Knowledge Corridor-The Southern Way : July 2009 Issue

the Monthly publication on ict and education

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Volume 5 issue 7

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Knowledge Corridor

The Southern Way

Contents

8

18 22

Cover story

8

South India Surges In Higher Education

IN CONVERSATION

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K N Panikkar, Chairman, kerala state higher education council

32 39

perspective

Dr. Elizabeth Sherly, Director(i/c), Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K)

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Leveraging Technologies to Facilitate Change in Education Systems Dr M S Rawat

corporate diary

Leader’s speak

Professor Kalyani Anbuchelvan, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Open University

39

Hari Verma Nadimpalli, Vice President, GlobalScholar

commentary

case study

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41

Need to Integrate Technology in Higher Education Dr Sanat Kaul

1.8 Million Students in India Join the Digital Revolution

school track

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Research

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Providing Online Education for All : NPTEL

Integration of ICT in Teaching Geography Ashutosh Karasharma Mishra, PGT-Geography, JNV, Koraput

Prof. M.S. Ananth, Chairman, Program Implementation Committee, NPTEL.

Regular Features

News

34 36 44

India

49

Mark Your Calendar

18

22

case study

30

NIE-Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology

Dr G L Shekar, Director, NIE-EICHER Centre for Automobile Technology

policy matters

32 Reform in 100 Days

30

www.digitalLEARNING.in

Asia Corporate

editorial

Knowledge Corridor : The Southern Way The four Southern States of India are witnessing an economic boom in their major metros.

This trend can be partly attributed to the policies of economic liberalisation and the retreat of the Indian Government from its earlier attempts at planned and balanced growth. With the retreat of the Central Government from initiating new investments, the policies of State Governments and the initiatives of other social and economic forces have become significant as determinants of how a particular state might adapt to present circumstances. It is the Higher Education segment where the four states have gained brownie points.

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala have seen the expansion of educational opportunities across domains. This coincides with the increasing push by the private sector in creating a market. Private players today provide quality education to a substantial number of students and the content is tuned towards the market needs. It is the significantly higher concentration of science and engineering graduates in Southern India that has attracted the world’s leading technological companies to set up software development centers in Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

President Dr. M P Narayanan Editor-in-Chief Dr. Ravi Gupta Associate Editor Manjushree Reddy Research Analyst Dr Rajeshree Dutta Kumar Research Associate Sheena Joseph Research Assistant Yukti Pahwa Dy. General Manager - Marketing Siddharth Verma +91-9811561645 siddharth@digitallearning.in

In this issue, we track some of the innovative educational initiatives in the four Southern States that have propelled the educational achievements. In Tamil Nadu, we find that the higher number of engineering colleges is matched by relatively strong university science departments. In cities like Coimbatore and Madurai, there appears to be a concerted effort on the part of younger faculty members to get PhDs and engage very actively in research and development. Andhra Pradesh has managed to literally double its engineering base in five years, and has pulled ahead of traditionally more prosperous and more industrialised states, such as Gujarat and Maharashtra. Karnataka has seen the acceleration of the Biotechnology revolution through numerous Government polices and private initiatives.

Kerala has moved towards Technology Enhanced Learning in all colleges and universities through the Education Grid network.

As a prelude to eINDIA 2009, we hope that this issue provides an insightful and useful read for our subscribers. By exploring the current scene in the Southern States, we aim at covering the thematic issues that are a reflection of the Higher Education segment which form a part of the event. We invite you to send us your feedback, suggestions and any information that might be relevant to the theme. Also, we look forward to your participation in eINDIA2009, which will take us through a wider horizon of ICTs (Information and Communication Technology) and Education.

Sr. Executive - Business Development Rudra Ghosh +91-9810603696 rudra@digitallearning.in Sales Executives Ankur Agarwal +91-9313998750 ankur@digitallearning.in Subscription & Circulation Lipika Dutta +91-9871481708

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

Manoj Kumar +91-9971404484 Sr Graphic Designer Bishwajeet Kumar Singh Graphic Designer Om Prakash Thakur Web Zia Salahuddin, Amit Pal

Editorial & Marketing Correspondence digitalLearning G-4 Sector 39, NOIDA 201301, India Phone: +91 120 2502181-85 Fax: +91 120 2500060 Email: info@digitalLearning.in

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juLY 2009

Vice Chancellors’ Conclave @ 25 - 27 August 2009 Hyderabad International Convention Centre, India

Catch the Vice Chancellors in Conversation on A 360° Overview of Higher Eduction The “Best Practices” & “Next Practices” of ICTs in Universities and Higher Education Systems

Also catch the School Principals over a Cafe Conversation to Discover their Leadership Signature with New Mindsets for ICTs 5th

India's Largest ICT Event

Leadership Concalve of School Principals

COVER STORY

Ideas and innovations have spiralled the growth of higher education sector in the southern states of india

South India Surges In Higher Education

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The Higher Education scenario in the Southern States of India have scaled new heights. In all spheres of education, the knowledge par excellence being imparted, has encompassed not only generic degrees but also vocational and technical education. Several government initiatives, public-private partnerships, and industry-institution collaborations have proved to be an icing on the cake.

With the escalation in educational achievements, Digital Learning magazine brings to you such initiatives and achievements, impact and challenges of higher education with specific focus on Southern Indian States.

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igher education equips the student with requisite skills for furthering their career growth. Some of the selected education best practices in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been highlighted in this report that have the potential of being replicated all across the country.

KARNATAKA Karnataka is widely acknowledged to be the leader in Information Technology (IT). The Millennium Biotech Policy, 2000 introduced by the Karnataka government seeks to lead the state into the next revolution in Biotechnology. Karnataka already has the training and knowledge base necessary to drive the revolution. The immediate challenge is to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship and facilitate effective technology transfer to the end users. Various policies of the government have sought to promote the same.

Karnataka has unparalleled human resources in various areas of technology.

The state accounts for about 15% share of higher education in the country. It is also the pioneer in liberalising higher education. Out of the 82 engineering colleges, only 2 are in the government sector.

The Millennium Biotech Policy, 2000 Karnataka’s Biotech Policy, inaugurated in 2001, has spured the growth of the biotech industry in the State and encouraged extensive research and development in the various opportunities the field offers.

The objectives of the Millennium Biotech Policy include: • To spread awareness about the investment opportunities in biotechnology, genomics, bioinformatics, biofuels, contract research, etc., to the entrepreneurial community.

• To sustain and maintain the present pre-eminent position of Karnataka and Bangalore in the field of biotechnology.

• To outline a set of incentives and concessions for the biotechnology industry to attract investments to the State.

• To provide specific infrastructure as well as enhance human resources for the development of biotechnology.

• To encourage the growth of 10

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bioinformatics in Karnataka.

To provide an appropriate institutional framework to achieve all these objectives.

Premier Institutions The premier position of Bangalore in the knowledge segment has been due to its strong tradition in education and in science and technology. Institutions dedicated to, or with strengths in, the biological sciences include: the Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR), NIMHANS, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Central Food Technological Research Institute (Mysore), Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Manipal Institute for Neurological Diseases, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and the University of Agricultural Sciences.

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was established in the days of the Maharaja of Mysore in collaboration with Tatas in 1909.

It has been ranked as the 18th best university in the world. The institute has a number of departments in various areas of biology and biotechnology: Bio-Chemistry, Micro Biology & Cell Biology, Molecular Reproduction, Development & Genetics, Molecular Biophysics, and Ecological Sciences.

Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research The Centre was established in 1989 by the Department of Science and Technology to commemorate the birth centenary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The Institute’s main objective is to promote scientific research at the highest level in frontier and disciplinary areas of science and engineering.

Bangalore - The IT Capital of India • Bangalore can rightly be termed as the IT Capital of India. The city has over: • 21 engineering colleges, which is the highest in the world; • 75,000 IT professionals and • 900 software export companies.

Indian Institute of Science

National Centre for Biological Sciences The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore is a new centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. The mandate of NCBS is basic research in frontier areas of biology. The research interests of the faculty are in the following areas: Biochemistry, Biophysics & Bioinformatics, Genetics & Development, Cellular Organisation & Signaling, and Neurobiology.

Biotechnology Centre The Centre is the first of its kind in the country in the public sector, aiming at integrating all spheres of biotechnology for the cause of horticulture development. The activities of the centre include: large scale cloning, in vitro conservation, crop improvement, quality control facilities for biofertilizers, biocontrol agents and biopesticides, residual analysis of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, soil, water and leaf analysis, training in mushroom handling & processing and dissemination of information on horticultural biotechnology.

IBM Centre of Excellence The Government of Karnataka signed a

// COVER STORY

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IBM India to promote e-learning initiative based on Open Source Technology. Under the MoU, IBM has developed an e-learning platform for Board for IT Education Standards (BITES) for higher technical and educational institutions in Karnataka. IBM has also participated, along with BITES and Indian Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB), in creating IBM Centre of Excellence devoted to the development of Open Source Software. This industry-institution partnership has helped leverage local talent through educational programmes and has brought existing syllabus, faculty and students on par with the emerging technologies in IT. KERALA

project undertaken by the state government to provide quality education to those who are pursuing higher studies. Planned in phases with participation from premier institutions and universities of Kerala, the Grid will ultimately link all the educational institutions across the state.

The Kerala Education Grid is in the process of getting deployed in the colleges of Kerala for improving the quality of higher education.

It provides affordable and pedagogically effective online assisted learning environment for the colleges in any subject.

The Grid proposes to address the problem of providing quality education in colleges and universities using Technology Enhanced Learning and Teaching (TELT) by involving the teachers themselves as much as possible. It establishes a network of Education Servers

has set up a Centre of Excellence in Kerala to create a virtual university for linking all the colleges in the state for e-learning. The tie up with Sun has provided advanced information systems for the current and future needs of the academia, government and industry.

The Sun facility at the Thiruvananthapurambased Indian IIITM- K is a part of the ambitious Kerala Education Grid Project.

The Centre of Excellence in Kerala is Sun’s fifth computing laboratory in educational institutions worldwide; the other four Sun facilities are in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand. While IIITM-K is the hub of the Education Grid, Sun’s Advanced Computing Laboratory will support the academic and research activities through high-end Sun servers, software and high quality course contents on advanced

across colleges linked to a few Resource Centres [EGRC] and a central Education Grid Operations Centre [EGOC]. The teachers and the colleges are supported by the Education Grid project to develop quality content through its services and invoke such educational processes that effectively apply TELT methods. In this endeavour, the project draws from large volumes of content available or getting generated over the Internet or by the national level projects such as the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning [NPTEL].

topics. The broadband fibre optic network being set up by the private telecom players across the state will act as the information backbone of the Grid.

Kerala’s achievements in social development and quality of life are, no doubt, inspiring and encouraging. The state has achieved a human development index comparable to the developed countries of the World. The state tops the literacy charts and has made constant efforts to rapidly advance in the higher education segment during the last few years.

Kerala has many renowned institutions for providing higher education and training. Some of these institutions include - Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, National Institute of Technology, Trichy, Cochin University of Science and Technology and University of Kerala.

Kerala Education Grid The Kerala Education Grid is a major

•

•

• •

Engineering education in Kerala registered an impressive annual growth rate of 17.04 % in terms of number of institutions & 4.64% in terms of student intake during 19952004.

85% is the role played by self financing institutions (both govt owned & private owned) in technical education 76% is the dominant role played by tbe Government in polytechnic education 37% shows the declining role of govt in engineering degree education

E-learning Centre in Kerala Apart from the Kerala Education Grid, global computer major Sun Microsystems

‘Technical Education’ hub in Malappuram Recently, a INR 500-crore ‘Technical Education’ hub has been proposed in Malappuram, Kerala in a bid to make the State a much sought after destination for higher education and knowledge industries.

The hub, proposed by Infrastructures Kerala Ltd. (InKEL), is expected to have an International Institute of Technology, Institute of Management, International School and a world- class Multi Services Park. digital LEARNING

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QUICK STATS: HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTHERN INDIA ANDHRA PRADESH Number of Institutions (Figures in number) Institutions/Universities Universities Deemed to be Universities Instt. of National Importance Research Institutes Colleges for General Education Engg., Tech & Arch. Collages Medical Colleges (Allo./ Ayur./ Homeo/ Unani)

2001-02 18 4 0 5 1080 164 29

2002-03 18 5 0 5 1197 222 30

2003-04 18 5 0 5 1330 238 53

2004-05 18 5 0 5 1340 261 53

2005-06 16 5 0 5 1603 278 311

Enrolment (Figures in number) Courses

Enrolment during the year

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

Ph.D/D.Sc./D.Phill.

M.A. M.Sc. M.Com. B.A,/B.A. (Hons) B.Sc./B.Sc.(Hons.)

B.Com./B.Com(Hons.)

B.E./B.Sc.(Engg/B.Arch.)

Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Ayurvedic & Unani etc.

B.Ed. & B.T. Open University Polytechnic Others Total

6815 13647 15982 5241 167774 209832 161388 74272 12962 10298 - - 15668 693879

7168 15066 24425 5727 172237 214438 166039 126078 14088 10439 - - 13972 769677

4939 14312 16613 6079 171323 224149 170169 148160 12553 11448 - - 18112 797857

4752 14477 17053 6375 171808 219501 178655 194793 15671 12221 - - 221413 1056719

6129 18777 21129 7567 171808 243961 184479 330086 23019 36332 97083 49320 221413 1411103

TAMIL NADU Number of Institutions (Figures in number) Institutions/Universities Universities Deemed to be Universities Instt. of National Importance Research Institutes Colleges for General Education Engg., Tech & Arch. Collages Medical Colleges (Allo./ Ayur./ Homeo/ Unani)

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

15 8 2 1 426 96 97

16 9 2 1 478 96 97

16 9 2 1 441 96 97

17 16 2 1 445 222 97

17 16 2 1 693 269 198

Enrolment (Figures in number) Courses 2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

Ph.D/D.Sc./D.Phill.

2870 M.A. 15596 M.Sc. 25291 M.Com. 6440 B.A,/B.A. (Hons) 136504 B.Sc./B.Sc.(Hons.)

238043 B.Com./B.Com(Hons.)

90138 B.E./B.Sc.(Engg/B.Arch.)

57402 Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Ayurvedic & Unani etc.

16182 B.Ed. 4277 Open University - Polytechnic Others 104601 Total 697344

3410 11015 47793 21173 91455 185265 93343 90109 12010 2922 - - 134457 692952

3770 12206 52761 23124 101122 204456 102622 96625 13264 3246 - - 146543 759739

3346 13343 29324 8072 106097 188486 93805 49466 47685 4078 - - 265664 809366

3500 15371 35341 14929 103861 211689 104317 329271 39131 9826 17222 174237 265664 1324359

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Enrolment during the year

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KARNATAKA Number of Institutions (Figures in number) Institutions/Universities Universities Deemed to be Universities Instt. of National Importance Research Institutes Colleges for General Education Engg., Tech & Arch. Collages Medical Colleges (Allo./ Ayur./ Homeo/ Unani)

2001-02 13 3 1 1 916 112 172

2002-03 13 6 0 1 923 116 172

2003-04 13 6 0 1 930 120 172

2004-05 15 7 0 1 930 120 172

2005-06 16 7 0 1 930 134 423

Enrolment (Figures in number) Courses

Enrolment during the year

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

Ph.D/D.Sc./D.Phill.

M.A. M.Sc. M.Com. B.A,/B.A. (Hons) B.Sc./B.Sc.(Hons.)

B.Com./B.Com(Hons.)

B.E./B.Sc.(Engg/B.Arch.)

Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Ayurvedic & Unani etc.

B.Ed. Open University Polytechnic Others Total

951 2187 1222 689 238215 62036 62748 88942 7185 6634 - - 66218 537027

4658 5689 14570 4855 157090 59646 63110 92160 48133 6934 - - 87510 544355

5388 6591 17127 5624 185155 70628 74584 107162 56239 8218 - - 102474 639190

3107 8405 13270 2187 171743 48392 72499 32863 56239 6800 - - 290736 706241

3107 8405 13270 2187 171743 48392 72499 169563 68517 6800 0 96566 290736 951786

KERALA Number of Institutions (Figures in number) Institutions/Universities Universities Deemed to be Universities Instt. of National Importance Research Institutes Colleges for General Education Engg., Tech & Arch. Collages Medical Colleges (Allo./ Ayur./ Homeo/ Unani)

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

7 0 0 1 186 43 23

7 1 1 1 186 66 40

7 1 1 1 186 66 40

7 1 1 1 186 66 40

7 2 1 1 189 99 125

Enrolment (Figures in number) Courses

Enrolment during the year

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

Ph.D/D.Sc./D.Phill.

M.A. M.Sc. M.Com. B.A,/B.A. (Hons) B.Sc./B.Sc.(Hons.)

B.Com./B.Com(Hons.)

B.E./B.Sc.(Engg/B.Arch.)

Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Ayurvedic & Unani etc.

B.Ed.& BT Open Polytechniques Others Total

340 6725 5875 2197 61951 61361 22272 25865 8056 7270 - - 38126 240038

2752 8552 7823 2264 62019 62322 22107 29834 8259 8566 - - 30448 244946

336 7164 6953 2501 63646 65841 23697 29834 8259 3298 - - 85864 297393

417 7443 8192 2591 68622 65905 24217 20862 8259 3317 - - 103330 313155

338 8460 10663 3625 67536 64170 24323 91818 9246 3451 36377 27240 103330 450577

Source: http://www.education.nic.in/stats/StateProfile0506.pdf

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Malappuram has been chosen for the education hub as the district lags behind in the area of higher education, particularly technical education.

The international educational centre seeks to integrate programmes in technology, management, design and architecture. It also proposes to offer specialised postgraduate programmes and advanced post-doctoral research. Universities and institutions would be invited to function as centre for offshore studies.

ANDHRA PRADESH Andhra Pradesh has been regarded as a hot destination for higher education both for students within the state and outside. The jurisdiction of quality education, available at every stage spreads over almost every village and town of the state. The quality and up to date education provided by the higher education institutes of Andhra Pradesh encapsulates the overall education policies and scenario, making them transparent to the people inside and outside the arena of the state.

Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) came into existence on 20th May, 1988 through an Act of the State Legislature to advise the Government in matters relating to Higher Education in the State and to oversee its development with perspective planning and for matters connected therewith.

APSCHE, the first of its kind in the country, set up as per the recommendations of the National Education Policy 1986, is primarily a coordinating and liaisoning body between the University Grants Commission, the State

Government and the Universities.

It is the general duty of the Council to coordinate and determine standards in institutions of Higher Education or Research and Scientific and Technical Institutions in accordance with the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission from time to time.

Department of Higher Education The Department of Higher Education deals with matters relating to education at various levels in the State. The main functions of the Department are to: • Advise the Government in matters relating to higher education in the State • Coordinate and determine standards in institutions of Higher Education or Research and Scientific and Technical Institutions in accordance with the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission from time to time • Prepare consolidated programmes in the sphere of Higher Education in the State in accordance with the guidelines

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•

that may be issued by the University Grants Commission Promote cooperation and coordination of the Educational Institutions among themselves and explore the scope for interaction with industry Devise steps to improve the standards of examinations conducted by the Universities and suggest necessary reforms, and so on

TAMIL NADU Traditionally, Tamil Nadu has held a preeminent position in a number of fields of basic sciences, mathematics, literature and economic sciences. The scientific contribution of the academics and researchers from Tamil Nadu has received worldwide appreciation.

Considering the scenario of higher education in the State, it can be established that the educational activities have increased manifold over the last few years. Major cities including Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichi and Madurai have established themselves as forerunners in the field of higher education.

Here, we find some of India’s best professional

Tapping the Rural Talent : 21st Century Gurukulam The 21st Century Gurukulam ( 21CG) is a new educational program of APSCHE designed to provide enhanced opportunities for gifted rural youth of Andhra Pradesh. A 21CG is envisioned as a self-sustaining, self-governing, and self-supporting community, modeled after the ancient Gurukulam and the modern-day Kibbutz. Its primary purpose is to provide remedial education and IT training leading to a postgraduate degree in IT for the current top 1% of the rural youth.

The gifted rural graduates defined as the top 1% based on merit and another 1% based on social criteria are expected to be selected from each mandal. The entrance test is state wide but the selection is based among the best in each mandal. The rural mandal residency will be determined based on the location of the high school graduation of the candidate. The idea is to unearth hidden talent in the rural areas, hone their skills and provide them with employment opportunities on a par with urban, city-bred students.

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Tamil Nadu has the second largest intake capacity in the country in engineering and polytechnic education. The intake capacity of engineering colleges has reached the level of 35,230 and that of the polytechnics has reached 47,500 educational institutions including: Indian Institute of Technology-Chennai, Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University, Christian Medical College-Vellore, Annamalai University, NIT-Trichy.

There are certain factors that make Tamil Nadu a preferred destination for higher education. It has adequate educational institutions, efficient and committed teachers, strong education policy of the government and infrastructural facilitates for professional education. The participation of central and state-run universities in the educational movement is worth noting. The varsities have set guidelines for various purposes including diverse academic teaching, admission and infrastructural development.

National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning is an initiative by all seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for creating course contents in engineering and science. The video courses in the programme would comprise of approximately 40 one-hour lectures for each course and the web supplements would contain sufficient materials that a teacher can cover in approximately 40 lecture-hours.

The contents would be based on the model curriculum suggested by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the syllabi of major affiliating Universities such as Anna University (Tamil Nadu), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Andhra Pradesh) and Visvesvaraya Technological University (Karnataka).

The first phase of the project was formally launched on September 3, 2006.

Policy Note of the Higher Education Department According to the Policy Note of the Higher Education Department, the Government of Tamil Nadu has devoted special attention for strengthening the higher education

system in the State to respond to the new and emerging demands. Initiatives of the Tamil Nadu Government have been to focus on consolidating the existing educational facilities and infrastructure and to provide balanced attention towards technological education as well as high quality arts and science programmes. The graduates of the technical institutions in Tamil Nadu have shown outstanding performance in the industry, both in India and abroad.

The policy of the Government is to consolidate this capacity and improve the quality of the output from these institutions, rather than increasing the number of new institutions. For this purpose, the Government has initiated programmes for upgradation of the engineering curriculum and syllabi at frequent intervals in order to capture the new developments in the technologies of the market place.

The recent trend of declining quality of arts and science education has been taken into account by the government. Many of the postgraduate programmes in arts and sciences, even in prestigious institutions have failed to attract the brightest students.

Recognizing this trend, the Tamil Nadu Government has undertaken special initiatives to maintain its leading role in the field of arts and sciences in the coming years. For this purpose, special attention has been devoted to revamp and restructure the postgraduate arts and science programmes in the colleges and universities of Tamil Nadu.

Higher Education for the Underprivileged The Sowbhagya Higher Education programme in Chennai District, Tamil Nadu, supports students from the underprivileged sections who have progressed to higher education such as college or a diploma programme. This initiative was introduced in 2003 by Asha-Silicon Valley’s SupportA-Child programme. In 2003, there were 5 students pursuing college education in fields such as Information Technology and Commerce. Today, the number has increased several folds.

The ICT Academy The ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu (ICTACT), with its headquarter in Chennai, is a non-profit autonomous organisation, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975.

Tamil Nadu’s ICT Services and Manufacturing commands a share of 11% in total in India, and it aspires to capture 25% claiming the strongest hold in this respective sector. The governing body of ICTACT comprises of autonomous board of directors with representations from the Government of Tamil Nadu, leading companies in the ICT industry with presence in Tamil Nadu, leading educational Institutions and Industrial bodies such as CII, NASSCOM and Mait.

It trains students in significant industry related courses.

The novel initiative undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government strives to streamline the education pattern with the needs and challenges of the ICT industry, meeting the international standards. It would assist Tamil Nadu in a big way to claim a stake hold on being the largest ICT Services and ICT Manufacturing provider in India with a share of 25% targeted by 2011. Additionally, it would also boost the direct and indirect employment in the ICT sector both in Tamil Nadu specifically and in India at large. ICTACT is sure to have an indelible impression revolutionizing the education system.

The higher education programme is a collaboration between Asha-Silicon Valley and Asha-Chennai. Asha-SV provides funding and works with Asha-Chennai to monitor the student’s progress; while AshaChennai administers funding and provides ongoing counseling to the students.

