At the time when I sat down to pen this editorial, the World Education Summit (WES) was still few days away, but by the time the issue reaches your hands, the Summit, scheduled for July 23-24, 2012, would already be over. It is at the WES that this issue of digitalLEARNING is to be unveiled. If you are there at the WES, you could be one of the first people to read the August 2012 issue of the magazine, which we have endeavoured to develop as a timeless edition, one that is packed with a rich, diverse mosaic of new ICT based solutions for education space.
These digital solutions, developed by some of the most dedicated stakeholders in the education space, have been derived from the Award Nominations that were received for the WES event. Many of these solutions are already well known and are being used by many institutions in India and rest of the world. There are also the solutions that are not that well known, yet they show the promise of providing great impact in future.
Sustained commitment to ensuring best possible education to our students is persistently leading us to explore a range of new solutions from ICT. Digital solutions that we have featured in the current issue are playing a vital role by leading to more flexibility in curriculum development and also enabling students with differing learning abilities to participate as equals in the educational experience. As ICT becomes integrated with the curriculum, it fosters an audio-visual mode of learning that improves the retentive memory of the students.
However, it is also a fact that deployment of ICT based solutions is often mired by infrastructure related issues, financial constraints and also by teachers not having adequate training to make best use of technology to enhance learning outcomes. The concern has also been expressed that technology must not lead to young students being deprived of life’s essential learning experiences; things like music, open-ended discussion, dramatic play, exploration of natural world, all of which would contribute immensely to all-round development of the individual.
Fortunately the stakeholders in this space are conversant with all the issues that lie at the core of the digital education, and that is why we see new innovations coming up in a continuous stream. The solutions that win the prestigious World Education Summit Award will be a testament to the innovation that is happening in the education space.
I would like to thank Professor S S Mantha for the invaluable support that he has rendered to digitalLEARNING magazine and also to WES. The guest editor to the three issues in run-up to the WES, he has provided invaluable guidance to the team. I would also like to thank the speakers, guests and the delegates who will be contributing to a healthy debate on ICT in education at the WES.//
