure that scenario- Jayant Mehta- via email, on the article ‘The Side-effects of Digital Learning’ authored by Dr Hasmukh Adhia, Principal Secretary, Education, Government of Gujarat published in the January 2012 issue of diigitalLEARNING Prof. Sudhir K Jain is bang on. We are ignoring the most important aspect of our life, which is education. We should make teaching the best profession, better than civil services. It can only happen when we attach lot of importance to it and pay highest salaries to best minds to become teachers in order to produce plenty of best minds. The quality of our teachers and education will reflect the quality of our society. We Indians are having good IQ and high EQ and are able to put in hard work. What is missing is best guidance from best minds who are rushing to join MNCs.- Shivinder Mandhotra , via email, on the article ‘All is not well in Education’ authored by Prof Sudhir K Jain, Director , IIT-Gandhinagar published in the January 2012 issue of diigitalLEARNING
Corrigendum Education was spelled as Educattion in Vivitek’s advertisement in January 2012 issue. We regret this error.
opinion
Educating India The role of the private sector in education has become important for bringing technology to the myriad classrooms located in different parts of the country. Government has started focussing on public private partnership to take education to a different level. While celebrating its 75th issue, digitalLEARNING has invited private sector companies in education to discuss on how digital technologies are developing. Stalwarts from the private sector shared their vision on education in India and on their wish list from the government
K S Muralidhar CEO, Learnsmart India Pvt Ltd
Dr Dheeraj Mehrotra DGM (K-12), S Chand Harcourt India Pvt Ltd State of Digital education in 2011 In 2011, Aakash Tablet was launched but no one knows what could be the outcome of the same. Education technologies are shaping up well. However, connectivity and power remain a challenge.
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State of Digital education in 2011 The year 2011 saw a broad amount of success in the field of digital education in India, but we are yet to have an impact on larger sections of our students. Much more work needs to be done to ensure that e-learning becomes the preferred mode of delivering education.
Expectations for 2012 We expect Right to Education to be implemented fully. There are too many challenges to give compulsory education. Let us hope that ministry would come out with some implementable policies. I hope that the mindset will change in principals and school owners. Connectivity will increase in 2012.
Expectations for 2012 There has to be a new action from CBSE and other boards to ensure that adequate priority is given to digital framework of knowledge delivery in schools. The development through iPads and other assisting e-learning solutions have paved way to a novel mode of learning at schools.
Trends to rule 2012 Any adoptable technology will rule the roost. However, web based technologies have to wait for a long time India because of connectivity and power.
Trends to Rule 2012 The leads in 2012 shall be iPad based knowledge support and online delivery of knowledge where the teachers shall remain portal to being just facilitators.
digitalLEARNING
february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
opinion
Ninad Vengurlekar Vice President, IL&FS Education State of Digital education in 2011 The year 2011 saw a greater acceptance of technology based education in schools. The digital education market has stabilised in schools in terms of offerings, quality, pricing as well as understanding. However, the biggest challenge is to further enhance the scope of digital technologies in our education system. Role of Education Technologies Education Technologies are shaping up rapidly in India.
Learning is now being delivered through mobile phones and TV. Telecom operatorsare now waking up to this new untapped opportunity. DTH operators are building exclusive interactive educational channels for children and youth. Expectations for 2012 The problem is not technology; the problem is of content that can guarantee learning outcomes. When world class learning content comes into play on world class technologies then magic will happen in education. Trends to Rule 2012 I have great hopes from the stretch of high speed internet that runs across millions of homes and educational institutions across India. Small start-ups or even individuals can then start online schools, tuition classes and allow children, youth, housewives, employees, senior citizens to learn and educate themselves at their own pace.
Prof Pawan Gupta Educational & Management Consultants, SoftTech Engineers Pvt Ltd State of Digital education in 2011 Digital Education in India is still in infancy. Even though many schools have adopted Smart classrooms, most are yet to make a move in that direction. If India wants to join the group of rich nations, then it has to use modern technological means in a big way for educating our youngsters. Leveraging of digital technology is the solution. Expectations for 2012 State and central governments should make provision for much more financial outlays for purchasing quality digital content. Trends to rule 2012 Education for all will be possible only through the digital learning. Wish list to the government for policies, PPP Government should have a policy to understand the quality of content.
Rajiv Bhalla Associate Vice President and Country Head, Sales & Marketing, NEC India State of Digital education in 2011 The Indian education system has shown a sustainable growth over the past few years. Moreover, the advent of interactive technology in education system has given a boost to the overall Indian education system. The advanced technology tools are sure to better equip the teachers in imparting knowledge to students. Technology trends to rule 2012 In the coming year, India’s education sector is likely to step up its IT spending. Increased spending is necessary if we wish to modernise the teaching learning process. The advent of 3D technology in education system is surely going to mark a revolution in the education sector as this is bound to better equip the teachers in imparting knowledge.
february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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opinion
Sudarshan Borker Founder-Business Head, Innovative Education Concepts State of Digital education in 2011 The year 2011 has been a great year for digital education. It has been the year of awareness and information. It has been a year of reaching out to the schools across India through seminars, conferences, and exhibitions. It has been a year when India has geared for next phase for digital education. With the increasing reach of broadband connectivity in India, there is scope and opportunity for developing new educational applications and solutions. Technology Trends to Rule 2012 Teacher friendly low cost solutions will emerge as a trend in 2012 Expectations from 2012 We expect the successful implementation of the RTE and more focus on the teacher training programme and enhancement of the work in education. Wish list from government for policies, PPP We expect that government should focus on teacher training programme to recognise and encourage teachers to teach; CCE implementation must be at all levels. We are also looking for IT Certification programme specially developed for teachers, recognition of innovative practices by the teaching community.
Nirmal Singh Co-Founder and CEO, WheeBOX State of Digital education in 2011 New partnerships are being forged in the education space. Private participation has extended beyond NSDC and many companies have come forward. Axis Bank and Bandhan jointly launched an Rs.100-crore initiative on providing skills training and assets to the marginalised in West Bengal. Education technology will play a larger role in integrating all modes of education. Expectations for 2012 Government is unveiling a new manufacturing Policy that promises 100 million new jobs. The government should focus on using technology in education space, as this will lead to creation of new jobs. Trends to rule 2012 Online Assessment,Analytics, and Virtual Delivery of classroom Wish list to government for policies, PPP PPP initiatives must play a major role in all forms of education. We need to get more private players involved in National Literacy Mission, Vocational Job Creation, and Upgrading Education Technology Solution in Higher Education Ecosystem.
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Sanjeev Mansotra Chairman and Group CEO, CORE Group State of digital education in 2011 Education customers in India are going beyond IT enabled education practices like multimedia, IT enabled classrooms, etc. to transformational solutions that are based on more outcomes. Indian education system has long way to go, and government has taken some positive steps on CCE and it is expected to show results over the period of time. Wishlist to the government for policies, PPP India needs significant improvement in quality of education. Hence the governments at all levels should encourage PPP initiatives through infrastructure support, tax breaks, co-funding of local IP creation and the facilitation of capacity building of industry manpower. Trends to rule 2012 We have seen various states based solutions, Software as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) in and we expect these demands level.
adopting cloud Service (SaaS), their operations to grow to next
Mohammed Ghouse Regional Sales Manager (South & Western Asia), Luidia
State of Digital education in 2011 Indian education technology market is a “complete� market in the sense that there is enough scope for the industry to keep growing for many years to come. There is no end to interactive technologies that are being developed, there is easy availability of digital contents and there are millions of classrooms where systems can be installed. Wishlist to the government for policies, PPP There must be enhanced financial provision for implementation of quality products in our schools. Technology trends to rule 2012 Interactive and assessment technologies will continue to flourish.The customer will look for more features beyond just interactivity.
opinion
Sanjiv Pande Country Director, India and South Asia, for SMART Technologies Digital Education in 2011 India has made extraordinary advances in education in recent years, but there is still a long way for us to go. India’s education sector is poised for substantial growth and progress. Technology Trends to Rule 2012 There will continue to be product innovation and development with regards to classroom technology. In India, less than 1 percent of classrooms currently have access to an interactive whiteboards (IWB), so there is clearly room for growth. The teacher’s computer becomes the classroom computer, allowing the full class to explore and understand together. Another clear trend is the increasing availability of quality digital resources. Wish-list to the government for policies, PPP The existing schools in the rural areas are lacking infrastructure and quality learning materials and are unable to adhere to set standards. The scope of higher education in villages and small cities is understandably scarce and is marked with major roadblocks of poor infrastructure, shortage of teachers and basic amenities like electricity. High student dropout rate is another major challenge.
Kannan Bharadwaj CEO,Math Buddy State of Digital education in 2011 Education technology market is still a highly under penetrated and there is lots of opportunities for making a difference. Schools have started to see value in the use of technology and more importantly, they started to see the difference it can make in a student’s level of understanding. Wish-list to the government for policies, PPP I believe that the area that requires a lot of focus is training of teachers in the use of technology in the classrooms. Setting up of technology should be accompanied by making teachers comfortable with these technologies. Government needs to set up agencies that will help overcome the gap in teacher training and have certification programmes that will serve as a requirement for the teachers so that they actually use what they get trained in. Technology trends to rule 2012 Proliferation of affordable tablets will surely be one of the biggest drivers for 2012. While I am a little skeptical whether this is going to make an immediate impact on a student’s learning, the cost of a tablet should surely make it attractive for many parents to get one and try it out. The online market should open up even more, with internet penetration getting better and 3G getting even cheaper.
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Srikanth Iyer COO, Pearson Education State of Digital education in 2011 In terms of technology, the Tablet has been a big breakthrough. Once the textbooks are available in digital format, they can be accessed through the Tablet. This will become the tipping point that will actually encourage a movement towards e-books. The education technology market is still at a nascent stage in India and we see fantastic growth potential. Primarily this is because, as a culture Indians and Indian parents take education very seriously. Wish-list to the government for policies, PPP My wish list would be that the government should implement PPP in running of schools, Currently I can see that there are 6-7 thousand rupees being spent on every child per year. While this money goes out of the government’s coffers, the full value of this amount is not reaching the child. By partly privatising this and implementing PPP in schools, I think the government can resolve the problem. I expect the government to divert more money in equipping classrooms with technology and not just the labs in government schools. Technology trends to rule 2012 Tablets will take the path of ascendency. I see it as a leading trend in 2012 also.
Open Schooling
NIOS: An Institution with a Difference NIOS strives to promote education in all sections of society in order to bring about an integrated development of the people. Dr S S Jena, Chairman, NIOS
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) prides itself for being in a position to fulfil the basic education related needs of every student. Headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the NIOS operates through a network of 15 regional centres, two sub-regional centres and over 3,700 study centres across India, Nepal and the Middle East. NIOS employs 251 fullÂtime staff. The importance of the institution lies in the fact that it serves the educational needs of school drop-outs and marginalised groups, including Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SCs and STs), rural youth, urban poor, girls, ex-servicemen and people with disabilities. Under the Open Learning System, NIOS is the only national level Board. The secondary and senior secondary programmes offered here are equivalent to the grade I 0 and 12 programmes of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and have the same status for admission to higher studies and employment. In fact, many students from NIOS go on to study at conventional schools and colleges including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). In one specific instance a student,
after having passed out of NIOS, completed a degree course in aeronautical engineering and is now pursuing higher studies in a prestigious university abroad. Expanding the reach of education Along with offering secondary level courses in three mediums of English, Hindi and Urdu, the NIOS also offers such courses in five regional languages namely Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Malayalam and Oriya. Senior secondary level programmes are offered in English, Hindi and Urdu medium. A number of vocational courses are also on offer to meet the demands of the job market and the interest of the learners. About 85 courses are on offer in the areas of Agriculture, Engineering and Technology, Health and Paramedical, Home Science and Hospitality Management, Computer and Information Technology, Business and Commerce and Teacher Training. The students taking the vocational programmes go on to provide the skilled manpower, a critical element in driving India’s economic growth.
