Innovative Technological Solutions in Education: A Perspective : Rohit Pande, classteacher learning systems, India

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January 1, 2010

Rohit Pande
CEO, classteacher learning systems

Please highlight the aims and objectives of Classteacher solutions.

Technology is shaping the world and the relationships between humans as machines replicate ceratain aspects leaving the mind free to creatively engage in higher pursuits. In education, technology shapes not just the curriculum but also the way it is transacted. It allows for a transparent knowledge transfer across time and distance and also empowers unique peer learning models. Large scale reforms in the education sector ( both in public and private space ) shall be accelarated through the use of technology. Classteacher aims to use technology as enabler to bring out wide ranging enhancements in the educational delivery process for K-12. We have worked with and shall continue to work with the educational community to realize a powerful 21st century learning paradigm.

To what extent has digital technology and interactive learning techniques revolutionised education in the school level? How far has your company been successful in this direction? Can you provide us with some illustrations regarding your company’s achievement in this field?

Classteacher has over a decade of innovation in educational technology. We have served about a million students in over 500 schools. Classteacher has pioneered models for Interactive Whiteboards in classrooms, personalized assessments and web based learning support systems. The company believes that the impact of technology in education has only seen the “tip of the iceberg” and a lot more needs to be achieved by engaging the entire school community. One of classteacher’s key offering is arguably the largest digital curriculum resource with more than 50,000 visual interactive lessons.

Please elaborate on the innovative key patent pending technologies you have developed for classroom teaching-learning process in schools?

We have developed intellectual property in the following domains : classroom teaching across Science, Social Science, Maths and languages, web based learning and collaboration tools, personalization of learning delivery. Our understanding is borne out of our experience of multiple implementation cycles and we lay a lot of emphasis on teacher professional development. Our products are an open Lab where we listen to the needs to learner and eduactors to build powerful tools of learning.

Can you elaborate on the Skill Assessment Programme developed by Classteacher Solutions for the students? Is there any such programme for the teachers as well? Additionally, is there a need to develop the faculties of critical thinking in both the students and the teaching community?

The skill program is for students from grades 3-12 and tests skills which are related to the curriculum but beyond rote memorization. We have another assessment program for teachers which measures the effectiveness of our teacher trainign programs. We shall be launching India’s first and only web based teacher trainign program in 2010.

Can you ensure the reliability and accuracy of the skill assessment tests conducted by your company?

We are continuously measuring our assessment resources and assessment algorithms to improve the reliability and accuracy of measurement. Since our tests are taken by hundreds of thousands of children, our analytical engine churns a massive amount of data to create benchmarked performance reports.

Can you also throw some light on how some of your innovative tools and learning methodologies be employed in higher education sector?

A lot more needs to be done in the higher education sector to improve the quality of delivery and to increase the reach of delivery while maintaining richness. We have tools for Digital Classrooms, assessments, online delivery systems and language learning available for higher education.

Digitalising Language and Learning: An Outlook to New Age Technology : Jasvinder singh, wordsworth elt (p) ltd.

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 1, 2010

Jasvinder singh
ceo, wordsworth elt (p) ltd.,
actuniv group company

Tell us about the underlying vision of ACTUniv.

Our vision is to provide effective and affordable instruments for the development of learners at every level. Words Worth Digital English Language Lab offers a blended approach to benefit the learners, provides empowerment of the teacher with technology tools and self paced learning with ample opportunity to practice for enhancement of the student’s skills. The resources and material provided are a composite system to deal with English language training for the Indian scenario and is based on an extensive research.

Can you speak about the products and services that you offer to the beneficiaries?

Our products are developed to meet the diverse audiences, both urban and rural, at their level and environment. Segments include School, College, Higher Learning institutions, Vocational & Professional training and adult learning initiatives with organisations. Words Worth programmes have also been implemented by some Government, semi-government and local governing bodies to provide training programs with international certification for the masses. Words Worth has also introduced ‘Papyrus’ that may be implemented with the minimum of hardware.

Please share with us the details of the collaborative partnership you have with any specific state Government, if any.

We are the largest training partner of the Society for Creation of Opportunity through Proficiency in English (SCOPE) that trains the youth with skills in the English language through our 350+ centres across Gujarat. We are also the training partners of Gujarat Knowledge Society (GKS), an initiative that provides vocational training, offering as many as 38 courses in IT and Non IT domains through 40+ centres in Gujarat. Recently we have been appointed as the education partner for Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation to provide the digital training content, both digital and in print media. The Training of Trainers programme has been conducted by the company to induct all teachers of all training centres.

Kindly highlight the features of Words Worth, the digital English Language Lab.

Words Worth provides the teacher and the learner with individual digital multimedia content and materials that include courseware for the learner; trainer manuals, flash cards and a comprehensive ‘Train the Trainers’ programme for teachers. Words Worth offers graded levels of learning each with a structured study plan that uses blended learning methodology, with the integration of the specially designed tools that provides an edge over other products today.

Words Worth is based on ALTE/ CEFR framework for languages. Kindly elaborate on the same.

The CEFR framework is the standards accepted by most professional institutions and governments globally for employment, immigration and others. Three full day training is provided to the trainers on the use of the product and delivery techniques. The trainers are evaluated at the end of the programme and certification is provided. The duration of the learners study plans is of around 60 hours and includes ILT and CBT sessions following which the learner can attempt the examination.

What is the mechanism for judging the progress and what kind of certification is available to the beneficiaries at the end of the course?

ACTUniv is honoured to be associated with international testing bodies of repute like Cambridge ESOL, Pearson language Assessments and Trinity College for certification. The examinations are independently conducted by the third party and appropriate certification is awarded to the candidate at the end of the course by the examination body.

Open Distance Learning: A Progressive Learning Method : Dr. S S Jena, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), India

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 1, 2010

Dr. S S Jena
Chairman, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

How does NIOS ensure the quality of academic support to its students?

NIOS offers academic programmes not only at the levels of Secondary and Sr. Secondary classes but also offers vocational courses primarily devoted for skill development of the work force mostly engaged in the un-organised sectors. It also offers equivalency programmes for neo-literates through its Open Basic Education programmes.

NIOS reaches out to its learners through its Accredited Institutions (study centres) for its academic programmes and through Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs) for its vocational programmes to support academic components of the programmes. It basically uses multi-channel and multi-media delivery modes of course contents for its learners

NIOS generates funds by way of collection of admission and examination fees, sale of publications, etc. Budgetary support to NIOS is also provided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India under the Plan grant.

What role is NIOS playing in reaching to the disadvantaged sections of the population?

The NIOS provides an opportunity for learning to all those who wish to resume or continue their studies. Special efforts are being made to reach out to rural population, urban poor, women, scheduled castes and tribes, differently abled persons, handicapped youth, unemployed or part employed persons and school dropouts.
NIOS has been identified as a lead institution by the National Monitoring Committee for Minority Education (NMCME) for providing linkage of minority educational institutions such as Madarsas, Maktabs and Darul-Uloom with the educational mainstream.

Please share the vision and prospective plan of NIOS.

Our focus in recent years has been a transition from print based instruction system to e-learning mode of knowledge dissemination. For this, a system needs to be developed to reach the target groups using multi-mode and multi-channel delivery mechanism suited to the varied needs of the learner groups in different contexts.

NIOS took a significant step of providing the facility of On-line registration for admissions and examinations under the NIOS Online Ni-On Project. NIOS envisages providing to the learners the facility of education through virtual classrooms.

Can you mention some of the initiatives of NIOS?

The NIOS Online (Ni-On) Project offers admissions to interested learners through its website.
The HUNAR Project is a path breaking initiative of the NIOS in collaboration with the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) to provide training and upgradation of skills for Muslim girls. Skill training is provided in seven courses namely Gram Sakhi, Jute Production, Cutting and Tailoring, Early Childhood Care and Education, Basic Rural Technology, Bakery and Confectionery and Beauty Culture.
We conduct two public examinations in a year. In order to introduce more flexibility in its system, we conduct On-Demand examinations at the Secondary and Senior Secondary levels enabling learners to register and appear in the examination whenever they feel prepared.

Have you entered in any Public-Private Partnerships in the field of vocational education and training?

Yes, most of our partner institutions for our vocational programmes are established under PPP model. Recently, we have signed an MOU with CISCO for offering hardware courses on electronics with the support of training institutions of CISCO. In fact, we are in the process of evolving a workable model with the help of many specialised institutions for the skill development process under the vocational education programmes targeted mostly for those in the un-organised sectors.

