ICT programme to benefit Dominican schools

K-12

By

-

February 17, 2009

Fourteen secondary schools and five primary schools in Dominica are set to benefit from the schools computer programme being funded by the ICT development programme of the Ministry of Housing, Lands and Telecommunications, and the European Union to the tune of $568,000. The ICT Development Programme is being funded by the European Union in collaboration with the government of Dominica. The construction firm of Francis Thomas has been contracted to undertake the site preparation works at the various schools including the provision of furniture, electrical, painting and security for the sites. By the end of his three-month contract in April of 2009, Thomas said that he is confident that the nineteen schools benefiting under the project will be ready to be retrofitted with new computers and other IT equipment.

The computerisation of schools and the implementation of an IT curriculum have been identified by the Ministry of Education as one of the priority areas for Educational development in Dominica. Acting ICT coordinator in the Ministry of Education Timothy Lavinier says the computer upgrade programme is a dream come true for his department and is a major step forward in the effort to computerise all learning institutions in the country. He is of the opinion that his goal can be met within the next few years if funding can be provided through local and private partnerships. Under the first phase of the ICT development Programme the Dominica State College, the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School and the Convent Preparatory School computer labs were upgraded.

Matrix, launches programmes in Artificial Intelligence

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 17, 2009

The new leader in ICT education in Sri Lanka, Matirx Institute of Information Technology (Pvt) Ltd. who currently offers several local and foreign Certificates, Diplomas, Advanced Diploma's and even Degree level qualifications in the field of Information Communication Technology and management, though with a comparatively small history of three years the company has reached enormous growth in the education sector and further intend to expand in numerous forms. The organization is headed by Viraj Pinto Jayawardena who is the chairman and managing director of the organization. For the first time in the institution, MATRIX launched a comprehensive set of programs in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) on the 14th of Feb. 2009. The Robotics and AI division is headed by an expert in the field of AI, who currently has his masters in computer science and AI and further intending to proceed to his doctorate in the same discipline. 'The field of robotics and AI is untouched in many curriculums and we dedicated to give our students and avenue to proceed with the new era in robotics and AI.' Stated the Chairman Viraj Pinto jayawardena. The programs in Robotics are mainly classified into several levels namely, Kids, Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma.

When questioned on what future benefits the students will gain as a result of the above programs in robotics and AI, the chairman stated that 'we are productively working on obtaining a affiliation from a leading foreign university which will enable the students who successfully complete the advanced diploma in Robotics and AI to continue with their final year of the B.Sc in computer science and Artificial Intelligence.' Stressing on the programs offered at MATRIX, the chairman stated that the British Computer Society (BCS) Professional Examinations offered by BCS – UK is one of the most recognized professional qualifications which is equivalent to a degree in Information Technology where MATRIX is one of the most popular registered course providers in Sri Lanka, offers the students all three levels of the program including extensive support to complete their final year project, 'I strongly believe that quality is the only tool in the field of education, and we do have an outstanding lecture panel who are one of the most experienced for BCS in Sri Lanka,' stated the Managing Director, where he himself is one of the few lecturers in Sri Lanka who has educated the largest number of students for BCS and may be the only lecturer who has taught the highest number of subjects for BCS in the country. The team at MATRIX is further strengthened by an outstanding panel of full time faculty members and several visiting faculty members who's combinative experience would be immense.

Reports on schools

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

The National Education Network (NEN) trial provided 20 schools with fast, unrestricted broadband drastically improving their access to information and communication technology tools. The trial was led by REANNZ and funded by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Commission and the National Library. The 6-month trial, successfully completed on 15 December 2008, tested the architecture and explored the educational benefits of a National Education Network. The reports show that the trial was a huge success in both respects: it proved the benefits of the open access NEN architecture and allowed teachers to expose their students to the sort of tools, techniques and experiences that will equip them to be the knowledge workers New Zealand requires to drive its future productivity.

Feedback from trial schools was overwhelmingly positive. One teacher commented, 'The benefits of connecting to KAREN are immense; students and staff can reach the resources of universities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States; show maps and satellite footage to Geography classes using Google Maps; and collaborate via high definition video conferences with other students around the world.' The NEN trial was such a success that REANNZ are recommending a complete national network based on the principles of the NEN be rolled out to all schools. After running the trial, our estimate is that high-performance broadband can be delivered to every classroom in New Zealand for only US$150m.

Doeacc e-learning centre to open in Tripura

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

The Government of India will set up Regional Institute of e-Learning and Information Technology (Rielit) at Agartala. It is the fifth Department of Electronics Accrediation of Computer Courses (Doeacc) centre in the northeastern region. The institute would facilitate the youth of Tripura to have easy access to education and training in the field of computer science and information technology in a well equipped state-of-the-art training infrastructure with qualified and trained faculty members, resulting in generation of quality and employable manpower. The government has already sanctioned Rs 45 crore for setting up the permanent Doeacc centre. It is the 11th centre of Doeacc Society in the country. The other centres are located at Aizawl, Aurangabad, Calicut, Chandigarh, Jammu/Srinagar, Gorakhpur, Guwahati/Tezpur, Imphal, Kohima (Rielit) and in Kolkata.

The Government of Tripura has assured to provide to the Rielit, Agartala, an 8,000 sq ft of built up space to house the temporary training facility of the institute, besides providing 15 acres of land in Agartala for setting up of the permanent infrastructure. After commissioning of the permanent infrastructure, the facilities at the temporary training campus would be shifted and transferred to the permanent campus near Agartala. The institute will offer short- and long-term courses on ITES, software and hardware, bio-informatics and computer science to boost the skills of the youth of this region.