FEBRUARY / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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Open Schooling
on integrating subject knowledge with life skills. The NIOS is also in the process of developing a diploma course in Elementary Education for in-service training of elementary teachers. Assessing the learners For admissions and examinations the NIOS has a system of online registration, under the NIOS Online (Ni-On) Programme. Learners with different needs are served through four streams of online admission. The NIOS conducts examinations twice a year in April-May and October-November for the benefit of the learners who can avail as many as nine chances to appear in the examinations. To introduce greater flexibility in the system, the NIOS has also introduced the OnIn 2010-2011, the NIOS had 4,70,834 enrolees and a cumulative student enrolment of 2.2 million in the 27 secondary subjects, 21 senior secondary subjects and over 80 certificate and diploma vocational programmes which implies an annual growth of about 14 percent to its total enrolment. Of the total learners enrolled, about 30 percent in the academic stream (Secondary & Sr. Secondary) and 55 percent in vocational education are girls, which is a substantial one. The majority of students are aged between 15-25 years. Forging new partnerships in ODL To reach out to its learners, the NIOS uses study centres that provide administrative and academic support. Those supporting the secondary and senior secondary students are called Accredited Institutions (AIs) and those supporting the vocational students are known as Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs). NIOS develops its own course materials, which are more appropriate for selfstudy. Printed Self Instructional study materials are supported by Audio-Video programmes. A half-yearly magazine ‘Open Learning’ is also provided to the learners. Approximately 3.93 lakh copies of combined study materials were despatched to the learners during the year 2010-11. At NIOS we have a Learner Support Centre (LSC) to address the problems of online learners that relate to admissions, courseware, examinations, results etc. Functioning on the pattern of a Call Centre, the Learner Support Executives respond to the queries of learners. The Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) of the NIOS in collaboration with MHRD and UNFPA has adopted a new approach with a focus
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FEBRUARY / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
The Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) of the NIOS in collaboration with MHRD and UNFPA has adopted a new approach with a focus on integrating subject knowledge with life skills
Demand Examination System (ODES) at the Secondary and Senior Secondary levels. These exams are conducted at the NIOS headquarters in Noida as well as its regional centres. The results are made available within 45 days on the NIOS website: www.nios.ac.in.
Author
Dr S S Jena Chairman National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
K-12
Technology Practices in Education Institutes
It is common pastime for historians to debate when history of the modern world began. For us, at digitalLEARNING, history began 75 months ago, when the first issue of the magazine came into being. digitalLEARNING began its journey at a crucial point of time, because it was about 75 months ago that digital teaching tools began making deeper inroads into our system of education. To mark the 75th month of its publication, digitalLEARNING is running a series of articles, which are based on the perspectives of some of the leading educationists of India. We present their views and opinion on the latest technological practices and trends. School leaders and higher education think tanks share their thoughts and highlight the best practices that have helped them achieve their education goals.
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k-12
The Millennium School Noida, Uttar Pradesh www.themillenniumschools.com
Principal: Rita Kaul Born in 1956, Rita Kaul started her career in 1987 as project head of Spastic Society of India. The first school that she helped found was built on the pattern of Shanti Niketan in Jammu and Kashmir under the name “The Saplings”. She has served as the Principal of Heritage School, before becoming the Founder Principal of The Millennium School, Noida. Her endeavours in the educational space have won her numerous prestigious awards. She is the proud recipient of Shiksha Shiromani Puraskar by international study circle. She has also received the Spardhashree award by All India Unique sports and cultural organisation.
Digital teaching environment We strongly believe that a digital teaching environment is a necessity for fostering better educational practices. The school
uses a one-to-one computing environment. Our platform enables highly differentiated system of instruction, and supports collaborative learning and interdisciplinary techniques. We are making use of multimedia presentations, small group projects, and individualised practice and assessment systems. The teacher is fully in control of the student’s activities by making assignments, mentoring individuals, leading discussions, and providing feedback.
The Smart Class Digital mediums like “Smart Class” are proving to be a great learning tool for our students. The digital systems help us in developing deep foundation of factual knowledge and procedural skills. We are also able to develop conceptual frameworks. The chalk and talk method of teaching, has now been completely replaced by Mimio tool and interactive board in all the classrooms. Our digital systems are being supported by Educomp’s R&D division. In future we are planning to upgrade our interactive whiteboards with touchscreen enabled boards. There is a whole range of highly researched and children centric system that we will incorporate in times to come.
Vision Statement We aim to nurture the inherent potential of every child through the innovative Millennium Learning System. We are committed to creating lifelong learners who will be the leaders of tomorrow february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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k-12
Scottish High International School Gurgaon, Haryana www.scottishigh.com
Chairman: Kartikay Saini Commander Kartikay Saini, an alumnus of the Sacred Heart Convent School and the National Defence Academy, Pune, has served the nation in uniform for 15 years. From young age, he has exhibited leadership, dynamism and charisma. He led the main propulsion department of the mighty aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at 21. Currently Kartikay Saini is the Executive Director of Hema Engineering Industries Limited. He is the Chairman of Scottish High International School, Gurgaon. He is also the head of Autism Research Centre of India and the Director of Special Olympics Bharat. Digital Teaching tools facilitate the concept of Engage-Transform-Achieve. The need of today’s learners has changed, and so have things changed around us. If we are to meet our students’ expectations today, we need to incorporate engaging
technologies in collaborative, learning based environments with teachers who are willing and able to use technology’s power to assist them in transforming knowledge and skills into products, solutions and new information.
Deployment of digital technologies Scottish High International School proudly boasts of a large LAN/ WLAN network of more than two hundred computers. The entire school building and its sprawling campus are supported by the WIFI network system. The HP Innovation Lab facilitates students from international curriculums to engage in project based learning. There school’s centralised database can accessed by all the students and staff by way of usernames and passwords. The school has hi-speed leased line internet connectivity. We regularly monitor and scrutinise the web content through dedicated firewall and gateway security. The centralised School Management Software installed handles fee management, admissions, library, student’s database and academic performance. In times to come, the Scottish High intends to deploy Digital Tables for collaborative information exploration. Tabletop displays can augment information exploration in physical spaces.
Vision Statement The school intends to be a Centre of Excellence in education. In keeping with the rich Indian heritage of India, we will keep stressing on simultaneous development of Spirit, Mind and Body 18
digitalLEARNING
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nios - the largest open schooling system in the world
National Institute of Open Schooling (An Autonomous Organization under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India) A-24-25, Institutional Area, Sector-62, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida - 201 309, Uttar Pradesh (An Examination Board of Government of India at par with CBSE/CISE)
NIOS offers skill based Vocational education Courses • Home Science • Business and Commerce • Agriculture • Computer and IT • Health and Paramedical Sciences • Engineering and Technology • Teacher Training • Hospitality Trade
Duration 6 Months to 2 Years
Course in Construction Supervision (Civil) The growing demand in the construction industry has created the need for introducing the Certificate course in Construction Supervision (Civil). The objective of this course is to develop skills and competencies in the area of civil construction to enable the learners to work in the construction industry at the middle level. Career Prospects: On successful completion of the course, the aspirant will be able to: i) Serve as a construction supervisor (civil) in the real estate/ construction industry and ii) Serve as a contractor (civil) in the construction industry.
Who can apply: Learners who are engaged with / interested in the real estate or construction industry at the middle level. How to apply: Interested candidates may apply through one of the study centres of NIOS. For more details, log on to www.nios.ac.in Duration: 6 months Requirements Qualification: 10th pass Minimum age: 15 years as on 31st December 2011 No upper age limit
Courses in Hospitality Trade In collaboration with Indian Tourism Development Corporation (A Govt. of India Undertaking, Ministry of Tourism) •
Diploma in Food Production Management (Cookery)
•
Diploma in Food and Beverage Operations
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Diploma in Housekeeping and Maintenance
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Diploma in Front Office Operations
•
Diploma in Bakery and Confectionary
NIOS Online Admission (Academic Stream) Secondary (X) and Senior Secondary (XII) (Stream I) (Examination in October - 2012)
Duration 6 Months to 2 Years
Dates of Admission Up to 29.02.2012 (Without late fee) Up to 15.03.2012 (With late fee of ` 200/-)
For details regarding courses, eligibility, duration, course fee etc., please log on to www.nios.ac.in
k-12
Raffles International School Behror, Rajasthan www.rafflesis.com/india
Principal: Dr Rajeev Kumar Chauhan Dr Chauhan has 20 years of extensive experience in teaching and administration of educational institutions. He has served in senior positions in many institutions. The wealth of experience that he has garnered is the result of his services in International and Indian Education organisations in Gulf and India. He has been actively involved in all areas of education, including developing curriculum, student career preparation and developing evaluation methods. He is PhD in (Mathematics) from V.B.S Purvanchal University, Janunpur. Currently he serves as the Principal of Raffles International School, Behror.
The digital universe In the contemporary era our technological responses have
become so advanced that we can easily visualise the digital incarnation of the entire universe by the mere click of a button. There is an immense power in the digital technologies that we have with us today. This power must be utilised to further the goals of educating our young population. Digital resources, including digital libraries and classes, have the potential to transforming education by giving rise to innovative curricula, stimulating teaching methodology and other hands-on resources. These resources hold the promise of providing teachers with new ways of engaging students. High-tech methods of teaching can make it easier for students to understand various concepts. The bottom line is that digital technologies are a boon for the education industry.
Digital Tools for Teaching We use Visual Thesaurus, Language labs, Photo stories, PowerPoint Presentations, YouTube, and much else for teaching. In the coming years we plan to enhance our classrooms with the Digital Science and Mathematics Labs. The relation between the students and the computers is 1:1 in the computer and language lab classes.
Vision Statement We believe in offering integrated and holistic education to equip our students with relevant skills and knowledge. We seek to provide them with the intellectual resources that will enhance their employability 20
digitalLEARNING
february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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k-12
Indu IT School Bhilai, Chattisgarh www.induitschool.in
Chairman: S M Umak An enthusiast for using digital technology for teaching students in classrooms, S M Umak is full of confidence that the learning outcomes in the Indu IT School will keep improving in years to come. He feels that the student community has been approaching digital education tools with great deal of enthusiasm.
Moving into a digital world Digital teaching tools are doubly effective in the hands of experienced teachers. This is because digital tools make it easy for teachers to develop new kinds of content that is tailor-made to serve the needs of their students. The lectures can be saved and updated to take care of new information that the teachers have access to. Digital tools also offer the advantage of involv-
ing parents in the online learning process. At Indu IT School, we have deployed Everonn iSchool solution for the purpose of bringing many curriculum based programmes to our classrooms. This solution has been warmly received by our teachers and students. The system of education in the school has become more streamlined and efficient. In times to come, we are planning to implement the Maths Lab and English Lab solutions to improve the understanding of these subjects amongst our students.
Core values of education The ratio between the number of students and the number of computers in the institute stands at 10:1. Through Everonn we have also gained access to lot of educational material in the cloud space and in the World Wide Web. The school has not lost sight of the core values of education. We work for instilling values of love, empathy, respect and discipline for others in all our students. That is why we conduct many experimental learning programmes that focus on community service.
Vision Statement The school aims to be recognised as a leader in the International education space. Through application of digital learning tools and advanced learning concepts, we are dedicated to moulding our students into able citizens of tomorrow 22
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K-12
BGS National Public School Bangalore, Karnataka www.bgsnps.com
Principal: S. Ayyappan Nair A well qualified, experienced and dedicated educator, S.A. Nair is the former principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Malleswaram, Bangalore. In 2002, he received the President’s award. He takes pride in the fact that at BGS National Public School he is assisted by a team of devoted, qualified and highly experienced teachers, and a supportive, friendly and approachable administrative staff. The experiences that he has gathered in the 41 years that he has spent in the field of education, has enabled him to bring about many new innovations.
Digital future of education Digital tools have now become deeply enmeshed with the concept of education. The teaching community can’t do with-
out it. At BGS National Public School, we are having three well equipped technology labs with four projectors and internet facility. In times to come, the school intends to deploy Smart Boards and other teaching and learning systems for promoting a more student and teacher friendly environment.
