Digital LEARNING February 2015

Asia’s premier Monthly Magazine on ICT in Education

volume 11

I issue 01 I february

2015

I ISSN 0973-4139 I ` 75

e books e content

digitallearning.eletsonline.com

Tablets

Right Pill for Education?

Experts suggest a mix of chalk-and-talk education and technology-aided teaching

e learning

Innovative Methods of Teaching

moocs

ISSN 0973-4139

Contents volume 11 issue 02 february 2015

P16

Campus Calling 1o 25K UK students to study in India

POLICY NEWS 12 Less fund, higher education 13 Plugging loopholes in higher education system

Special Features 16 The tablet-savvy generation 20 Entering an era of

tablet-based learning

Interview 22 Tablets as panacea for

Technology not a shortcut to education

schools

Industry Speak

Exclusive Interview

25 Learning net for everyone

50 Kalyani Rangarajan, Dean, VIT Business School, VIT University

26 e-learning Future of K-12 Guest Column 44 Nanotechnology makes a good career

P40

54 Dr KP Singh, Chairman NIMT

‘Let Digital, Traditional Go Together’

P36 4

February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

Advertorial

digitallearning.eletsonline.com

Embibe

improves Students’ performance T

o help students achieve good grades in exams, Embibe, a platform which uses data analytics and technology helps in improving student performance across all ability levels.

Having proven this already across two of the toughest exams in the country, JEE and AIPMT/AIIMS, embibe is now looking to add to its scope by launching foundation and content for classes VIII, IX and X. Using embibe’s technology, schools across the board will not only be able to understand exactly what is holding each and every student back individually, but also improve the average performance of the class as a whole.

Embibe’s sole objective is to help every student achieve his potential in these exams. It focuses on marks improvement for students across all ability levels using technology and data analy-

Chitraang Murdia

Govind Lahoti

sis. Last year, test-takers on Embibe improved by 10,047 predicted ranks on an average after taking just 4 tests on the system. These include high rank holders like Chitraang Murdia (AIR 1) and Govind Lahoti (AIR 3) as well as students like Oamkaar (whose score increased from 70 to 105 by understanding gaps in exam strategy & time management) who significantly improved their main score using Embibe. It is the only exam prep platform which focuses not just on academic weaknesses, but also improving critical exam taking skills like speed, accuracy, time management, stamina and attempt planning.

Most online exam prep websites today are focussing on creating a massive online question bank with unlimited tests and practice. Embibe’s smart system however, has been developed to enable students to improve by consuming limited high quality content and focussing on exam strategy. Embibe’s content is developed by experienced faculty from some of India’s best institutes. Embibe is also the official testing and analytics partner for Abhayanand’s Super 30 amongst many other private institutes operating across the country.

Backed by the investors of Snapdeal and InMobi, Embibe is the only education-technology company that has raised `30 crore in a short span

of 2 years and is testimony to its efficacy in solving the problem at hand.

Embibe recently grabbed eye-balls after it was invited at the prestigious Web Summit in Dublin in November of the top 150 highest potential start-ups in the world. It was in fact, the only education technology company representing India for its role in harnessing technology and data sciences to enhance the scope of personalised education leading to marks improvement for students across all ability levels.

With JEE Main 2015 just around the corner, here are 5 bonus exam tips from Embibe experts: n Be very aware of time spent on questions you don’t attempt, students can tend to waste 5-50% of total test time! n Know your overtime attempts – right or wrong, to improve overall speed. n Wasted attempts or careless mistakes need to be carefully controlled by identifying their causes. (+5 marks/mistake) n Pinpointing exact concepts that are weak through all tests taken will help you manage revision efficiently &decrease stress. n Assisted practice with video solutions is the fastest way to improve weak chapters.

You can visit embibe: http://www.embibe.com digitalLEARNING / February 2015

5

Asia’s premier Monthly Magazine on ICT in Education Volume

11

Issue

2

February 2015

President: Dr M P Narayanan

Partner publications

Editor-in-Chief: Dr Ravi Gupta Advisory Board

Prof Asha Kanwar, President, Commonwealth of Learning

Dr Jyrki Pulkkinen, Senior Adviser, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Dr Subhash Chandra Khuntia, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt of India Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Executive Vice President, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment

Prof S S Mantha, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

Editorial Team education Sr Editor: Shitanshu Shekhar Shukla Programme Manager: Seema Gupta governance Sr Assistant Editor: Nirmal Anshu Ranjan Sr Correspondent: Kartik Sharma, Nayana Singh, Souvik Goswami, Gautam Debroy SALES & MARKETING TEAM: digital LEARNING National Sales Manager: Fahimul Haque, Mobile: +91 - 8860651632 Sr Manager – Business Development: Amit Kumar Pundhir, Mobile: +91 - 8860635835 Subscription & Circulation Team Manager Subscriptions: +91-8860635832; subscription@elets.in Design Team Creative Head: Pramod Gupta Deputy Art Director: Priyankar Bhargava Sr Graphic Designer: Om Prakash Thakur Sr Web Designer: Shyam Kishore Editorial & Marketing Correspondence digitalLearning - Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, Stellar IT Park Office No: 7A/7B, 5th Floor, Annexe Building, C-25, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301, Phone: +91-120-4812600 Fax: +91-120-4812660 Email: info@elets.in WEB DEVELOPMENT & IT INFRASTRUCTURE Team Lead – Web Development: Ishvinder Singh Sr. Executive – IT: Zuber Ahmed Executive – Information Management: Khabirul Islam event team Manager: Nagender Lal Assistant Manager: Vishesh Jaiswal

digitalLEARNING is published by Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd. in technical collaboration with the Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS).

Owner, Publisher, Printer - Dr Ravi Gupta, Printed at Super Cassettes Inds. Limited, C-85, Sector - 4, Noida, UP and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30, Sector - 50, Noida, UP Editor: Dr Ravi Gupta © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic and mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without publisher’s permission.

digitallearning.eletsonline.com | egov.eletsonline.com | ehealth.eletsonline.com | events.eletsonline.com Write in your reactions to Education news, interviews, features and articles. You can either comment on the individual webpage of a story, or drop us a mail: editorial@elets.in

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

EDITORIAL

Changing face of Indian Education With the Indian education system welcoming the new age methods of teaching, the dream of modern India will be a reality soon. The adoption of high-tech driven technologies in education seems bridging the gap between the modern and the traditional practice of teaching.

The Government of India’s vision of Digital India Campaign has given hopes to many schools and universities to bring certain changes in the education system with a positive outlook. The education sector is in the middle of paradigm shift from a one-size-fits-all factory approach, to a much more tailored learning. e-book, e-content, e-learning technologies have brought a slew of changes in the teaching methods and the schools alike. The universities and schools majorly private players have adopted the new teaching tools, but government and government aided schools still need to get in sync with the new technology era.

The new age teaching techniques is making life lot easier for students and educators. The adoption of digital teaching solutions engage generation of pupils well versed with the likes of Xbox and iPads and trying to make the classroom environment more inclusive and participatory.

Gone are the days when teachers use to lecture the students, making the session dull. With the practical approach in teaching methods, the students easily grasp and retain the topics in a much healthier way. Smart class from Educomp is one of the best examples which was first adopted in India.

It enables the teachers to quickly assess the aptitude of the student, how much of a particular lesson student has been able to understand and grasp. There might have been conventional thinkers who still believe in the traditional teaching method, yet adoption with the help of digital tools, teaching can be far more interesting and valuable for the new age generation.

The changing dynamics in education sector and shifting expectations for the learning environment require universities to examine teaching and learning practices. The forces of change in higher education system seem to be the need of the hour. However, universities are addressing this shifting landscape with a positive outlook.

Digital Learning is organizing Higher Education Knowledge Exchange Program in Jaipur on 21st February which brings key decision makers and leaders in the higher education sector on one platform to discuss the short-term and long-term objectives for strengthening the higher education system with the help of digital tools.

Dr Ravi Gupta Editor-in-Chief Ravi.Gupta@elets.in

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

7

i ndustry L eader sspeak peak

Youth Theatre: Developmental Drama for

Young Adults

Research says, drama in education leads to development of self-confidence and personality which helps students excel in the competitive environment” says Arpita Mittal, CEO of Helen O’Grady International, in an interaction with ENN’s Seema Gupta What is Helen O’Grady International’s Youth Theatre?

Youth theatre is a developmental drama programme developed by Helen O’Grady International. Its objective is to encourage young people to express themselves creatively while developing interpersonal and communication skills. The curriculum uses our unique Helen O’ Grady Drama system with its specialised techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote thinking skills in students pursuing all the university accredited degree and certification programmes.

What does Youth Theatre do?

Youth Theatre employs elements of role-play, theatre games, group-dynamics games, mime, improvisation, vox pops, snippets, speech dynamics, quick fire dialogues, expression exercises, space and body awareness, etc. in a progressive educational model through an intensive format which focusses on developing imagination, creativity and spontaneity.

Why is there a need for such a programme?

Youth are at a critical formative and impressionistic stage of their lives and their experiences, learning, choices and social atmosphere impact their growth.

Through Developmental Drama, they find themselves in a simulation of real life situations where all their responses and reactions can be recorded and assessed. It is absolutely necessary that they become good communicators in today’s world and this can happen through self-realisation. This leads to development of self–esteem, self–confidence,

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December 2014 / digitalLEARNING

creative thinking and problem solving abilities among the young adults. Their inter-personal & intra–personal skills need to be honed, which will stimulate their creative self and allow them to enjoy the freedom to experiment leading to a harmonious life pattern.

How has Youth Theatre evolved?

Helen O’Grady International, over a period of 35 years, has developed a curriculum through intensive educational research on the needs and requirements of the young people studying in diverse academic streams.

How are the Youth Theatre classes conducted?

Youth Theatre modules can be conducted either through weekly classes of 2 hours each for 15/20/25 weeks or in a workshop format of 3 to 5 hours every day for 5/10/15 days.

Are there any additional benefits?

University life of students involves various stress factors caused by long hours of study, project work, academic and assessment related pressures. Our Youth Theatre Programme works as a stress buster and enables the students to channelise their anxiety, fears, anger, disappointments into positive emotions and achievements. They learn to cope with failures and successes with equanimity.

How does the Youth Theatre programme help in furthering the future prospects of young people?

Youth Theatre helps in moulding the personality of young people to cope with the competitions and face interviews with confidence through enhanced body poise, social skills, eye contact, public speaking skills, presentation skills, leadership roles in group discussions and an eloquent personality. n

Helen O’ Grady Drama Classes encourage students to develop confidence and communication skills.

English Speech & Drama Programme for Schools

YOUTH THEATRE Globally Acclaimed Educational Theater Programme for Youth Tel : 022- 4022 7481 / 82 / 83 / 84 Email : admin@helenogrady.co.in www.helenogrady.co.in

nEWS

Campus School

Calling Education

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25,000 UK students will study in India

E

xpanding Indo-British partnership in education sector for mutual benefits, as many as 25,000 students from the United Kingdom will come to India to study in the Indian universities over the next five year, according to a senior British High Commission official.

The British Council has devised a project called - Generation UK under which 25,000 students from the UK will come over to India over the next five years for studies, Andrew Soper, Minister Counsellor in the British High Commission at New Delhi, told reporters.

Asked as to how the British students will benefit by studying in Indian academic institutions when they have world class facilities back home, he said, there are a number of good educational institutions in India, too which can help the students to excel in their chosen field.

Stating that the UK and India have entered into a well established, broad ranging and expanding partnership in education sector over the years, Soper said that Prime Minister David Cameron and ministers in his government had visited India with a specific goal to explore further opportunity and broaden partnership in education sector.

“Education remains a key plank of bilateral relations between India and the UK,” he said. Soper, who had taught social sciences at Woodstock school in Mussoorie in early 1980s before joining diplomatic service, also sought to woo the Indian students to come over to the UK for education and research in order to boost their career prospects.

Similarly, the bilateral partnership between the two countries provides

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

an opportunity to the students from India to undertake education and research in the UK which has four of top six universities of the world and 30 of top 200 academic institutions, he said.

“There are 24,000 students from India studying in different colleges and universities in the UK out of 4.2 lakh overall students from foreign countries,” the British High Commission official said.

“In fact, 84 per cent applicants (from India) seeking visa for studies in the UK were successful last year,” Soper said, adding that in fact, the Indian students studying in the UK can get their visas extended for further studies and work before returning back home.

Moreover, the opportunity to study in the UK has become all the more attractive as there are substantial scholarships available for students from India to study there under the partnership programme between our two countries,” he said.

“There are 401 part scholarship awards available this year worth 1.51 million pounds (approximately `151 million) for varied subject areas ranging from engineering, law, business to art and design, biosciences across 57 academic institutions spread over England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,” the British high commission official said.

In addition, there are Chevening scholarships being provided by the UK Government’s global partnership programme under which the funds will be quadrupled for the Indian students over the next two years to make India the largest recipient in the work, he said.

On the UK’s partnership with the Bihar government, the British Council (East India) Director Sujata Sen said the UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) runs project to teach English language to school teachers in Bihar.

nEWS

Policy

To read latest news, log on to education.eletsonline.com

Less fund, higher education

T

he government has reduced funds for higher education to the tune of `3,900 crore in its revised budget estimates for the financial year 2014-15. The government has revised the figure to `13,000 crore, as against `16,900 crore for the plan allocation.

The revision, say officials, will hit the eight new IITs that were scheduled to move to their permanent campuses this academic year. The government has reduced the `2,500 crore originally allocated to the 16 IITs for the year 2014-15, to `2,337 crore, initiating a cut of `163 crore.

“The reduction of 163 crore will affect the new IITs as the HRD ministry will not be able to disburse the funds for the final phase of construction of their new campuses,” an official said.

The eight IITs announced by the UPA government during 2008-12 were operating out of temporary campuses and six of these (except IIT Ropar and Jodhpur) were to move to their permanent campuses by July this year.

Additionally, the IITs will have to bear the burden of `150 crore due to the recent hike in junior and senior research fellowships which have been increased from `16,000 to `25,000 (JRF) and `18,000 to `28,000 respectively.

The government has also initiated budget cuts for the five IITs and five IIMs announced in last budget session of the Parliament. Out of `500 crore allocated for these, the government will now disburse only `65 crore.

Funds for new initiatives including have also been cut. While the government has revised the allocation for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) from `100 crore to `5 crore, the allocation for the Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers Training has been revised to `15 crore as against the original `100 crore.

The government has also revised allocation for Rashtriya Uchcha Siksha Abhiyan — which seeks to improve overall quality of higher education in the country — to `397 crore as against `2,200 crore in the original budget.

UCD offers scholarship for Indian students

U

niversity College Dublin (UCD) has launched 2015 UCD Scholarships for Indian undergraduate and postgraduate students. The university is granting 4 full scholarships in recognition of V. V. Giri, the fourth President of India, who studied law in UCD from 1913 to 1916.

Students applying for post graduate courses under V.V. Giri Scholarships (Graduate) program will be entitled for 100% scholarship based on their grades in undergraduate courses. Graduate (Taught Masters) Scholarships will be given on the merit based to the students applying for post graduate courses. 100% merit based tuition scholarships worth €3,000 each specifically for Indian students applying for postgraduate courses*

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

(applied to applicants who accept offers in first come, first served basis).

UCD is also offering U21 Delhi University Scholarships worth €3,000 each specifically for Indian students graduated from Delhi University, UCD’s Universities 21 partner, applying for postgraduate courses.

The university is also offering undergraduate scholarships. These

are: • Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship. This is a merit based tuition scholarship.

• 5 merit based tuition scholarships worth €5,000 each for undergraduate students • 10 merit based tuition scholarships worth €3,000 each for undergraduate students

Plugging loopholes in higher education system

A

ll the stakeholders including society, industry, who are consumers of the product of higher education, will be equally accountable for its revitalisation process. The Indian Government has tried to take some measures to revamp the higher education arena. The 12th five year plan (2012-2017) has focused on access, equity, quality, promotion of talent and skill development for the up gradation of higher education.

Operation ‘Faculty Recharge’ is the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) initiative for augmenting the research and teaching resources of universities. The commission had given a seven point action plan to revamp higher education in the 11th five year plan. It included points like enhancing the enrolment ratio, equity and inclusion, improving quality and excellence, academic and administrative reforms, Public Private Partnership (PPP), internationalisation of higher education and the issue of the financing of higher education.

Some efforts are being taken in this direction. They are yet to show results. Looking into the enormity of the problems, it will take some time to see the desired change.

Ministry of HRD has moved the NCHER bill to promote the autonomy of higher educational institutions for the free pursuit of knowledge and innovation. It will also lead to facilitating access, inclusion and opportunities to all, a comprehensive and holistic growth of higher education and research in a competitive global environment through reforms and renovation; and an advisory mechanism of eminent peers in academia.

To bridge the gap in academic research, the Central Government in 2013, decided to set up 15 World Class Universities under Rashtriya Uchchatar Siksha Abhiyan (RUSA) under the National Higher Education Mission.

Governments and State agencies traditionally have played three roles viz regulating and providing accurate public information, financing, and administering. The Governments need to be assured that higher education institutions are addressing societal needs by producing the desired graduates, as well as by generating the research and service to improve citizens’ lives. The government cannot provide all the solutions to India’s higher education challenges. Most of the public expenditure on higher education is used up on salaries and maintenance of existing institutions. Very little is spent on curriculum upgradation, research and technology.

Hence, the entry of private players in the field. The evolution of both public and private higher education should be accompanied by autonomy with a purpose of making value addition to higher education.

Higher education should help students acquire technical, behavioural, and thinking skills to increase their productivity and growth. They also need problem solving and creative thinking skills to support higher value added manufacturing sector and business. The institutes of higher education have to move toward becoming a learning organisation, where in we keep updating ourselves continuously.

Rather than waiting for holding audits by regulatory bodies, it would be advisable for the institutes to hold selfimposed academic audits to help them build quality and relevance components. Raising the quality of academics and research is possible through a self-imposed quality assurance processes. Internally built processes are more effective as they arise out of self-discipline and with a will to progress. Involvement of all the stakeholders is imperative in the entire process. This may be complemented by external quality check and undertaken by regulatory bodies to communicate the standard of education to the world outside. It will build public faith in the processes of the educational institutions. This can be done through Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQAC). These cells are existing in some of the higher education institutes but their functioning is a question. Quality assurance processes (ie accreditation, accountability and assessment) have particular relevance today to ensure quality for a broader and more diverse set of institutions. Accountability and governance are major challenges to be handled successfully.

Education is being viewed as a business proposition by private providers. Hence just as all business organisations are required by law to publish mandatory disclosures in public domain; all educational institutions should be made to publish legally required reports at regular intervals. In addition, every educational institution must get itself rated by an independent and specialised accreditation agency, and upload the same in public domain. This will bring in much needed transparency and accountability to entire society. Multiple regulatory agencies with overlapping functions and mandates govern almost every aspect of functioning of higher education institutions. Higher education should have only one overarching regulatory body for each faculty. The regulations are related to infrastructure and other processes but there are no clear parameters related to student outcomes. Serious debate needs to decide on ways to judge institutions based on parameters such as quality of student outcomes. digitalLEARNING / February 2015

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nEWS

School

Education

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‘Non-Maharashtra board schools can conduct own admissions

N

on-Maharashtra board schools will have the liberty of conducting admissions on their own and the Maharashtra government will not exercise any control over the procedure, Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde said.

Tawde said the non-Maharashtra board schools have their own academic schedule which does not match with that of the Maharashtra board schools.

“Hence, there cannot be a common admission schedule for all schools in the Maharashtra,” he said.

Last year, Maharashtra education department had hinted at a common schedule for all schools in the Maharashtra. Many schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) have either initiated or already completed their admission process. There was confusion among schools about the common admission process which the Maharashtra education department has been mulling over for the past two years.

“Many non-Maharashtra board schools begin the new academic year in March whereas Maharashtra board schools begin the year in June. The start of the admission process would also vary. We cannot control the admission process of non-Maharashtra board schools,” Tawde said.

Admissions for the 25 % reserved seats for the economically backward sections of society under the Right to Education Act will, however, have a common schedule. This schedule is to be followed by all schools, to whom the Act is applicable.

Stay fit to score marks

U

niversity of Calicut has taken the dictum a sound mind in a sound body to heart. The varsity is now dangling six grace marks each semester to students who undergo fitness education programme. The proposed College Fitness Education Programme (COFE) includes 10 hours of physical training in two six-month long semesters, followed by a fitness performance assessment.

Students will get four marks each semester if they attend eight hours of physical training which includes basic stretching exercises and warm-ups. In addition they will get two marks per semester for their performance in six activities like sit-ups and pull-ups. Other

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

The Maharashtra government is also making efforts to reduce the weight of school bags. It has formed an expert committee that will discuss ways to reduce the burden on students. The committee will submit its report at the end of this month. Tawde said, “We are getting several suggestions from educationists, experts and various others on ways to reduce the weight of school bags.” The committee is deliberating on points such as low weight paper, integrating two books, thinner books and other suggestions.

The committee is headed by director of primary education Mahavir Mane.

activities include skipping, hopping on one leg, rope climbing, throwing a cricket ball to 50 metre distance for men and 35 metres for women.

Dr Sakeer Hussain V P Deputy D irector, physical education, said COFE is an effort to promote healthy lifestyle among students. The COFE guidelines were approved by the university academic council on Thursday and will be implemented from the 2014-15 academic year.

The varsity has 400 colleges in its fold and critics say many of them do not have physical education teachers required to monitor the programme. They ask how a mere 10 hours of training during a six-month semester be beneficial to students. Physical education department authorities told TOI that 30% of the 300 self-financing colleges do not have a single physical education teacher.

Prof K P Muraleedharan, Department of Commerce and Management Studies, said the academic timetable doesn’t offer any time slot for physical training. With Vice-Chancellor M Abdul Salam at the helm, the varsity has been coming up with initiatives which many uncharitable critics describe as Tughlaqian, some of them include a Golden Mother award with categories such as best physically challenged mother, teacher mother, sports mother, tribal mother etc.

Special feature

digitallearning.eletsonline.com

MOOCs: Finding the right solution T

oday’s era of learning is encircled with technological revolution. The revolution that has enlivened online education with a more active, open and plausible course called MOOC (Massive Open online Course), accessed via web.

Crafted meticulously with interactive and engaging elements, MOOCs are free online courses which provide a gateway to situate and strengthen higher education.

MOOCs are the thoroughgoing reform in India’s higher education system that reduce costs, upgrade learning and multiply access. With the aim of academic democratisation, many prodigious educational institutions in the country have started adapting the MOOC format to meet the exponentially increasing thirst of knowledge of today’s technology-savvy students. In effect, a MOOC movement has been activated setting a trend in the higher education system of the country! On one hand where thousands of learners are attending MOOCs to enhance knowledge in their areas of study, educational institutes on the other hand are proffering participants and teachers of the course with: an easy access to internet, a developed platform to host online sessions, collaborative learning and a great user experience, more than ever.

Many renowned educational institutes, like IITs in India are endeavouring to trend MOOCs by undertaking initiative like NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), a project funded by the government. In the midst, the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi too proposed to launch an India-focused MOOC

conventional challenges

F

or the past few years, MOOCs have been one a wave, a movement in digital learning. Though start-up like edX; project like NPTEL; or big educational institutes have taken up the charge of MOOCs, still its execution has been a challenge on several grounds. To exemplify some of the conventional challenges: 1. Infrastructural Requirements: To create video courses, every institute may not be able to bear the cost of having a soundproof studios as most of the IITs have!

2. Certification: Offering certificates to the number of learners (which is expected to be ‘massive’) is still a challenge in most of deliverances.

3. Easy Access: Many MOOC facilitating platforms have complex methods to host and attend online classes, which eventually calls for special training sessions for both teachers and students.

4. Reports of Attendance: Quite often, many institutes skip to keep the track of students’ attendance report in the course. This not only keeps them oblivious of the progress of learners, but their own performance as well.

5. Live Instructor Involvement: The self-paced MOOCs conducted on many online education platforms don’t involve live instructors. It eventually narrows the scope of live student-to-teacher interaction, which is the part and parcel of collaborative learning.

platform: Swayam. It will host three distinct courses, in collaboration with popular MOOC platform OpenEdX. Business schools and independent educators have also followed the trend with popular MOOC platform like WizIQ. No matter how well-prepared one is, in the absence of a right platform, no MOOC can survive. Thus, there is a need of unique platform that entertains live teacher-to-students (vis-à-vis) interaction with synchronous learning.

In lieu of the call, WizIQ comes forth with the best driving solution. Offering a wide range of exclusive features like interactive whiteboard, text chat, polling tools, full-screen video and breakout rooms amongst others. Be it maintaining students’ attendance reports or proffering them with course certificates, it gives weightage to every meticulous requirement of teachers and students on its safe, credible and easy-to-use education platform.

Moreover, to make live classes more interactive and impactful, the multi-way audio and real-time video streaming are made easily accessible to all the participants; which unfortunately, other big institutes or leading online education portals fail to provide. In a nutshell, all in all, WizIQ seamlessly conducts both synchronous and asynchronous MOOCs with avant-garde features to actively promote digital learning.

For more, you may drop an email to: academics@wiziq.com or speak to Kalyan @ +91-9915-701-494.

