NVs outperform other schools in CBSE

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May 30, 2009

The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) – autonomous schools under the Human Resource Development Ministry – outshone all other schools across India with a whopping 97.84 pass percentage in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 exams this year. Bettering its own performance from last year, even if marginally, the JNV students upped their pass percentage by 0.30 %. Of the 30,184 JNV students – 19,437 boys and 10,747 girls – as many 2,510 scored 90 % and above.

The Kendriya Vidyalayas followed the Navodaya Vidyalayas with a pass percentage of 96.35, an increase of 0.28 % from last year. While the independent schools, popularly known as public schools, have registered a success rate of 91.89 %, as against 91.77 % last year, government schools have registered a pass percentage of 80.08 %. The central Tibetan schools under the CBSE have registered a pass percentage of 92.77 % as against 87.06 % in 2008. The pass percentage in other private schools has shown an improvement with 40.97 % students clearing the exam compared to 36.34 % last year. This year 828,598 students – 485,131 boys and 343,467 girls – appeared for the board exams in India and abroad. The overall pass percentage – at 88.84 – recorded a marginal increase of 1.76 % from last year. Girls have done better than boys with the pass percentage at 89.78 as compared to 88.18 for boys. The CBSE class 10 exam results for three zones – Delhi, Allahabad and Guwahati – was declared Friday. The results of the other three regions – Ajmer, Chennai and Panchkula – had been declared on Tuesday.

USD 120 mn grant to University’s Hindi, Urdu prog by Obama admin

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May 30, 2009

< ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Indiana University's programme for India studies, aimed at training high school students in Hindi and Urdu has received about USD 120 million from the Obama administration. The money has been granted to the University under the 'STARTALK Program' of the US government, which was started by the previous administration of George W Bush, to increase the foreign language proficiency of Americans in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Turkish, Swahili and Urdu. 'Our goals are for the participating students to acquire the linguistic and cultural competence to communicate successfully in the language and obtain various learning strategies and skills,' said Sungok Hong, a lecturer and Hindi-Urdu language coordinator in the India Studies Program.

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'Students will have a deeper understanding of the culture and learn the importance of culturally appropriate behaviour,' said Sungok. Twenty students from the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, California and Hawaii have been accepted for the Hindi and Urdu programme, the university said in a statement. The free summer intensive programme for Hindi and Urdu provides the equivalent of one semester of university-level instruction. Between 22nd June and 17th July, students will meet in 20 hours of classes each week and participate in cultural activities. As part of the curriculum, they will go on field trips to cultural sites and learn about the south Indian classical dance Bharatnatyam, besides Carnatic music, yoga and popular sports such as cricket and kabbadi.

DU: eContent Development Pioneer

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 29, 2009

Delhi University (DU) is getting on the e-technology fast lane. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has handed a pilot project to the varsity which may lead it to becoming the national centre for e-content development. DU's Institute of Life Long Learning (ILL) Director A.K. Bakshi, who is handling the project, said that they have been developing online quizzes, creating virtual laboratories and e-content for seven subjects as a part of the project. The project, which is a part of the Rs 5,000 crore schemes of National Mission of Education

Through Information and Communication Technology, has a December deadline. In an attempt to keep pace with the changing times and the morphing education scenario, DU has been developing e-content for various subjects so as to make concepts clearer to students and make learning an enjoyable process. One of its latest initiatives is video lectures in different subjects. The lectures will be recorded around June 20 and uploaded on ILL's portal. Besides the video lectures, visuals, animations, online quizzes and virtual laboratories are also being developed by ILL for different subjects.

Cisco provides wireless network for connecting students and lecturers

Higher Education

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 26, 2009

A new wireless network deployed by Cisco now 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 centralized architecture with 180 Cisco

Communist Party of India, Marxist, demand change in Education Policy

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May 26, 2009

A radical change has been suggested by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in country's policy to support education for all. It was reported that nearly 77% of the students in India do not reach class 12. CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury while addressing a conference of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of CPI-M, Monday evening, mentioned that it is due to the existing policy that 77% children are unable to reach class 12.

It was reported that the above figures were discouraging, taking into account that INR 410,000 crore was the allowed tax relief for the affluent people. Additionally, it was told that 50% of the students did not get sufficient food and less than INR 20 was the daily income of 77% people.

Intel commits to education

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 26, 2009

Research has shown that there is a direct correlation between pervasive broadband and economic growth, Intel plays an important advisory role drawn from its global expertise to assist governments create a holistic approach and best practice models that create access to information communication technologies (ICTs). 'ICT is rapidly changing the way we live, work and communicate and increasing access to global markets and information determines economic growth in a country.' It is therefore critical for governments to prioritise provision for its citizens to access and education on these technologies. The impact on the economy will be bigger than they realise,' says. Ferruh Gurtas Intels Corporate Affairs Manager for Middle East Turkey and Africa.

In an effort to assist governments, and in particular those in African countries, to bridge this gap, Intel has committed to developing methodologies and training programmes that governments can add into their existing education system as well as playing an important advisory role to ensure a holistic approach in the implementation process. 'Our educational programs focus on improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology, advancing math, science, engineering, research and advocating and promoting educational excellence,' explains Gurtas. The Intel approach is a holistic model to ensure that people all over the world have the skills needed to compete at a global scale. 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. Other successful projects include the integration of modern ICT technologies into Nigeria's education strategies and the launching of the Intel Teach' Program in Morocco, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. Intel's one-on-one education plan is also being implemented in eight countries including Senegal, Angola and Namibia.

Baidu.com launches online encyclopedia in China

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May 26, 2009

China's leading web search company, Baidu.com, Baidupedia, has launched an online encyclopedia modelled on the US-based Wikipedia, which is blocked by Beijing. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The new service from Baidu.com, Baidupedia, is heavily self-censored to avoid offending the Chinese government. Wikipedia had become increasingly popular in China until blocked in 2005. China has strict laws on Internet use and blocks content it deems a threat, including references to the Tiananmen Square massacre and notable dissidents. This service was launched last month. The number of Internet users in China is set to top 187 million in two years.

UN Africa and Microsoft sign an Agreement

Corporate Updates

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 26, 2009

Microsoft, recently, signed an agreement with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, at an ongoing African Union Summit on Information and Communication Technology. As a part of this agreement, Microsoft is to provide software, technical support and software development. But the company denied, that its partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations are calculated to lock users to Microsoft products.

The UNECA is expected to use Microsoft products and services to enhance policy areas and education, and establish strong architectural networks within African countries. Microsoft is working with major African organizations like the Africa Union, Africa Development Bank, Economic Community of West African States and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). It is also working with several ministries of education in Africa.

Report: Fake enrollments in UK colleges

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May 26, 2009

It was told to lawmakers in < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Britain that there could be a large number of bogus students enrolled in over 2,000 colleges in Britain that offer courses to foreigners. An estimated 2,400 colleges are considered by the British Government to be under suspicion. They have allegedly enrolled young people who entered UK using the student visa and are economic migrants in reality. The existence of so many bogus colleges is damaging the international reputation of the education sector, The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee was briefed yesterday, said a report by The Times. Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister told the committee, 'I think the existence of colleges, or so-called colleges, has been a problem for more than a decade.'

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Keith Vaz, Chairman of the select committee, asked whether there could be hundreds of sham colleges and tens of thousands of bogus students. Tony Milns, chief executive of English UK, an organisation that accredits English language centres in Britain, said that the Home office and the Border Agency were aware of the scale of the problem since 2004 when it was announced that registration of colleges would be required. Milns told that it was possible that people recruited into terrorism used bogus colleges as a means to get into Britain. He added, 'Most bogus students are economic migrants.'

Microsoft Celebrates Innovative Teachers Awards in Europe

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digitalLEARNING Network

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May 26, 2009

The 2009 European Innovative Teachers Forum Awards was the stage where Microsoft celebrated the top innovative teachers across Europe. The Redmond company handed out a total of 10 awards, three of which for innovation in ICT usage, in community and in content, and a special award for Andrea Brauns (The Netherlands), 'Sound Lottery.' Slavica Juric (Serbia), 'The Story About Bread,' is the winner of the Innovation in ICT Usage award, while the top position for Innovation in Community went to Ollie Bray (UK), 'Thinking out of the Xbox,' with Isabel Schapdryver (Belgium), 'Secondhandshop,' winning Innovation in Content. 'A key theme at the European Innovative Teachers Forum was how technology has become a transformative tool and catalyst for improving education, evolving education systems towards a more student-centric approach,' explained James Bernard, worldwide director of Microsoft's Partners in Learning. 'These awards celebrate the achievements of some of Europe's most innovate teachers, and their passion and dedication towards finding new ways of using technology to engage and inspire their students. We have been so impressed with all of the projects showcased here, and we salute the teachers who give so much time and effort to making a difference in their students' lives and education.'

But essentially all categories and teachers recognized at the 2009 European Innovative Teachers Forum Awards are connected with the introduction of technology in the educational process. Microsoft indicated that the Forum was not only meant for outstanding educators to get their fair share of the spotlight, but also for all parties involved in education to collaborate, share and ultimately implement 'winning strategies.' 'Preparing students for life and work in the 21st century means that there has to be a fundamental change in how the teaching profession employs technology both as a learning tool and something to also be taught. The winning projects stood out as examples of best practice in addressing the changes and challenges with teaching today,' said Andrea Rittersberger, from the Konservatorium Wien University, head judge at the European Innovative Teachers Forum.

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