Fostering all round development The school believes in fostering all round development of the students. So we also place considerable emphasis on sports, co-curricular activities and in human values. Digital tools help in development of personality, as they make is possible for the students to interact with the teachers and others on a deeper level. The entire focus of education should be on instilling qualities of self-reliance, courage, self-confidence and self-esteem in the students. We are totally focussed on inculcating the true values of Indian culture and tradition in our students. The school has access to adequate numbers of computers and other related infrastructure. Each student has access to an individual computer. Teachers use resources available on World Wide Web extensively for teaching students.
Vision for future Our aim is to create responsible, disciplined and secular citizens, who are fully aware of their social, moral and cultural obligations and commitments, and are filled with the desire of making unbounded service to the humanity 24
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k-12
Guru Shree Shantivijai Jain Vidyalaya Chennai, Tamil Nadu www.gssjainvidyalaya.com
Principal: R Varadharajan, M.A. M.Ed. A post graduate in Economics and Education, R. Varadharajan started his career as a research associate in the Economist Group. He has co-authored several books on the works and thoughts of J. Krishnamurti. For the last 16 years he has been serving as the principal of CBSE schools. In 2005, he received the best Principal award from Metro Jaycees and Royal Jaycees, in Chennai. In 2006, he received the Dr Radhakrishnan Award from Avantika, New Delhi. R. Varadharajan has the distinction of receiving a special award from Karuna International Chennai for his belief in ahimsa.
Importance of digital technology In the current scenario, it has become imperative for schools to apply Information and Communication Technology inside
the classrooms. ICT supplements the teacher’s presentation and makes it more effective. The systems developed by IE Concepts have helped the school in developing cost-effective educational projects for our students. Ever since the installation of these systems, our teachers have more room to design and update their own curriculum material for final presentation in the classrooms. The technology being used is quite simple, and the devices are very user friendly. All the teachers in the school are comfortable with using the system. There is no recurring expenditure entailed in the hardware. It is a low cost module. Only simple maintenance and the content development are required. A teacher’s sense of creativity is automatically kindled when he or she has access to a technology that makes it so easy to create new content. It kindles the creativity of the teacher if he has the chance to develop content suitable for students in various classes. Currently we are having Multimedia Classrooms with LCD TVs. We also have English Language Labs. In near future, we plan to deploy a range of interactive tools. Every student in the school has access to computers. We also make use of a number of websites on the Internet that are well known repositories of education related multimedia content.
Vision for future Our aim is to provide comprehensive education on the lines of “New Education Policy” with special emphasis on helping our students to grow into valuable citizens in service of their country 26
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profile
MyClassboard Educational Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Head Office MyClassboard Educational Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Cyber View Towers,Vittal Rao Nagar, Behind image Hospitals, Madhapur, Hyderabad-500081,India Mobile : +91 9246477770, +91 9885678123 Landline : +91 40 65557770 Email : info@myclassboard.com Website : www.myclassboard.com Management Team CEO – Ajay Sakhamuri Head of Technology–Raveendra C A Head of Delivery–Gopi Kasu Contact Person for Clarification G.Ravi Babu - Head of Sales +91 40 65557770
Company Profile MyClassboard is a Hyderabad based education Technology Company established in 2007. With more than four years of experience in the education technology space, MyClassboard is the fastest-growing, most widely used Fully Online School Management System supporting more than 500 schools and 600,000 users across India and Africa. We have a well renowned name globally in the education sector, our various educational products namely www.usmleworld.com, www.collegetestprep.com, www.educus.com, www. myclassboard.com assist more than 2million students and educators worldwide. Products and Services MyClassboard Fully Online School Management System is an out-of-the-box webbased School Management System that can be deployed on a Software as a service platform for single schools or groups of schools without the need for a great deal of configuration. The application has a vast amount of built-in functionality and can handle everything including student records, admissions management, elementary and secondary exam report cards, fee collections, daily and period attendance, timetable automation and scheduling, picture ID cards, budgeting and accounting needs, HR and Payroll, library, learning management, online examinations, transport management and much more.
february/ 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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St Josephs Boys School Bangalore, Karnataka
Principal: Fr. Celestine Sera, SJ Born in 1947 in a family of 12 children, Fr. Sera went on to do his BA, B.Ed, B.Ph , B.Th and M.Ed. Ordained as a priest in 1992 , he became the Principal of St. Aloysious in Mangalore where he rendered his services for 10 years. He then moved on to St. Josephs High School, Hassan, where he served as Principal for a period of 8 years. Post this he worked as the administrator of the St. Aloysious PU College for 3 years in Harihar. Currently he is the Principal of St. Josephs Boys High school in Bangalore. The contemporary scenario is such that the digitisation of classrooms is a necessity. Our students consistently face the pressure of performing well and they need the aid of digital tools. In the system of modern education, digital tools have an important role to play. Such tools enable the teachers to improve classroom delivery.
It has generally been seen that the learning in digitised classrooms is more collaborative and interesting. A digital curriculum is more equipped to engage the attention of the students. The students are able to gain a better understanding of the concepts and they retain it for longer periods of time.
Deployment of digital technologies In St Josephs Boys School we have partnered with Pearson Education Services for implementation of the Edurite DigiClass solution in more than 50 classrooms. The implementation of DigiClass in our classrooms has resulted in positive educational outputs. Right now the school is not looking for new systems of digitisation, as we are focussed on gaining maximum benefits for our students through an efficient use of our existing digital resources. The educational material used for classroom delivery is lodged in a server from where teachers can access the repository of multimedia content provided by Edurite. The ratio of students and the number of computers in the school stands at 10:1, which is high enough to ensure that our students have access to ample computer time.
Vision for future St Josephs Boys School aspires to mould the minds of young men and women so that they can grow up into productive citizens who will be willing to serve the interests of the nation. We wish to fill our young students with the values of competence, commitment, conscience and compassion 28
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速
k-12
DSK Supinfocom International Campus
Pune, Maharashtra www.dsksic.com
Joint Managing Director: Tanvi Kulkarni As she belongs to a family with a rich background in business, she has inherited a keen sense for visualising and implementing new business ideas. She became part of DSK Supinfocom International Campus as a Marketing Manager, and currently she serves as a Joint Managing Director. As she possesses a strong passion for animal welfare and social service, she has studied Veterinary sciences at Auckland, New Zealand.
Interfacing with technology The DSK Supinfocom believes in providing our students with access to all the technologies and software which are highly recommended by the Industry. The curriculum is such that the students are constantly working on technological platforms. Animation, Videogame and Industrial Design are dynamic fields
The technological tools deployed in the institute include: a. Cintiq Tablets, b. Rapid Prototyping Machine, c. Alias StudioTools, d. 3D Projectors and much more that run predominantly on technological platforms. We believe in the philosophy that technology must keep updating itself on a regular basis. The software and hardware that we have currently deployed surpass the industry norms. But we are keen on keeping our technologies updated constantly. Every student in the institute has access to his own personal computing system. The courseware that we use for imparting education has evolved over a period of 24 years of research conducted mainly by our education partners, Supinfocom, France. We offer our students access to a state of art workshop, where they can indulge in clay modelling with Precision Cut Clay tools imported from Germany. The workshop also has thermoforming machine, which can be used to transform plastic sheets into myriad shapes, it has a painting booth, lathe machine and a wide range of precision pneumatic tools.
Vision Statement We at DSK Supinfocom are inspired by the idea of being a premier education group in the sphere of industrial design, animation and video game 30
digitalLEARNING
february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
k-12
Shemrock School, Rohini, New Delhi www.shemrock.com
Vice Chairman & Managing Director: Amol Arora As the MD of the entire Shemrock Group, Amol Arora has played a seminal role in growth of education. He has been instrumental in developing a range of concepts for furthering the integration of technology with education. In 2006, he played the role of Chairman at the conference of Independent Schools of India. In the same year, the Governor of Delhi honoured him with the award of “Young Entrepreneur of the year, 2006.” He was also felicitated by the “Independent School Federation of India” in 2007 for his contributions to School Education in India.
Digital teaching tools In this revolutionary world, which is constantly being wafted by winds of change, we have to maintain a sustained pace of de-
velopment. By creating a digital teaching platform we are able to develop an atmosphere that is suitable for the 21st century learners. Digital teaching tools are the need of the hour because today, we are constantly surrounded and connected with technology. The application of digital concepts in classrooms has made learning more engaging and participating. Keeping in view the dynamic nature of the present environment and the thriving pressure to be the strongest in the market we continuously update our teaching concepts.
World class Infrastructure At Shemrock, we have developed world class infrastructure so that our students and teachers have the power of latest technology at their disposal. We have interactive whiteboards in our classrooms to make learning a fun experience. At the school we have in place a highly mechanised computer lab that is conducive for providing quick learning to our students. We have also installed state-of-the-art Labs in our institution to deliver exclusive concepts in Maths, Science & Social Science. We are doing our best to prepare our students for the future.
Vision Statement Our ultimate vision is to foster human growth. We wish to offer our students the advantage of best education technology february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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Sri Venkateshwar International School Dwarka, New Delhi www.svis.org.in
Principal: Nita Arora Of the 30 years full of rich and varied experiences that Nita Arora spent in the field of education, 16 years saw her taking care of administrative responsibilities. At Sri Venkateshwar International School she leads a team of dedicated faculty members whose primary focus in life is to empower ignited minds. Her working style is marked by her desire to encourage her faculty and students to be always eager to take maximum advantage of the dynamic and ever-evolving learning and teaching environments. She holds a first class Masters in Zoology from Delhi University.
Integrating IT in school activities At Sri Venkateshwar International School, we are enthused by the prospect of integrating IT and ICT in all spheres of school’s
activities. We are providing ample opportunities to our staff and out student community to come face to face with new technologies. There is a clear cut emphasis on motivating deeper involvement with ICT enabled practices in order to enhance the scope of education that is being offered. The faculty is doing its best to bring the students closer to new technology so that they can feel free to use new tools in every sphere of life.
Digital Tools for teaching The school uses a wide range of technological tools for teaching and for administrative purposes. Some of the most outstanding technologies at our disposal include - Digitally equipped classrooms, Educomp Smart Class and EZ Vidya Curriculum. We are also having a Math Programme, Virtual Science Lab, Video Game Design, Multimedia Production and much else. There is a vibrant Robotic Club. IT related technology is also being used for training staff, streamlining the system of assessing students, maintaining database, video conferencing, etc. Our transport facilities are GPS enabled. Every child in the school has access to a personal computer. We often source premium educational content available on the World Wide Web for teaching purposes.
Vision for future Our aim is to use cutting edge technology and new teaching methods to provide high quality education to our students 32
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K-12
American School of Bombay Mumbai, Maharashtra www.asbindia.org
Superintendent: Craig Johnson Craig Johnson returned to India, where he spent 12 years of his childhood, after living in Brazil for 15 years. While he was in Brazil, he served as a High School Principal and Headmaster of two different schools. A dedicated educationist, Johnson endeavours to stay engaged with his students by coaching soccer, and trying to teach or co-teach in an English class as often as possible. A regular presenter and workshop facilitator on a variety of Leadership and School Improvement topics, Johnson has also published a novel, Wave Watcher. His second novel is expected to arrive soon.
Varied experiences for students We firmly believe that Information Technology is eminently capable of promoting active learning. It allows our teachers to share information efficiently and conduct their teaching with
proficiency. It also enables the administrators to develop a seamless system of management, one that facilitates timely communications between students, teachers, administrators and parents. Even though American School of Bombay is designed in a rather USA style, the settings are primarily Indian. The community of teachers and students are from 40 countries and this enables our students to have rich and varied experiences
Efficiency through digital tools Currently the school has deployed technologies like: Google Apps, Windows Live@Edu, Adobe Connect, Destiny, Dropbox, Discovery and Safari Video Streaming. We are conducting research on games based learning, social technologies and few other ideas. Some of these technologies can be implemented in times to come. The school also operates two vibrant blogs: http://blogs.asbindia.org/findings, http://blogs. asbindia.org/findings/taskforce-update. The American School of Bombay follows a 1:1 system when it comes to allocation of devices. Every student has their own laptop or device. Lot of interesting application based learning and management services have now moved to the Web or the Cloud space. We make use of some of them.