Rise in school applications hits council

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

Capacity at primary schools must be expanded as parents hit by the recession desert independent schools in favour of state education, it was claimed. The comments – by Lambeth Council in South London – are believed to be the first time a local authority has admitted services are being stretched by the downturn. It comes just weeks after the Audit Commission suggested as many as one-in-10 authorities was seeing increased demand for state school places. The public services watchdog said demand for desks was a particular problem in London which has the highest concentration of privately-educated children. In some parts of the capital only half of pupils currently get into their first choice secondary school because of the competition for places. Private schools claim pupil numbers may actually be increasing.

A study this week by the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, which represents 250 elite schools, said applications were up as much as eight per cent for September, although schools admitted hundreds of pupils were also being pulled out by parents hit by the downturn. Officials in Lambeth said they needed 600 extra primary places by 2015 – on top of the 840 additional desks being made available at four primary schools. But the authority said it was UK

Taxis Launched for Polytechnic Students

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

The Otago Polytechnic Students' Association (OPSA), in conjunction with Otago Polytechnic and Dunedin Taxis, will next week be introducing US$3 taxis for all Polytechnic students during Orientation. 'The main thing for OPSA during this time is to ensure that our students can enjoy the Orientation season safely,' said OPSA Co-President Ryan Ward. The taxis will be available for all Otago Polytechnic students as of Monday 16 February, running after 10pm and until 6am every weeknight until Friday 6 March, to take students from the CBD or Orientation events back to their own residence. 'We couldn't have done this with out the support of Phil Ker (Otago Polytechnic CEO) and the team from Dunedin Taxis,' said OPSA Co-President Meegan Cloughley.

'Students are encouraged to use these taxis when returning home from events at University Orientation or the inner city,' Ward continued. OPSA would also ask that students who don't use this service walk home with friends and classmates, rather than walking home alone. 'We are concerned about students during Orientation, but also want students to enjoy the events and culture that Dunedin has to offer,' said Cloughley. 'But OPSA encourages students to take their personal safety seriously during this time.' Conditions of the taxi service can be viewed at www.opsa.org.nz or by contacting the OPSA office.

Unesco e-Atlas of endangered languages available free

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

A team of linguists from across the world led by Australian Professor Christopher Moseley has prepared a unique interactive and digital language Atlas to be released on the eve of International Mother Language Day on February 21. The new edition of the Unesco Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing aims to answer questions like: Why do languages disappear? Which parts of the world are most affected? What can be done to save them? The Atlas contains updated information on over 2,500 languages and is available free of charge worldwide.

It will be continually updated and will allow users to produce their own maps, based on a country or region, or to conduct searches by language category

Soon a radio station at IIT Kanpur

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

The Government of India has approved setting up of community radio station at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur). The station, expected to be operational within three months, will serve the surrounding populace comprising of students, housewives, skilled and unskilled labourers, petty traders and private and government employees as well as retired persons.

Besides, disseminating knowledge on health care, agriculture, science and technology in addition to the literacy programmes for children and adult, it will provide a platform for creative and innovative programme making and run awareness campaigns on social issues. The initiative is a part of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to provide an opportunity to the local communities to express themselves, share their views and particularly empower the women, youth and the marginalised groups to take part in local self governance and overall socio-economic and cultural development of the area.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan on track in Punjab

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

Expressing satisfaction over the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) programme in Punjab, the Government of India has emphasised the need for covering more children of the migrants under the literacy programme. A three-member team of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has visited Mansa and Jalandhar districts last month and inspected the implementation of the SSA programme. Disclosing this in a review committee meeting in Delhi, Punjab Schools Education Director General Krishan Kumar said that all efforts were being made to have a maximum number of children of the migrants in the government schools in the state. 'But the problem with them was that they were not permanent residents which hampered the programme,' said Krishan Kumar.

The HRD Ministry team also pointed out that more private schools were being opened in Punjab and this was not a healthy trend. Kumar maintained that efforts were being made by the Education Department to improve the standards of education in the government schools and there was a feeling that the standards of education in these schools were on the better side. He revealed that the Punjab government had spent INR 203 crore on the implementation of the SSA in the state so far, out of INR 265 crore sanctioned for this purpose. The Director General said that under the SSA, 356 primary school buildings, 14,996 additional classrooms, 125 block resource centres, 1,168 cluster resource centres, 534 headmaster rooms, 17,491 toilets and drinking water facilities had been provided. Padho Punjab programme had been implemented by the state government under the SSA programme to improve the quality of education among the primary schools, he informed. According to the Kumar, math and science kits are being provided to all primary and upper primary schools to help the students learn difficult topics of maths and science.

Orissa IIT campus to be complete in 4 years

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

February 16, 2009

The campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Orissa would be complete in four years from now with Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh laying the foundation stone on Thursday. The institute at Bhubaneswar is one among eight new IITs to be established in the country by the ministry of human resource during the Eleventh Plan period. The IIT will come up at Aragul, 20 km from here, on 936 acres of land. 'The state government has already provided 516 acres of land free of cost,' said Deputy Secretary of Industry Department PK Panda, adding that steps are being taken to provide rest of the land, water and electricity. Parts of the campus, including class rooms, hostels and administrative buildings, expected to be ready in two years time, said a faculty member of the IIT-Bhubaneswar.

Around 120 students have already been admitted in three disciplines, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering in July last year. 'As the campus and building have not yet been built, the students are studying along with students of IIT Kharagpur,' he said, adding that the student strength will increase to 240 in the next academy session (2009-2010). IIT-Kharagpur has initiated measures to conduct classes in its Bhubaneswar centre from the next academic session. 'The centre will continue as the temporary campus of IIT-Bhubaneswar till its own campus comes up,' said Panda.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories