Shweta Khurana,
Head K12 Education, Corporate Affairs Group, South Asia, Intel

e-Pedagogy is a concept to which most teachers are still resistant

When we look at the implementation of personalised learning in our schools, one thing becomes crystal clear – there are far too many  challenges in the path of implementing digital teaching techniques in our classrooms.
Everybody is trying to find their own unique solution for personalised learning. Some of these solutions include teaching concepts like  flip classroom and inverted classroom. Attempt is also being made to ensure that every child studies at his/her own pace with his/her  own device.
In order to gain a better insight into the present scenario in education we need to discover the answers to few important questions.
The first question is – with personalised learning will our schools look any different from how they look today? The second question is – What are the ways by which teachers can bring about the much needed change in the way they teach and in  the way students learn? The third question is – Will the teaching-learning process change by itself ? After all, e-Pedagogy is a term to which most teachers are still resistant, so how can they be vehicles for creation of a personalised learning atmosphere at the  institutions.
What role does ICT really play in the concept of personalised learning and how effective can it be as a tool to ensuring that you have a perfect learning environment at schools. We also need to ask ourselves about the best ways of transforming learning environment at schools?
It is the quest to find the right answers to this questions that will enable us to see the light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully a better system of education will come into being.

Avnita Bir,
Principal, R N Podar School, Mumbai

Teachers, parents and students have to be made equal partners in personalised learning

In India, where classrooms have 50 children, providing personalised and differentiated learning is a huge challenge for the teachers.  For personalised learning to happen, the child’s needs and aspirations have to be considered. Learning has to be made relevant,  meaningful and authentic for the learner. The ownership of learning has to shift from teachers and parents to the children.
In R N Podar School, we have implemented differentiated learning by using flipped classrooms. We have collaborated with Khan Academy and the students can watch free videos at their own space  and time. The students then engage in interaction, discussion and  activities pertaining to the concept in the classroom. The performance of the teachers and students is monitored through the dashboard. In flipped classrooms, the teacher engages herself in meaningful, relevant and authentic activities with the students.
The challenges faced in flipped classrooms is that teachers do not trust the children to come prepared with the lessons and teachers are also not used to being questioned in the classrooms. A different approach of holding discussions and planning activities has to be done before hand. The children have to be made equal partners in this learning process where they come prepared by going through the videos.
ICT plays a major role in the new learning process as teachers are now making their own videos and sharing them with the children. A  major paradigm shift has to happen in the way of teaching and teachers, parents and students have to be made equal partners in the  learning process. This pilot project is a proof of the fact that we have been successful in making our students responsible and mature with high order thinking.

Neelam Wallia,
Principal, Maheshwari Public School

Degrees can give you good jobs, but they will not give you life skills

The foremost task for any preadolescent is to learn the basic skills necessary to nurture. Unfortunately most of us fail to learn such skills even after reaching adulthood. The training for a child must start from the beginning, when he is still under the care of his  parents.
Most families are nuclear families, where both parents are working, and they don’t have much time to spare for their children. It is not  a question of family values, it is just that we are becoming more workaholic. We live in two separate cultural worlds, one encompassing the workplace and one encompassing home and family.
In such a situation, the entire burden of training the child comes on the shoulders of teachers. We have to teach them to grow up into brilliant and productive future citizens of the country. Every small thing that a teacher does can have an impact on the future of the  child. Cultural training of children needs more time and effort. Passing on the collective knowledge of past generations to future generations is one of the noblest callings in the world. Someone has to make efforts to teach young people, the basic facts, the valuable  skills, and the wisdom that has come to us from past generations.
We say that character education is a way of doing everything in the school. It’s not one particular programme or focus; it’s everything we do that influences the kind of human beings students become. Kids everywhere face the same issues, the same challenges, and the  same realities. Perhaps the youngsters from more privileged backgrounds are in better position to struggle because they’ve had better nurturing, they have better role models, wider opportunities, and the like.
Degrees can give you good jobs, degrees can give you a very good pay package, but it cannot give you life skills.