Vision Statement We seek to empower our students with skills, courage, optimism and integrity so that they can pursue their dreams and enhance the lives of others 34
digitalLEARNING
february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
k-12
Ramadevi Public School Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh www.ramadevipublicschools.in
Principal: Maruthi Ram Prasad A techno-savvy proactive academician holding master’s degree in life-sciences and education, Maruthi Ram Prasad has 25 years of teaching experience. He has played a seminal role in conducting several educational events and sports meets at the regional and national levels. He has also been instrumental in designing and developing excellent academic systems like Mentor-Mentee system, Vocabulary Corridor, Language Learning Labs, Weekend Academic Programmes (WAPs) and much else.
Meaningful use of digital tools The modern digital teaching tools play an immensely meaningful role in enhancing the reach and efficacy of education. Larger number of students in far flung areas can gain access to quality
Technologies already deployed in the institute: a. Computer science labs b. Promethean white board teaching system c. LCD projection system d. School Automation System (Edulive), English Language Lab e. On line teaching system from IIT Foundation education through digital methodologies. Teachers find it easy to disseminate their courseware through digital mediums. The courseware contrived from video and audio materials, along with text, makes it much easier for students to gain understanding of the subject. From my personal experience, I can say that digital teaching tools have a great potential for integrating academic initiatives and bringing best possible results in the students. Currently the ratio of students to computers stands at a healthy 2:1. Educational material available on the web and the cloud space is occasionally used by the institute.
Vision Statement We at Ramadevi Public School are inspired by the desire of integrating our system of education with latest technology, so that our students can enjoy maximum advantage february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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Kennedy High School Guntur, Andhra Pradesh www.kennedyschool.in
Principal: K B Savitri Currently serving as the principal, K B Savitri is also the school’s founder. She is Masters in Literature from Andhra University and has worked in education for last 40 years. For the first ten years of her career she served as a teacher. Since 1981, when Kennedy High School was founded, she has served as the principal. Her life has been totally devoted to education, and she is very passionate about facilitating best educational practices through a combination of traditional and modern methods.
Modern digital technologies We are of the opinion that the modern digital technologies are uniquely capable of furthering the aim of education. Interactive digital learning is a must in today’s classrooms, as it facili-
Digital technologies already deployed: a. Green computing labs built on NComputing technology b. Interactive Whiteboards and digital slates c. Visualizers in science labs and seminar halls d. Electronic Voting Systems in the quiz halls e. Digital content from Next Education and Edurite f. Virtual lab software for English, science and maths g. Solutions from School Serv
tates the participation of students. Modern technologies lead to lively assessments, which in turn enable the entire process of education to become centred on the child. In our institution students from Class III to IX get access to computers. Generally there is one computer for every ten students. NComputing technology has helped us reduce this mismatch between students and computers. So during English Language Lab, every student gets access to his or her own personal device. We occasionally source premium educational content from Cloud Space and World Wide Web for teaching our students.
Vision Statement Our school aims to impart the kind of training that can enable students to develop into pre-eminent citizens who “Think Indian & Act Global” 36
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k-12
A’s Steward Morris School Bhilwara, Rajasthan Director: Amit Tak It was about eight years ago that Amit Tak started A’s Steward Morris School. He is deeply involved in technology related activities. He also supports humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in and around Bhilwara region. He has an eye for detail and expects nothing but excellence. Digital teaching tools are the building blocks for effective ed-
ucation. It provides us with access to lot of information. Through digital tools, the teacher is effectively able to communicate, replicate, and ensure understanding of multiple topics. The school has opted for 16 IKEN classes, with RS System, ELL and ILL. In times to come, we plan to increase the number of IKEN classes. Every student in the school has access his own computer. We often source content from the internet; usage of Cloud Computing is also on the cards.
Vision Statement To serve the needs of its students, the school aims to have a modern campus with superlative technological facilities
Avelon International School Alwer, Rajasthan Principal: Mona Dubey Born in 1971 at Jaipur, Mona Dubey’s father passed away when she was only four years old. She completed her graduation in Chemistry in 1990. Presently her life is devoted to raising the level of education in rural Rajashtan. She has written books on environmental science. Digital teaching tools are conducive for enhancing the pace of learning in classrooms. A vibrant learning environment is
easy to create by use of digital tools. Large amount of resources easily become available to the students once they get connected to the web based resources. Currently the institute has deployed many resources from Mexus Education. In times to come we will be deploying Language Lab and Virtual Science Labs. We have one computer for every four students. We often make use of content from World Wide Web and Cloud Space for teaching.
Vision Statement We aim to use every possible new innovation in education for furthering the educational and career related goals of our students 38
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february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
k-12
C S International School Mandi Gobindgarh www.csinternationalschool.com
Chairman: C S Matharoo C S Matharoo, the founding chairman of C.S. International School, dreams of having 100 percent literacy in the country. The doors of CS International School are open to all students, including those who are physically challenged and are from economically deprived families. He strongly believes that adequate importance must be given to national language and mother tongue. Modern digital teaching tools are proving to be potent me-
diums for empowering the students. In the long run, the digital tools bring down the cost of spreading the reach and scope of education. For the learners, the tryst with digital tools and content is a great bliss. At present we are having a Computer Lab with Internet access. Three of our classrooms have been empowered with Iken Classroom System, which is empowered by Mexus Education. Currently we have one computer for every two students.
Vision Statement The Institute is focussed on using digital tools to improve the quality of education being offered to the students
Shri L G Haria Multipurpose School Valsad, Gujarat www.hariagroupvapi.org
Chairman: Kantibhai Haria Kantibhai Haria is the son of Lakhamshi Govindji Haria, a pioneer behind the chain of schools and technical institutions located in different parts of Gujarat. Kantibhai Haria has left no stone unturned in achieving his father’s dreams of creating vibrant institutions. Under his leadership, Shri L G Haria Multipurpose School has turned into a full-fledged educational institution. Digital teaching tools, which encompass videos, audios and
pictures, are naturally imbued with the power of attracting the present generation of students. Digital classrooms are becoming mandatory in all the schools. There is growing confidence among teachers as the content is engaging and motivating the students both outside and inside the classroom. The institute has deployed Iken Library, English Language Lab, Simulators and different types of automation systems for providing better education facilities. The institute has around 75 computers.
Vision Statement We are against the idea of making students sponge on facts and figures; we wish to use digital tools to provide practical training to our students february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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Udgam School
Ahmedabad, Gujarat www.udgamschool.com
Executive Director: Manan Choksi A student of Udgam School, Manan Choksi has studied here from Nursery to the 12th standard. Since 2003, he has been working with the school as an Executive Director. As a practicing Chartered Accountant, he is partner in one of the leading CA firms in Gujarat. He has founded a software company and an Accounting company. Apart from Education he has interests in BPO, Real-Estate and Healthcare. He is the director of RE/ MAX MGM, which is one of India’s best franchise businesses in real estate. An ardent advocate of technology, he has been instrumental in bringing up the level of IT in the school.
Advantage digital technologies In the modern age, digital technology is necessary for getting
Digital technologies in use: a. HCL Smart board in all classrooms b. Mindspark software for teaching maths c. Waterford software to teach language d. Apple iPad for KG students e. Android Tablet for students from Third to Seventh grade f. School Cinema for audio visual content g. Laptops for all teachers h. System to send SMS alert to parents if child is absent
students interested in the process of learning. Such technologies also have the effect of improving a teacher’s productivity in the classroom. Digital teaching tools help teachers to teach faster and this naturally leads to improvement in a student’s performance. Tools like Tablet PCs are especially useful, as students are attracted to such devices. In future we plan to deploy more Tablet PCs to make education even more interesting for our students.
Vision Statement Our ambition is to use the latest tools from technology to create a learning environment that is conducive for the development of a child’s mind 40
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february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
k-12
Navrachana Higher Secondary School Sama Road, Vadodara www.navrachana.edu.in/navrachana
Principal: Bijoya Baksi Mrs. Bijoya Baksi has been associated with the School for the last 25 years. In 2002, the school won the prestigious National Award for Excellence in Computer Literacy from the Ministry of Information and Technology, Govt. of India. Throughout her career as an educationist, Mrs. Bijoya Baksi has been endeavouring to enhance the scope of technology at all levels from Class I to Class XII. She enjoys the distinction of being the recipient of National Teacher s Award, which is given by the President of India. The Navrachana Higher Secondary School is run by Navrachana Education Society, which has at its helm Mrs. Tejal Amin, a multifaceted personality whose passion for good education has given birth to a large number of educational institutions. It has generally been seen that the learning in digitised classrooms is more collaborative and interesting. A digital curThe digital teaching tools that the school employs include: a. Interactive Boards in all Higher Secondary Classes b. Smart Classroom setup in all our Labs c. Smart Boards in the Multimedia resource rooms d. Entire School is networked with servers e. Digital Educational content installed from the year 2001 includes JIL learning Capsules, Classteacher. com, Eureka, Educomp and Math Buddy
New Digital Teaching Tools the institute plans to deploy in the future • Installation of Virtual studio • Setup of 3D Lab, which will help explore the Galaxy • Expose students to the multiple uses of 3D • Bring in Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)
riculum is more equipped to engage the attention of the students. The students are able to gain a better understanding of the concepts and they retain it for longer periods of time.
Digital Teaching Tools It is matter for pride for us that the Navrachana School was one of the first in the country to introduce its entire staff to Intel Training. We began our tryst with computer education way back in early 1990’s. Digital teaching tools make classroom teaching more effective by making it possible for teachers in the classroom to concentrate on instruction and concept building, rather than on dictation of notes. Online collaboration and sharing of content has opened doors for enhanced cooperation between the teachers and the students. Teachers are able to source information from electronic/digital mediums and create teaching material that is customised to take into account the needs of the individual students. As educators, we are also concerned about the environment, and a paperless school setup can go a long way in keeping our world clean and green. The school is also making extensive use of the excellent educational material that is available on the on World Wide Web. The ratio of students to computers in Higher Secondary Classes is 1:1. In all other classes it is 1:2.
Vision Statement To keep pace with emerging trends in the use of digitised teaching tools and making the setup so user friendly that all departments of the Institution can use it with ease and bring about effective results february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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26 - 27 July, 2012, New Delhi
Where Education Takes Centre Stage
Conclave of Global Leaders in Education
Expo: Global showcase of education technologies
Thematic Sessions Confluence of Thinkers, Innovators, Experts Expositions on Digital Technologies Interactions with School and College Leaders highlights • Power tracks on > School Education > Higher Education • • • •
Ministers’ Conclave Secretaries’ Conclave Industry Leaders’ Conclave Education leaders’ conclave
Awards: Recognising global innovation and excellence in education
Programme chair
Prof. SS Mantha Chairman, AICTE
For Programme Inquiries: Sheena Joseph, E: sheena@elets.in, M: +91 8860651644 For Sponsorship and Exhibition Inquiries: Fahimul Haque, E: fahim@elets.in, M: +91 8860651632
Eminent personalities who have graced Elets Technomedia Events
Shri Kapil Sibal Hon’ble Minister of HRD and Communications and IT, Government of India
H E Sheikh Hasina Hon’ble Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Mahinda Rajapaksa President, Srilanka
Dr. D Purandeswari Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education), Government of India
Loynpo Thakur S Powdel
Dr. Taseer Al Nuaimi
Dr Narendra Jadhav
Hon’ble Minister of Education, Royal Government of Bhutan
Minister of Education, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Member, Planning Commission
Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
N K Sinha
Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai
Prof Ajoy Kumar Ray
Dr. Veera Gupta
Dr. Alka Bhargav
Vice Chancellor, Bengal Engineering and Science University
Secretary, CBSE
Director, Bureau of School Education, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of HRD, Government of India
Vineet Joshi
Dr. S S Jena
Prof. Sudhir K Jain
Dilip Chenoy
Chairman, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
Director, IIT Gandhinagar
CEO & MD, NSDC
Prof. Tan Sri Anuwar Ali
Chairman, CBSE
Prof. V S Ramamurthy
Prof. Dinesh Singh
Prof. Pankaj Jalote
Dr Thomas Christie
Goeffrey Conaghan
Director, National Institute of Advance Sciences
Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi
Director and Professor, Indian Institute of Information and Technology(IIIT)
Director Aga Khan University Examination Board
Commissioner to India State Government of Victoria, Australia
Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Former President of India
Additonal Secretary(TEL), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD, Government of India
Former Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University
Mohammed Zillur Rehman President of Bangladesh
Vibha Puri Das
Vice Chancellor and President, Open university of Malaysia
www.worldeducationsummit.net
k-12
River Valley School Sringapatna, Karnataka
Chairman: Rame Gowda Rame Gowda is the Chairman and Founder of River Valley School, which has been in operation since the year 1988. The institute caters to students in lower, higher primary and high school segments. The institute also serves as an integrated rehabilitation centre and a training centre for Anganawadi workers.