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

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Special Feature

Tapping into a tablet-savvy future The typical Indian classroom – once characterized by students sitting through hour-long lectures – are now abuzz with tablets, a new trend of personalized learning. Elets News Network finds out if technology is really improving the level of education in our country and can it ever replace a real teacher?

T

he advanced technology is changing how the young India is applying geometric formulas or balancing chemical equations. Some of the best minds in the education sector believe that the usage of tablets in classroom is necessary as we prepare our students for the global economy. Our Indian classroom is undergoing a sea change, and blackboard and chalk may not be its most important features anymore. The ‘digital native’ generation is more comfortable with receiving homework alerts and sharing notes on their tablets.

Technology makes the process of learning more exciting, interacting and

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

engaging, says Neeta Bali, Head of Kasiga School, Dehradun. “There is a dire need to integrate technology into education to make it meaningful, easy to assimilate and lasting in impact. If used judiciously, it can be a great tool. Tablets open out new vistas of global learning, if used judiciously in a supervised environment, particularly with younger students. It is wise to use a tablet of good brands that are child friendly, easy-touse and breakage resistant,” she adds.

Echoing the same sentiments, R.K. Sharma, Principal, Satyug Darshan Vidyalaya, Faridabad, insists that in this era of advanced technology the students need to be tech-savvy. “Fashion of buy-

ing new books every year is a wastage and threat to greenery and ecosystem.

Tablets save paper as well as teacher’s time, and help the child to understand the concepts and apply these in real life situations. It helps the students to immediately connect with the teachers and peer groups for solution to their problems. In modern education system learning by doing is required, so tablets become one of the sources. Immediate problems can be detected, solutions can be provided and reminders can be given through the tablets,” he adds.

The whole process encourages students to not just mug up the theories but actually understand the concepts

Special Feature

of mathematics, physics, chemistry and other subjects. The tablets not just open up new opportunities of teaching but also help students share what they have learnt. Many schools are recognizing the potential of usage of tablets in classrooms.

Although most of the educators agree that the traditional tools of teaching are slowly losing their relevance, the path to usage of technology in classroom needs to be treaded carefully. It is true that older generations relied more on traditional tools of teaching but the generation Z, whom we also know as the Alpha generation learners or Digital Natives, is more receptive to digital learning tools and techniques.

“Still, there are many parameters to check and keep in mind while selecting a tool for school. First and foremost the base of the product, the theory or foundation on which the product was formed. The benefit it will do to the community, what research has gone behind developing this product, training support, installation costs, post sale services, customer satisfaction, relationship building and monitoring, repairs or warranties applicable, grievance redressal, applications offered, durability, price, etc have to be crosschecked.

When deciding on a product for young kids, schools need to be sure that there

are no harmful or ill effects on the health of the kids,” shares Dr Niyati Chitkara, Principal, Chitkara International School, Chandigarh.

Every teaching and learning

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

According to the Indian Education Sector Outlook — the total number of schools in India stands at 1.3 million, and only around 10 per cent of the private schools have tapped the potential of digital classroom teaching, whereas in government schools, it has barely made any inroads,” Peeya Sharma, School Head at Ryan International School tool has its own advantages and disadvantages. And tablets are no exceptions.

Though more and more students are comfortable using advanced technology there’s still a small fraction of students who find the sensitive and human touch of a real teacher necessary to stay motivated. Therefore, a balanced mix of both could be the ideal way to help our students stay interested in their studies.

“Digital tools and traditional tools are not contradictory. They are rather supportive to each other. Tablet is n o t the

only way; it is an additional and important tool to help the students understand the concepts better. Traditional teaching can be enriched with digital tools for effective teaching and learning. In traditional teaching, students rarely participate in the process of teaching and learning. Whereas in digital learning students’ participation is paramount.

No e-device can possibly be a substitute for a real teacher, who brings human touch to the process of learning. A real teacher can motivate and guide students in a way a tablet never can. While adopting technology we need to remember that technology doesn’t teach, teachers do,” says R.K. Jain, Principal, Dr D Y Patil Institute of Engineering and Technology, Maharashtra.

Schools today put a lot of emphasis on activity based and experimental teaching methods. The learning process is different for every child and this interactive technology only makes the learning more engaging and memorable.

Tablet also bridges the gap for students who find it hard to catch up with

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others in the class. The teacher can monitor individual student’s progress and pay attention to those who need additional attention. However, the digital roads to smart education have their own shares of potholes. Infrastructure continues to be the main bottleneck. “The government’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ initiative aims to usher into a holistic digital transformation in our country.

To empower this initiative the government needs to subside the cost of digital technology so that educational institutes may invest more on infrastructure to ensure that state-of-the-art facilities are provided to the students. Also, student digital educational aid needs to be supported so that tablets can be made mandatory in all educational institutions,” Says Peeya Sharma, School Head at Ryan International School, Gurgaon.

She raises an important issue. While private schools are far ahead of the public schools, the government needs to ensure ICT infrastructure in every public school, connectivity through internet/ broadband and other mandatory digital resources needs to be provided. Peeya continues, “According to the Indian Education Sector Outlook — the total number of schools in India stands at 1.3 mil-

lion, and only around 10 percent of the private schools have tapped the potential of digital classroom teaching, whereas in government schools, it has barely made any inroads. The government needs to briskly move smart with focus on creation of quality learning spaces through the seamless integration of technology and learning processes driven by an innovative curriculum.”

The new government should take more efforts to bridge the digital deficit so that every student gets an equal opportunity to learn and create a better future.

It is necessary to provide the technological skills to each child in the government schools, says Sasmita Mohanty, Principal, Sanjay Ghodawat International School, Kolhapur. “There is a need to provide training, computers and tablets as per the number of the students in every school. Funds should be allocated to all public and government schools to bring technology to grassroot level more aggressively. Private schools can offer to share their resources with the less privileged ones. Also, corporate houses can make this a part of their CSR initiative and take initiatives to provide necessary infrastructure to incorporate technology in government schools,” shares Sasmita.

The government should encourage companies to adopt village schools or government schools. More focus and planning are required to make sure the infrastructure provided is used regularly and effectively in government schools. The application part of the process needs to be given due importance,” says Dr Niyati Chitkara, Principal, Chitkara International School, Chandigarh

Niyati believes that the government can take a learn from the professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, at Newcastle University, Sugata Mitra’s experiment of the “hole in the wall” wherein he installed old computers in far off villages in walls and left the students to experience and learn from them. “The government should encourage companies to adopt village schools or government schools. More focus and planning is required to make sure the infrastructure provided is used regularly and effectively in government schools. The application part of the process needs to be given due importance,” Niyati explains.

While the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have brought closer the dream of digital equality in our country, the shallow internet density is making a crisis out of an opportunity.

“Digital technology has the potential to improve the level of education in India but this dream can only take shape into reality if the infrastructure is placed judiciously. The government should provide 3G/4G internet services not only in metros but in other rural places as well.

Spreading awareness on the same could encourage companies and institutions, universities and colleges across the country to develop MOOCs. The government needs to come up with stringent policy to be followed and promote more online courses. More faster and extensive access to internet all over the country is of the utmost importance. Dedicated lease line of internet facility can be provided as an outreach program to all the university, colleges and school throughout various states,” suggests Sasmita Mohanty.

Tablet in education can boost student learning and revolutionize our classrooms. It enhances creativity, keeps the whole process of leaning exciting, imbibes the quality of sharing and helping among students and ensures that students are prepared to meet the demands of the highly competitive modern world.

Smart usage of technology will definitely further enhance the education system in India and help creating global citizens.

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

19

Special Debate feature

Entering an era of Tablet-Based

learning S

chools will not be replaced by technology, but schools that don’t use technology will be replaced by those who do!

Starting today, assessment will no longer be a time consuming process!

The pressure of education is not only felt by the students, but also by the teachers. Apart from teaching and constantly assessing, evaluating tests is one of the most cumbersome tasks that the school faces. That is why we have created an intelligent digital platform that will reduce the assessment lifecycle time of your school.

Presenting SchoolEra SchoolEra is a unique, CBSE-certified learning management solution. It automates the process of creating tests, assessing results and monitoring progress of students. It is easy-to-use and can be assessed anytime, anywhere through any device.

Now tablets can even keep a school’s assessment lifecycle healthy SchoolEra intelligent solution makes the process of learning and assessment simpler, faster and more efficient than ever before. It is highly interactive tablet based platform that benefits teachers, students and parents alike.

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

One intelligent solution. Multiple benefits SchoolEra as a strategic partner to schools has done some fantastic jobs in last 60 days.

Intelligent teacher solution • Every teacher gets a tablet preloaded with the SchoolEra app, relevant high quality reference material and question bank • Every student gets an individual online SchoolEra account customized to their grade • The teacher’s tablet can be directly connected with existing hardware like LCD/LED, projector etc.

• All your necessary classroom tools in one portable tablet

• Automatic grading of assessments and gradebook creation • Live sharing of study material in the class • Students can take tests shared by the teachers in the class and get instant results • Teachers can track every student’s activity with their personal tablet With a clear vision to create an affordable ecosystem in India, SchoolEra has combined the twin prowess of constant innovation and cerebral use of technology. We have successfully implemented our tablet based learning solution in Geetanjali Global School - Now 66 teachers and students are happily using it to make their lives easy

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witnessed their child’s performance and received gradebook on their mobiles through SchoolEra app.

Benefits for The School (Stay future ready with modern technology) • Add value to your school with tablet enabled education • Functions perfectly with existing infra without any additional hardware • Improve your students’ chances to successes in school and competitive exams • Push SMS related to homework, result and other urgent notifications to the teachers, students and parents Benefits for Teachers (saves upto 25% of time) • Get your own portable classroom • Create a customized course planner as per your requirement • Access high quality reference teaching material 24x7 • Create your own lesson plans and add your own content • Track performance of all the students • Take class attendance and update all records online

Frontline Millennium School - 33 teachers and students are using SchoolEra tablet solution to shortening the assessment lifecycle time and many more!

Introduced Schoolera Mobile App Get all the benefits of SchoolEra on your android smartphone with the SchoolEra mobile app.

SchoolEra on mobile gives the freedom to keep track of what’s happening in the classroom all the time.

Our easy to use interface allows teachers to share notes and homework with students. Students can check the class notes, do practice tests and get alerts of pending assignments no matter where they are. They can even sub-

mit their assignment and assessment on the go!

SchoolEra allows automated creation and evaluation of assessments. Even parents can also keep a check on their child’s performance and be in touch with the teachers over email and SMS. Connecting Teachers, Students and Parents SchoolEra is doing wonders in more than 1,000 schools and helping 200,000+ students across the country. We have published the gradebook for schools like Columbia Foundations, Adriel High School, Oxford Public School, Saffron Public School, NCC Senior Model School and many more.

Now more than 15,000 parents have

Benefits for Students (Intelligent way to learn and revise) • Keep a track of the syllabus with course planner • Get high quality study material, productivity tools, progress and performance meter and more • Study at your own convenience without computer or internet • Receive urgent school notifications, test results etc. instantly Benefits for Parents (Active participation made easy) • Receive instant notifications about homework, exam, results, circulars etc.

• Track your child’s studies with course planner • Analyze your child’s performance using gradebooks and test results and much more

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

21

D ebate Interview

Tablets as panacea for schools Recognizing the potential of tablets in education, the new age technologies have become an important part of classroom curricula. Sadhna Pandey, Principal, Chiranjiv Bharati School, Lucknow, shares her view on the changing phase of education with Elets News Network How important do you think is a tablet for the curriculum in your school?

Tablets have become a common phenomenon in the digital education today.

The reasons to use tablets in the 21st century classroom are many: 1. Digital Access to Art In a subject like art, people might think, “How could a tablet be useful? Isn’t it about organic materials?” It is, but what about an app that helps with color matching and combination, or tools for interior design where the child can map out their project in concept before getting to work? Of course, there are fantastic drawing apps as well, and students can use a stylus for more precision. When they are done, they can share in galleries with other students for critique and encouragement.

2. Video Connections Classrooms are their own little society, and for years teachers have aimed to broaden horizons through pen pal programs and field trips. With video chat as a standard feature on most tablets, students can watch a veterinarian perform surgery or have a Google+ hangout with a class halfway across the world. It is an affordable way to see the world without having to actually leave the room.

3. Easy-to-Create Presentations Gone are the days of PowerPoint presentations with little lasers. Now, tablets have fantastic apps that can be used to do real-time drawing, writing, and animation during a presentation. Students can circle, highlight, or write in points as they present their latest research or findings. When they are done, the presentation is saved and can be emailed to the teacher for grading.

4. Interactive History History can be a difficult subject for young children who are notoriously stationed in the present day. However tablets can bring to life ancient civilizations through interactive e-books, videos, and even games that outline the trials and hardships of the people who’ve gone before us.