Please share the strategies undertaken by NIOS.

‘Learner Satisfaction’ is a thrust area on which one has to give considerable thought. The student support services, therefore, needs to be strengthened further. Apart from the government institutions, the resources available with the NGOs and civil societies need to be tapped for changing the direction of the present open education movement towards the rural and disadvantaged segment of the society.

Breaking Barriers in Access to Quality Education : Prof. Latha Pillai, IGNOU, India

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 1, 2010

Prof. Latha Pillai
Pro Vice Chancellor, IGNOU

How far has IGNOU progressed since the launch of the Associate degree programme in July, 2009 in Community Colleges?

The 51 colleges which are functional, have sent their first batch of students for examinations scheduled in the month of December-January where approximately 11000 students have undertaken the certificate course. After the certificate course programmes, now around 15 colleges have clearly articulated that they want to go for an associated degree programme and building their curriculum around the programme.

Could you elaborate on the programme called Gyan Deep and the kind of course structure that will be imparted?

Gyandeep is a bold initiative of IGNOU to educationally empower the soldiers of the Indian army by granting of degrees – a step aimed at providing the jawans with a second career option. It is based on the US system of community colleges in defence cantonments, and will benefit a majority of 1.2 million soldiers of the army.

On 4th September the programme was launched after signing of a memo-randum of understanding between the Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N Rajshekharan Pillai. At present we have 650 registrations for the Diploma programme for the first batch. The programmes into demand are BA, B.Com and Tourism. Infact, the army is going to set up their office in IGNOU campus very soon to coordinate the course. The average enrollment every year will be about 50,000.

Community colleges are being seen as bringing about a silent revolution in the field of education. What are the major expectations of IGNOU from this initiative?

Community colleges are functioning more into enhancing the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) that we were always talking about. Besides, through these colleges the National Skill Development Mission is also getting support. We also support existing institutes who are already into the process of imparting skill based training. For example TVS College which was into skill development training and now have come forward to set up a community college. The specilisation that IGNOU offers is that it provides academic mobility and certification as well recognised in the formal stream.

What are the strategic areas that IGNOU is now looking forward for growth and expansion? Any new alliances that is proposed for the future?

The upcoming project is the Telecentre Academy because IGNOU is going to host the global Telecentre Secretariat to be functional by January 2010.

IGNOU is also collaborating with UNESCO where the organisation has decided to co-certify the Journalism curriculum that we offer. And now UNESCO is interested in collaborating in many of the courses that we offer like the teacher education programme, the community radio initiative using ICTs for the training and course on culture preservations. The UNFPA has also expressed its interest to work with us in the health sector.

Now the Parliamentarians are also participating in supporting the community colleges by contributing from MP fund for the developmental cause. The School of Gender and Development Studies is also looking for collaborations to carry out its projects in addition to its Masters programme.

What are the academic programmes that are going to take off under your leadership?

I am currently coordinating a programme in ‘Rehabilitation Psychology’ jointly with the Rehabilitation Council of India which is housed at the National Centre for Disability Studies.

As the part of our Silver Jubilee celebration I have been coordinating a Silver Jubilee series of 12 lectures.

Besides, as far as the schools are concerned, the School of Agriculture is into many ventures like agriculture policy, dairy technology, sericulture etc.

Recently, Coastal Community College as an IGNOU-MSSRF has been initiated in the 5th anniversary of TSunami in which there will be a special programme for the fishermen to train them about the use of communication-technology when ever there is a sign of any disaster.

Expanding Human Learning Through Technology : Prof. Asha Kanwar, Commonwealth of Learning

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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January 1, 2010

Prof. Asha Kanwar
Vice President, Commonwealth of Learning (COL)

What is the focus of COL to expand human learning through use of technology with reference to Millennium Development Goals?

In 2000, the international community adopted eight MDGs to be achieved by 2015. These goals include the elimination of poverty, achievement of universal primary education, gender equity, better health, environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.

Development depends on the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge by everyone. COL believes that technology can greatly facilitate these processes. For example, the techniques of open and distance learning give farmers the know-how to improve their livelihoods and rural women the knowledge to raise a healthy family. Using technology to train more teachers will help achieve the goal of Education for All. e-Learning and the knowledge media are gradually enriching the curriculum for secondary schools and universities. COL is an effective partner in combining knowledge and technology to advance development.