Enriching education by digital means Ever since we started using digital teaching tools, we have realised that such technologies have the effect of further enriching the education that we have been imparting through traditional classrooms. The one way lecturing method of education is not as effective as the interactive and participatory sessions, which get fostered by digital means. An interactive whiteboard can enable a teacher to It is a very effective instructional strategy which enhances flexible learning and visual thinking for students.
The range of digital technologies deployed at the school includes Interactive Smart Boards, which have been provided by Classteacher Learning Systems. In times to come we plan to use more technological systems developed by Classteacher to further improve the process of education. The main goal of these digital learning tools is to improve the level of interactions that happen between the teachers and the students. Keeping in mind the number of students we have in our school the number of computers proves quite sufficient. Our teachers occasionally use premium educational content available in the Internet and in the Cloud Space to further embellish the courseware that they use for teaching their students. Digital streams of education offer the advantage of exposing the faculty and the students to ideas that are global in scope. Thus we are able to prepare students for leading productive life in a globalised world.
Range of digital technologies
Vision Statement Our main aim is to contribute to building an India, where people from every section of society can gain access to quality education 44
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k-12
APS Academy
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh www.apsacademy.com
Principal: Hema Krishna Kalakoti Hema Krishna Kalakoti has been at the helm of the institution since 1998, under her able leadership APS Academy has been providing excellent education to the students. She is enthusiastic about integrating technology into the classrooms at school. Technology enabled classrooms facilitate better learning and retention besides fun based learning. Such technologies are a
need of the hour. The school is using Iken ecosystem provided by Mexus Education Pvt Ltd. Educational material available on the premier websites on the internet and in cloud space are widely used for teaching the students. In years to come we are planning to build more technology enabled classrooms. Digital tools pose as a convenient way of providing students with the knowledge and skills to excel in both scholastic and non-scholastic fields.There are many new ICT tools that modern educationists can choose from.
Vision Statement The school aims to provide students with a refined system of education so that they become men and women of character and integrity
Angel Hearts Academy Indore, Madhya Pradesh Principal: Reena John Reena John has done her doctorate in economics. A merit holder in her Graduation and Post Graduation, she has been in the field of education for the last 15 years. The school is focussed on helping students who are not financially strong. She has to her credit many achievements in social and cultural activities. Modern digital teaching tools have brought a new kind of
vibrancy to the process of learning. With digital mediums like multimedia, 3D, etc teachers find it much easier to teach difficult subjects to their students. The school has already installed Iken Library from Mexus technology. This system is liked by our teachers and students. In the coming years, we are will be deploying a broader range of digital technologies in our classrooms. Currently we are having one computer for every five students in our school.
Vision Statement Our aim is to inculcate all kinds of practical skills in our students so that they are able to race ahead in life february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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DLF Public School Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh www.dlfps.com
Principal: Seema Jerath A highly accomplished teacher and administrator, Seema Jerath has been with DLF Public School since March 1998. Her entire life has been devoted to developing new educational practices, which can lead to better results in the classrooms. Her initiatives have led to the development of a child-centred curriculum that is activity oriented. She has also authored a series of books for parents, teachers and students. She has also been conducting induction programmes for teachers and parents for the last 15 years.
Technology that enables Ours is a futuristic school where technology is not just an addon, but an enabler. We have always been focussed on creating a judicious combination of dynamic curriculum and technology. DLF Public School has pioneered smart amalgamation
of both technology and activity with a futuristic approach that makes application and synthesis of knowledge an enjoyable experience.
21st century learning environment The school is working with a variety of educational software, with the objective of providing 21st century learning environment to its students. Teachers have to undergo a continuous process of training in using the new software. The school has joined hands with EZ Vidya under its “Chrysalis - Fly with Me Programme�. Under it, the school intends to create a future-ready, 21st century learning environment by using cutting-edge technology. The school has also partnered with Promethean Planet to update the ICT skills of the entire teaching and non-teaching faculty. ThinkQuest, an online learning platform from Oracle, has helped teachers and students develop important 21st century skills, including communication, critical thinking, and affinity for technology. The school intends to include many other digital teaching tools into its curriculum in the years to come, including audio visual 3-D lab, Robotics and Language Resource Centres.
Vision Statement Our vision is to enable each learner with such knowledge that he or she is able to embark on an exciting journey of self discovery
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k-12
Pole Star School Rajkot, Gujarat Principal: Parimal B. Pardava Parimal B. Pardava started his journey in the world of education with a very small school in Rajkot with his family members. Within a short period of time, this group managed to develop three institutes, which teach in Gujarati and English mediums. Digital teaching tools have now become the fountainhead of innovations in the educational space. Both teachers and stu-
dents are benefiting through the incorporation of such tools. The set of digital tools already deployed in the institute include systems like CCTV cameras and Biometric attendance systems. Three of our classrooms are incorporated with Iken systems from Mexus Education. In times to come we plan to install Iken Learning Lab. Currently the institute has one computer for every twenty students. We are not using content available in the Internet or in the Cloud Space.
Vision Statement At Pole Star School, we are focussed on the idea of becoming the leading e-learning institute in the state of Gujarat
Shree Ghanshyam Academy Bhuj, Gujarat Principal: Jitendra Khemchand Born in Gujarat, Jitendra Khemchand thrives in the wonderful community of teachers and students at the Shree Ghanshyam Academy. He prefers to spend his spare time in reading, travelling and other outdoor activities. He believes that life always brings new challenges to check one’s potential. Nowadays digital technologies play a central role in education. With digital tools students are able to make a tryst with
the best educational opportunities that are available in the world. Children enjoy being in classrooms when teaching is being conducted through videos, audio and images. Currently we have three classrooms outfitted with Projectors, Interactive boards and Speakers. In times to come we plan to bring digital technology to even larger number of our classrooms. We have one computer for every two students. From time to time we make use of the content available on the World Wide Web.
Vision Statement We aspire to be an institution, which is dedicated to producing leaders of the future february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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k-12
Shreevallabh Ashram’s M.C.M. Kothari International Girls’ Residential School Valsad, Gujarat www.vallabhashramgirls.org
Principal: Dr. Gladis Diana The institute was founded by Swami Shri Hariprasaddasji, who also served as the institute’s first Chairman. He was a man known for his philanthropy. The current principal, Dr. Gladis Diana is dedicated to providing every girl child the opportunity of rising in life through quality education. She is full of ideas about disseminating knowledge in such ways that the students face least stress.
Life in a digital age The truth is that we live in a digital age, and hence it is the duty of the teaching faculty to find ways of integrating technology into the curriculum. Digital tools bring to us learning opportunities that can capture the imagination and prepare the students for the world outside of the classroom. The ability to find, use, summarise, evaluate, and commu-
nicate information is critical for success in the global knowledge economy. Digital tools can help students develop such practical skills.
Technologies deployed The school is equipped with digital technologies like Interactive Whiteboards, Touchscreen, Audio-visual screens, Mexus tools, and many other kinds of hardware and software. In times to come we would like to provide a tablet to each one of our students. Every student in our institute has access to her own computer for education. We occasionally make use of content available on the World Wide Web and Cloud Space to enhance the scope of the education we are offering. The websites of NCERT, CBSE are excellent resources. We also find good content on YouTube, Merit Nation and through search engines like Google.
Vision Statement We are inspired by the dream of creating a positive change in our students through quality education so that they can thrive and succeed in the world 48
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k-12
Arwachin International School Dilshad Garden, New Delhi www.arwachininternationalschool.com
Director: Arun Sharma Arun Sharma hails from a family of educationists. His father started the first Arwachin School. Today there are four Arwachin Schools. A widely travelled man, Arun Sharma has brought the best educational practices from around the world to his own institutions. The Principal of Arwachin International School, Mrs. Sandra Swarup, has this to say about Arun Sharma, “He is the rock on which every important feature of this school has been laid. With his optimism, every hurdle seems surmountable. It was his futuristic vision that a dedicated landline was laid right in the beginning. This landline is large enough to accommodate all the digital learning needs of the school over the years.”
Evolution of teacher-student relationship With the advent of digital learning, the teacher- student rela-
tionship has evolved. Both have joined hands to explore the new digital universe, which brings vibrancy into the class-room and encourages creative and innovative thinking. Digital teaching tools encourage students to take ownership of their learning by motivating them to apply their knowledge to solve practical problems. They help students develop key 21st century skills like collaboration, problem-solving and critical thinking, thus preparing them for the globalised world. They also complement the teaching provided by teachers and help fill in the gaps in the students’ understanding of tricky concepts.
Digital tools for education We are a smart-school with a computer in every class, library and staff-room. We have virtual labs with Educomp, English Helper, and Promethean from ALMOE. Our infrastructure is conducive for incorporating any new digital learning tool in the school. HeyMath!, which is an ICT-based learning system for Mathematics being used in over 50 countries, has served us a lot by providing us with content that is dynamic and more suitable for our teaching needs. The HeyMath! lessons are really conducive for furthering the perception and understanding of concepts for all students.
Vision Statement ‘Arwachin’ means ever fresh, ever new and thus always relevant - our motto is to be true to the meaning of our name. Hence our vision is to provide an education that is current and fresh 50
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leader speak
Vibes from the Industry Leaders... In order to present a comprehensive picture of the way digital education is progressing in India, we have collected the views of some of the leading stakeholders in education. Just a quick glance at the concise inputs that we have gleaned from the noted players in the industry will be enough to place the spotlight on the most crucial issues that our system of education grapples with today. There is no doubt that the modern curriculum represents a noted departure from traditional approaches to education, but there are many challenges that we are yet to overcome. New technologies in education are constantly becoming available, yet there are many challenges in implementing them in schools and higher education institutes across the length and breadth of the country.
The Next Step in Education Take strong concepts, and research with academia to come up with solutions that are really designed for India
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t is the job of educational entrepreneurs to work with the academia and create solutions that are more accessible to consumers. When Next Education started developing content, we found that there was a paucity of research material that would actually give important information on how to develop content. For instance, if English is the second language, then what is the minimum vocabulary that someone needs to have to be considered proficient in the language? At what speed should words be delivered to ensure that the child’s retention is highest? Web searches will not yield the answers. Only the academia can provide such answers. Content providers need to work with the academia closely and identify
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such issues, understand them, address them, and then bring useful data back to the masses. Next Education has been doing such research by initiating close interaction with the academia in order to identify key parameters for effective designing of educational products. The objective was and still remains to ensure that the product can be used easily by students. A solution may have the best possible animation, excellent voice coverage, etc., but will be useless if it cannot deliver the right message at the right speed. Thus, research by academia partnering with content developers is very important. For example, thousands of dictionaries are available in the market, but research shows that traditional dictionaries can’t
Beas Dev Ralhan CEO, Next Education
help a child to build a vocabulary. Princeton has done a lot of free research on this. In most cases, organisations just need to develop a simple user interface and build a dictionary to create a solution useful for India.
leader speak
ICT for Education Latest tools from ICT must be used to enhance the scope of education
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nfrastructure is most crucial element that separates developed nations from underdeveloped ones. The biggest crunch that India faces is the lack of quality infrastructure for education. 47 percent of this country is under the age of 20, these youngsters need access to quality education set up. HRD has committed substantial amount of resources for content creation. But are we ready for a revolution in the education market. Students these days are enamoured by latest gadgets and technologies. Latest tools from ICT must be used to enhance the scope of education. Students these days are enamoured
by technology. They don’t only want to study about new technological products; they also want to study about it. Students don’t want to attend schools where there they don’t get access to computers and other technological products. The education establishment has taken notice. The curriculum of CBSC and some state boards has HTML coding in IX and X class. But the question that we really need to ask ourselves is. Do we even have the electricity to run the computer systems in our schools? We are talking about enabling our children with tablets in all parts of our country, but tablets will not help much as long as we are
B V S Prakash Director, 24x7 Green Lab
lacking in the most fundamental infrastructure, which is electricity, clean water, etc.
The Scope of Technology Take strong concepts, take strong products and try to come up with the solutions that really matter
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he students nowadays are quite comfortable with the products of cutting edge technology – iPad, smartphones, notebooks, etc. So the question is not if children are going to accept technology, they already have. It is the community of teachers who seem distant from modern technological tools and systems. All kinds of technological systems are available in the market, but we ought to go for systems that our teachers are comfortable with. Teachers have to develop an understanding of how to use media correctly. It is possible for a teacher to disseminate the same amount of teaching in a fraction of time that they would take with printed books. In science labs, the use of computer saves a lot of money and time.
The other issue is how technology can be implemented in the best possible way. There are certain informal ways to implement the same. The technology in educational space has to be incorporated with such audio-video systems that enable students to learn faster than they would through conventional printed books. It is very important to be creative while using the technology. Facebook can also be used to disseminate knowledge directly to the students. Perhaps some students will find it easier to learn from Facebook than they are from other means. There is no end to the ways by which teaching can be used for coming up with better teaching practices. The interactive whiteboards are of a great help in developing bonding between
David Zeldin Director-APAC, Luidia
teachers and students. There is a lot of technology available, but it should not be forced on anyone.
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leader speak
Public and Private Initiatives in Education While many trends are surfacing within the IT industry, we see cloud computing gaining momentum
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his past year has been good for the education sector, and saw stable and good market growth. The policies pertaining to education have also progressed, and as such we have seen much integration of technology into the system, whether it be through the implementation of accessible technology for the disabled, to on demand computing, or to the adoption of cloud curriculum. Successful integration of these technologies has allowed for better IT offerings for students across the board. Some of the current trends we are seeing in India include the deployment of MultiPoint server technologies which helps improve efficiency amongst schools. Furthermore, we are seeing increased focus on integrating technology
use in classrooms. Microsoft offers sites such as www.innovativeteachers.com and www.saksham-ms.in to teachers, to help them leverage new teaching methods and training modules. This past year has seen significant developments in policy making. A turning point was the roll-out of Right to Education (RTE), which offers the chance of accessing premium schools for all students. There has been a greater push to include and leverage ICT programs and accessibility features to provide a more inclusive environment for students of all backgrounds. While many trends are surfacing within the IT industry, we see cloud computing gaining momentum. In 2012 will see a shift of IT Capex to Opex, through a shift
Irina Ghose, Director – Education, Microsoft India to the cloud. This will allow universities to buy server time and storage space on demand.
Imparting Skills to India The best way of addressing the problem is to make education and training demand driven.
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Pearson, the largest Education Services Company in the world, has been involved in lot of interesting projects in India. One of those projects is the skills training. We have set up a skill joint venture with very good local partners and now our work has started to gather steam. In our endeavours we are having lot of support from public organisations like the National Skill Development Council. Shortage of skills is a real competitive drag on Indian economy. This fact has been recognised by the government and by eminent members of the public. That is why government is now stepping in with support in form of funds and
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policies. The number of skilled people required is 220 million people. This is huge number and substantial efforts need to be made for training so many young people. The best way of addressing the problem is to make education and training demand driven. We need to understand where the demand, in form of jobs, is coming from. The industry needs to get involved- the construction industry, the services industry and so forth. At Pearson, we also recognise of providing vocational training at an earlier stage of a person’s education. Such training can have the effect of seeding the skill related talents in our workforce.
Khozem Merchant, President, Pearson India
leader speak
Computers for Everyone The e-content or animations are helpful in getting attention of the students. It is very important that the content should be very attractive and visually rich
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t is time for us to think differently. When it comes to computers, it is possible for us to have five times more from the same budget. The truth is that during the last 20 to 30 years there has been immense development in IT space, but the way we interact with our computers has not changed much. For instance, we had Wordstar 20 years back, now we have Microsoft Word. Lotus 123 has changed into Excel. A few things have changed, but the demands from the computers have not changed much. Computers have become extremely powerful machines. If a modern computer were to be transported 20 years back in time, it would serve as a data centre for an entire university. We do not
use the power of the computers to the maximum. We use just 5 percent of the capacity and the remaining 95% capacity is surplus. It goes waste. So the basic idea is really simple. A way has to be found to utilise the spare computer capacity. If 60 people sitting in a room wants to start a company, they could go ahead with buying 60 computers. But do we really need to buy 60 computers? Every computer has unused capacity. So can I buy 5 computers? This is what NComputing does. We buy 5 computers and split the power into 50 or we buy say 10 computers and split the power into 500. Everyone has his own computer. But the cost of computing goes dramatically down. The solution suggested here is very
Manish Sharma Vice President, APAC, NComputing
simple and can easily be applied to schools, colleges and universities in India and around the world.
Innovative Assessments Practices for Education Making new- age assessment tools available to all schools is a must
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ssessment practices are now becoming an important aspect of education. The conventional assessment systems do not give the teacher the flexible mechanism of actually assessing themselves and altering their lesson plans. The assessment system should comprise a unique technology, which allows the teacher to assess each student on a regular basis. There should also be a reporting mechanism that will give an analysis and conclusion of the learning that has taken place. It should not be restricted to providing only numeric numbers or marks. The assessment should be on a daily basis and should also be shared with the parents so that the parents know what
their children have been doing in school, how much they have been taught and how much they have learnt. Mexus has come up with a unique assessment system which can be integrated inside the classroom without the help of any internet connectivity or wireless connection. It works locally in schools. When we talk about the masses, in India, majority of the population do not have an access to the electricity, internet connection, broadband and things like, iPad. So we thought of having a rather robust solution that can work even if there is no internet and there is paucity of devices. Assessments are crucial to the learning system, and the objective of educators should be to use it more
Nikhil Gupta AGM, Mexus Education effectively in order to ensure productive learning outcomes.
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leader speak
Meeting the Needs of Digital Age Technology infrastructures must be in tune with new age requirements
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he use of technology is linked to outcomes. So in education space, we must focus on the impact that technology is having on students. In the current scenario, even the graduates who have had their education are not job ready. The second aspect is that of adopting IT. How and where does a school start? How do they go about with it? Third aspect of the discussion is research, which we have done with around 1000 private K12 schools in India. Children are growing up in the Digital Age, but the infrastructure has still not matched up to the requirements. We used to have computer labs in the school to start with, but in a few years,
computers in every classroom became essential. Now, it is important to have one PC for every student. Laptops and tablets are gaining a strong hold in education. If you look at kids today, they have different learning styles. So we talk about a Wack learning style, which is a visual auditory and kinaesthetic style of learning, which facilitates learning through diverse styles. Another important aspect is the Collaborative Approach, where the focus is moving from Teacher Centric Approach to the Collaborative Teacher Student Approach. Therefore, technology plays a crucial role in promoting education and facili-
Partha Mukherjee Head-Segment Marketing, Public, Dell tating newer, better and updated learning systems.
Developing Digital Teaching Aids
The focus of Extramarks is to develop teaching aids that can be used to enhance the scope of education being offered in our classrooms
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igital learning is all about improving the quality of education. However, digital learning cannot be an external factor; it has to be adopted and imbibed in the education system seamlessly. It has to act as a facilitator that enhances the scope of the traditional modes of teaching enabling depth, clarity and ensures quality standardization at every level. The elements that form the classroom remain the same – the teachers, the students and the objective of classroom interaction. Over time what changes - is the medium and the methodology that enhances the learning process. By introducing digital technology in the classrooms, one allows the teacher to be more creative, interactive and productive. With new digital technology it becomes possible to cater to multiple intelligences in
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the classroom, introducing multiple ways of teaching the same concept. Hence, it engages the disinterested, less motivated student and challenges the advanced ones to High Order Thinking Skills. These elements in a traditional class are aspirational but not achieveable on a day to day basis. Digital learning thus, helps teacher to achieve her dream objectives of better personalized attention and outcomes in a classroom. Another advantage of digital learning is that it facilitates the teaching of new concepts and ideas as content can be presented in multi dimensional perspectives. Thus, creating ample opportunities to ever evolve the content and to keep technology bred child engaged in the classroom. It also allows the educationist to constantly align the curriculum to new developments in education, tech-
Poonam Singh Jamwal Chief Marketing Officer Extramarks Education Pvt. Ltd. nology and industry – thus help keep the institutions connected with the real world and the students ready for the world after school.
Complete range of Maths Lab solutions
Interactive Classrooms Interactive Classrooms
Digital Plus Maths Lab Digital Plus Maths Lab
Classroom Plus Classroom Plus
More than 1000 interactive activities designed to convert the classroom into a lively discussion session
Intuitive math lab instruments to help students explore, experience and enjoy Mathematics
Customized guided learning platform for access from school and home with no upfront investment
Ideal for use with Interactive whiteboards
Supplemented by virtual activities to reinforce learning and visualize abstract concepts
Teachers can assign activites, worksheets or assessments for students
Helps encourage student participation and helps them visualize Mathematics like never before
Step by step activity manuals and observation sheets
Math Buddy Highlights: Fully interactive platform to help teachers illustrate math concepts in the classroom. Activities designed to encourage student participation and help them visualize Math like never before. Interactive practice worksheets and assessments designed to develop higher order thinking skills. Assessment database with thousands of good quality questions to help teachers with CCE requirements.
Comprehensive reporting system to track usage, performance and identify trouble spots
Call us for a complimentary Math Buddy workshop in your campus For more information and to arrange a demo in your school, call : Mr. Puneet Goyal : 09871116975 (North) Mrs. Paramjit Johar : 09343837270 (South) Mr. Arun Kumar : 09380824325 (Tamilnadu) Mr. Kannan Bharadwaj : 09998661524 (ROI) Email: sales@mathbuddyonline.com
Complete package aligned to your curriculum Ideal content for use with interactive whiteboards and classroom response systems.
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leader speak
Gateway to Growth India’s transition to a knowledge-based economy requires a new generation of skilled people
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ndia’s transition to a knowledge economy requires a new generation of educated and skilled people. The competitive edge will be determined by the people’s ability to effectively create, share, and use knowledge. India requires a knowledge economy to develop workers - knowledge workers and knowledge technologists - who are flexible, analytical and are the driving force for innovation and growth. Two greatest concerns of employers today are finding good workers and training them. The difference between the skills needed on the job and those possessed by applicants, sometimes called the skills-gap, is of real concern to human resource managers and business owners who might be looking forward to hire
competent employees. While employers would prefer to hire people who are trained and ready to go to work, they are usually willing to provide the specialised, job-specific training necessary for those lacking such skills. India can learn a lot with the German model, which relies on the skills of their people. As a federal enterprise, our organisation supports the German government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. We are also engaged in international education work around the globe. We offer demanddriven, tailor-made and effective services for sustainable development. To ensure the participation of all stakeholders, we apply a holistic approach based on
Dr Srikant Bansal Director-Technical GIZ International Service
the values and principles upheld in German society.
Bringing Seamless Efficiency to Education Digital education is not only about hardware-software, teachers too have an important role to play
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ven when it is not being used for providing education directly, technology has a big role to play. Important stakeholders like teachers, principals, administrators, investors, content creators, and others depend on technology to bring efficiency into their operations. New digital technology makes it possible for them to access and disseminate information in seamless and easy manner. They need to remain connected 24/7 for sharing their views and their best practises with everyone in the chain. Ways have to be developed for us to manage the content that gets presented before the students through interactive boards and other digital avenues. There are quite a few challenges that
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schools have to face in managing their digital content. One of these challenges is infrastructure related. As far as infrastructure is concerned, there has to be an extensive overhauling of the systems. The heating and cooling systems have to be there. Many low income homes do not have access to high speed internet. Students from such families are unable to use their laptops at home for accessing online course material. Training of teachers is also an issue. Teachers have to learn about the best ways of using technology in classrooms. They must be able to handle minor software error or hardware error while they are in their classrooms. We can also have a system where maintenance facilities are avail-
Vishal Vasu Dev Information Technology Pvt. Ltd able 24/7, so that minimum time is lost inside the classroom due to any technical glitches.
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www.emaharashtra.eletsonline.com
leader speak
The Four Kinds of ‘I’ in Classrooms The e-content or animations are helpful in getting attention of the students. It is very important that the content should be very attractive and visually rich
T
he modern student is much more exposed to all kinds of information. He arrives in the classroom armed with knowledge acquired through internet, blogs, social networks, mobiles, TV, etc. Our teachers need to come up with ideas for catering to the needs of such smart students. We need to conduct an evaluation of the assessment techniques that we have in place today. Students prefer to be involved in the teaching process. The system of a teacher lecturing to a group of students is not conducive for the modern age. If we involve the students in the learning process and also in the
process of assessment and evaluation their interest in the teaching will be automatically aroused. In my opinion there are four types of ‘I’ in the classroom, the first ‘I’ is interest, second ‘I’ is the interaction that takes place between teacher and students, the third ‘I’ is involvement, and the fourth ‘I’ is the teacher himself. It is always the teacher who brings all these things into action inside the classroom. And unless a student is involved in the learning process, forget about the alternative assessment strategies even the current assessment strategies will be looking good only on paper.
Rohit V Katira eSense
Education for Jobs Only an active collaboration between the industry and the academia can lead to creation the right kind of educational content
T
here is an interesting case study done at BITS Pilani that seeks to analyse what is being taught in our schools and what is required by the industry. It is indeed the need of the hour to bridge the gap between what is being taught and the skills that the industry actually requires. This is not an easy task to achieve, because the needs of the industry are also constantly changing. Hence the educational content must keep up with the pace of change. A clear understanding of the needs of the industry is required and there also has to be an analysis of what is being taught. This can only be achieved through an active collaboration between the industry representatives and the academia. So this sort of a study is a good
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way of bridging the gap between the industry and the academic community. Digital education is not just an issue tools, it is not an issue of the technology, it is also has a human side to it. There is now lot of talk about disconnect between technology and the academia. In survey on use of technology done in September 2010, Britain’s Cambridge University has topped. Howard is at second place. Delhi’s IIT is at 218, IIT Bombay is at 285 and IIT Madras is at 281. There is another interesting research done by NASSCOM. The research indicates that only 25 percent of our people are job ready. The other 75 percent lack a lot of skills that are required for being job ready. This is where the disconnect enters in the field of learning. Only an active col-
Sanjeev Sharma Country Head-Business Development, S Chand Harcourt
laboration between the industry and the academia can lead to creation of right kind of educational content.
higher education
MIEL Academy
Mumbai, Maharashtra www.mielacademy.com
Chairman: M N Kutty Nair An Irish citizen of Indian origin, M N Kutty Nair has several decades of experience in the fields of business and management. For more than two decades he served as a senior executive in a large Canadian Multinational. He is a pioneer in e-security business, and is the founder and CMD of MIEL e-Security Pvt. Lt, a leading pure-play, end-to-end information security solutions company with operations in India, U.K., U.A.E. and US and 15 other countries. Digital technology brings seminal changes in the way we receive and transmit information on a daily basis. Online resources have transformed the way we approach routine tasks like banking transactions, hunting for a new house, reading newspapers, pur-
chasing train or plane tickets and much else. Internet telephony is now a major competitor for established telecom companies. Even in field of education, digital technology has started playing a vital role, we can’t think of modern classrooms without digital tools.
Deployment of digital technologies The MIEL Academy has deployed many cutting edge digital technologies. This includes an online educational website, a system of power point slides, video and audio clips that can be used in classrooms. We also have a system of extending classroom dialogues through e-mails and blogs. Students can login for contents, and for video and audio based educational material. They can access educational web pages and do much else. We have recently launched our Distance Learning Programme on Information Security, EKLAVYA, which will become operational by the end of March 2012. We are also planning to have much of our educational material in the Cloud Space. In the coming years, the Academy intends to deploy virtual classrooms, and have live online lectures, which will be based on well-researched and comprehensive curriculum.
Vision Statement The MIEL Academy aims to groom students to become well-trained information security professionals and serve the needs of their country 62
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higher education
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu www.amrita.edu
Chancellor: Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is a young and dynamic University established by the Chancellor, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, popularly called AMMA. She is known all over the world was a great humanitarian. In 2003, AMMA appointed Dr. P. Venkat Rangan as the Vice Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Prior to the current appointment, Dr. Rangan had been serving as Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.
Rise of digital tools Digital teaching tools are of prime importance in effective delivery of higher education. They help us mitigate and sometimes eliminate the space barrier that exists between the teacher and
the student. In today’s environment of inadequately qualified teachers in higher education, digital teaching tools significantly increase the availability of high quality learning material and classroom experience for a much larger number of students. The usage of multimedia and animations helps students to comprehend difficult concepts.
Digital technologies deployed The institution uses E-Learning Platforms called AUMS (Amrita University Management System) and A-VIEW (Amrita Virtual Interactive E-Learning World). Live classes are recorded using multiple cameras, and the video edited and indexed. The videos are made available to students both on DVD as well as stored in a repository for reference by all students. We will continue to significantly enhance both AUMS and A-View. A-View will be enhanced to provide an immersive classroom experience on gigabit networks like the National Knowledge Network (NKN). We have plans to employ cutting edge haptic and virtual technology, through SAVE (Sakshat Amrita Vocational Education.
Vision Statement To be a leader in research and deployment of digital e-learning systems, and to be a leading provider of digital e-learning platforms and applications to educational institutions all over the world february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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higher education
Vizag Institute of Technology Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh www.vit-vizag.ac.in
Chairman: G Siva Shankar Rao Coming from economically poor back ground, G Siva Shankar Rao was not able to have much formal education due to financial constraints of his family. Yet he was able to become a successful entrepreneur. He made a small beginning as a sweet vendor in 1962, and after learning from practical experience, he started his own sweet shop. From 1980 onwards he became active in political and charitable initiatives. He started Vizag Institute of Technology at Visakhapatnam in 2008 with the aim of grooming students their professional and social endeavours.
Teaching through digital tools No one can deny the fact that digital tools are immensely helpful in furthering the educational goals in modern society. Stu-
dents find it much easier to learn new concepts when they are taught through pictures, animations and videos. Even students who are from Telugu medium background have a lot to gain from digital tools.
Digital tools deployed Currently the institute has deployed systems like Learningware, NPTEL DELNET, INDUST and NITTR tools. In times to come, we are planning to encourage the usage of smart boards in classrooms. Many other kinds of advanced educational technology will also be implemented. The ratio of students to computers in the institute is quite healthy. Currently we are having one computer for every two students. Occasionally we make use of material available on the Internet and in the Cloud Space for teaching our students. The institute realises that the digital tools can be used not only for providing empirical knowledge to the students, but also for inculcating in them social sensibilities. Through digital mediums students can interact with knowledge from different parts of the globe. This will help students develop perspectives that are very broad based in outlook.
Vision Statement Our institute aims to train and nurture young minds so that they can grow into creative individuals, who can play valuable role in society 64
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higher education
Manipal University Manipal, Karnataka www.manipal.edu
Chairman: Dr Ramdas M Pai Known for his dynamic and inspirational leadership, Dr Ramdas M. Pai has played a seminal role in the creation of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG). The Group has grown into a powerhouse in the fields of Education, Healthcare and Research. Under Dr Pai’s leadership the Group has transformed into an Indian MNC, whose state-of-the-art campuses are present in Nepal, Malaysia, UAE and Antigua. Dr. Pai has received the Padma Bhushan.
Technology is an enabler We believe that technology can be a big enabler in the effective delivery of higher education and healthcare functions. With the incorporation of digital tools, students can learn at their own pace, in the manner that suits their learning. Learning new con-
cepts is much easier when the education is being conducted through an audio-visual system. The content for e-Learning is provided by the faculty of Manipal University. Hence the experience is like learning in a virtual classroom. The multimedia content of all the courses is interactive and provides the students with the ability of assessing their knowledge through online tests at the end of each chapter.
Deployment of technology At Manipal University all central libraries are connected through EPAC. The Library Search Engine, which is a web-enabled, can be accessed on Intranet, as well as on Internet. EPAC can be used to browse/search for an item (book/non-book), along with its details and the availability, in a particular library. Online Journals subscribed by the library can also be searched and accessed through EPAC. In future we are planning to develop the system for recording of lectures and archiving the soft copies of the same in the server. This will help the students to listen to the lectures again at their convenience. The institute provides personal laptops in students in many courses.
Vision Statement The university aspires to provide global leadership in the fields of education, healthcare, and human development in general
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higher education
BIIMS & Imperial College Bangalore, Karnataka www.biimsbangalore.com
CEO: Dr Hari Krishna Maram
Digital Teaching Tools
Dr Hari Krishna Maram comes with 10 years of experience in a leading MNC. He has also been actively involved in the founding of many business schools. A prolific writer, he is the author of three text books of international repute, his research papers have been published in many national and international journals. He has presented more than 40 research papers in national and international conferences. Dr Maram is fluent in five languages, English, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and French, and recently he has been elected as the Governing Council Member of AIMA & Chairperson of Association of Indian Management Schools -AIMS-Karnataka Chapter.
Newer advances in digital education systems have made it obvious that the objective of providing education to all can be best achieved through well planned usage of this technology. Only through digital technologies we can develop a complete system of providing comprehensive educational material to our regular and long-distance students. Our institute enjoys a healthy ratio of 1:1 in the aspect of computers and students. Every student has access to his own personal laptop. The digital tools that we have at our disposal at the institute help us achieve the mission of improving the quality of graduates by instilling in them values of competence, integrity and erudition. Technological systems deployed: a. Virtual Classroom b. Smart Board c. Online Learning d. Edusat
Vision Statement The institute seeks to be the centre for excellent education, research and training. We wish to promote the kind of knowledge that will lead to great benefits to our corporate sector february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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higher education
Jaro Institute of Technology, Management & Research, Mumbai, Maharashtra www.jaro.in
Director: Sanjay Salunkhe Sanjay Salunkhe has 22 years of splendid experience in various fields. For many years, he has been serving as visiting HR faculty in various management institutes. In 1999, he played a seminal role in the creation of NET Technologies, which within a span of 2-3 years acquired the status of top ten firms in the sector. In 2008, he entered the education sector becoming the chief mentor at Future Education Ltd. with which he is associated till date. In 2009, he formed his own organisation named “Jaro Education,� which is dedicated to providing online management courses and other programmes to students, working professionals and entrepreneurs.
Online education in the ascendant Online education is now ready to play a more dominant role. It
offers the kind of flexibility that is not possible through traditional modes. With online mode, students can learn from the comfort of their home or any other place of their choice. Advanced technology makes it possible for us to webcast online lectures of reputed teachers to students all over India, including 2-tier, 3-tier cities like Kolhapur, Surat, Patna, Guwahati, Kochi etc. In a traditional classroom session, a student attends the lecture once and the same lecture cannot be attended again. Once the lecture is over, it is gone over forever. Whereas, in online mode, the lectures are stored in the server, hence the student can view the same lecture many times. By utilising digital teaching tools, we ensure that learning process becomes more interesting and there is reinforcement of learning without compromising on the quality of education.
Online methodologies Jaro Education offers curriculum to its students through recorded lectures. These are basically, multimedia tutorials with videos, animations and illustrations for a thorough and clear understanding of concepts. We also offer interactive educational activities in various fun-formats that will help you learn important concepts.
Vision Statement Our ambition is to become the one stop solution for all the education and training related needs of students and working professionals 68
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higher education
The Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani, Rajasthan www.bits-pilani.ac.in
Director: Prof G Raghurama
Blended approach in education
A PhD in Physics from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Prof G Raghurama joined BITS as a faculty member in 1987. He has been the Deputy Director (Academic) in the Institute since January 2007. He has held several senior positions in the Institute, including Dean of Admissions and Placement and Dean of Faculty Division II. He was the leader of the team, which implemented the online test BITSAT, a benchmark for computer based admission tests in India. Having published over 40 research papers in international and national journals and conferences, He is also the Convener of the Task Force, which prepared the Vision 2020 strategic plan for the Institute and he now plays an important role in its implementation.