5. Diverse Forms of Writing Blogs are a great way to get students interested in writing. The act of putting words on paper can be lonely and tedious, but with real-time responses and comments, it triggers motivation for some children. Rather than writing a book report that will get thrown into the recycling bin at home, have them journal and blog about the book they are reading, inviting feedback from their classmates.

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

Is a tablet the only way for the schools to help their students understand the concepts better?

The digitization of the classroom involves a paradigm shift in education. It is more than simply introducing new technology and software into the classroom. It involves a complete re-visioning of teaching and learning from the role of the teacher as facilitator and curator of knowledge to pedagogies and the learner as an independent, self-reliant but collaborative maker of meaning.

Successful technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is: • Routine and transparent • Accessible and readily available for the task at hand • Supporting the curricular goals, and helping the students to effectively reach their goals What can a tablet, e-book and e-content not do?

Proponents of tablets say that they are supported by most teachers and students, are much lighter than print textbooks, and improve standardized test scores. They say that tablets can hold hundreds of textbooks, save the environment by lowering the amount of printing, increase student interactivity and creativity, and that digital textbooks are cheaper than print textbooks.

They also believe that they are expensive, distracting students, easy-to-break, and costly/time-consuming to fix. They say that tablets contribute to eye strain, headaches, and blurred vision, increase the excuses available for students not do-

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D ebate Interview

ing their homework, require costly Wi-Fi networks, and become quickly outdated as new technologies are released.

How do you evaluate, assess a tablet before selecting it for the curriculum in your school?

While evaluating a curriculum we look into the integration with the use of technology, which should involve the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting. The focus in each lesson or unit should be the curriculum outcome, not the technology.

Introduction of digital tools into the classrooms has brought the narratives alive. The traditional tools of teaching are slowly losing their relevance. Do you see any inherent contradiction between the two?

Integrating technology with standard curriculum can give students a sense of power, but also allows for more advanced learning among broad topics.

However, these technologies require infrastructure, continual maintenance and repair – one determining element, among many, in how these technologies can be used for curriculum purposes and whether or not they will be successful.

Examples of the infrastructure required to operate and support technology integration in schools include at the basic level electricity, Internet service providers, routers, modems, and personnel to maintain the network, beyond the initial cost of the hardware and software.

Technology integration alongside standard education curriculum can provide tools for advanced learning among a broad range of topics. Integration of information and communication technology is often closely monitored and evaluated due to the current climate of accountability, outcome based education, and standardization in assessment.

Technology integration can in some instances be problematic. A high ratio of students to technological device has been shown to impede or slow learning and task completion. In some, instances

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

dyadic peer interaction centered around integrated technology has proven to develop a more cooperative sense of social relations.

Success or failure of technology integration is largely dependent on factors beyond the technology. The availability of appropriate software for the technology being integrated is also problematic in terms of software accessibility to students and educators. Another issue identified with technology integration is the lack of long-range planning for these tools within the educative districts they are being used.

Must the e-content be regulated?

There are equally good reasons for both in favour and against. What is your take? e-learning has launched to incorporate in developing countries and is believed to have huge potential to meet growing demand for education while facing shortage of teachers. e-learning can be seen as a tool for raising the number of students who have access to higher education, especially groups in rural areas.

In spite of e-learning advantages and goals, challenges are plentiful.

In many developing countries there is a lack of vital e-learning components such as computers, electricity and skills; the active, participative student that is required for interactive learning is also very rare in countries where the tradition is to teach in a more traditional way.

The introduction of IT to government institutions in developing countries bears a great deal of risk of failure.

The lack of qualified personnel, lack of financial support and the lack of planning and proper justification are just few of the causes of projects failure.

In some ways, most technologies are designed and deployed in a developed country context and thus have a number of limitations when trying to implement in a developing country. Additionally, many developing countries still don’t have many specialists in ICT in education and rely mainly on the pre-

cious few of enthusiastic, over-worked, pioneering teachers to drive change in their schools.

Do you think that e-learning runs the risk of over exposure and doing more harm than good in the end?

If e-learning is properly integrated in the curriculum it shall work wonders for school education.

The massive open online courses (MOOCS) have brought closer the dream of digital equality in our country. However, the shallow internet density in our country is making a crisis out of an opportunity. How do you think can the government come to seize upon the opportunity?

A number of plans can be developed to guide the pursuit of objectives: • For electronic government (system, virtual network, law and security) • For promoting ICT application in education and expanding digital skills in Iran’s manpower • For expanding ICT in higher education • For expanding ICT in health, treatment and medical education • For expanding ICT in economy, commerce and trade • For expanding the culture and knowledge of ICT and for strengthening the Persian script and language in the computer environment • For expanding active SME in ICT by creating growth centers and ICT parks.

industry speak

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Learning net for Everyone Classle, a Social learning platform, is breaking all geographical and economical barriers as it brings students, teachers and professionals under one digital roof. Founder and CEO of Classle, Vaidya Nathan talks about overcoming challenges and future plans for Classle What was the idea behind starting Classle?

Classle Knowledge Inc. is an India based start-up which offers social learning with specific focus on empowerment and success through education and learning, regardless of urban or rural setting. Established in 2009, the objective behind the company is to bring productive personalized learning experience to students, customers, employees or general learners. There are more than 1,800 courses authored by experts and professionals from around the world in diverse range of subjects such as engi-

neering, science, arts, finance, electronics, energy and spirituality.

Tell us about how Classle works?

Classle, the Social Learning Network, is a ‘One Step’ education solution and employment opportunity provider. Classle has an online platform through which students and learners interact with their peers, teachers, professors and professionals through different courses and modules.

The modules, features, courses and content are accessed and delivered both online and offline and other means through mobile technology. Students can access content, attend online classes, review audio and video recordings, ask questions and consult experts on topics they choose.

The registration is absolutely free, so cost is no longer a deterrent in education.

What are some of the unique features of Classle?

Headquartered in Chennai, Classle currently empowers 100+ institutions that have private Classle Cloud Campuses.

300,000+ student members have signed up for Classle Cloud Campuses.

The company is growing rapidly and increasing the volume of usage for AWS (Amazon Web Services).

Start-ups often face cash liquidity problems during initial years of operation. How did you counter this problem?

Reducing the time to market, cost of infrastructure and cost of failure were three factors that made our cash lifeline substantially longer than otherwise. Also, AWS nurtures

a very active ecosystem from where we were able to learn rapidly. This freed up our energies to focus on management and execution.

Since the transition, what have been the specific performance indicators?

There is business sense in using the cloud because Classle is able to offer greater efficiency to customers. Customers can buy two years of cloud services and get one year free. It is cost-effective, flexible and offers highest degree of data security. Adopting AWS has helped us speed up the development work and ensure rolling out of Classle’s innovative services very quickly.

What is your source of revenue?

We have three sources of revenue. First is Talent Analytics Services, second is through the paid courses and third is via subscriptions for Private Cloud Campus for companies.

What are your expansion plans in terms of geographies and product features?

We are working on multimedia apps and aiming at a target of 5 million students in 18 months. We expect the ripple effect to spread to the rest of the world. In another 3-4 months, Classle will be moving into ‘lifelong learning’ backed by robust academic analytics and domain learning services.

Also, over next 12-18 months, we are looking to rapidly expand across PanIndia, SAARC and APAC countries. Feature wise, we will be adding access capabilities which will make it ubiquitous.

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

25

Debate Industry Speak

e-Learning Future of K-12 Tablets, e-content, e-learning are all contributing to the dream of Digital India and with schools laying emphasis on digital education, students are becoming techno-holic today. Richa Vashishth, Principal, Delhi Public School, Bharatpur Road, Mathura talks about importance of digital learning and the effective use of these tools in shaping the students’ career • Better classroom management and organization • Changing the role of the teacher • Student evaluation • IT skills • Visual quality of teaching material • Finding a unique teaching approach

How important do you think is a tablet for the curriculum in your school?

I think technology will give students confidence to experiment, think outside the traditional box and come up with solutions which may, in the long term, increase culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. Using tablet in the classroom with a curriculum will integrate IT and traditional subjects that help students a lot. The main benefits to the

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

students are: • Motivation • Publishing, sharing and searching for information • Collaboration • Developing IT skills • Creating a more individual approach to learning • Flexibility in terms of space and time • Creativity Teachers, on the other hand, can also benefit from the technology:

Is a tablet the only way for the schools to help their students understand the concepts better?

If I compare it with traditional mode of teaching, it is a totally new way of delivering ideas to the students. It aims to enhance students’ learning capabilities, while providing them with greater access to unlimited information. Tablets can help students with tough concepts like space and time. Students can learn lot on the tablets. It provides new things that they may have never seen before, and students’ brain will work wonders.

Through traditional methods it is impossible to deliver every concept within short time period in an effective way.

Through tablet students can develop: • Better Simulations and Models • Global Learning • More Efficient Assessment What can a tablet, e-book and e-content not do?

Tablets are an all-rounder that means you can navigate, play games, even read books on it. In short it is versatile. ebooks and e-content devices are mainly for reading. It is light and portable which is carrying thousands of books.

How do you evaluate, assess a

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tablet before selecting it for the curriculum in your school?

The following point must be considered before selecting it for the curriculum in school.

• Size of device • Storage/Memory • Battery life • File sharing • Keyboard • Accessories/spares • Applications • Cameras • Screen Resolution • Wireless display technology • Wireless Printing Introduction of digital tools into the classrooms has brought the narratives alive. The traditional tools of teaching are slowly losing their relevance. Do you see any inherent contradiction between the two?

With digital tools, students can access restricted videos and files that can affect their mind.

Although the private schools are far ahead of the public schools, the new government appears

for every state’s schools.

The digital roads to smart education have their own shares of potholes. Infrastructure continues to be the main bottleneck. How do you think can it be overcome?

Through digital tools we can connect schools with number of reputed univer-

E-content is good and must be regulated. One of the main reasons is the replacement of books in digital form and visualizing old contents in an effective manner. Through e-content important information is seen online committed to bridging the digital deficit. How do you think should the government move?

Government is continuously implementing and planning to enhance the digital tools in government schools. For that it is mandatory for government to release some funds for every school. Government should provide workshop and training programs to the teachers, principals so that they understand the value and needs of digital tools and teach and manage students in more effective ways.

Government should run foreign coloration programs to motivate digital tools

sities like IITs and DU. Through video conferencing it is very easy to deliver the lecture from expert resource person in the classroom. Moreover through digital tools we can run advance course in our school that can give direct benefits to the students.

Must the e-content be regulated?

There are equally good reasons for both in favour and against. What is your take?

E-content is good and must be regulated. One of the main reasons is the replacement of books in digital form and

visualizing old contents in an effective manner. Through e-content important information is seen online and easily available.

Do you think that e-learning runs the risk of over exposure and doing more harm than good in the end?

At extreme it will spoil creativity of students because through e-learning assignments and projects can be easily made without putting much effort.

The massive open online courses (MOOCS) have brought closer the dream of digital equality in our country. However, the shallow internet density in our country is making a crisis out of an opportunity. How do you think can the Government come to seize upon the opportunity?

It is true that after more than 60 years we are still far from e-Education in rural areas. There must be proper planning and a budget from government to make complete Digital India. Government must connect rural areas and urban areas with free Wi-Fi facilities so that every citizen of India must take benefits of e-Education.

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

27

Guest Column

Value-based

education self reliant Education plays an important role in shaping up the future of the children. In an attempt to bring value based education to students, Raj Kumar Sharma, Principal, Satyug Darshan Vidyalaya, believes value based education will help in nurturing responsible citizens

E

ducation is a systematic and a planned process of the development of the potential of a being to its maximum, by the harmonious growth of the physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual qualities inherent in the human. Thereby into an integrated personality and a responsible citizen globally.

As students today are lacking a humanitarian approach hence value based education is the need of the hour. It is a teaching framework in which values are taught both explicitly in the classroom and implicitly by example. The framework consists of teaching tools and techniques. It involves the development of the school environment that expresses and practices positive universal values. Children witness and engage with those values to guide and inform their behaviour.

Value based education provides a successful environment for teaching and learning of the full range of the academic, social and interpersonal skills.

Value based education approach offers a new way of thinking about education and how children can be supported to become successful and happy members of the global society. It encourages reflective and inspirational attributes and attitudes. They can be nurtured to help

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

people, discover the very best of themselves which enables them to be good global citizens and prepares them for the professional life.

In value based schools, students develop a secure sense of “SELF�. They become more empowered to take responsibility of their own learning. They develop academic diligence when they are involved with a value based school.

They develop rational trust. They become articulate and able to talk freely.

Students can understand much more deeply their work and their lives. Value based education also promotes an effective learning and under pins the continuous improvement of the personal, social, moral and economic well being. It

is an investment in individual capability and self-responsibility and its product.

Impact of Value Based Education on Schools Values based schools emphasize value education in their curriculum and teaching. As a consequence, students become academically more diligent, the school assumes more peaceful ambience, better student-teacher relationships are forged, student and teacher wellbeing improves and parents become more engaged with the school.