It can be easily said that higher education scenario in the Southern States of India has moved several folds forward. The sector has seen tremendous changes in the past few years and newer and better educational initiatives would only provide further impetus to the system. \\ digital LEARNING

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In conversation

An Open Varsity on Anvil www.kshec.kerala.gov.in

K N Panikkar Chairman, kerala state higher education council

Please throw some light on the opportunities and challenges of higher education in Kerala in particular and southern states of India in general?

Generally, there is considerable value attached to higher education in Southern States. As a result there has been considerable investment, both private and public, in higher education right from the colonial times. That in a way explains the large presence of South Indians in bureaucracy and administration. Lately there is a shift in investment towards professional education, particularly in medicine and engineering. The opportunities in these two fields are very high in South.

Kerala is ahead of the nation in terms of access to higher education. It is about 17% now. However the main challenge is the improvement in the quality of education. Higher education in Kerala has not been able to keep up with the advances in many a field.

and the government. The Council is of the opinion that the enhancement of the quality of education requires massive modernization, both in infrastructure and content. The Council is working towards several schemes of quality improvement.

What do you think is the role of ICT in strengthening the state of higher education in Kerala?

ICT is now a very crucial factor in higher education. In the new educational revolution taking place all over the world the most important input comes from ICT. Kerala is relatively undeveloped in this sphere and efforts are now on to integrate ICT into the traditional system. The new Open University which the State is going to set up soon is going to use ICT as its basic facility.

Are there any schemes that the council has evolved for providing equitable opportunities for higher education and scholarships?

The Council has a higher education scholarship fund for which we hope to collect 100 crores of rupees. The purpose is to finance all needy students and to promote the study of social sciences, humanities and basic sciences to which students are not attracted now.

How has the Council been able to enhance the quality of education?

The Kerala State Higher Education Council is a new body, set up only about two years back. It is trying to delineate its space in Higher education. It is primarily an advisory body of the government, devoted to the improvement in the quality of education.

In the process it mediates between the government and the universities. It does not interfere with the autonomy of the universities. In its structure and functioning it is a collective of the universities, the Council 16

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What are the new concepts and programmes in higher education that have been evolved by the Council?

The Council has undertaken an academic mapping of the state by which we have collected all relevant data about the state of higher education. The most important programme is the restructuring of the undergraduate programme by which an open system is sought to be put in place. It consists of choice based course credit system with semsterisation. Apart from that we have also set up cluster of colleges which would help decentralise academic administration and sharing of resources.

What kind of facilitating role the Council plays in order to provide inter-likages among state government, universities, colleges and other institutions of higher education?

The Council has sponsored a large number of projects in order to generate critical studies on the state of education.

They are being undertaken by established scholars and we hope they will form a major in put for policy formulation and academic reforms.

Council plays the role of a coordinating agency and a facilitator for the dissemination

The Council has a higher education scholarship fund for which we hope to collect INR 100 crores

of ideas. It also undertakes the task of building consciousness among the academic community about new schemes and programmes. In case of the introduction of the reformed undergraduate programme the Council conducted about 150 workshops. It also facilitated workshops of Board of Studies for preparing syllabus for the new courses.

Please share your leadership vision with our readers. Where does the Council go from its present state?

The Council’s main interest in the near future would be to formulate an educational policy which would ensure social justice and enhance the quality of education of education.

The Council is very conscious of the role the private agencies have played in the advancement of education in the state. It is necessary to further mobilise the private resources. But then it should not lead to commercialisation of education. A public controlled public private participation is necessary so that the poor and the marginalised are not deprived of quality education.

Secondly, most of the energy and finances are spent on professional education.

All good students opt for it. A major challenge for the council is how to rectify this imbalance so that there is fair attraction for other subjects. The restructuring of the undergraduate system it is hoped, would attract the students to the humanities, social sciences and pure sciences. In nut shell the future engagements of the council would be to create a new academic culture in the State. \\

In conversation

Grid Connect in Kerala www.iiitmk.ac.in

Dr. Elizabeth Sherly Director (i/c), Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K)

IIITM-K is a premier institution of excellence in Science, Technology and Management that develops professionals and leaders of high calibre imbued with values of entrepreneurship, ethics, and social responsibility. IIITM-K has actively promoted higher education and industry across Kerala and beyond through its IT facilitated education programmes and services. Digital Learning, in conversation with Dr Elizabeth, elicits information on IITM-K and its role in establishment of Virtual Learning Environment through the Education Grid in Kerala.

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IIITM-K assists the colleges in establishing systems and servers in the colleges that are necessary for the practice of TELT. Several capacity building programmes are conducted to promote TELT using NPTEL

What is the overall scenario of technology in Higher Education in Kerala?

In last several decades, due to the technology advancement and the availability of high bandwidth Internet connections, there is a tremendous transformation in the philosophy of education system worldwide.

The classical approach of education, merely classroom learning and exam centric system as a pursuit of knowledge has undergone a significant change. However, it is obvious that the present education system consisting of the colleges, universities and institutions, governed by a system of government bodies such as the MHRD, UGC, AICTE, etc are only regulatory bodies, but hardly sufficient to touch upon quality of education.

Kerala government have taken several steps to increase the number of seats in the professional and higher education in general by opening large number of engineering and other colleges and courses. In Kerala there are now about 100 engineering colleges, which include government, semigovernment and private colleges. But, providing quality education, or education with relevance to current and emerging trends in these institutions is a challenge.

Lack of quality, experienced and motivated teachers, capacity to make adaptations to the curricula aligned with emerging trends and capacity to manage modern information and computational systems and services are a few to list.

Kerala Education Grid attempts to fill this void in our education system by providing such knowledge and computing resources, content development and maintenance and processes that help sustain quality in the education system.

Could you elaborate on the Education Grid?

Education Grid is a suite of systems and processes that provides for IT facilitated collaboration of institutions, universities and colleges for technology enhanced learning environment. Education Grid

was developed by the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Kerala (IIITM-K) for establishing Virtual Learning Environment and aims at enhancing quality of education through Technology Enhanced Learning in the colleges and universities.

What is the functioning structure and current status of the Education Grid Resource Centres?

The education grid project established key Resource Centres in premier institutions of Kerala and the Governing Council and the Apex Project Coordination Unit (APCU) had identified the following institutions as key Resource Centres (EGRCs); (i) Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Kerala (IIITM-K) (ii) College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET) (iii) Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) (iv) National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C) Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Kerala (IIITM-K) besides being the Key Resource Centre (EGRC) was also the Education Grid Operational Centre (EGOC). The EGOC at IIITM-K provides the management, technology and coordination.

How is the Education Grid related to the National Programme for Technology Enhanced Learning?

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) project by MHRD, a joint venture by seven Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Under this, NPTEL is ready with content in the form of full suites of about 40 Recorded Video Lectures (RVL) in each course for 110 courses that are taught in the undergraduate engineering curricula of the country. Further supplementary web content is available in 120 courses. The APCU of education grid and NPTEL experts in a meeting decided to share the best practices and experiences and avoid duplication of efforts.

IIITM-K besides hosting and helping in the distribution of NPTEL content also assists the colleges in establishing systems and servers in the colleges that are necessary for the practice of TELT. It conducts several capacity building programmes to promote TELT using NPTEL and other open content under its Education Grid Service.

What is the impact of the Education Grid that you foresee in the future?

By and large, it is important to note that the Education Grid project has immensely facilitated to the a large number of students and organisations, also rejuvenated the entire higher education system using technology enhanced web based e-learning and collaborative systems. This is the first of its kind in India, that a framework for content development and collaborative knowledge sharing system with a unique pedagogy for Technology Enhanced Learning System as a supplementary for learning to improve the higher education is launched.

Despite the remarkable intellectuals and high marks that Indian students get, the institutions of higher education are facing many challenges from globalisation.

To meet the demands of globalisation, the government must spend more on education, increase student access, yet also extend greater autonomy to universities. More funding combined with greater flexibility will strengthen the capability and secure talent within the country. India’s rigid regulation of education retards the intellectual growth of its institutions, diminishing their ability to compete with global talent. A flexible system with the boosting of Technology enhanced Learning and Teaching model can definitely create a greater impact on quality education in India. We have miles to go, with the education grid project. This requires more intellectual and fifinancial support. The possibility of continuing and running the project as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is under consideration. We invite parties of industry, academic and private or public organisation to jointly work for KEG. \\ digital LEARNING

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COMMENTARY

Need to Integrate Technology in Higher Education

Dr Sanat Kaul Consultant & Former Civil Servant

I

ndian Higher Education is an area of great debate and policy direction requirement.

Despite its large pool of technical manpower institutions, India in it’s strive to achieve the desired results, seems to have missed the bus. The two changes that took place in the global economy in the last to decades are: the growth of internet and eeducation and the expanding growth of World Trade Organization (WTO). While the advent of Internet has changed the world, higher education has undergone a much bigger transformation. Higher Education has already become a trillion dollar global business and Indian students, besides the Chinese, are perhaps the largest “customers” of this business. According to the Economist’s special survey, Higher Education is a global business and there are about 100 million students in this sector of which 2% are foreign students.

India’s Knowledge Economy India’s Higher Education policy since 1950’s in creating schools of excellence like the IIT, IIM, Centres of Science and Law have paid rich dividends. Indian trained doctors until recently were the backbone of British Medical Service while engineers from IIT’s are highly regarded in the US. Remittances from these Indians kept our foreign reserves in good condition in difficult days. However, the once highly criticised brain drain is now giving rich dividends as many Indian professionals return to India with all their experience, money and connections. The IT sector has been a major trend setter in this context. Further, a number of leading research companies in IT, 20

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Potential of India’s knowledge economy has been aptly described as, “Unlike China, India’s significant cheap labour pool is not a pool of factory workers, but a huge crop of scientists”.

Medical and Financial Sectors have set up R & D and Scientific Research Units in India and have taken advantage of India’s new crop of scientists and engineers.

Some Features of Indian Higher Education System The growth of Higher Education is India has been phenomenal but perhaps not enough. Starting with 1950-51 there were only 263,000 students in all disciplines in 750 colleges affiliated to 30 universities compared to 11 million students and 17000 degree colleges affiliated to 230 universities and non affiliating university level institutions in 2005. In addition, there were about 10 million students in over 6500 vocational institutions.

In India both public and private institutions coexist. For example, of the 13072 higher education institutions in 2000-01, there

were only 58% in the public domain and the remaining 42% were privately managed.

Currently a rapid growth in private unaided colleges is being witnessed.

In so far as universities are concerned, only Central or State Governments can open a university and that too by legislation.

The UGC can however grant institutes of excellence, deemed university status. UGC has also developed National Accreditation & Assessment Council (NAAC) and AICTE has also established is own accreditation mechanism by setting up National Board of Accreditation (MBA).

India as a Knowledge Society: Need for Quality Control In 2000, the then Prime Minister had laid down a vision to leap frog India into a knowledge base society. Planning Commission’s document India as a Knowledge Super Power; Strategy for Transformation conceives India as a knowledge society built on foundation of ICT’s. This requires India to make its education more attuned to characteristics of new global environment and improving the quality of tertiary education including also providing opportunity for life long learning.

While India leads in quality of Mathematics, Science and Management education, there is a need to improve soft skills, a critical prerequisite for modern job requirements.

India currently produces a fairly large core of knowledge workers with numerous universities and world class institutions.

However, the struggle between quality and quantity has been made worse by an extremely bureaucratic regulatory and

The concept of providing subsidised education to students should shift to providing more scholarships to needy and deserving students which will bring in efficiencies in the entire system

There is lack of partnership between universities and also with universities abroad. However, many private universities have tie ups with universities abroad and have started offering dual degrees, one by themselves and another by the foreign counterpart. management framework built on numerous controls. What is required today is to focus on quality assurance and accreditation.

The National Accreditation Board has long wait list and a bureaucratic process. Private universities in India are not accredited.

Synchronization of curriculum leading to joint degrees is welcome and indeed a way forward.

India has a very large system of post secondary technical, science and engineering education which gives it one of the largest stocks of scientists, engineers and technicians in the world. However, besides the world class institutions such as IIT’s, IIMs, Indian Institute of Science, etc. hundreds of newly established engineering and technical colleges and over 500 government/ government aided self financing engineering colleges are offering only degree programmes in addition to some 1100 polytechnics offering diplomas. It is the latter institutions which need stricter monitoring and quality control.