Our view in using digital teaching tools is to create blended approach, which uses the best ideas from both technology and tradition. So we prefer to have in place a mixture of online training and traditional classroom sessions, which will impart the best possible education to our students. At present we use Digital Libraries from 24x7Learning extensively. Our online Library contains several interesting courses in Business, IT and Engineering domains. We have always seen technology as a force that can play an important role in enhancing the scope of education. Due to the ever changing nature of technology, we plan to explore new avenues where technology can play a role not only to impart quality education to our students but also nurture independent learners. We have a huge repository 20,000 plus books in our Digital Library. These books are available both in the World Wide Web and also cloud space, thus enabling students to access them anytime, anywhere. The ratio of students to computers in the institute is one is to one.
Vision Statement Our commitment to transparency and stress on equal opportunity has been a key contributing factor behind our emergence as an institute of national repute. Our rigorous intake process rewards only merit and ensures that only truly motivated students join us 70
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HIGHER EDUCATION
C & K Management Ltd Royapettah, Chennai www.iguru.info
Senior Vice President: M K Geetha With her expertise in elearning, M K Geetha has been able to conceptualise, develop and launch myriad market knowledge portals, which cater to experienced professionals in the finance vertical. A graduate in physics from Madras University, M K Geetha is one of first hundred Indians to acquire the CFA charter. She is also one of the first twenty Indians to get a certificate in Information System Audit from ISACA (USA). She was part of the Price Waterhouse/ICFAI study group for a study on “Disclosures” under the USAID FIRE project. Presently, she is serving as a nominated Member in The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India University, Sikkim.
Stimulating learning Very often we make the mistake of having a rather narrow view of digital learning. The truth is that digital learning, which is the
Digital Tools already deployed in the institute a. Learning Management System with unit wise and overall time tracking b. Online practice tests c. Online assessment engine with complete tracking of scores and number of attempts d. Mobile alerts about various updates
same as e-learning, is not the name of a particular programme or a single technology. It subsumes a range of technologies and products. The most important factor in using digital tools and technologies lies in the methodology. If the methodology is right, the digital tools will serve the purpose of furthering education in the classrooms. Each and every technology has its own issues. For the best learning outcomes, all the technological issues have to be taken into account. Students can access the e-learning courses on the internet from their respective locations. They do not need to come to the institute for the same. In near future, the institute is planning to move to m-learning platform for supplementing online content.
Vision for future The institute believes in “Transforming Talent to Impact Lives” 72
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Higher Education
Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Nagar, New Delhi www.jmi.ac.in
Vice Chancellor: Najeeb Jung Najeeb Jung joined the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in 1973 and worked in different capacities in Madhya Pradesh and with the Government of India at the centre. He subsequently worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (Oxford University) on energy related issues. He is an expert on governance and energy, having worked with different governments, the public sector and the private sector in these sectors.
The new tools of education Digital teaching tools have brought a revolution in the way we approach education in the 21st century. The use of digital technologies in teaching and learning has become particu-
larly essential in view of the fact that we are seeing a gradual expansion in the growth of knowledge in all the disciplines of education. At the Jamia Millia Islamia many different digital technologies have already been deployed. We are using LCD projectors for teaching in various faculties, departments and centres of the University. In engineering, science and management disciplines, in particular, digital tools have gained an immense amount of popularity. Some faculty members are using e-contents for teaching in their classrooms.
Deployment of digital technologies The University is planning to set up smart classrooms in all departments of the university. Deployment of learning management system (LMS) is being initiated by the university in order to improve the overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment. We are also using the quality educational material that is also available on the World Wide Web. The ratio of the number of students and the number of computers in the university is 5:1.
Vision Statement Our aim is to use ICT technologies to bring further improvements in the education that we are offering to our students. We are open to the idea of modern technology transforming the nature of the present universities, making them digital and virtual 74
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higher education
Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh www.imtcdl.ac.in
Chairman: Dr. A.M. Sherry Dr. Arun Mohan Sherry is a Ph.D., M.Sc. (Gold Medallist), and M.Tech. (Computer Science IIT Kharagpur). He has received the Anand Swarup Bhatnagar Gold Medal for securing highest marks in post-graduate examination. In 2011, he received the “Rabindranath Tagore Samman� for his contribution in the field of Technical Education. He has more than 19 years of experience in teaching and research. Presently he serves as the Director of IMT-CDL, Dean (Student Affairs & Corporate Affairs) of IMT Ghaziabad and Chairman (Joint Admission Committee) of Ghaziabad, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Dubai campuses.
Benefits of digital education Today we have the system of digital libraries, which provide
our students with access to books anytime-anywhere. For instance, the Digital Library from Books24x7, an offering from 24x7 Learning, gives a revolutionary approach to problem solving and learning by providing searchable, online access to the full, unabridged contents of thousands of Business, Technical and Finance books. At IMT Ghaziabad we are making use of intranet on advanced fibre optic cables. It gives a wealth of information via connectivity of 100 Mbps to the entire campus including the hostel blocks. Wi-Fi enabled, all areas of the campus enjoy the internet, round the clock. The Computer lab is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and is available to students six days a week. The IMT library has very rich collections of e-books, ejournals, corporate and industry information and country research databases to fulfil the research and teaching related needs of the academic community. Our library boasts of excellent resources, which draw their content from systems like 24x7Learning, CRISIL, World Bank Databases, and much else. Every student in the institute has access to his own computer for learning.
Vision Statement Our ambition is to make IMT a global integrated business school, which is known for its contribution to management education, business leadership and corporate excellence february / 2012 www.digitallearning.in
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higher education
Jaipuria Institute of Management Indore, Madhya Pradesh www.jaipuria.ac.in
Dean: Dr. Prabhat Pankaj Dr Prabhat Pankaj has over 21 years including four and half years as JRF/SRF of UGC (on qualifying NET). A post graduate in Economics and a Ph.D. in applied Economics, he obtained first position in the University in graduation and a University Gold Medal in post graduation. Apart from writing in newspapers and magazines including The Economic Times, he has published 26 research papers, 4 books, and several conference papers.
Incorporating latest technologies The 65 years old Jaipuria Institute of Management aims to incorporate the latest tools and technologies for streamlining its dayto-day operations. The group carries the vision for excellence in education, and it has campuses in Lucknow, Noida, Jaipur and
about a year ago a new campus came up in Indore. The Indore campus has been developed with the aim of challenging the myriad stereotypes in education. Innovative ideas have been incorporated. The institute believes that career building can be achieved through a creative process which is geared to provide full expression to the dreams and passion of all stakeholders.
Deployment of digital technologies The institute has deployed Serosoft’s cutting-edge Institute Management System called Academia ERP for automating and streamlining all the functions at the institute. We are the first institute in South East Asia to conceptualise a contemporary management education system with the inclusion of digital business management practices. The Institute follows a completely paperless system. Session materials get uploaded on the academic ERP, which is based on Serosoft’s Academia. Students have access to a digital library. They can also access various learning tools on the web. In near future, the Institute plans to deploy learning systems that will make use of tablet PCs, podcasts, live video streaming and wikis.
Vision Statement The purpose of the institute is to prepare a new generation of responsible business and social leaders who can meet the challenges of the 21st century 76
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HIGHER EDUCATION
Newtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute of Engineering Guntur, Andhra Pradesh www.newtona1.com
Principal: Dr. M Janardhan Reddy Dr. M Janardhan Reddy, a professor in Electrical engineering, has over 20 years of experience in education industry. He has been at the institute for the past 8 years. During this period he has brought about several innovations to improve the quality of education. He introduced several teaching tools to enhance the scope of learning methods available to the students. He introduced a wide range of digital content for teaching in the form of videos, e-books, e-journals and e-magazines.
Advantage digital technologies Multimedia and video content are of great help in letting students accomplish their learning at a much faster pace, as compared to traditional methods of teaching. Hence, digital content
must be encouraged in our schools and colleges. The digital systems that we have in the institute include NPTEL videos, gate material/videos, placement ready material/ videos, digital library, college email, etc. When these were initially deployed in servers, a lot of system usage and maintenance was required. That is when the management decided to install NComputing solution. With this solution lesser numbers of CPUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s can be used to maintain the lab infrastructure. Things have become easier for the network administrators.
Saving environment with technology In fact, our institution has been very conscious about helping to save the environment and contributing towards making the earth a greener place. NComputing solution helps us achieve that objective by reducing electricity consumption to a fraction and bringing down the levels of e-wastage. The institute further plans to deploy research videos, practical workshops, and gaming workshops We have installed the shared computing solution which has improved the ration of computers to students in the institute. We plan to make further investments to ensure that every student has access to his or her own computer system.
Vision Statement The institute aims to provide our students with cutting edge digital content so that they are able to develop the knowledge for competing in an e-society 78
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higher education
B S Anangpuria Educational Institutes Faridabad, Haryana www.anangpuria.com
Director: Dr. S S Tyagi Prior to joining B S Anangpuria Educational Institutes, S S Tyagi was associated with Delhi University and the YMCA Institute of Engineering. He has completed PhD in Electromagnetic Fields from the University of Delhi. A dedicated educator, he has wide experience of teaching in undergraduate and post graduate levels of many different research projects. He has successfully completed the projects awarded by AICTE and guided students in post graduate level. He has a vast experience in handling all kinds of student affairs.
Globally competitive and locally responsive Today it is difficult for us to imagine education without modern digital teaching tools. Digital technology is now mandatory for our system of education. Our Institute caters to students in the fields of technology, management, education, law and pharmacy. Incorporation of digital tools is a necessity for us as without such tools we wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to be globally competitive and
locally responsive. The main goal of our educational policies is to provide our students with the best possible opportunities for all round development.
Digital tools for education Currently we make use of innovative Content Management Solution, Online Assessment Solution and College Wise Enterprise Management Solution. The system for Synchronous Learning between Intra campuses and Inter Campuses developed by WheeBOX is a major initiative for our educational ecosystem. As of now we have one computer for every four students in the institution, but the ratio will improve in near future. We have also installed Robust Online Assessment, Feedback Analytics Solutions and On Cloud Content Solutions from WheeBOX. With the help of these solutions our students are able to assess their own cognitive skills from anywhere â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from the campus, lab, hostel and even from home. Our teachers use lot of teaching and self-learning material that is available on web. Occasionally we even make use of Wikipedia.
Vision Statement We are inspired by the idea of providing our students with the kind training that will enable them to become worthy citizens of the world 80
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higher education
Vidya Academy of Science & Technology Thrissur, Kerala www.vidyaacademy.ac.in
Principal: Dr. S.P. Subramanian
Digital advancements
Dr. S.P. Subramanian (ME, Ph.D, FIE, MISTE) Principal, Vidya Academy of Science and Technology, graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Calicut University in the year 1984. He did his masters in Thermal Science from the College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University, Chennai, and completed Doctoral Degree from the same institute in the field of Energy Technologies. He is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India) and is a life member of Indian Society for Technical Education. Dr Subramanian has wide experience in the field of teaching, research and academic administration. He has worked in colleges under Anna University under various categories and is currently working in Vidya Academy as Principal since June 2008.
Digital teaching tools have the effect of enhancing the scope of learning. These tools enable teachers to move away decisively from the narrow confines of traditional methodologies in teaching and expose their students to a broader system of knowledge. Instead of just lecturing to the students in classrooms, the teachers become facilitators. Through digital tools they can bring knowledge from all parts of the world to their students. Information becomes easily available, and students can access advanced educational resources through a click of the mouse.
Technologies deployed Currently the institute has deployed DSPACE, MOODLE and NPTEL video tutorial. We are also having Digital Language Lab, and technologies for NMEICT. Some of the new digital teaching tools that the institute plans to deploy in future include Edusat Programs, Smart classrooms, and ERP solutions. Currently we are having one computer for every three students in the institute. Occasionally we use material available on the World Wide Web and the Cloud Space for furthering the goals of education. Lot of excellent material has now become available for free on the web.
Vision Statement At the Vidya Academy we are motivated by the desire of bringing all round progress through quality education 82
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