Explicit teaching of values provides a common ethical language for talking about interpersonal behaviour. It also provides a mechanism for self-regulated behaviour. An important outcome is a more settled school which enhances quality teaching and an improved student performance.

Academic Diligence Students show an increased attentiveness in class and a greater capacity to work independently, assume more responsibility for their own learning ask questions, work together more cooperatively, take greater care and effort in their schoolwork, take more pride in their efforts.

School Ambience School ambience includes a decrease in the conflict among students. There is a demon-

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Value based education approach offers a new way of thinking about education and how children can be supported to become successful and happy members of the global society. It encourages reflective and inspirational attributes and attitudes. They can be nurtured to help people, discover the very best of themselves which enables them to be good global citizens and prepares them for the professional life stration of a greater empathy, honesty and integrity. Students become more tolerant and cooperative in their interactions. Classrooms and playgrounds become safer and more harmonious.

Greater kindness and tolerance among students is seen. Students take greater responsibility with school equipment and routine tasks.

Student-teacher Relationships Student-teacher relationships become more trustworthy. More democratic classrooms are established. Teachers give students more power by allowing them choices in learning activities.

Teachers become more conscious of scaffolding students to manage their own behaviour or resolve conflict with others. Teachers seek opportunities to acknowledge and reinforce appropriate behaviour. They listen to students and

respond to their concerns and opinions. Students perceive that teachers treat them fairly and thus behave more respectfully, politely and courteously towards them.

Student-teacher Wellbeing Students feel a greater sense of connectivity and belongingness. They gain a greater capacity for self-reflection and self-appraisal. They develop a greater capacity for regulating their own and their peers’ behaviour. Teachers receive collegial support, strong leadership, confidence and knowledge through opportunities for professional development and through staff collaboration. They re-examine their practices and role. The relation & trust among staff and between teachers and families get fostered.

Thus, in a nut shell, when values education is explicit, a common language is

established among students, staff and families. This not only leads to greater understanding of the targeted values but also provides a positive focus for redi recting children’s inappropriate behaviour. Teachers perceive that explicitly teaching values and developing empathy in students results in more responsible, focused and cooperative classrooms and equipped students striving for better learning and social outcomes. When values are explicitly endorsed, acknowledged and valued within a school culture, it becomes incumbent on schools to ensure that staff, as well as students are both benefacto rs and recipients in respectful and caring interactions. The common focus draws teachers together to create a collaborative and cohesive school community that support teachers to do their job more effectively. This has important ramifications for students’ academic progress and wellbeing.

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

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Jaipur 21st February 2015

Accelerating Growth of Higher Education in India digitalLEARNING Higher Education Knowledge Exchange- Jaipur, Rajasthan, is a one-day event being convened with the aim of bringing key decision-makers and leaders in the higher education sector of the country on one platform. The officials will meet and discuss the ongoing initiatives, short-term and long-term objectives for strengthening the country’s higher education system and the challenges and scope for the accomplishment of these goals.

The summit is being organized by Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd. Some of our flagship events are World Education Summit, eINDIA education Summit, School leadership summit and many events in Governance, Healthcare and Banking segment. The organizations such as All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India; and National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and All India Confederation for Women’s Empowerment Through Education (AICWETE) have been key partners in World Education Summit since its inception.

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“The 21st century is an era of knowledge.

If poverty is to be abolished in this century, it can be abolished only through knowledge”

“Such events lead to the germination of new ideas for creation of healthcare and education solutions that are more affordable and effective”

Narendra Modi Prime Minister of India

APJ Abdul Kalam Former President of India

HEKE 2015 Who will be there? l The guests and speakers will be primarily from the following areas: l Education Po licy Makers, Ministers, Secretaries l Education Regulatory Bodies and Professional Association Representatives l Chancellors/Vice Chancellors/ Registrars from Universities l Chairmen/Dean/Directors/Registrar/ Principal of renowned engineering institutions l Edupreneuers, Entrepreneurs l Education Technology Providers

Why You Must Attend? l You will get an opportunity to l Attend high-ranking meetings to strengthen cooperation of government l Attend practical sessions where you will hear from and interact with lead influential persons in their respective fields l Earn a great insight into the broader higher education sector priorities & initiatives l Build relationships through exclusive network settings l Ask experts all the questions that you have l Get an expert face-to-face opinion on specific issues l Expand and diversify partnerships between governments, businesses and other organisations l Interact for a day with a captive group of audience, who are the prospects and drivers of your business

Key Themes l Technology enhanced learning: What can we learn from MOOCs?

Awards Categories •

Innovative project in Mechanical Engineering

•

Innovative project in Electrical Engineering

•

Innovative project in Electronics Engineering

•

Innovative project in Civil Engineering

•

Innovative project in Computer Science Engineering

•

l Can incubation centres assist to boost employability?

Innovative project in Information Technology Engineering

•

l Need of Global tie ups to improve research based education

Innovative project in Other Engineering Branches

•

Other Innovative project by Engineering Institute/University

l How Indian Engineering education system can support “ Make in India -The ambitious initiative seeks to make India a manufacturing superpower” initiative? l Role of Technology to make Teaching, Learning & Assessment Convenient.

Leaders @ Our Past Events: HE Prof Wajih Owais Former Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research Government of Jordan

Dr Vasant Kumar Bunwaree Minister of Education & Resources, Mauritius

Dr Akhilesh Gupta Secretary, University Grants Commission, New Delhi

S S Mantha Chairman,All India Council for Technical Education

Prof S Satyanarayana Vice Chancellor, Osmania University, Andhra Pradesh

Past Panelists @ HEKE: Dr Sandhya Chintala Executive DirectorSector Skills Council Vice President NASSCOM

Dr W N Gade Vice Chancellor, Pune University

Prof Dr M Rajaram Vice Chancellor, Anna University, Chennai

Dr Akshai Aggarwal Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Technological University

Prof Ajoy Kumar Ray Vice Chancellor, Bengal Engineering and Science University

Prof B P Sanjay Vice Chancellor, Central University of Tamil Nadu

Prof Bhanwar Singh Rajpurohit Vice Chancellor, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur

Prof R V Raja Kumar Vice chancellor,Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technology

Prof D K Bandyopadhyay Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

Prof K Lal Kishore Vice Chancellor, JNTU Anantapur

Prof G Tulasi Ram Das Vice Chancellor, JNTU, Kakinada

Partners @ Our Past Events:

For programme & registration details

For sponsorship & Exhibition details

Amit Kumar Pundhir amit@elets.in +91-8860635835 Seema Gupta seema@elets.in +91-8860651643

Fahim Haq fahim@elets.in +91-8860651632

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ebate ADdvertorial

The green road ahead

Green School is an initiative towards sensitizing students towards the school, society and eventually our planet

P

resently, environmental education is not a priority for Education Department neither for schools. Schools consider environment related education as an additional burden, an additional subject and additional responsibility. Many teachers link environmental education as a science related subject. They don’t realize that it is a subject that can be taught in humanities, art and in so many other ways.

The first step towards Green School was initiated in the year of 1991, by M C Mehta. Green School should not be treated as a different school but every school can be transformed into Green School. The Indian model of Green School has taken roots in many countries across the world based on various concepts including United Nation’s concept of DESD. More than 3000 Schools including some schools from India are the members of Green School Alliance – a US based global association of Green Schools.

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

Indian model of Green School Indian concept of whole Green Schooling is designed on the basis of Indian ethos “5 elements of nature (Panchabhutas)” – Prithvi (earth), Vayu (Air), Agni (energy), Jal (water), and Akash (sky). Green School prepares students to become leaders and citizens who understand how the natural world works, see the patterns that connect human activities with the mother nature, and serve as models of responsible action to protect mother nature from human intervention. Green School students learn sustainability from the school’s day to day teaching and learning practices.

How to start a Green School?

This is not a one-time phenomenon but demands on-going, continuous and synergistic efforts of all stakeholders towards improving the environment of the school and its surroundings. You can start transforming your school into Green School by initiating a Green School committee, Green School policy,

green auditing, water harvesting, green energy, waste management, green teacher and green curriculum.

Entire existing NCERT curriculum can be transformed as green curriculum by the subject teachers under the Green School’s guidance including language, maths and science. Greening the curriculum refers to the infusion of environmental and sustainability perspectives into the school curriculum.

The existing team of teachers can be transformed as green teachers by conducting in-house training programs.

Some Universities have started offering green teachers diploma programs. In terms of strategies, we promote interdisciplinary instructional methods that are age-level appropriate; actively engage students in learning in and out of the classroom; involve them in long-term projects; and create an atmosphere of purposeful conversation and reflection learning about the nature.

Benefits of Green School In addition to protecting students from environmental health and safety risks, it helps to save money and increase efficiency. The initiative helps save money through reduced consumption of resources and energy savings, increase efficiency of operations and use of resources, create favourable learning and teaching conditions, generate community goodwill, and educate the next generation on the value of caring for the environment apart from nurturing students for a greener and prosperous future.

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special Feature Debate

‘Let Digital, Traditional Go Together’

lieving the thought of using tablets as a medium of study Dr M K Abdul Khader, Vice Chancellor, Kannur University, Kerala says, “With the widespread use of e-resources, irrespective of faculty/ topic of study, by teachers, students, research scholars tablets would be of great significance. Tablets are less expensive in its cost and maintenance which has replaced Laptops with lightening speed.

It could be easily handled by everyone in class rooms and during presentation.”

Tablet being one of the portable Despite education going digital fast at K-12 level, there’s a knowledge base, students can retrieve section that still favours the traditional mode of teaching. information as and when needed from Nonetheless, heads at various universities still believe that internet. It acts as a connecting medium live interactive sessions between students and teachers play a with fellow students as well as the professors. So once the probcrucial role in polishing the pupil’s mind lem popped, it can be shared with all and can get an immediate feedfor the same.” he ICT integration supports numback or solution.

The changing dyber of policies in education but The total number of namics in education there is still variation in impleschools in India is estisector and shifting exmentation of these policies. The access mated to be 1.3 million pectations for the learnto ICT is still limited in Indian education out of which 20% of ing environment require plethora. Dr Ajit Kumar N. Shukla, Dischools are privately run universities to examine rector and Dean, School of Engineerand only 10% of these teaching and learning ing, RK University believes, “Tablets for schools have adopted practices. The forces of the curriculum is not much important multimedia. The market change in higher edubut it could be linked to some courses as size for digitized school cation system seem to doable in practice. Our institution has products is predicted to be need of the hour. Be- Dr Sraban Mukherjee, Director, KIET more than hundred of that and using it

T

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

digitallearning.eletsonline.com

grow to $2 billion by 2020. The market for ICT is promising if government schools are considered too.

But is it the only way for the colleges and universities to help their students understand the concept better? Of course not, opined by Dr Dharmender Saini, Principal, Bhartiya Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering. He asserts, “Tablet is not the only means to make students better understand the concept, Interaction with teacher/expert is must.”

Promoting his thoughts, Shukla adds, “There are many other ways it could be done and it is done extensively by using interaction mode in the class through various activities which gives better experience.” Coming fr om a different school of thought, Dr Sraban Mukherjee, Director, Krishna Institute of Engineering & Technology shares, “Brains were nurtured and they did wonders even in the era of no electricity and modern basic amenities of living. So tablets are not mandatory, however, they do provide an ease of learning, understanding, connecting, discussing and communicating.”

“No, besides other sources it is one of the important source,” says Jaswinder Kaur, Publicist, Desh Bhagat Group.

An important aspect of M-learning,

“This is the era of digitization. So when we talk about our learning curriculum, ease to get information is the key.

Every curiosity needs to be addressed quickly as well as correctly and our digital world supports it with abundance of information on internet, and a tablet to harness it ods like class room teaching, group disthe technology is convenient which is cussions, interactive video lectures etc. accessible virtually from anywhere. But Tablets cannot propagate values which M-learning brings portability by replacare lacking in the modern world. Knowling books and traditional methods of edge disseminated from teachers would teaching with small devices filled with have lasting impression in the minds of learning contents? “Definitely a tablet the learner. Tablets provide knowledge cannot replace the professor of the inindiscriminately. There are no barriers stitution. It can serve the purpose of a between good or bad. Conventional form physical book. As we know that differof teaching builds unbreakable bond ent streams (medical, engineering etc.) between teacher and the of studies not only need taught. textual reading but also Universities are adpictorial understanddressing this shifting ing of the system. So in landscape but still there these cases we need a seems to be little adoption. copy and pen to memoOnline courses are growrize and understand ing in number and some them,” shares Mukheruniversities are making jee. it available free to everyE-book, e-content one. To evaluate, assess a etc. are mostly passive tablet before selecting for in nature. They cannot curricula the universiprovide learning expeties emphasize on its key rience that students get Dr Ajit Kumar N Shukla, Director & features like portability, from interactive meth- Dean, SOE, RK University

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

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special Feature Debate

free OS (Android) to get the desired apps with an ease, WiFi support, 3G/4G support, capable of storing teaching learning material, processing speed, memory, support for external devices, power consumption, weight, durability, warranty and after sales support.