Currently only about 15% of such institutions

are accredited by National Accreditation Board and less than 6% of these institutions have noteworthy research activity. In addition there is the serious problem of corruption and capitation fee in our mushrooming institutions imparting science, engineering, management, and medical education. In one sense this reflects that the pent up demand for quality education is not being met in India.

Technical Education There is a need to integrate technical education with higher education so that students can pursue these courses simultaneously (a la Australia and Manipal with a nucleus of numerous educational institutions at various levels). Degrees from Manipal are recognized in more than 40 countries and twinning programmes, in which a student completes first two years in Manipal and the remaining in US, Australia, are extremely popular.

Public Spending in Higher Education vs. National Scholarship/Loan scheme Given the competing demand on public funds for elementary and higher education, with the former a high priority need, it is crucial to move to a system of private financing of higher education with a very large scholarship/loan base at low or zero interest rate. India already has an education cess with income tax which could provide full

scholarships and subsidized interest on loans from banks. It could also provide guarantee on loans to the very poor. The concept of providing subsidised education to students should shift to providing more scholarships to needy and deserving students which will bring in efficiencies in the entire system as it will then be based on cost to each student and will also determine the popularity of the institution as well as the course from a demand perspective.

Career Oriented Training/ Short Term Courses India produces every year a large number of graduates and 700,000 post graduate students. The demand for post graduate diplomas in a large number of fields of employment is increasing rapidly as employers need well trained people with well grounded personalities. Soft skill training is required and should be brought within the curriculum.

The private sector has responded by a mushrooming of short specialized courses.

However one needs to exercise strict quality controls.

Thus, it can be said that India’s Higher Education Sector is in dire need for midcourse correction. The issues associated with quality control, accreditation and funding need to be looked afresh. Opening the borders to foreign Universities is likely to bring in healthy competition. Education bureaucracy does also require a overhaul. \\

Dr Sanat Kaul

sanat_kaul@hotmail.com Dr Sanat Kaul has a Masters Degree in economics from London School of Economics and a PhD from University of London.He has been a civil servant in India working in various Ministries of Government of India like Defence,Home,Finance and Civil Aviation.He has also represented India in the International Civil Aviation Organization as India’s Permanent Representative.He taught ‘Education and Economics’ a 15 credit courses at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.He has authored a paper for Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations(ICRIER) on ‘Higher Education in India -seizing the opportunity’. He is currenly a free lance consultant and lives in Delhi.

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In conversation

‘ODL: A Vehicle for Access and Equity’ www.tnou.ac.in

Prof Kalyani Anbuchelvan Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Open University

The Tamil Nadu Open University was established to benefit those who have been deprived of and denied access to higher education, especially destitutes, physically challenged, working men and women and economically weaker sections. The University offers many programmes in various disciplines and aims to reach the hitherto unreached. Digital Learning presents more about these academic activites while in conversation with the Vice Chancellor, Prof Kalyani Anbuchelvan.

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Women, particularly from the rural areas, form 50 % of the current student population. Our Course materials, especially in Tamil Medium are well received by the students. This is one of the major reasons for the increase in student enrolment.

What is the vision of the Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU)?

Tamil Nadu Open University began its Academic activities in mid-2003. Barely 6 years into operation, this University offers 600 Courses in 114 Programmes at various levels- ranging from professional, including paramedical, to TVET- catering to a cumulative learner enrolment about 2, 10,000.

Further, the TNOU has emerged as the only ODL Institution in the State to have learning packages that include quality self-learning materials in print with CD supplements. As regards meeting the learning needs of the students, a robust support services network of about 1000 TNOU Learning Centres is in place. In statistical terms, there is one Learning Centre for every 100 learners.

What impact has TNOU had on increasing access and enrollment ratio in higher education, especially in weaker, socio-economic areas?

The TNOU has made tremendous impact on the weaker and socio-economic areas. Women, particularly from the rural areas, form 50 % of the current student population. Our Course materials, especially in Tamil Medium are well received by the students. This is one of the major reasons for the increase in student enrolment. The TNOU Centres are established even in the remotest places. The University has its Centres across India. Most of the Courses of TNOU are joboriented and directly linked with employment and offered through Community Colleges.

So, the students from poor background find these Courses very useful. A number of Courses are designed targeting the women population, especially those at homes.

The Community College initiative of the University targets mainly the school dropouts in the rural poor and urban slum areas in Tamil Nadu and a few other States in India. The Programmes offered through the Community Colleges have been implemented through the School of Continuing Education of the TNOU. The feedback given by the industrial partners, who have taken the learners for apprenticeship, shows a high

level of satisfaction about the performance of the learners. The feedback also reveals that nearly 80 percent of these learners, who were dropouts have got immediate employment in the relevant industries, and some of them have become entrepreneurs as well. Observing the success story of these learners, the Government of Tamil Nadu has issued order for recognition of Community Colleges attached to the Tamil Nadu Open University, and also to provide vertical mobility for their further studies in addition to providing scholarships to the tune of INR 1crore to these poor students who otherwise will remain as school dropouts.

Despite major reforms in India’s higher education sector, we have not yet been able to match up to the demand for skilled workforce. What do you think are the reasons for this?

One of the major reasons is the absence of robust curricula that bridge the world of academics and that of worth. This University has been aware of this gap and has been offering Programmes that are socially relevant and demand driven.

Can our higher education system through open and distance learning measure up to other Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia? What do you think are the main challenges?

Indications are that already the higher education system has started using Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as a vehicle for access and equity in education. IITs, IIMs and many other Universities have started Distance Education Cells, employing ODL methods through them. NPTEL is one such example.

IIMA has opened its campus in Singapore and the Middle East. Many Indian Universities are collaborating with foreign Universities in the Tele-Education programmes. With the kind of quality education we provide, India has the potential much more than Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries. Indian higher education system is currently exploring ways to spread its wings through twining, franchising, off shoring, consortia

arrangements, credit transfers, etc.

In what ways can an effective industryacademic collaboration build our education capacity? What learning can be taken from TNOU in this line?

TNOU has an effective Industry-Institute Interface since its inception. Most of the programmes have industry partnership or atleast with the people from the relevant industries. For example, the courses related to Four Wheeler Mechanism, Beautician, Refrigerator Maintenance, House Electrician, Nursing, Fashion Designing, Apparel Manufacturing, Computer Hardware, DTP Operation, Catering, Multimedia, Animation, Garment Making, Mobile Phone Servicing, Home Appliances, etc, are run by the people from the concerned industries only. The role of TNOU is to identify the demand, frame the syllabus, identify the particular partnership industry, launch the programme and conduct the examinations. In the majority of the industry related courses, the role of the industry is much higher than that of TNOU. What are the future plans of TNOU, in terms of usage of ICTs in education?

• Already 11 TNOU Coordinating Centres are identified to install the ICT facilities.

They act as nodal centres of TNOU. Electronic instruments are also supplied to them partially. The faculty can teach from the EMPRC studio at TNOU and simultaneously the students at all these 11 Centres may interact.

• E-Content in many subjects had been developed with the collaboration of eContent management companies like Expertus, i-Grandee, etc. They are in the form of CDs which are to be distributed to the learners.

• One FM Community Radio will be established shortly for the benefit of TNOU students.

• TNOU has embarked on a 4 –line Interactive Voice Response Systems to the learners for support services and the work is in train to put in place Touch Screen and Info- Kiosk facilities. \\ digital LEARNING

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www.eINDIA.net.in 5th

India's Largest ICT Event 25 - 27 August 2009 | Hyderabad International Convention Centre, India

Riveting Talks by Charismatic Thought Leaders of the Indian ICT Community and Beyond!

D Purandeswari Minister of State for Higher Education Ministry of Human resource and Development Government of India

R Chandrashekhar Secretary DIT, Ministry of Communications & IT Government of India

Dr Rajashekharan Pillai Vice Chancellor Indira Gandhi National Open University

Subash C Khuntia Joint Secretary Ministry of HRD Government of India

Suresh Chanda Secretary Department of School Education Government of Andhra Pradesh

G Narendra Kumar Secretary Department of Higher & Technical Education Government of Delhi

Shambhu Singh Secretary & Commissioner Education (Schools) Government of Manipur

Prof A K Bakhshi Director Institute of Life Long Learning University of Delhi

Shankar Aggarwal Joint Secretary DIT, Ministry of Communications & IT Government of India

Sam Carlson Lead Education Specialist World Bank

eINDIA 2009, the 5th edition of India's annual ICT conference, brings together the most fascinating thinkers and doers of the ICT community in the country and beyond. eINDIA is a growing ICT community that seeks to welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of ICT and who hope to turn that understanding into a better future for us all. The conference encompasses various domains within the ICT framework, creating an immersive environment that allows attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to cross-fertilize and draw inspiration. And its scope is ever broadening!

The attendees for the event will get to experience powerful inspiration, extraordinary insights and definitive connections with riveting speakers at eINDIA2009. Online registration has begun at www.eINDIA.net.in/2009/registration. Register NOW!

For sponsorship and exhibition enquiry, contact: Siddharth Verma (+91 9811561645) siddharth@digitalLEARNING.IN Online Registration at: www.eINDIA.net.in/2009/registration.asp

research

Providing Online Education for All : NPTEL

Prof. M.S. Ananth Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee, NPTEL

N

Prof. M.S. Ananth

PTEL is an acronym for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning which is an initiative by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for creating course contents in engineering and science.

NPTEL as a project originated from many deliberations between IITs, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) during the years 19992003. A proposal was jointly put forward by five IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras) and IISc for creating contents for

Courses available on the internet: Branch

Web courses

Video courses

Core subjects

16

12

Civil engineering

25

13

Computer science & engineering

22

17

Electrical engineering

16

20

Electronics & communication engineering

20

20

Mechanical engineering

27

15

Ocean engineering

1

Biotechnology

2

Total

126

100

Web courses

Video courses

Iit bombay

15

13

Iit delhi

12

15

Iit guwahati

15

1

Iit kanpur

21

12

Iit kharagpur

18

27

Iit madras

23

27

Iit roorkee

6

1

Iisc bangalore

16

4

Total

126

100

Institute

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100 courses as web based supplements and 100 complete video courses, for forty hours of duration per course. Web supplements were expected to cover materials that could be delivered in approximately forty hours. Five engineering branches (Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, Electronics and Communication and Mechanical) and core science programmes that all engineering students are required to take in their undergraduate engineering programme in India were chosen initially. Contents for the above courses were based on the model curriculum suggested by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the syllabi of major affiliating Universities in India.

Why NPTEL? 1.

India needs more than 2,00,000 teachers in Engineering colleges to educate over 25 lakh students in engineering and less than 20000 qualified teachers are available.

2.

More than 2000 private Engineering colleges have come up in the last 10 years and a majority of them do not have the sufficient number of well qualified teachers.

3.

The student population is willing to educate itself but cannot be accommodated by brick-and-mortar institutions.

4.

Trained manpower requirement for a vibrant economy is atleast an order of magnitude more than current output.

5.

Availability of technology and its decreasing cost will enable top institutions to reach out to more students (IITs, even with doubling of strength, will train less than 2 percent of required professionals).

NPTEL aims to increase the competitiveness of Indian industry in the global markets by improving the quality and reach of engineering education

NPTEL envisages forging of strong ties with major academic initiatives worldwide for developing new technological tools for learning and dissemination in order to benefit all students

Viewer Statistics*:

Country-wise Distribution

Source : Google Analytics, Jan 09 – Jun 09, 2009

PHASE I of NPTEL was started with the objective of providing high quality learning material to students of engineering institutions across the country and increasing the number and quality of engineering graduates by exploiting the advances in information and communication technology The syllabus contents are based on model curriculum of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and syllabi taken from major affiliating Universities.

What is next?...NPTEL Phase II (2007-2012) NPTEL Phase II aims at providing access to quality education to all without any barrier The objectives include: designing courses with a service-oriented architecture; add at least 600 more courses in all Engineering, Physical Sciences and advanced topics; integrate NPTEL content with University

every student in the country.

curricula and to update course contents periodically and provide Question & Answer sessions to viewers to enable them to interact through academic networking.

NPTEL also envisages forging of strong ties with major academic initiatives worldwide such as MIT OCW, Commonwealth of Learning, British Open University, Australian Open Universities and the Digital Library for developing new technological tools for learning and dissemination, in order to benefit

Helping the Community: The Goal of NPTEL The aim of the ambitious project is the creation of a virtual IIT in partnership with industry and Government for offering components of IIT level education freely to every citizen of this country with government support. Course contents have proved to be useful for teacher training and through them has helped improve the quality of students.

In addition, the course materials (both web and video) are freely accessible by everyone independent of their geographic location.

These courses can be used by professionals for updating their academic background.

Open and distance education using NPTEL contents are long term prospects for IITs. The contents are expected to help evolve criteria for focused learning and a common set of standards for professional education in India through participation by everyone concerned under this platform. \\

Category

Web Courses (129)

Video Courses (110)

Eklavya Technology Channel, Doordarshan. Schedule available at http://web.iitd.ac.in/eklavya

Not Applicable

Free

Web sites: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in http://www.youtube.com/iit

Free to download Not applicable

Free to download Free to download

Government funded/ aided Free DVDs institutions

Rs. 15,000/-* for three 500 GB SATA Hard disks**

Private Institutions Rs. 1,00,000/- for

three DVDs**

Rs. 1,00,000/-* for three 500 GB SATA Hard disks**

Individuals who want to obtain hard media: Residents of India Currently not available

DVDs for Rs. 500/-* per course title** (30 to 45 lectures)

Others Currently not available

DVDs for US $ 100 per course title** (30 to 45 lectures)

** Includes postal charges * Fees will be lowered substantially to permit wider reach to everyone in the country. The reduced rates will be announced on the website within a fortnight. Fees charged only for providing hard media.

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case study

NIE-Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology

Building Skills: An IndustryInstitution Collaboration Dr G L shekar Director, NIE-EICHER Centre for Automobile Technology

I

n order to quell the shortage of technologically-skilled manpower in the increasingly dominant and ever improving Indian automotive space, Eicher and National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysore have come together to set up training centers based on industry-institution collaboration and thereby implementing a critical action point of the Automotive Mission Plan 20062016.

The main objective of this collaboration is to familiarize the young trainees with the latest in automotive technology so as to provide them with an understanding of modern manufacturing techniques. Besides practically demonstrating the more scientific ways of repair, maintenance and overhaul of commercial vehicles, these training centers will focus on imparting holistic education on the finer nuances of manufacturing management.

Background The Indian economy is expected to be the third largest in the world as estimated by the purchasing power parity and in terms of its size it is the twelfth largest in the world, with a GDP of US $1.0 trillion. Further, India is the second fastest growing major economy in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 9.4% for the fiscal year 2006–2007. Indian economy is diverse and encompasses agriculture, handicrafts, textile, manufacturing, automobile and a multitude of services.

Since almost all the global majors in automobile sector have set up their facilities in India, production level of vehicle has gone up from 2 million in 1991 to 11 million in 2007. Added to this spurt in growth, the automobile sector is likely to generate 30

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another 13 million direct and indirect employment opportunities. To address the most critical challenge of building human capability, the Government has launched a unique initiative of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) to provide specialized facilities for automotive sector. The government has said in its vision document that a similar initiative is required for creating specialized institutions in automotive sector for education, training and development, market analysis and formulation and dissemination of courses.

Taking cue from this, NIE established the

NIE-Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology (NECAT) at Mysore. Companies that are in the automotive sector like Arvin Meritor, JK Tyres, Hubert Ebner, Mahindra and Toyota have evinced interest in establishing technology centres at NIE. NIE- Eicher Academic Collaboration The main objectives of the collaboration is: •

To implement Eicher Technical Training Programme (ETTP), a proprietary

The Indian Automotive Misson Plan 2006-2016 Realizing the fact that India is emerging as one of the world’s fastest growing passenger car markets, second largest two wheeler manufacturer and the fifth largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, the Indian Automotive Mission Plan 20062016 has come out with a vision – “to emerge as the destination of choice in the world for design and manufacture of automobiles and auto components with output reaching a level of US$ 145 billion accounting for more than 10% of the GDP and providing additional employment to 25 million people by 2016.”

•

•

• •

teaching and education programme in Automobile Engineering and Technology.

To familiarize students on vocational training, ITI and Diploma, and mechanics and dealers by practically demonstrating the most scientific way of repair, maintenance and overhaul of commercial vehicles.

To provide education and research support to students, faculty members of engineering colleges and industry personnel.

To give joint certification.

To organise workshops/ seminars/ conventions and other academic programmes.

About NIE, Mysore National Institute of Engineering,Mysore, started way back in 1946, is a grant-in aid institution that has been accredited by the National Board of Accreditation. It is one of the 14 colleges that was recognized and given autonomous status under MHRD-World Bank Project-TEQIP. In terms of ranking, it is the 3rd best engineering college among 140 odd VTU affiliated colleges, the 6th best engineering college

NIE – Eicher signing of MoU

in the State and the 55th best engineering college in the country. It is one of the only two colleges in Karnataka that has been granted permanent affiliation by VTU for all its courses.

About Eicher Motors- Pithampur Eicher Motors was founded in 1982 to manufacture a range of reliable, fuel-efficient commercial vehicles of contemporary technology. The manufacturing facility is situated in Central India – Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.

In 1986, Eicher Motors entered into a technical and financial collaboration with Mitsubishi Motor Corporation of Japan to manufacture the Canter range of Vehicles.

The technical assistance agreement with Mitsubishi ended in March ‘94 after successful transfer of technology and on achieving total indigenization with only a few parts sourced globally. Eicher Motors has acquired formidable expertise in designing and developing commercial vehicles.

Project Details The NECAT was established in NIE, Golden Jubilee Campus, Manadavadi Road, Mysore

in February 2009. It is a Rs 16 million project, the first phase of which is already completed and is in operation with an investment of Rs.80 lakhs.

NECAT conducts basic and advance training courses for the Eicher service networks. Certificates are jointly issued

by Eicher and NIE. Eight Eicher Service training programmes have already been conducted by giving training to more than 150 candidates, who belonged to Southern India. It is also designing a post graduate diploma course in Automobile Engineering.

NECAT is also taking an Initiative to start Safe Driving Training Programme in collaboration with Hubert Ebner.

Training aids such as dynamic cut section models, wall charts, multi media training aids, fully pictorial training manuals and practice units for students including vehicles, engines, gear boxes and axels are being used in the training classes. A modern class room and library facilities and other utilities are provided to the students.

Therefore, in order to showcase India as an attractive “manufacturing destination”, it is required to develop large scale technical and human capabilities. Perhaps, joint academic and industry cooperation is one of the solutions to address this major challenge. \\ digital LEARNING

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policy matters

Reform in 100 Days

T

he new Government is committed towards improving the education system in India. This was stated by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, at the time of receiving the final report Prof. Yashpal Committee on ‘Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’. The minister said, he was also committed to implement the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission along with the Yashpal Committee which would be pivotal towards the reforms in the educational sector in the country.

HRD Minister has said that the govt will try to pass the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill in the ensuing session of the Parliament, which seeks to make education a fundamental right of every child in the age group of six to 14 years.

The Minister said all step should be taken to enact the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, which seeks to make education a fundamental right of every child in the age group of six to 14 years.

No one would seriously question the assessment that our primary education system is seriously inadequate in terms of access and coverage. Way too many kids either do not go to school at all or drop out much before they reach the certification stage. There is also great concern, although much less consensus about alternatives, with what is being taught in schools. The scope of reform has to encompass both these dimensions — capacity and content. As far as timing is concerned, while the process ideally should have begun earlier, it is not yet 32

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too late, because the constituency for the reform will remain enormous for some time to come.

This can be gauged from the trend in number of kids in the age group 5-14.

According to the United Nations Population Projections (2006 series), India will have 248.3 million of them in 2010. This will grow slightly to 248.5 million in 2015, before starting to decline gradually. It will, however, still be 247.3 million in 2020. In other words, there will be enough consumers for the service for some time to come. But, the fact that the number is showing signs of plateauing implies that the benefits of a major re-structuring will not be neutralised by a massive increase in numbers.

The situation lends itself to radical change now, followed by a period of stabilisation and consolidation.

Unveiling his 100-day plan, HRD Minister said the single board would replace various boards in the country and would hold a uniform examination for all students on the pattern of combined law admission test being organised for admission to law institutions.

The government also plans to set up autonomous overarching authority for higher education and research based on the recommendations of Yashpal committee and the National Knowledge Commission. The government will introduce a system to replace the present assessment procedure of giving marks to awarding grades which will reduce stress.The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be the first board to introduce the grading system in the country.

The government will explore the possibility of setting up an independent accreditation body

for schools to ensure quality. At present, the schools are not accredited to any agency.The government also wants to set up an All India Madrassa Board which will award degrees equivalent to CBSE and other boards. The board will frame policy to impart secular and technical education to Muslims without interfering the religious teachings.

On way to rejuvenate the education system, the Ministry of HRD has recently released his 100 days programme agenda, which announces all these above words of reform. With a positive note of India awaiting the days of educational reform soon, Digital Learning presents the 100 days agenda of Ministry of HRD. Legislative 1.

2.

All steps will be taken to enact the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill. This will be followed by notification of the 86th Constitutional Amendment in the official gazette.

Evolve consensus for establishment of an All India Madarsa Board.

Policy 1.

2.

3.

Attempt to formulate a policy framework for PPP in school education, evolve a variety of PPP models, and apply them as feasible.

Further the use of ICT in secondary schools and in open/distance schooling through broadband connectivity.

Evolve a National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education in consultation

“A single day cannot be wasted towards enabling the right for children to be educated. This education must be inclusive and with quality. The three principles of access, equity, and excellence will not be compromised while implementing the educational reform agenda.”

with all stakeholders and in accordance with NCF, 2005.

New Initiatives/Expansion 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Explore possibilities of setting up independent, accreditation body in the area of school education.

Push the process of examination reform in accordance with NCF-2005. This will include making the class X examination optional, thus permitting students continuing in the same school (and who do not need a board certificate) to take an internal school assessment instead.

Introduce a system for replacement of marks by grades in schools affiliated to the CBSE for the secondary classes i.e.

IX and X. Recast the National Literacy Mission to focus on women.

Awareness generation and intensification of efforts in the area of Madrasa/Maktab modernization and skill development for Muslim children.

6.

7.

1.

2.

3.

4.

2.

3.

4.

5.

An autonomous overarching authority for Higher Education and Research based on the recommendations of Yashpal Committee and National Knowledge Commission; A law to prevent, prohibit and punish educational malpractices; A law for mandatory assessment and accreditation in higher education through an independent regulatory authority; A law to regulate entry and operation of Foreign Educational Providers; A law to establish a Tribunal to fast-track adjudication of disputes concerning

5.

6.

7.

8.

Formulation of a ‘Brain-Gain’ policy to attract talent from across the world to the existing and new institutions; Launching a new Scheme of interest subsidy on educational loans taken for professional course by the Economically Weaker Students; Strengthening and expansion of the Scheme for Remedial Coaching for students from SC/ST/minority communities, in higher education; ‘Equal Opportunity Offices’ to be created in all universities for effective implementation of schemes for disadvantaged sectors of the society; A new policy on Distance Learning would be formulated; Regional Centre/Campus of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak to be started in the state of Manipur; Model degree colleges would be established in 100 districts with significant population of weaker sections and the minorities; 100 women’s hostels would be sanctioned in higher educational institutions located in districts with significant population of weaker sections

Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister, HRD, Govt of India

}

and the minorities; 9.

Administrative Other Initiatives 1.

2.

3.

Policy Initiatives

Legislative Initiatives 1.

stake holders (teachers, students, employees and management) in higher education; A law to further amend the National Commission for Minority Educational Institute Act, to strengthen the Commission; A law to amend the Copyright Act, 1957 to address the concerns relating to copyrights and related rights of the various stake holders.