Anuradha Sen,
Head- Training, Shiv Nadar Schools

A few minor changes in a classroom can make a huge difference

Education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the first is utility and the second is culture. Education  must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life.
The teacher should provide clearly structured small-group activities that encourage everyone to participate. These techniques  incorporate varied learning preferences and styles of participation and help create learning environments accessible to all students.  Care does need to be taken to make sure that such groups do not reproduce the social dynamics of the classroom on a smaller scale  and so, for best results, the teacher must not only form groups consciously, but must also monitor group work carefully.
No two students are same and every student learns differently. In assessing each student’s learning patterns and individual skills, the  teacher should be able to develop techniques to help all types of students, master their classwork, homework, and overall educational  skills. Through assistive technology software and devices, organisational skills, and study skills, we can best help students to customise their learning on an individual basis.
The benefits of an inclusive classroom environment are truly immeasurable. To design this kind of environment, you don’t need to  completely revamp your classroom. Instead, a few minor changes can make a huge difference.
The classroom is a microcosm of the external community, and the way we conduct our classes says something about how we conceive  of proper human relationships. In the classroom, students learn how to treat each other and prepare for life. Intelligence is not  enough. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of  concentration, but also the worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.

Dr Dheeraj Mehrotra,
VP-Academic Training, Next Education

Not every teacher is capable of taking care of the needs of special children

Assistive Learning Technology makes life easy for person with disability. The term ‘Assistive’ means something that provides  assistance. The Assistive Technology in the context of education refers to any piece of equipment, or system that is used to increase,  maintain or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. India faces a massive scarcity of such solutions.

Problems addressed by Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology can address many type of learning difficulties. A student who has difficulty in writing can compose a school  report by dictating it and having it converted to text by special software. A child who struggles with the subject of mathematics can  use a hand-held calculator to keep scores while playing a game with a friend. And a teenager with dyslexia may benefit from Assistive  Technologies that will read aloud his employer’s online training manual. In fact, there are Assistive Technology tools to help students  with almost every type of learning disability.

Dr Uma Tuli,
Founder, Amar Jyoti School

Assistive technology is must for making inclusive education a reality

Today when we talk about technology, we are forgetting about people with disability. Our perception should be to consider the ways to develop assistive technology for making inclusive education a reality. We introduce so many things, but when we do not look at its  accessibility then the work is half done. We have to look at education with the holistic approach, for making vocational training a part  of the curriculum. We should have structured sports and cultural activities for the disabled children.
The philosophy of inclusive education rests on the idea of providing equal opportunities to everyone, regardless of the fact that the person is with or without disability. In life skills education, we need appropriate policies that will lead to development of resources, training, support services, reasonable accommodation, holistic approach and a barrier free environment. We need the involvement of parents, as well as learners, teachers, decision makers and advocates.
We need interactive and fun-filled class rooms. The curriculum has to be flexible enough to reduce academic pressure on students. We  have to develop teaching materials with technology assistive  devices, linkages between pre schools and primary education, provision of adequate resources and leverages.
Today, even CBSE allows assistive devices like talking calculators, computers, talking pens and many other concessions at the time of examination for the children with disabilities. The skill development doesn’t end with just leading a life of skills; it is many things put together. This is something which we need to understand. We have to promote the usage of technology, training of trainers should be organised on a regular basis. There have to be several concessions and reforms in the examination system. Sensitisation at the university level should be done to include disabled children in the stream.
Media should highlight the potential of Person with Disabilities and create the necessary public awareness. The bottom line is that we should not underestimate the power of touch, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment and the smallest act of caring, all of  which have the potential of turning a life around. That is what education is all about.

Shankar Iyer,
BDM-Education, Microsoft

There exists an immense opportunity for providing skill-based education through the use of cutting edge technological systems

Employment of latest technology tools has become a sine qua non for the the education sector, especially in the wake of growing  technological literacy in the nation. ICT is a great enabler; it leads to vast improvements in the quality of the education being provided by an educational institution, whether private or government. Twitter is redefining the way we communicate, tablets are redefining the way we read, and the internet, well, it has radically transformed just about everything.
Sometimes students can get distracted by the temptations of the digital world. Now the teachers can help them stay on course through our SMART programme. The SMART programme allows teachers to choose which websites and applications the students must have access to, and if you need to get everyone’s attention, you can lock all the student computer screens with the push of a button. With this programme, you can organise small groups of students and guide them through the process of collaborative education. With this software, it’s easy to promote learning at the level of an individual, a small-group and even the entire class.
Today, education in the developing world faces the acute challenge of keeping more children enrolled in school, while simultaneously ensuring that there is improvement in learning outcomes. The bottom line is that today there exists an immense opportunity for providing skills based education through the use of cutting edge technological systems.