Use of technology to simulate everything has allowed students anywhere in the world to interact with professors and one another in real time rather than requiring physical presence. The introduction of digital tools in the classrooms has brought the narratives alive. They play a major role in the classroom teaching but the effectiveness of such tools depends on how they are incorporated into the learning process. Traditional teaching tools are to be modified so as to use along with digital tools. Though conventional teaching has its own relevance yet the optimum situation could be created by effecting a judicial balance between the two.

“This is the era of digitization. So when we talk about our learning curriculum, the ease to get information is the key. Every curiosity needs to be addressed quickly as well as correctly and our digital world supports it with

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

abundance of information on internet, and a tablet to harness it. However we cannot deny the importance of white chalk and black board based traditional form of education.The primary educa-

tleneck. The classrooms require modifications like installation of network link, large screen installations. To overcome this bottleneck, educational institutes should invest more on infrastructure

Brains were nurtured and they did wonders even in the era of no electricity and modern basic amenities of living. So tablets are not mandatory tion system should always be traditional because writing alphabets is an art too which can be imbibed and enhanced in the budding mind only by a pencil in hand and not a key under the finger tip,” says Mukherjee.

The digital education is gaining momentum in education sector as the new Modi-led government has taken steps to bridge the digital divide and had launched new Digital India Campaign. Fortunately the institutions still believethat government should ensure that the in-house practices of public institutions should be improved and government should ensure quality in teaching learning methodologies. Lack of fund is a barrier to the public institution. Specific initiatives should be taken by the government to strengthen the internet and other digital resources in public funded institutions.

“It is wrong to say that always private institution are far ahead public institution. Yes it is correct new government is committed to bridging the digital deficit and it is required also mostly using the mobile set or through android one. More so for financial transaction in this regard through Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojna appears to be a turning point,” informs Shukla.

The digital road to smart education has its own share of potholes and infrastructure continues to be the bot-

and also ensure proper functioning of facilities so that students get services on time. The below formula can work to bridge this gap: u First strengthen the basic educational amenities in the depriving institutions u Educate the professors and the teachers about the positives of the digitisations u Support students for getting the modern educational aid (laptops, palmtopsetc).

The advancement of e-learning might have been good for the education institutes but it also comes with risk. Elearning do run the risk of overexposure doing harm than good. “Based on the temperament of the learner if he is exposed to the sensitive topics indefinitely than this might result in harming the society then actually benefitting it,” believes Mukherjee.

However, digital technology has the potential to change the phase of education in India and with the new model built around massive open online courses (MOOCS), it has brought closer the dream of digital equality in the country.

But this dream can only take the shape into reality only if the infrastructure is placed judiciously. The shallow internet density is making a crisis out of an opportunity. Government should take steps to provide 3G/4G internet services not only in cities but in other rural places as well. Government can come to seize this opportunity by providing the dedicated lease line of internet facility as an outreach program to all the university, colleges and school throughout the state.

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IDnterview ebate

Technology not a shortcut to education

The revolution of digital era has expanded the horizon of education sector to a great extent.

Tablets, one of the m-learning tools, have leveraged the level of education to a much higher pace with a focused approach. Prof. Dr Sharad K Goel, Director, Accman Institute of Management, shares his views with Elets News Network How important do you think is a tablet for the curriculum in your institution?

There are no technology shortcuts to good education. Information technology should be targeted for certain, specific use or limited to well-funded schools. Technology at best only amplifies the pedagogical capacity of educational systems; it can make good schools better, but it can also make bad schools worse. Technology is just a medium, what count is your own brain and how you are contributing on the subject.

For example, if you find the meaning of a word or concept through internet and then you begin to use it and apply in your daily communications, it means you are learning. But if you keep forgetting the meaning of that word or concept, it probably means that you need a more engaging approach to remember it. Learning with tablets provides that engaging and exciting manner of learning with a wider scope in the field of education. Tablets involve faster access of education information, cost and energy savings. They contribute to the development of the students, institutions, education industry and finally economic development.

Is a tablet the only way for the colleges and the universities to help their students understand the

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concepts better?

No, to make student understand the concept better tablet is not the way only.

Tablet is also a good measure of providing education to the students with the equal response where they can extract the information for their development, but there are the other ways available for the same like i-Pad education, e-book, lightbot and social education through YouTube, Twitter, Google and Flickr that provide leveraging to students to learn using new concepts.

However, to be frank, in current scenario, we all are technophobic. Though tablets are very useful for those students who already have an access to better infrastructure for their education they are not the only way for the colleges and for the universities to educate their students.

What can a tablet, an e-book and e-content not do?

Tablet is an interesting way of learning and offers all the information at the tip of our finger, but it cannot help all the time as it cannot replace the human touch of a real teacher. Though tablet, ebook and e-content have a lot to offer still lack many functions our desktop and laptop can do. The functions which are not available in a tablet include recovery of data once de-

leted, formatting, data not seen in the main location of the data file or of the database. As a consequence it limits a student’s development.

How do you evaluate, assess a tablet before selecting it for the curriculum in your institution?

First of all, I would like to go for a good brand product within a specified budget.

Good battery life with good processor speed and storage capacity. It should be supported with SIM card. It should have internal and external storage capacity with Wi-Fi connectivity, hotspot, USB dongle, video conferencing and video call to make the process of studying interactive and engaging. Also, checking customer review on the internet can come handy in making the right choice.

Introduction of digital tools into the classrooms has brought the narratives alive. The traditional tools of teaching are slowly losing their relevance. Do you see any inherent contradiction between the two?

Yes, with digital technology it has become possible and relatively easy to create texts, which contain different kinds of expression such as images and sound.

With the increasing use of digital technologies in classrooms, it is now possible for students and teachers to engage in tasks, which were previously out of reach. But in traditional tool of teaching

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19-20 February 2015, Patna

Jaipur 12 March 2015, New Delhi

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13 March 2015, New Delhi

Financial Inclusion & Payment Systems

Knowledge Exchange

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a teacher know their students’ weaknesses, requirements etc which creates a familiar environment and bridges any gap between teacher and student.

Teachers’ personal involvement is of the utmost importance in clearing concepts to each student.

Yes, there is the contradiction between the traditional way of providing education and the modern way. Traditional education is related to where there is no online education facility provided thereon and which results in the long process of cost, time and effort. This also offers scope of learning but at the cost of a lot of time and money. The modern education and online education is very wide in scope and different from the education of chalk, duster and blackboard.

The new method of education focuses on student’s overall development. Modern education tools are related to the facilities of projector study, laptop study which relate the student’s development.

Although the private institutions are far ahead of the public institutions, the new government appears committed to bridging the digital deficit. How do you think the government should move?

Private institutions are far ahead of public institutions due to the lack of good infrastructure including land, fund and other availability of resources. To overcome this problem government should allow using projector, providing tablet and smart phone instead of desktop and computer which requires huge space

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and funds. Private institutions are having the wide approach and are far ahead of the public institutions as the private institutions are using technology in all the areas of study like commerce, mathematics, biology and science.

Technology at best only amplifies the pedagogical capacity of educational systems; it can make good schools better, but it can also make bad schools worse The digital roads to the smart education have their own shares of the potholes. Infrastructure continues to be the main bottleneck. How do you think that it can be overcome?

Infrastructure has been a problem in digitization but it can be overcome by providing tablet, smartphone etc to the students. Infrastructure continues to be the main bottleneck and its requirement of WAN (Wide Area Network). There is a need to develop efficient and effective infrastructure in every school, and lastly provide data centre for overall development for every student.

Must the e-content be regulated?

There are equally good reasons for both in favour or against. What is your take?

No, it should not be regulated. It should

rather be open for everyone. It depends on an individual how to use it. It also depends on what content an individual need and how much they need. e-content must not be regulated as we know that online information is the wide source of the information and information must be available to all at any time and place with no restrictions.

Do you think that e-learning runs the risk of over exposure and doing more harm than good in the end?

No not at all, it is not an over exposure because anyone can see what is given on internet. It is not in our hands, the information provider can provide information as needed. There should be username and password for each employee using the site to secure the information and important content. e-learning has a wider scope of learning that results in the development of person who is using e-learning for his own benefit.

The massive open online courses (MOOCS) have brought closure the dream of digital equality in our country. However, the shallow internet density in our country is making a crisis out of an opportunity. How do you think can the government come to seize upon the opportunity?

It will be successful when internet is available everywhere including remote areas. It should be provided with good quality and at low price. Presently the internet price is very high and internet density in our country is very poor. The massive online courses have really brought the dream of digitization in our country with a very good approach.

The government must come up with good options like WAN Connection, proper infrastructure, data centre, WI-FI facility and plan in each and every area, and online courses in every city. The government must do such activities for the growth and development of digitization in economy.

The

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Guest Column

Nanotechnology Makes a Good Career Indian Engineering and Science graduates are increasingly opting for nanotechnology. Right from medicine, pharmaceuticals, information technology, electronic, optoelectronics, energy, chemicals, advanced materials to textiles, nanotechnology has its applications. Dean of Rajasthan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Dr Pawan Whig, shares his views with Elets News Network

N

anotechnology is the science of ‘miniature’. Nanotechnology is the engineering of working systems at the molecular level. Due to its advancement in technological area, nanotechnology is the upcoming field which interests many people. It is the science of the future which includes innovations that can change the world.

From the clothes and sunglasses we wear to computer hard drives and even cleaning products, nanotechnology – often inspired by the natural world – plays a big part in the manufacture of many familiar products. It boosts our sunscreen’s ability to reflect harmful ultraviolet radiation, armors our designer shades against unwanted scratches. The gadgets we use to store our photos and songs also use nanotechnology on their respective hard drives and flash memory.

Nanotechnology is an inescapable part of modern everyday life.

Nanotechnology as defined by size is naturally very broad, including fields of science as diverse as surface science, organic chemistry, molecular biology, semiconductor physics, micro fabrication, etc. The associated research and applications are equally diverse, ranging from extensions of c o nve n tion-

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

al device physics to completely new approaches based upon molecular selfassembly, from developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale to direct control of matter on the atomic scale.

Indian industries have started realizing the commercial viability of Nanotechnology quite recently. Thus it is one of the hottest career options available to Indian engineering graduates.

Nanotechnology in India is targeted towards the main streams like electronics, healthcare markets, and other industrial products. Many scientific institutions have been doing Research and Development (R&D) in this field. It is a powerful technology which aids the development of products with futuristic performance.

The two major categories of nanotechnology are nanoscale technology and Molecular manufacturing.

Nanoscale technology covers small structures and can be used for introducing stronger materials, better medicines, and faster computers and so on.

Molecular manufacturing is an attempt at building mechanical and chemical manufacturing systems that join molecules together.

Scope The scope and application of nanotechnology is tremendous and stupendous. Indian engineering and science graduates are increasingly opting for nanotechnology. Right from medicine, pharmaceuticals, information technology, electronic, optoelectronics, energy, chemicals, advanced materials to tex-

tiles, nanotechnology has its applications. Nanotechnology provides job opportunities in health industry; pharmaceutical industry; agriculture industry; environment industry; food and beverage industry as well in government and private research institutes.

A lot of job opportunities and research career exists in the areas of Nano-device, Nano-packaging, Nanowires, Nano-tools, Nano- biotechnology, Nano crystalline materials, Nano photonics and Nano porous materials to name a few. It is estimated that around two million nanotechnology skilled workforce will be required world wide by 2015. Many government institutes and Indian industries have focused on nanomaterials. It is also estimated nanotechnology will create another five million jobs worldwide in support fields and industries. A professional in the field of nanotechnology can easily find lucrative jobs in most of fields.

Skills One needs to have a diehard passion for research, especially to find out new structures in the field of nanotechnology. It is important to have sound analytical skills, along with a scientific bent of mind. Analyzing and interpreting skills are a necessity in this field and also to accept failures in experiments as a challenge. Other necessary skills which are required are as follows: n Good mathematical and computer programming skills n Adequate laboratory training for expert handling of advanced equip-

digitallearning.eletsonline.com

ments n Ability to learn and adopt new techniques n Have a systematic way of working n A natural propensity for research work n Keep a track of the latest scientific news, books and research magazines n A good background of physics, chemistry, medicine, electronics and biotechnology

Job Prospects Since nanotechnology is a special branch that essentially combines physics, chemistry, biology, engineering and technology, it is opening up job prospects for students specializing in all the mentioned subjects. The career opportunities in the fields of Nanoscale science and technology are expanding rapidly, as these fields have increasing impact on many aspects of our daily lives.