}

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Review of the functioning of the existing Deemed Universities; Operationalsing newly established 12 Central Universities and 2 new IITs; Academic reforms (semester system, choice-based credit system, regular revision of syllabi, impetus to research, etc. which are already mandated under the Central Universities Act, 2009) to be introduced in other Central Educational Institutions; Modernisation of Copyright Offices; 5000 colleges/university departments to be provided with broadband internet connectivity under the “National Mission on Education through ICT”; Assistance would be provided to States to establish at least 100 new polytechnics (over and above assistance already provided for 50 polytechnics in the last financial year) in districts without any polytechnic at present, States would also be assisted for the construction of 100 women’s hostels in the existing polytechnics and for upgrading 50 exiting polytechnics; Approvals would be obtained for establishing 10 new NITs in the unserved States so that every State has one earmarked NIT; Operationalising 700 revamped Community Polytechnics for skill development of rural youth; Direct credit of scholarship into the bank accounts of 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls every year, under the new Merit Scholarship Scheme for students in the universities and colleges. \\ digital LEARNING

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NEWS

INDIA

government in favour of scrapping Class X Board exams In a path-breaking step to reform the school education system, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has come up with a plan to scrap the class X examination system. The minister opined that the examination-based system causes trauma to both the parents and the students. He also felt that the time had come to restructure the system and make it less strssful for the students.

Sibal said that since the student continued in the same school even after Class 10, board exams were not required. However, Sibal said that a final decision in this regard would be taken only after consultations with the state education boards and schools.

DU partners with 5 companies for Industry oriented course

After the past short-term collaboration for professional courses with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Delhi University’s Campus of Open Learning (COL) has signed separate MoUs with five companies to start new professional and industryoriented courses. The five MoUs have been signed with Centum Learning for a course in telecom sales and service, HCL Infosystems for a course in IT and web designing, Bird Academy for courses in travel and tourism, Masscomedia for mass communication and RK Films for radio jockeying and broadcasting. The initiative was taken to ‘fill the skill gap’ between college education and industry needs.

Easy admissions with Disable friendly software at DU To make admission process a lot more student-friendly for the differently-abled candidates, Delhi University has introduced JAWS computer software for the benefit of visually challenged applicants. JAWS is a software programme designed to work with a speech synthesiser, converting an ordinary computer into a talking computer. JAWS is being used at DU so that students could hear the vast variety of courses they can pursue at DU. The

500 IGNOU community colleges to Operationalise The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is planning to start 500 community colleges, which aims at skill based education for under privileged, by 2011. IGNOU vice chancellor Professor V.N.Rajasekharan Pillai said that IGNOU had so far received 890 applications, of which 100 have been selected.

Inaugurating Royal community college dealing in hotel management run by Thanchankary Foundation, he said IGNOU intends to start one community college in every panchayath in the long term. Community colleges will empower the local population with skills needed for the industry that has potential in the particular region. IGNOU provides the framework, guidelines and training facilities for starting the college. The corporates or other oprganisations will have to bring in the necessary funds, said Pillai. He added that Tamil Nadu Open University has agreed to admit students with associate degrees. IGNOU has received around 20 applications community colleges from Kerala.

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University is offering more than 1,500 seats for such students this year. However, out of 1,200 seats available in 2008, only 356 had been taken up.

Audio Management lessons aid e-Learning for Visually Challenged

It is now possible for the visually challenged persons to better their personality, learn the power of positive thinking and also get management lessons. An Ahmedabadbased IT firm Third Generation Resources Ltd has decided to mentor lakhs of visually impaired people across the globe, through voice-based Internet learning. Management expert and motivational speaker Dr Shailesh Thaker, the promoter of Third Generation, on his website drshaileshthaker.co.in, has started a weekly column ‘Monday Wisdom’ that delivers inspirational stories and lessons in leading a better life. For the visually challenged, the lessons have been especially converted into audio form. Third Generation has devoted a full-fledged team that works on this initiative.

www.eINDIA.net.in

ns tio ina m o till en lin Open 2009 On ly Ju 15

AWARDS 25 - 27 August 2009 Hyderabad International Convention Centre, India

Celebrating Innovative Initiatives and Exemplary Work in ICT! Nominations invited in several award categories in digitalLEARNING • ICT enabled School of the year • ICT enabled University of the year • Government / Policy Initiative of the year • Civil Society/Development Agency Initiative of the year For detailed information about eINDIA 2009 awards, visit us at www.eINDIA.net.in/awards

Best ICT enabled School of the year Podar Group of Schools, Mumbai

Best Open Source Initiative of the year CSE Department, IIT Bombay

Best Government Initiative of the year Project IT@school, General Education Department, Government of Kerala

Best NGO Initiative of the year Education Development Centre, Bangalore

Best Policy Initiative of the year Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion, Korea

Best ICT enabled University of the year Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Digital Learning is proud to recognise the work of some remarkable ICT initatives in the education domain, that have sought to transform education sector through their innovative vision and endeavour.

Nominations open till 15th July 2009. Send your nominations now!

Online Nominations at: www.eINDIA.net.in/awards

NEWS

Asia

NewsMaker project launched by ASEAN The ASEAN News Maker Project will soon give an opportunity to school children to share their rich and diverse cultures with their peers in ASEAN countries. Led by Singapore and endorsed by the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (COCI), this initiative will engage close to 500 primary and secondary school students across the 10 ASEAN countries to produce informational video content which showcases their country’s culture and lifestyle. The COCI has been supporting projects to nurture talent and promote interaction among ASEAN people to help preserve and promote ASEAN’s diverse cultural heritage, while fostering regional identity as well as cultivating people’s awareness of ASEAN.

MoU on cooperation in education to be signed between India and Malaysia India and Malaysia have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in education. As a prelude, the two countries set up a task force to look at issues of equivalence of the degrees in India and Malaysia. The norms of ‘equivalence’ will facilitate the mutual recognition of each other’s educational degrees. These steps were decided upon at a meeting between Malaysia’s Minister for Higher Education Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal in Kuala Lumpur.

The two met on the sidelines of the 17th conference of the Commonwealth Education Ministers. India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia Ashok Kantha took part in the talks.

DoST provides for Scholarship programme The Department of Science and Technology (DoST), Philippines has posted their scholarship program which will benefit those who take up courses or may want to take up fields of study related to Science and Technology (S&T) disciplines. First of their four scholarship programs is the Junior Level Science Scholarship (JLSS). JLSS is intended for all regular 3rd year college 36

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students throughout the academic year 2009-2010 who are at present enrolled in state universities under any of the subsequent recognised priority S&T courses, namely: Agricultural Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Engineering, Physics and Statistics, among others.

There are also scholarships available for those professionals engaged in research, fresh graduates, and on-going MS/PhD students who took courses in Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources, Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Environment, Fisheries and Marine Science, ICT Material, Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Microelectronics, and Physics.

Genpact to provide training to Bhutanese Graduates Gurgaon-based business process outsourcer (BPO) Genpact will train Bhutanese graduates to help develop the IT and ITenabled services industry in the Himalayan nation. The training will begin with a batch of 50 graduates, who will be hired and trained at the operation centres. The US$1-billion global back-office firm will also work with the Bhutanese government and Royal University of Bhutan for training in business processes across industries, including voice, finance and accounting and IT services. The exact investment involved was not disclosed.

Incidentally, Bhutan is the only country in the world that gauges ‘gross national happiness’ as a measure of economic progress.

Asian classrooms with cellphones The latest and seventh volume of the ‘Digital Review of Asia Pacific’, that was recently released highlights the power of new communication technologies in the field of education. In the Philippines, the cellphone and SMS are being used as the primary means for interactive learning. SMS is also being used to inform students of schedule changes, deadlines, examination regulations, grades, new courses and library resources.

Student groups and organisations use the cellphone to publicise social activities, job fairs and book discounts as well as for voting

in student elections. University administrators use cellphones to coordinate the admissions process to conduct marketing campaigns and announce grants, surveys, policies and emergency information like bad weather and suspension of classes.

Aptech views Vietnam with potential for IT growth Aptech Limited, the global retail & corporate training solutions major, commemorated 10 years of success in Vietnam recently.

Since 1999, Aptech has been training the Vietnamese youth on state-of-theart IT education through its network of 38 training centres. Aptech in Vietnam has trained over 40,000 students in areas of Software Education, Animation & Multimedia and Hardware & Networking, since it’s inception.

Aptech’s flagship ACCP programme is among the most popular IT training programs in Vietnam. Aptech has localized its course curriculum by translating it into Vietnamese.

Aptech has been rated as the No 1 IT Training organization in Vietnam for six consecutive years (2003-2008), by IDG and Ho Chi Minh Computer Association. Vietnam is one of the most important emerging IT markets in Asia.

The country’s IT sector has grown more than 20 percent annually.

PERSPECTIVE

Leveraging Technologies to Facilitate Change in Education Systems

Dr. M.S.Rawat

Introduction The time is opportune for India to make its transition to the knowledge economy - an economy that creates, disseminates, and uses knowledge - to enhance its growth and development. Universities are now experiencing competitive pressures resulting from the reduction in government financial support and the consequent need for enterprising approaches to revenue generation.

Universities need to be consciously and explicitly managing the process associated with the creation of their knowledge assets and to recognise the value of their intellectual capital to their continuing role in society and a wider global marketplace for higher education.

Almost all institutions whether public or private engaged in imparting higher education within or any part of the globe will store, access, capture, share and deliver knowledge from faculty members to students and community.

The total advancement and adaptation of technologies in any organisation would depend upon the management strategy, availability of funds and the procedures adopted. The most common techniques used for managing knowledge assets are:Decision Support techniques – They are tools services as data mining, simulators, artificial intelligence or the integration of all of them in an OLAP (Online Analytical Processing). By making right information available at the right time to the right decision makers, in the right manner, data warehousing and decision support technologies empower employees to become knowledge workers with the ability to make the right decisions and solve problems creating strategic leverage for the organisations.

Groupware solutions - It is to apply variety of computer based systems designed to allow people to communicate

with each other to complete projects. The most common feature of group solutions are electronic mails and messaging online calendars or diaries of employees; project management , Total Quality Management and environmental manuals document and best practices (expert diaries or yellow pages) desktop video conferencing online catalogues of library materials book , journals articles and workflow tools.

Following are some of the techniques, the use of which will enhance the competitive capacity of Knowledge Management (KM) in Higher education.

Data Mining: It is a process of discovering meaningful new co-relations, patterns and trends by sifting through large amount of data stored in repositories and by using pattern recognition technologies as well as statistical and mathematical techniques by Gartner Group. e-Learning: e-Learning is the use of electronic multimedia technology to deliver education, information skill, knowledge and individual learning programmes to large audiences , potentially around the globe ,

using internet and other technology based systems. E-learning is one of the most important Knowledge Management (KM) practices, something which one would expect higher education institutions to have as an advantage. Yet these e-learning opportunities are geared most often to student as online customers, not to employees as part of capitalising on their knowledge as an intellectual asset.

Total Quality Management in Higher Education (T.Q.M): Some colleges and universities are beginning to recognize the T.Q.M values as more compatible with higher education than existing management system”. TQM in any organization is a dynamic and progressive approach. The success of TQM would largely depend on the educational leaders/administrators accepting responsibility for providing better quality of services. It calls for redesign of work systems, redefining objectives, roles and responsibilities .In such a process “quality” is the permeating ethic in community and organisation delivering maximum welfare.

Human Resource Information System digital LEARNING

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Education is the third largest industry in the world after health and defence. Education could be India’s best export. An integrated policy for managing and exporting knowledge is the need of the hour and government should set up special economic zones focused on education

(HRIS) in context of Higher Education: The establishment of HRIS looks towards the integration and support for three essential, corporate processes: strategic planning, operational planning and human resource planning (including career planning). The essential components of an HRIS are accuracy, combined with timeliness, to increase reporting capacity and controlling the whole systems to achieve accuracy, confidentiality. HRIS, moves from isolation to integration and facilitates holistic approach of education.

Basic objective of HRIS include standardisation of activities and processes, reduced paper work, information at fingertips, improved service delivery, enhanced efficiency at work, enables effective analysis, student self service (SSS)/Open systems, web systems/analysis, web systems/user’s ID/passwords for users’s perspective.

Digital Dashboards: A digital dashboard is customised solution for knowledge workers that consolidates personal, team, corporate and external information and provides single click access to analytical and collaboration tools. It brings an integrated view of a company’s knowledge source to an individual’s desktop, enabling better decision making by providing immediate access to key business information.

Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS): Large amount of data database can be transformed into meaningful intelligence resources. SAS provides a powerful and comprehensive suite of solution and services form decision support administrative solutions to curriculum resources. Educational professionals can turn to SAS to get accurate, critical, and timely information they need. SAS offer capabilities in various categories, which include i) Enrolment Management, ii) Institutional Advancement, iii) Institutional Effectiveness, iv) Operational Efficiency, v) Online Curriculum, The choice of any technology project is a complex issue to be wisely considered after taking strategic considerations such as: • Budgets and time suitability; • Value of Knowledge Management in terms of tangible and visible advantages; • Changing requirements of institutions; 38

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HRIS Service Delivery

•

Various academic & non-academic activities integration; • Communication among staff people; • A strong leadership initiative with clear vision; and • Complex situations be given special attention.

Higher Education institutions must take a global and consistent vision when managing its knowledge and selecting the KM tools to be implemented.

Concluding Remarks Higher Education culture has to change to grab the emerging opportunities. The big challenge right now is to get people

change their leadership approach and create systems, structures and process that answer to the changing educational requirements for the society. Education is the third largest industry in the world after health and defence.

Education could be India’s best export. An integrated policy for managing and exporting knowledge is the need of the hour and government should set up special economic zones focused on education. Unless we improve the quality of our institutions, we will be short of knowledge manpower, and demand will outstrip supply. All educational institutions must go by a caution that they are under the obligation to provide academic standards in the delivery of quality education. \\

Dr. M.S.Rawat

Dr. M.S.Rawat is Principal in Delhi College of Arts & Commerce, University of Delhi. He has thirty eight years of teaching experinece. Dr. Rawat has presented papers in National and International Conferences. He has published several papers in National and Internation Journals.He has traveled extensively in India and abroad and delivered invited talks.His research interests includes Knowlwdge Management, International Commercial Arbitration and Education.He is associated and memeber of various academic bodies and academic commitees.

LEADER’S SPEAK

GlobalScholar

Solution in a Box www.globarscholar.com

Hari Verma Nadimpalli Vice President, GlobalScholar

GlobalScholar is an education technology company providing the education community, TAPS (Teachers, Administrators, Parents and Students) with a robust suite of tools branded as ‘Pinnacle’, dedicated to the complete cycle of learning.

Digital Learning talks to the Vice President, Hari Verma Nadimpalli, to find out the leading age solutions and transformation opportunities the company provides.

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// LEADER’S SPEAK

We are working with state governments to establish a proof of concept that the technology we offer will take us closer towards the goal of “Equal Education for all”. Many governments now understand that the only way to achieve their ambitious education programmes is to Engage, Educate, Empower the teachers first

With a wide range of products on offer, how do you see the GlobalScholar products cater to the demands of the Indian market?

GlobalScholar solutions are designed to work in harmony to orchestrate a complete cycle of learning. What begins as driving a unified and properly mapped educational curriculum passes through robust online and offline assessments, powerful data driven teacher decision support, and a unique platform to enable differentiated instruction.

From there the system goes on to engage a larger community of administrators, parents and other student life coaches, adding that special part of “knowing someone cares”, required to support the human side of the educational process. Next, strong analytical discovery allows unprecedented accuracy in teachers and administrators remolding the pathways of the cycle. The journey ends right back where it begins, empowering students to take control of their own learning process by bringing both transparency and opportunity to every learning style and every learning ability. We also provide courses for teacher training on 21st century teaching skills, standards based education, technology for learning including content in our platform.

tices encompassing the entire solution. Our work starts with engaging the key stakeholders (teachers and administrators) within the school to understand their challenges and define priorities. This is followed by an implementation, where our implementation teams work with the teachers to put the solution together. Training is another critical success factor to ensure adoption of the solution.

Going forward we will adopt a “Solution in a Box” concept, which means our platform will be delivered with curriculum, plan book, assessments and digital content preloaded and integrated with hardware solutions like digital whiteboards and interactive response systems. This will cut down on implementation cycles thus directly offering cost and time benefits to our customers.

What are the courses available through GlobalScholar platform?

We offer a technology platform, where you have the complete freedom to define, develop and deliver any course to the students. We provide a tool to the educators, with the exception of the content. We are partnered with organisations that provide digitised content that can be aligned with the curriculum and course and be personalised to the needs of the educational institution.

As we go along, we will seek many such partnerships with strategic content providers, giving our customers a wide range of content to choose from.

Are there any collaborative efforts with the Government? What are the core objectives behind the collaboration, if any?

We are working with a few state governments to establish a proof of concept that the technology we offer will take us closer towards the goal of ‘Equal Education for all’. Many governments now understand that the only way to achieve their ambitious education programmes is to ‘Engage, Educate, and Empower’ the teachers first. To solve for the quality teachers and also make them effective, we have created a specific solution for the India market that doubles up as a teacher training tool in addition to the tool being used in the classroom by the teacher to deliver the lesson. This way every teacher adheres to a standard process and the quality of instruction across several schools, districts and the entire state can be better controlled. That would be the first step in moving towards the goal of “equal education for all”. Our platform has enabled this goal in various school districts in North America and we believe we would be able to replicate that success in India.

What are the strategic mechanisms that are put to use for delivering end-to-end solutions?

To deliver end to end solutions, we offer consulting support to advocate best prac-

What are the challenges that need to be addressed in order to give a boost to the socio-economic situation in India?

As it is with every foundational need in an economy, be it education or healthcare,

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the challenges are always around.

Accessibility to good quality education is a challenge in our country. Not only do we have a shortfall of schools but most of our existing schools struggle to impart good education. In my opinion, the low hanging fruit to solving for this is to improving the quality of all the existing schools by improving teacher quality and instructional practices.

Affordability is a big issue especially with rising land and building costs. Reducing overall infrastructure costs and driving efficiencies in administrative as well as instructional processes will help in making quality education affordable. Another solid strategy in making education affordable is leveraging technology for distance learning.

Credibility ensuring that the output of our education system is adding value to the overall economy is ultimate litmus test.

Our schools and colleges should churn professionals who can help India compete successfully with other world economies in all walks of life viz. Engineering, science, medicine arts et al. In order to achieve this, our courses/ content, instructional practices and teachers should be of outstanding quality and the learning we deliver should move away from lower-order critical thinking towards cognitive learning.

What are your future plans and consequent logical steps to enhance your presence?

Our future plans revolve around building our business based on improving student outcomes and results. To do that, we need to be a choice of technology for teachers in the classrooms across the nation. I think our biggest challenge right now is to educate the administrators, academicians and curriculum experts about the capabilities of our platform. The next biggest challenge is change management. We will forge strategic partnerships with content, curriculum players like publishers and other hardware providers to provide a comprehensive solution, but one that is simple to use and offers better student results/ outcomes in schools. \\

case study

1.8 Million Students in India Join the Digital Revolution www.ncomputing.com

CHALLENGE Provide computer labs in thousands of secondary schools throughout Andhra Pradesh, India, while facing constrained budgets and limited access to power.

SOLUTION Deploy the NComputing X-series to create a 10-seat computer lab using only 2 PCs. RESULTS More than 1.8 million students have computing access. By deploying NComputing, the government was able to bring wider access, while minimizing costs and electricity.

A

ndhra Pradesh is the largest state in Southern India with a population of roughly 70 million people. The government wanted to bring computing access to its school system, but had several critical challenges including: limited funding for computer labs; unreliable electricity; and finally, installing and supporting computer labs throughout a large geographically diverse area. The government needed a breakthrough solution that was ultra lowcost, energy efficient, and easy to deploy.

NComputing: the path to success The NComputing solution is based on a simple fact: today’s PCs are so powerful that the vast majority of applications only use a small fraction of the computer’s capacity.

NComputing’s virtualization software and hardware tap this unused capacity so that it can be simultaneously shared by multiple students. By spreading out the cost of the shared computer, schools can provide up

to four times the number of stations for the same money.

The NComputing devices only use 1 watt of electricity, so the entire 10-seat computing lab uses 90% less electricity compared to an all-PC lab.

Installing 5,000 schools in record time Given the challenge of deploying in 5,000 schools, the government chose to use a BOOT model—build, own, operate, transfer.

NComputing worked with local PC OEMs, including HP, Acer and HCL, to install the Xseries kits in their factories and ship them to each site. This teamwork approach resulted in most labs becoming operational within just a few months.

Enabling a bright future for India’s students Over 1.8 million students now have computer access. After initial training to

“Andhra Pradesh is one of the most progressive states to adopt ICT in schools for enhancing quality of education. NComputing’s shared computing technology has made it a reality.”

L. Balasubramanian President, School Learning Solutions Niit Limited

teach basic computer skills, students quickly move to advanced courseware in math, science, and social studies. Access to the Internet allows students to perform research that could not be done with the limited resources available in a school library.

This project was indeed the first big step in empowering the children of Andhra Pradesh to join the digital world. \\ digital LEARNING

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Technology Everywhere yet India struggles with Illiteracy You've probably flipped through this magazine and seen several articles about technology in education. I can understand if, after reading through all the hype around technology, you think it's quite the elixir to India's education woes. After all, many have touted the use of computers (who can forget the $20 laptop!), electronic-boards and software to be best thing to have happened to Indian education since the indelible “English” stamp of the British Raj. But I ask you to look around - a little far and a little wide. Reality, surely, belies the impetus technology has given to education.

Literacy (and I mean functional literacy) remains low. Students continue to not attend classes. Computers remain criminally under-utilized in schools. Most graduates are barely employable.

So what gives?

We, at TopChalks, have compiled a “top 10” list of quotes related to “what are the challenges within our current education system” based on our conversations with students, parents, administrators and various other stakeholders in Education. We hope the list clearly explains why technology, merely, cannot revolutionize our education system.

10

My school has an Electronic-Board, smart-content and smart-technology but my teacher doesn't use them.

A student in a leading Delhi school

9

My daughter is trying to get into IIT. She has a less than 1% chance of making it but we don’t know what her other options are A hapless parent

8

My coaching class has too many children and no one has the time to clear our doubts.

Student from a reputed coaching institute in Kota

7

6

Internet connection is painfully slow; the most I can do is chat and e-mail! Can someone give me some useful education Content at slow speeds?

Student from Chennai Nobody wants to teach in our town. No good teacher wants to spend his or her career here. How do I get good faculty?

A principal in Small Town

5

4

I sent my son to Delhi because I thought he’ll get great education there. His school is OK but my son lives in absolute squalor and there’s no one to look after him.

A parent from Bihar Hamaare gaon mein bijli nahi aati hai. Computer ka kya faayda.

We don’t have electricity so what’s the use of computer?

We clearly need to think harder!!! We know for sure from the “mobile” revolution in India that technology can do wonders if the right parameters come together - affordability, access and obvious utility. TopChalks.com team has researched, developed and is delivering such a digital solution addressing the very problems in the aforementioned list. Tochalks.com team recognizes that the key to “ubiquitous education” is to provide every aspiring student and their anxious parents access to high quality “fundamental & comprehensive” education in a way that shatters time, place and cost barriers, much like how the mobile phones and their service plans have delivered for personal and business communications.

The delivery of this revolutionary digital platform is being rolled out in phases to increase the reach to both privileged and underprivileged masses of students. The first successful phase of delivery, alreadybenefiting thousands of students, is over a lowbandwidth internet connection using a PC and/or a laptop. The second phase, targeted at students who do not have access to a computer and/or internet is being provided through teacher guided “Digital Libraries/Learning Center” operated by TopChalks.com and its partners. TopChalks has these libraries in Kalu Sarai, New Delhi and Ambala, Haryana. New centers are opening up in Kota, Patna and Hyderabad. Several other modes of reaching larger and larger number of students are in the planning stages and include CD-DVDs and instructor guided “digital classes” for inschool class-room delivery.

A shopkeeper in a village near Kanpur

3

They claimed great faculty would teach my children but it seems all the good teachers are meant for the “elite” students. My children have been relegated to being taught by a teacher who has just stepped out of college and can barely put two sentences together A Mumbai Dad

2

No amount of technology can help if the focus on content is missing.

Content has to be designed such that students can truly understand the fundamental concepts. And no, I am not talking about animations A senior government officer

1

I need a job. Will this education get me a job?

A College graduate

We believe our journey has just begun and we at TopChalks.com will strive to achieve our vision of delivering affordable high-quality education to each and every motivated student by learning from our experiences and being innovative in using technology to reach masses in the same way as what mobiles have accomplished in India in a short period of 5-10 years.

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NEWS

corporate

Intel commitment to Education

participants who completed and mastered courses with a 70% score or higher.

Intel plays an advisory role drawn from its global expertise to assist governments to create a holistic approach and best practice models that create access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). In an effort to assist governments, and in particular those in African countries, to bridge the digital divide gap, Intel has committed to developing methodologies and training programmes that governments can add into their existing education system.

Intel currently invests more that US$100 million globally each year towards improving education in over 50 countries. The Intel Education Initiative is Intel’s sustained commitment to improve teaching and learning through the effective use of technology.

Participating managers had a selection of 20 different topics, the majority of which were behavioural and soft skill courses apart from the functional skill courses like Selling Techniques, Promoting creative thinking, Communication & leadership, Planning a Business Strategy, Business Case writing, Time management, etc.

eLearning to develop personal skills by Aptec

Animation venture by Anil Ambani firm The Anil A m b a n i group has forayed into animation education by launching the Big Animation Infotainment and Media School or Big Aims, a training institute in Pune. Ashish Kulkarni, chief executive of Big Animation, the group company that launched the project and made the animated TV series ‘Little Krishna,’ mentioned the above venture as a ‘unique’ and ‘first of its kind’ venture. He explained that this would aid in grooming aspirants with basics and principals of story telling in animated films. Starting June, Big Aims offers professional full-time one-year advanced courses in three-dimensional and twodimensional films, as well as pre-production and post-production work.

OMATEK exports e-education Over 15 senior managers from Aptec Holdings Ltd underwent and completed a special programme to develop behavioural and soft skills related to their respective position and responsibility. Xpert Learning, an e-learning solutions provider based in Knowledge Village in Dubai hosted the courses, which were selected based on input given by Aptec’s HR department, management, senior line managers and the participants themselves.

The graduation ceremony was held earlier this month to mark the occasion. Aptec Distribution’s Managing Director, Bahaa Salah presented SkillSoft certificates to all 44

www.digitalLEARNING.in

Omatek has decided to extend most of its e-education initiatives outside the shores of Nigeria. The indigenous computer company assisted the Ghanaian Government in achieving its goal of ensuring that every Ghanaian owns a personal computer. To mark its support, it distributed computers to beneficiaries under the Omatek e-Xpress/Government Assisted PC Programme (GAPP), which is originally a Nigerian e-education initiative of Omatek.

The programme being implemented in Ghana forms part of Ghana Government Assisted

PC Programme tagged i-Advance aiming at equipping every Ghanaian with Personal Computers at affordable prices.

Cisco provides wireless network for connecting students and lecturers A new wireless network deployed by Cisco provides Kant State University students and lecturers with online access to educational and information resources from any location across the university campus. The university’s new Wi-Fi network is built around a centralised architecture with 180 Cisco® Aironet® 1130 AG Series wireless access points installed across the university’s campus. It has been designed to provide faculty, student and guests with access to resources ranging from the university’s education portal, educational and methodological materials, the library server, the encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius, and Internet access.

The Kaliningrad University required a highly secure, reliable Wi-Fi network with ubiquitous coverage of the entire campus, consisting of more than a dozen buildings. The project was implemented by WesCom, a Kaliningrad company and a Cisco Select Partner that renders system and network integration services.

World’s largest online learning store launched by 24X7 24x7 Learning Pvt. Ltd, the premier Talent Lifecycle ManagementSM Company and largest eLearning implementers in India, announced the launch of world’s most comprehensive collection of online certified eLearning courses - my24x7learning.com.

The portal, with more than 5000 online learning programs in Information Technology and Business Skills, will allow the user to buy the course and transact online. A consumer can now directly avail of certified courses from Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Sun Microsystems and many more in behavioral skills, HR, Finance, IT, Marketing, etc by directly logging on to the website, and selecting a program of their choice and requirement. The portal is ideal for: Small or Medium Business interested in implementing eLearning in their organisation through a custom library of courses for its employees; a student; and a working professional.

SCHOOL TRACK

Integration of ICT in Teaching Geography Ashutosh Karasharma Mishra, PGT-Geography, JNV, Koraput

‘Geography is the study of earth as abode of mankind’. But over the period of time the scope of the subject has widened. It is now an integrative and interdisciplinary subject with sub-fields from other branches of science and social sciences. Likewise many new branches of study came out of it. It was Prof A Z Harbertson who made it interesting with scientific outlook. The Cause and Effect relationship was incorporated in the subject.

Thus it was provided with a rightful place in school curriculum after 1905.

It can not be denied that ‘teaching is an art’ where the success of a teacher lies in his/her ability to make a subject lucid and intelligible to pupils. Geography has also some general as well as specific objectives of teaching, which is driven by prevailing social, political and economic factors.

Bloom’s taxonomy classified instructional objectives into cognitive domain, affective domain and psychomotor domain. The cognitive domain objectives include knowledge, understandings, applications, analysis, synthesis and evaluation where as the effective domain objectives include the appreciation, values, attitudes, interests, feelings etc. and the psychomotor domain objectives include skills. Realisations of these objectives are under specific aims of teaching geography.

Choosing a method of teaching depends upon available resources, psychological requirement of pupils, environment and above all feasibility of implementing it. Some methods such as Socratic Method or question-answer method, descriptive method, observation method, regional method, lecture method etc. are more frequently used where as

some others like project method, Dalton plan method, laboratory method, excursion method etc. are neglected. The latter types of approaches are gaining much importance now a days. This has been realised in National Curriculum Framework 2005 stressing upon learner centered environment, which means ‘paying careful attention to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that learners bring with them to the classroom’.

In this circumstance of inevitable change challenges are many. The digital age concept of global village is being established firmly.

Now the access to information is no longer a personal property of individual or organisation; rather everyone is flooded with it. To cope with this situation adoption of new technologies is essential in education. The solution is the Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In educational context it includes medium of mass communication like radio, television, computer, Internet, telephone etc.

Radio and Television programmes are in use for educational purposes either as direct substitution for teachers temporarily or as complementary teaching since long. Use of satellite technology has made it possible to use this medium for teaching extensively.

Interactive Radio Instruction is one such programme which intends to substitute class room teaching to some extent. This has been successfully used in Africa, Latin America and in Thailand, Bangladesh and Indonesia of Asia.

Likewise TV programmes of IGNOU in India are designed in this regard. The programmes of National Geography channel, Discovery channel, Animal Planet, History channel etc. are highly informative and interesting to captivate audience irrespective of their age

National Curriculum Framework 2005 stresses upon learner centered environment, which means ‘paying careful attention to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that learners bring with them to the classroom’

digital LEARNING

JULY 2009

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// SCHOOL TRACK

Teaching is an art’ where the success of a teacher lies in his/her ability to make a subject lucid and intelligible to pupils. Choosing a method of teaching depends upon available resources, psychological re-quirement of pupils, environment and above all feasibility of implementing it

group. But its availability at fixed time and not accessible at remote locations are main drawbacks. But a TV tuner card in computer can enable to record the programme to display at the time of convenience. It is also possible to gain access to these programmes even in remote location through DTH technology.

The participation of private players in this field is expanding its horizon rapidly.

Computer is the catalyst to bring about a paradigm shift in education from teachercentered pedagogy to learner centered.

This can be integrated more appropriately in teaching geography than any other subject.

There are a number of readymade educational CDs available. Those possessing an artistic sense and knowledge of some advance drawing tool like ‘Adobe Photoshop’ can prepare presentation with beautiful maps, diagrams and photographs for effective classroom teaching. It is also the most acceptable tool for self-directed learning.

The Internet is a vast source of information available through a network of millions of computers around the world. There are a number of ways to use the information in classroom pedagogy delivery. The simplest way of using it is to search data, information, images, videos, animations etc. and presenting a given topic in the classroom in an interesting way through regular methods of teaching like lecture method, discussion method etc. There are three main types of Internet search tools, such as: • Search engine: It helps to search as many of the web as possible i.e. www. google.com, www.msn.com etc.

• Specialist search tool: It aims to help a particular audience find high quality websites for their particular need i.e. Geosource: (www.library. uu.nl/geosource) which is a guide to web resources in human geography, planning, geo-science and environmental science.

• Library websites: It provides information on library catalogues, access to full text databases or tutorial to use the resources i.e. British Library Integrated Catalogue (http://www.bl.uk), European Library (http://search.theeuropeanlibrary. org) e-journals like CyberGEO: (http:// 46

www.digitalLEARNING.in

www.cybergeo.eu) European Journal of Geography.

Research papers, government publication, databases, images, videos and maps are available in abundance. There are a few extremely popular web sites for videos of different kind, Google images for pictures, Google Earth for searching places on earth, Wikimapia for maps etc.

Like wise membership to professional bodies and research bodies also help one to keep track on the latest development in the field of interest i.e. ESRC: (www.esrc. ac.uk) society today- our research, National Environment Research Council-UK, National Research Council (U.S), Royal Geographical Society (www.rgs.org), Association of American Geographer (www.aag.org ) etc.

Further Internet also provides audio and video connectivity which is facilitating virtual classroom in far off places. Educational games and puzzles available online or the option to download has played a vital role in teaching school children some of the elementary concepts easily like the location of places on map.

Through Internet one can contribute video to youtube, article to wikipedia or present messages to blog pages. There is an evergrowing number of geography-related blogs available on the web like geo blogs, geography matters, geography blogs etc.

No doubt, ICT plays a major role in modern teaching learning process. It has brought a sea change in the communication of teacher and the taught. It certainly can be an essential aid for an effective teaching, but

DRAWING OF OUTLINED MAP BY

USING PHOTOSHOP • •

• • • • •

Open Adobe Photoshop and click on file menu to open a new file with transparent contents.

Browse through the file browser tool and search for a map of the country which you want to modify.

Copy the map into your new file.

Create a new layer.

Select brush tool and move it over the outline of the map.

For attractive look you can add bevel emboss and shadow to it in layer style menu.

Delete the first layer and save the file in *.gif format.

it can never replace a teacher completely.

Thus the teacher and the ICT should be complementary to each other. So far as the modern educational system is concerned a teacher without ICT will be fruitless and ICT without a teacher will be rootless. \\

Ashutosh Karasharma Mishra

canyon_geo@yahoo.com

Ashutosh Karasharma Mishra is PGT- Geography at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Koraput, Orissa. His publications include a paper on “Micro Watershed Projects of Bolangir District- Their Role in Water Resource Development” published in the January 2009 issue of “Eastern Geographer” and an article on “Land and Climate of Sonepur District” likely to be published in a Book soon. He has been selected in the semi-finalist list of the Innovative Teacher Leadership Award of Microsoft in 2008. He is also a winner of NVS-Intel joint contest-2008 for best integration of technology in classroom teaching. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D from Utkal University.

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www.eindia.net.in/awards/2009/ The eINDIA Awards aim to recognise exemplary and innovative projects, which demonstrate the use and application of information and communication technology (ICT) that have transformed social development opportunities into a sustainable social enterprise. The eINDIA Awards programme is held annually alongside the eINDIA conference (www.eindia.net.in/2009), the largest ICT for Development Forum in India. The awards are open for all national and international government organisations, civil society organisations, bilateral, multilateral development organisations and enterprises.

Award Categories for Nominations in Digital Learning (http://www.eindia.net.in/ Awards/2009/digitalLearning/index.asp) are: • ICT Enabled School of the Year • ICT Enabled University of the Year • Government Policy/ Initiative of the Year • Civil Society/Development Agency Initiative of the Year Nominations are open from 15th June 2009 till 15th July 2009!

We are inviting willful nominations from individual participants, government organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private institutions and enterprises who have transformed social development opportunities into sustainable social enterprises through innovative use of ICTs. For more information on eINDIA awards, click on http://www.eindia.net.in/Awards/2009/ index.asp or email at awards@eindia.net.in Exhibition eINDIA 2009 will also host an exhibition featuring the best in cutting edge technology across India and beyond. The list of exhibitors is made available online and is updated regularly in the run up to the event in August.

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RNI No. UPENG/2008/25311

UP/GBD - 70/2009 - 20011