Sudha Gupta,
Chairperson, Presidium Group of Schools

Development of qualities like courage and emotional strength are necessary for creation of confident citizens

Mother’s Pride has a vast network of schools and we have a lot of experience in child education. We have learnt that the main purpose  of a child’s education is to be able to make him a happy individual. The child should be successful and powerful in his endeavours and  should contribute to the society and the nation.
Education should inspire and motivate children, so that they can become future leaders of our country. We inspire the children to  change their signatures to autographs to encourage them to become successful entrepreneurs who can create employment for others. At Presidium,  we believe that ‘education for  life’ has three main components: academics, talent and life skills.
Many schools pay a lot of attention to academics, but the focus has to shift from rote learning to experimental learning. To foster  future leaders, we have to make life skills like vision , mission, passion, commitment, courage, decision making, dealing with problem and dealing with failures are part of our education.
Children should be taught the skill of being courageous, so that they can deal with the most difficult problems without fear. India has a growing rate of suicides because children are not capable of handling failures. Children have to be taught to be emotionally strong so  that they can take success and failures in their stride.
Teachers and parents are equal partners in child’s development and we have to develop healthy parenting environment by conducting  seminars and workshops for them. At Mother’s Pride we train and guide our teachers to nurture the children to be confident and courageous and make them the facilitators of the child’s progress.
It is only when parents and teachers become experts in life skills, that they will be able to set the proper example in front of the  children.

Satish Kumar,
Founder, Chairman and CEO, GLOPORE IMS

Efficient campus management solutions are effective for better administration of institutions3

ICT based management services play a very vital role in transforming the delivery of education. The main goal of GLOPORE IMS is to  bring about an improvement in the education space, by providing infrastructure, management and services.
GLOPORE IMS has a sizeable presence in various educational institutions across India. The company is setting up 35000 digital  classrooms in both urban and rural areas of India. The aim of the company is to ensure effective learning by students across India by  setting up and managing the IT infrastructure in any institution.
GLOPORE IMS also works with training and exam providers like NSCIT. The company prepares and organises tests like NAAC and  NACTECH for Degree and Engineering colleges. This helps the students find employment based on these tests. GLOPORE IMS also has a  lot of training and certification programmes for financial institutions.
The company also works with many ERP solution providers to help international universities in transforming their digital content,  setting up of online libraries and being online 24 hours a day. The company is an end to end transformation partner for these  universities.
GLOPORE IMS works with schools, education content providers and e-learning companies and helps them in focussing on their core  competences like government policy making, innovations and effective solutions for education and student relationship management. GLOPORE IMS works in partnership with a company called Talisma, which is a CRM software provider. The company takes into account the needs of different schools before implementing the entire ERP system. Such well-researched deployment of ERP only adds to the efficiency of the institutions.

B K Tripathi,
Joint Director, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

Many constraints continue to stymie our efforts for delivering education to the right people at the right time

Education is the primary key to economic development and human welfare. It brings competitive advantage to any nation in a  globalised world where economic competition is intense.
Kothari Education Commission rightly believes that national reconstruction can only happen through the efforts of those who have benefitted from quality education in our schools and colleges. Also, the quality of education and its contribution to national development will be influenced most significantly by the competence and character of teachers. However, the Commission has discovered that the teacher education system in the country is too weak to produce such influential and competent teachers.
With India progressing every second our education system lies in ruins. It hardly matters if we understand a given topic, but there should not be any gaffe in penning it down. The education system that we follow does not entertain creativity and innovation. From  the source of the education providers to the receivers, none have their hearts poured in their work. Today, education is not a matter of choice, but a subject of compromise. Higher education is becoming a major driver of economic competitiveness in an increasingly  knowledge-driven global economy. The imperative for countries to improve employment skills calls for quality teaching within  educational institutions.
Quality teaching must be thought of dynamically, in light of contextual shifts in education environment. Studies are becoming  internationalised, and higher education sector is being asked to contribute to new areas (such as innovation, civic and regional  development) in order to produce an appropriately skilled workforce to meet the challenges of 21st century.
The institutions need to develop innovative approaches for measuring the impact of their support on quality teaching.