A professional in the field of nanotechnology can easily find viable career opportunities in various sectors. They can work in the field of nano-medicine, bio-informatics, stem cell development, pharmaceutical companies, and nano toxicology and nano power generating sectors.

The major areas for the development of applications involving nanotechnology are medical and pharmaceuticals, information technology, electronics, magnetics and optoelectronics, energy chemicals, advanced materials and textiles.

Nanotechnology has varied applications viz. drug delivery to treat cancer tumor (without using radiotherapy & chemotherapy), solar energy, batteries, display technologies, opto-electronic devices, semiconductor devices, biosensors, luminous paints, and many others.

A major challenge in this emerging field is the training for a new generation of skilled professionals.

An abundance of job opportunities is awaiting for candidates with M.Tech in Nanotechnology in India and abroad.

Indian industry has focused on nanomaterials and many scientific institutions have started research and development

activities in the field. The CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) has set up 38 laboratories, across the country, to carry out research and development work in this field. Those with PhD in Nanotechnology will have vibrant opportunities in the Research & Development sectors.

Eligibility The eligibility criteria to pursue career in nanotechnology is post graduate degree in the subject. For the post graduation in nanotechnology candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks aggregate in Math, Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences with PCS as subsidiary subjects.

It is a perfect career for those who have a scientific bent of mind and a passion for studying and experimenting with the minutest molecules. Students with a science and engineering background and even mathematics with physics background can pursue Nanotechnology as a career. Candidates with M.Tech in Nanotechnology are in great demand both in India and abroad.

The opportunities in nanotechnol-

Since nanotechnology is a special branch that essentially combines physics, chemistry, biology, engineering and technology, it is opening up job prospects for students specializing in all the mentioned subjects

ogy are enormous but it requires lots of dedication and hard work to achieve the level of expertise in this field. The sectors which are developing are medical sciences, electronics, information technology and other disciplines which are using this technology to understand the growth and usability of this technology.

People in this field can develop themselves in health industry, agriculture, environment industry, food and beverages, space research, and other industries as it has a very wide scope.

Remuneration generally, the starting salary for one with an M.Tech or PhD degree in nanotechnology under one’s belt, is in between `3 lakhs to `10 lakhs per annum. Nanotechnology is a booming industry which is expected to throw up a large number of job opportunities with handsome pay packages in the future. Fresh PhD holders from IIT’s are absorbed by multinational nanotechnology companies with salaries ranging between `9 lakhs to `12 lakhs per annum.

Dr Pawan Whig The author is the Dean of Rajasthan Institute of Engineering and Technology. He has got a rich and versatile experience in the industry and academia.

He is an M-Tech and PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia University. Dr Whig is a permanent member of international association of engineers Hong Kong. He is also an honorable member of ISTE Delhi Chapter 2008-2009 as well as a student member of IEEE at Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University). Significantly an institutional membership of ISTE Jaipur section as well.

digitalLEARNING / February 2015

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Special D ebate Feature

Disruptive

MOOCs

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, present a unique opportunity to address all the challenges. In 2011, the academic world experienced a revolution in content distribution and teaching methodology when MOOCs emerged as the next big thing in distance education

C

ontinuing economic uncertainty, intense competition and enormous political, technological, environmental, and businessrelated challenges, as well as the knowledge revolution have given rise to disruptive innovations. The only way to thrive in these unusual times is to adapt collectively to the ever-changing demands of the industry and economy. For countries to keep pace with the changing times and stay competitive globally, it becomes imperative to engage the masses by making them employable and employed. Thus, skills are the only seemingly global currency in this century.

The capacity of nations today is linked to how rapidly and effectively they can skill their people. The 20th century was marked with the setting up of brick-and-mortar universities and

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February 2015 / digitalLEARNING

colleges for this purpose.

However, it is clearly evident that these institutions alone will not be sufficient to address the vast need-gaps and ever changing requirements of the 21st century. Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, present a unique opportunity to address all these challenges. In 2011, the academic world experienced a revolution in content distribution and teaching methodology when MOOCs emerged as the next big thing in distance education. Although the concept of online education has been around since the advent of the Internet, MOOCs attracted a larger audience due to their interactive content, global access, and, most importantly, free quality education.

In a world where Ivy League education is considered the panacea for an ailing global economy, MOOCs made

it possible to receive such an education in the comfort of your home.

Some Facts about MOOCs The term MOOCs was coined by Dave Cormier of the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada and Senior Research Fellow Bryan Alexander of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education, US New York Times dubbed 2012 as the year of MOOCs, while Time magazine dubbed MOOCs Ivy League for the masses In 2008, George Siemens of Athabasca University and Stephen Downes of the National Research Council offered the first cMOOC – Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) with an enrolment of ~2200 students In 2011, Stanford University offered the first xMOOC – Introduction to Artificial Intelligence – taught by Sebastian Thrun and

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Peter Norvig which registered an enrolment of ~160,000 students MOOCs can be categorized as connectivist MOOCs, or cMOOCs, or xMOOCs, where cMOOCs can be defined as a network of individuals sharing knowledge on a common topic.

The prime objective of cMOOCs is to facilitate communication between users and thus tends to be dynamic in nature. Using digital media, enrolled participants interact with their peers to clarify doubts, complete assignments, and share knowledge. xMOOCs, on the other hand, tend to be the extensions of certain courses or concepts. Generally offered by universities as an introduction to a particular course or topic, xMOOCs familiarize its users with the fundamentals by using lecture videos and course content.

projects at other elite American Universities. With over 125 million visitors and online materials corresponding to over 2,150 courses, the OCW project can be considered hugely successful and a pioneer for MOOCs. Salman Khan, an MIT and Harvard alumnus, launched Khan Academy in 2006 which featured Internet-hosted videos on various subjects like mathematics, history, healthcare, medicine, finance, and biology and garnered more than 440 million views.

These concepts are widely regarded as the precursor for the MOOCs

Evolution of MOOCs In 2002, following the concept of Open Educational Resources (OERs), MIT launched its OpenCourseWare (OCW) project which was followed by similar

movement. Since 2012, several educational organizations started offering online courses on a plethora of topics. Several other universities also

started offering their content online in order to reach a wider audience.

Despite the ever increasing number of players in the MOOCs space, three are considered the most important actors, viz. Coursera, Udacity, and edX. Current Business Model Most MOOCs players are currently following a freemium model wherein content is used to drive traffic while a premium is charged for additional services (or add-ons) which become the main source of revenue. These additional services can be directed towards end

In a world where Ivy League education is considered the panacea for an ailing global economy, MOOCs made it possible to receive such an education in the comfort of your home users via offering certification, one-onone mentoring, career counseling and placements, or towards partners by charging licensing and hosting fees.

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Special D ebate Feature

Several other revenue options, such as accreditation, are currently being explored by MOOCs providers. The universities like Georgia Institute of Technology have teamed up with Udacity and AT&T to offer an accredited Online Master of Science in Computer Education (OMS CS) at minimal cost (around $7000). Even players like Coursera and edX are exploring accreditation with the recommendations of the

the student is not among the top 1-2% of the country, the entry to elite institutions within India is difficult. This situation is changing, with the increase in number of private universities and colleges. At the same time, the employability of some of the students graduating from these private colleges is in question as their curriculum design and delivery may not have been benchmarked against the best.

$200 billion will be required to meet the additional intake demand across education segments. Therefore, the traditional model of education may seem ineffective in meeting the future requirements of the country American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT), which are taken into consideration by over 2,000 universities and colleges for transfer of credits.

Quality education in India is highly restrictive in nature and only a few who have adequate resources and are willing to put in enormous efforts get access to it. In the current scenario, if

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At the same time, at the current growth rates in the education sector, there will be an enormous need for funds and land to set up such institutions, a requirement that will be largely prohibitive in nature. It is estimated that $200 billion will be required to meet the additional intake demand across education segments. Therefore, the traditional model of education

may seem ineffective in meeting the future requirements of the country.

We believe that in order to address the unique challenges that India faces, the learning intervention needs to be characterized by the following key constituents, namely: •Scale •Efficacy (in terms of every learner being engaged and learning) • Affordable • Accessible • Accredited (implying quality of delivery in terms of quality of teachers/ faculty) • Acknowledged by the Industry; and • Linked with Assessment Across the world, public and private bodies are experimenting with newer learning models to capture this market.

We have made an attempt to evaluate these models for India. MOOCs, which have been touted as the game-changer in this domain, quite efficiently address many challenges of the current system. However, its impact on the efficacy in terms of student engagement and learning is still questionable. This gets

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reflected in the low completion rates in most MOOCs offerings.

It is therefore questionable whether MOOCs will be able to reroute India’s leviathan education system. There are challenges as well with MOOCs, including the absence of an experiential learning framework and imparting employment as one of the key outcomes.

We believe that the Minerva project, begun in the West, could well be the next most significant model, even within the Indian landscape. Minerva provides higher education to the world’s brightest and most motivated students, completely online. Each class is capped at 20 students and these students travel across the world to gain experiential learning. Most importantly the application-to-intake ratio is among the highest in the world.

Similarly, Udacity and Georgia Institute of Technology offer a complete online MS Program in Computer Science.

Concepts like these are often catego-

rized as Small Private Online Courses or SPOCs. MOOCs: Outlining the Model for India We believe that MOOCs will evolve from their current state to Valueadded MOOCs, or vMOOCs, with large number of smaller groups or sapiential circles. In the vMOOCs business model, MOOCs will continue to occupy the core position; however, they will be supplemented by value-added services which will make the internationally benchmarked content relevant and more meaningful within the Indian context. These value-added services may include: • Placement Support • Aptitude Profiling • Recognition of prior learning • Career Counseling • Localization and Customization of the Content • Providing additional reading/refer-

ence material on the subject to students • Providing customizable assessment reports to students indicating gap areas for reinforcements • Accredited • Online Proctoring • One-on-One Mentoring The various stages of education highlighted above lend themselves differently to a MOOCs solution. Some education needs like K-12 cannot be fulfilled with MOOCs while, for others like test preparation, an immediate solution seems possible.

MOOCs could also provide solutions in terms of decreasing the costs of some of these education components and play a major role in promoting equity and access. A detailed assessment and possible MOOCs interventions for each of the above stages of education have been highlighted in the following sections.

Key Challenges While the test preparation model has stabilized and been fairly well accepted at a macro level, it faces some challenges which are enumerated as under: • Students need to travel to faraway locations to attend these classes, which are conducted in large batches in the physical class-room type set-up • Technology usage is minimal and restricted to online exams • The high cost of preparing for exams like CAT, GMAT, etc. proves prohibitive for some students who, as a result, are forced to restrict themselves to self-study. The absence of expert guidance/course material may prove counterproductive to their chances of getting through • The delivery costs are high due to the need for a physical class-room setup and minimal use of technology • The service provider and students are overly dependent on a few good tutors • The recognition of prior learning is often limited and the model works on the “One size fits all” approach • In most test preparation models, large batch sizes result in a lack of personalization and individual attention to students Some of the key challenges presently observed within the Indian Higher Education framework include minimal interuniversity knowledge transfer; the consequent failure of medium- to lower-ranked universities in terms of benchmarking their curriculum against top-ranked institutions; lower access to quality education due to enhancing selectivity among the top institutions; culture of continuing education has not yet set in among the working population of India; lack of faculty exchange and academia-industry partnerships; limited access to good quality higher education with only those who have resources and high intellectual quotient likely to get through the highly competitive entrance systems; steep disproportion between number of seats available and number of aspirants; and, massive investments, from both government and private players, as well as time is needed to fill the prevalent demand-supply gap.

The MOOCs model would encourage collaboration between universities at different levels resulting in improvement in content quality, lecture delivery, and resource utilization.

The Indian higher education market is currently estimated at $11 billion, but is growing at a CAGR of 20%. The current state of higher education with the Gross Enrolment Ratio, or GER, at only 20%, is characterized by high exclusivity and low inter-university coordination, thereby isolating the masses from access to quality education and functioning of universities in silos.

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Exclusive interview

Transitioning from Blackboard to Tabs The e-learning has gained popularity in recent years where private schools have adopted its usage and public and government schools are in a mode to sync with the new age teaching technology. Carrying the trend of e-content to classroom is still at a nascent stage in India but Kalyani Rangarajan, Dean, VIT Business School, VIT University, believes that tablet is a powerful tool in a technologically advanced world today How important do you think is a tablet for the curriculum in your institution?

As important as the ‘Fountain Pen’ was before it was demolished by the ‘Ball pen’! Tablet is a powerful tool in the technologically advanced world to impart learning to the students. Just as we have shifted from desktop to laptop we need to shift to tabs. Soon it would be all

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encompassing mobiles and sooner than later we might have google glasses and other wearables.

Is a tablet the only way for the colleges and the universities to help their students understand the concepts better?

If the question is, ‘can the tablet replace the teacher?’, the answer ‘might’

be ‘No!’ But it might even be better to have the tablet as a teacher, which can be non-judgmental, and definitely better than moody and sometimes inappropriate Teachers. Other methodologies in use such as role play, simulations, games etc. might be adapted to a tablet mode, in the days to come! Then, one might, justifiably say that there is no substitute for a tab.

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Soon MOOCs would alienate the teacher from the taught and Prof. Gautam Kaul has clearly stated that no student should try to contact the instructor directly by mail or phone as it is impossible for him to devote time to any of the thousands who register for a MOOC of teaching are slowly losing their relevance. Do you see any inherent contradiction between the two?

The ancient gurukul, where the teacher had personal contact with few students, he would condescend to teach, has given way to large class rooms and impersonal teaching through blackboards, whiteboards and smartboards. However, as long the objectives of the teaching – learning process are achieved, one cannot complain about the lack of personal touch, which was the very essence of teaching in days of yore.

What can a tablet, e-book and e-content not do?

At present, physical contact with other human beings might still be a problem, provided it is a necessary component of learning. But if only information sharing is important, then one can easily do with a tablet, which can provide enough and more content, correct and relevant.

How do you evaluate, assess a tablet before selecting it for the curriculum in your institution?

Availability, price, quality, and ease of use would largely decide the particular brand or specs that are required for a specific group.

Introduction of digital tools into the classrooms has brought the narratives alive. The traditional tools

Although the private institutions are far ahead of the public institutions, the new government appears committed to bridging the digital deficit. How do you think should the government move?

There is indeed a welcome change in the approach of the government to improve the quality of education in the public institutions. This would pose a greater challenge to the private institutions as they need to be ahead of the public institutions if they have to attract good quality students at the higher fees that they charge.

If government does it this year, private should have already done it a couple of years earlier.

The digital roads to smart education have their own shares of potholes. Infrastructure continues to be the main bottleneck. How do you think can it be overcome?

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Nothing great is achieved without its share of pains and obstacles.

Both the management and the faculty of these institutions need to strive hard to enable the smooth transition from the blackboard to the tablet mode of teaching – learning process. Power availability, internet connectivity, students’ techno-phobia, evaluation methodology, and the objectives of the learning process need to be addressed to break the bottlenecks. Having a large cap might help.

Do you think that e-learning runs the risk of over exposure and doing more harm than good in the end?

A knife can be used both to kill a person and also to save him from death, depending on who is wielding it. Similarly one has to have a trade-off between no information and overload of information.

Guess, the amount of water drunk depends on how thirsty is the person.

The massive open online courses (MOOCS) have brought closer the dream of digital equality in our country. However, the shallow internet density in our country is making a crisis out of an opportunity. How do you think can the Government come to seize upon the opportunity?

The easier option would be to put a ban on all MOOC courses, so that the limited band width is used only for emails. It is like throwing the baby with the bathwater. Having made millions of rupees, it would be more appropriate for the government to ensure that the 3G and 4G bandwidths are implemented and the last mile issues in internet connectivity are resolved at the earliest. Having caught up with the mobile revolution, we should not lose out on the wide band video communication.

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Case study Case study

Tomorrow The School of Tomorrow powered by KITABOO® Cloud

Analytics –

ABOO®’s strong analytical engine embedded fastest to growing in India, with 80 e reader, it willOne haveofthethe capability analyze schools and schools and more than 80,000 students.

The school e student movement on the book, page-byawardfaculties and strives to provide the e teacher will houses now know howwinning much the student highest education to students in India today. The how much time has level beenof spent on each page of technology in teaching activities haveuse been performed on the page.is emphasized greatly in all its schools and it has won accolades in being the ‘Best Technology enabled’ schools in all of India.

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With KITABOO®’s strong analytical engine embedded behind the reader, it will have the capability to analyze and record the student movement on the book, page-bypage. The teacher will now know how much the student has read, how much time has been spent on each page and what activities have been performed on the page.

To further grow its footprint in ‘digital education’, they partnered with KITABOO®, which has over 14 years of experience in creating interactive eBooks for publishers, institutions and corporates.

Need – A Digital Textbook Platform

They wanted to create a self-branded, end-to-end eBook ecosystem for their students in India. The answer to this was a ‘Digital textbook Platform’ which would allow their students across the classrooms in India to learn using Enriched, Interactive eBooks and collaborate with their teachers who would be equipped to help them with better student analytics. The eBooks needed to be feature rich, equipped with a next generation eReader, whichDigital can support theManageenhanced eBooks on multiple Security and Rights formats and platforms. All the above should be done keeping theencryption content highly secure utilizes both content as well as and encrypted

y validation mechanisms to validate an authentic e eBook content is encrypted / password d with secure The keys.Solution The DRM– encrypts audios, Digital Textbook Platform – d images using AES 128-bit algorithm with CBC ® KITABOO textbook to consist of a h PKCS5 padding.

When’sandigital end user requestsplatform for courseware can be distributed to all their therepository, license forwhich that book. , KITABOO® validates ® across the country. age can only classrooms be decrypted

by KITABOO cloud Students and Teachers will now be able to read and native readerThe apps. collaborate over the school branded Reader App, powered ®

by KITABOO e Digital Textbook Platform. would enable better ent among students, owing to more compelling uch as audios, videos and assessments. Teachers other hand would be able to better gauge a performance and engagement with better usage ENHANCED AND ENRICHED EBOOKS

TEACHER ENABLEMENT WITH ANALYTICS prestigious

STUDENT TEACHER

COLLABORATION Cloud, a GOLD winner of the Hall Award for Advance in Mobile Learning, has d and converted over 10 million input pages, it is o-end eBook solution, thatInteractive provides a great way – Enriched, eBooks e books, make them interactive and Converting textbooks to distribute rich interactive digital textbook ® er efficiently for to iPad, your Android readers. and AndPC/Mac, best of KITABOO all, will add contexo major upfront investments areand needed. tual enrichments make the subject mater come alive for students, which will help in retention and compreheninformation sion. on how digitally your with high-resolution Thetobooks willenergize be enriched whether you are an institution, a corporation a images, adding audio and videoornotes by teachers/authors you can contact KITABOO@hurix.com or visithelp in a distraction-free on specific portions, which would ABOO.com learning experience for the student.

KITABOO® Widgets will allow addition of quizzes, flashcards, and drag-drop activities into the textbook itself.

®

Student Analytics –

Content Security and Digital Rights Management –

KITABOO® utilizes both content encryption as well as license key validation mechanisms to validate an authentic user. The eBook content is encrypted / password protected with secure keys. The DRM encrypts audios, videos and images using AES 128-bit algorithm with CBC mode with PKCS5 padding. When an end user requests for an eBook, KITABOO® validates the license for that book.

The package can only be decrypted by KITABOO® cloud reader or native reader apps.

Finally, the Digital Textbook Platform would enable better engagement among students, owing to more compelling content such as audios, videos and assessments. Teachers on the other hand would be able to better gauge a student’s performance and engagement with better usage analytics.

KITABOO® Cloud, a GOLD winner of the prestigious Brandon Hall Award for Advance in Mobile Learning, has processed and converted over 10 million input pages, it is an end-to-end eBook solution, that provides a great way to digitize books, make them interactive and distribute and deliver efficiently to your readers. And best of all, almost no major upfront investments are needed.

For more information on how to digitally energize your content, whether you are an institution, a corporation or a publisher, you can contact KITABOO@hurix.com or visit www.KITABOO.com

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exclusive Interview Exclusive interview

Shifting dynamics of education The changing face of Indian education system is surely a positive step in the teaching methods today. The digital era is gaining momentum in imparting education to the new age generation.

However, Dr K P Singh, Chairman, NIMT believes that only digital education is not enough to shape the future of Indians. A proper curriculum must be designed in such a way that both learning styles are accommodated How important do you think is a tablet for the curriculum in your institution?

The digitization of the classroom globally has resulted in a changed education pattern. Students have better accessibility towards study material. The tablet makes complex procedure very easy to understand for students, which was earlier difficult to understand by hard copy study material. It has revolutionized the e-learning programs or distance education programs, hence giving a better interactive learning for the students.

Therefore we cannot deny the importance of tablets in education.

Is a tablet the only way for the colleges and the universities to help their students understand the concepts better?

Is a tablet the only way for the colleges and the universities to help their students understand the concepts better definitely not. For overall concept clearing of the student and with demand of the topic the teacher must adopt the best learning tool. The tools need not be only digital to be called as best learning tool.

An appropriate example to quote here is paramedical students learning bones anatomy etc. The best way to teach them is through real skeleton in front of them, which is a classical way of teaching.

What can a tablet, e-book and e-content not do?

Those concepts/subjects or topics which can understood best by using concrete

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The e-content must be strictly regulated. A host of security concerns, including data protection and compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) should be followed information such as facts, procedures, practical experience, visual analysis etc cannot be understood by digital method.

Therefore the curriculum must be designed in such a way that both learning styles are accommodated. The classroom is filled with facts, which are or-

ganized with theories, providing a rich environment to feed children’s natural preferences.

In fact NIMT has already incorporated e-learning into its curriculum.

NIMT has a team that has deployed an instance of openEDX. Students are able to access recorded lectures, interactive animations, questionnaires etc on edx. nimt.ac.in NIMT has also started NIMT X which is basically a platform for both open and UGC approved online courses from over 50 Universities across the globe including the likes of King’s College, London, Trinity College London, Yonsei University, University of Warwick and partners such as The British Council, The Royal Shakespearean Company amongst others.

exclusive Interview Exclusive interview

How do you evaluate, assess a tablet before selecting it for the curriculum in your institution?

Apart from technical specifications that should meet the criteria of the curriculum, other factors include warranty and after sales support for students. In case of tablets for school students, the specs are not very intensive and selected keeping in mind the kind of content that will be made for the curriculum. However for UG and PG students, the specs generally include the standards available in the market. The tablets are selected keeping in mind the multi-purpose utility of these tablets – which are used not only for learning but also for surfing, entertainment, games etc.

Introduction of digital tools into the classrooms has brought the narratives alive. The traditional tools of teaching are slowly losing their relevance. Do you see any inherent contradiction between the two?

Today academic field have witnessed the dramatic growth and influence of Internet, wireless technology. The educators hold the vision of revolutionizing future of teaching and learning systems. However, one must not forget that the main aim of educator is to use the best learning tool and depending on the topic, digital learning tools are not always the best.

Therefore it is the responsibility of an educator to strike a good balance between traditional and modern learning tools.

Although the private institutions are far ahead of the public institutions, the new government appears committed to bridging the digital deficit. How do you think should the government move?

Government is taking strong steps in minimizing the gap of modern technology in academics. Government must keep in mind the economic and social inequality according to categories of persons in a given population. Keeping in mind the difference in socioeconomic levels of parents, government must release free of cost technology based

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mation. Built-in authentication procedures must be implemented which should monitor internet. Also, a web filter should provide internet access controls.

Do you think that e-learning runs the risk of over exposure and doing more harm than good in learning tools for better growth of students. This will help in filling the gap due to technological advancement in private and public academics.

The digital roads to smart education have their own shares of potholes. Infrastructure continues to be the main bottleneck. How do you think can it be overcome? e-Learning has become increasingly significant learning tool in education. Since

the end?

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.” – John Dewey. Therefore we need to follow the best technology to educate student.

But at the same time we cannot deny that over exposure to e-learning tools have risks to student’s health. There are several statistics which explains the same. The best way to regulate the exposure time is to make students aware of the risks involved in over exposure to technology.

The main aim of educator is to use the best learning tool and depending on the topic, digital learning tools are not always the best. Therefore it is the responsibility of an educator to strike a good balance between traditional and modern learning tools many schools have lack of infrastructure to support wireless devices, students to bring their own devices cannot give access to immediate technology integration in the classroom. The access advantage— anytime, anywhere, any device—gives a significant benefit in learning.

Must the e-content be regulated?

There are equally good reasons for both in favour or against. What is your take?

The e-content must be strictly regulated.

A host of security concerns, including data protection and compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) should be followed. Protective wireless infrastructure, providing a segmented student network which separates teachers and administrators must be followed, to avoid data security conflicts and protecting student infor-

The institution and the educator must also share the responsibility in regulating the exposure time for the same.

The massive open online courses (MOOCS) have brought closer the dream of digital equality in our country. However, the shallow internet density in our country is making a crisis out of an opportunity. How do you think can the Government come to seize upon the opportunity?

Although the private institutions are far ahead of the public institutions, the government appears committed to bridging the digital deficit. However, many classrooms still struggle to integrate technology tools into daily learning. Therefore the government has the vision for how the future of teaching and learning systems should be revolutionized.

RNI NO. UPENG/2008/25311

UP/GBD-70/2012-14 UP/GZB/70/2015-17