Political interventions and Policies of the country are the most important factors that influence the adoption of the new changes that ICT brings in area of education. Do you agree with the above statement?

Absolutely! Many countries have elaborated ICT policies but we need ICT in Education policies and clear implementation strategies, if we wish to optimise the benefits of technology. There has to be a holistic approach which will incorporate train ing for teachers and a radical change in pedagogic practice.

Who are the key existing stakeholders and potential stakeholders working in the are of ICT and education (including K-12 and Higher Education segment)?

These are too numerous to enumerate. However, speaking for the Commonwealth of Learning, we do work with governments and institutions in 46 of the 54 Commonwealth Member States at all levels of the educational spectrum–in the formal sector, our focus is on teacher education, open schooling at the secondary level and improving the quality of rdistance higher education through the use of ICTs. In the non-formal sector we support the use of technologies for skills development.

Please share the current global scenario with respect to integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the field of Education, highlighting the opportunities and challenges.

Globally, the new and emerging technology is the mobile device. In South Asia and Africa, basic mobile phones are being increasingly used for pedagogic purposes and this trend is expected to accelerate. Asia has 1 billion of the world’s 2.7 billion mobile users. Within this context does the future lie with m-learning? At one Japanese university, all students had mobile phones and on an average each student sent 200 messages per week for study purposes, as opposed to seven voice mails per week. Only 43% used PCs sending only 2 messages per week.

There is also an emergence of the community radio as a learning medium. The primary objective is to provide learning opportunities to the really unreached constituencies and we need to use ‘appropriate’ technologies rather than technology for the sake of technology.

Public Private Partnerships have been in vogue across countries around the world. What is your understanding of the same and is COL involved in any such partnerships, especially in case of Open Distance Education or Virtual University?

Distance education globally has always relied on private partnerships. For example, IGNOU offers many face to face counselling sessions, practicals and tutorial support through credible private partners. COL is a very modest organisation in terms of avialble resources and we work primarily through partnerships. Recently we supported the development of Internet Radio for the Ministry of Education, Maldives. This was done in partnership with the Open University of Malaysia, which is a private institution.

Can you share with us some of COL’s leading initiatives and initiatives that are in the pipeline?

COL has developed Learning Through Voice Interactive System (LIVES) which aims to provide communities with a learning tool based on voice mails using mobile phones. This helps us reach out to large numbers of people in their own language or dialect.

CEMCA, our office in Delhi is developing a low-cost computing device that will have major implications for teaching and learning in our schools and colleges.

Private universities are the future of Nigeria

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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December 28, 2009

The average private universities in Nigeria have a higher standard of education than any of the old state-owned universities in the country, the executive secretary of the Nigeria University Commission (NUC), Julius Okojie, has said. Mr. Okojie speaking at a brief ceremony held at the NUC headquarters in Abuja towards issuing an approval letter to the Ekiti State government to establish the newly created University of Science and Technology, Ifaki-Ekiti, said the plight of state-owned universities in the country is because of inconsistencies in policies of state governments. He said political wrangling in states not only affect the universities' access to funding but also their general management. Owners of various state universities have failed to improve access and the new administration is not favourably disposed to it.

Mr. Okojie said making university education accessible to all should be the priority, rather than location. He suggested that these issues should be addressed by state assemblies, who should make it mandatory for incoming governors to fund and uphold the guiding policies laid down by previous administrations in terms of running state universities. “We need to sit down in our Houses of Assembly and see what to do to ensure that these institutions survive,” he said. The political undercurrents have adversely affected state universities and have created the environment for private universities to thrive. There are 41 private universities today in the country which seem to be the future of the country in terms of quality and standard. Even the recently established private universities are better than some of the old state-owned universities. Their sorry state of affairs is because of the political wrangling that goes on in the country. Private universities even if they are not properly funded, because of their stable environment they grow. “Federal universities are always demonstrating for autonomy and more funds.” he said.

He therefore called for alternative strategies for funding the universities, saying government cannot do it alone. He then challenged the Ekiti State government to set high standards with the newly created university of science and technology. The governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, said the institution will open a new vista not just for tertiary education for the people but for the future of the state. “We are opening the doors for a third university,” he said, with an air of excitement, promising to deploy satellite technology to run a university which is expected to be ICT driven. The Ekiti State commissioner for education, Rufus Ajayi, also disclosed that the university will take off next year, as the project is already captured in the state's 2010 budget.

ICT education for governance needed in Pakistan

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December 28, 2009

Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani called for promoting Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) education and adopting modern ICT techniques to improve governance of public sector organisations. “E-government would not only improve efficiency but also cut down costs. There is a need for leveraging strategic partnerships with China for improvements in public and social sectors through the use of technology especially ICTs”, he said. The PM was talking to executives of Chinese telecom manufacturing company Zhongxing Telecom corporations (ZTE), headed by its Southeast Asia President Lou Ping Fan.Gilani emphasised the importance of ICT education in the fast growing IT and telecom sectors and issued instructions for fast-track initiatives and establishment of IT and Telecom universities.

He highlighted the importance of video-conferencing to cut down costs related to travelling and administrative processing. He also directed the relevant ministries to take proactive measures for timely implementation of ICT projects to enable the government to achieve objectives and be able to implement high quality technical and ICT education. The PM said Pakistan would provide full security to Chinese working in Pakistan and asked them to invest and take benefit of the government's investment friendly policies ICDL Saudi Arabia intensifies nationwide campaign to encourage SMEs to invest more on IT literacy programs

ICT company to connect educational institutions in Nigeria

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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December 28, 2009

In a higher education Connectivity Project Seminar launched at the University of Lagos, Galaxy Backbone Nigeria's public sector ICT infrastructure & services company has affirmed its intention to fully connect Nigerian institutions through private and public partnerships. The Seminar which was formally opened by Professor Charles Uwadia, President Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) & Director, University of Lagos Centre for Information Technology Systems (CITS) had in attendance Yusuf Z. Kazaure, Chief, Education, Development & States Services Group of Galaxy Backbone as well as other notable speakers from different spheres of the economy.

Yusuf Z Kazaure informed the participants at the seminar of Galaxy Backbone's precedents in the Nigerian ICT industry and its determination to create a platform where pervasive ICT solutions can be fully utilized by Nigeria's burgeoning higher educational network. Other speakers at the seminar include Dr Aminu Ibrahim, Nigerian ICT Forum of Partnership Institutions, Professor Charles Uwadia, NCS and Director ,University of Lagos CITS, Mohammed Rudman CEO Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria, Owen Iyoha Director Datasphir solutions. Speaking further, Kazaure assured the audience that though Galaxy Backbone had been set up by the mandate of the Federal Government it is still as private sector oriented entity and as such had every desire to maintain and increase operational capacity within its target sectors.

Class 10 Madhya Pradesh Results on May 9

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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December 28, 2009

The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) will announce the High School Certificate (HSC) – Class 10 Examination results 2009 on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 11:30 am.

The results will be available at www.Results.MPEducation.net, www.MPEducation.net, www.ExamResults.net . A total of 7,29,388 students appeared for the HSC Examination conducted by the Board this year. The National Network of Education (NNE) has setup special dedicated servers which will enable students to get their results instantly on web and mobile with ease. The results can also be accessed on mobile phones by sending the following SMS to '56263': SMS – Result<space>MP10<space>ROLLNO to 56263 Example: Result MP10 123456.

Essex County three schools to be designed by Skanska

K-12

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digitalLEARNING Network

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December 24, 2009

For developing, constructing and maintaining three schools for Essex County Council, in the UK, Skanska was selected through a bidder contract. Skanska is to assume the responsibility for the financing, design and construction of the new schools, as well as the maintenance of the schools for a total of 26 years commencing in 2011, as a part public private partnerships, PFI (Private Finance Initiative) for the project will be conducted within the UK programme.

Skanska Infrastructure Development's investment is estimated to amount to approximately GBP 6 M, about SEK 70 M, corresponding to a majority holding in the consortium that is responsible for the project. The consortium also includes RM plc, which is responsible for the schools' information and communications systems. RM plc is an international provider of education solutions and the UK's leading provider of ICT software, systems and infrastructure for schools. Financial close for this contract, including the completion of negotiations and financing, is expected during 2010.

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