Open University Malaysia goes international
With a delivery system based primarily on Information and Communications Technology, the Open University Malaysia (OUM) has ventured into the international arena. The first open and distance learning University in Malaysia is now providing consultancy and training services on e-learning to countries like Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.
For this purpose, it recently
launched OUM International as its brand name and focus point for its international endeavours. OUM International will be the reference point for all international contacts with OUM as well as the unit responsible for conceptualisation of projects to meet the needs of international clients.
Indonesia expands Global Development Learning Network
Indonesia’s Ministry of National Education has opened up its ever expanding Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) to the world, in an ambitious effort to bridge the knowledge gap and bring Indonesia closer to the world through video-conferencing technology. GDLN Indonesia began as a modest network of four universities in 2002 with support from the World Bank. Through a strategic merger with the Indonesia Higher Education Network (INHERENT), the network now covers over 220 public and private universities and can also tap into distance learning opportunities from anywhere in Southeast Asia.
The first incarnation of GDLN Indonesia was the linkage between University of Indonesia to three regional university centers – University of Riau, Udayana University and Hasanuddin University.
Malaysia allocates RM 3 million for visually impaired students
Malaysian government is allocating RM3 million for providing visually impaired students access to Information and Communication and Technology (ICT) facilities. Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said although the allocation is meagre the government would consider reviewing the amount if needed. The grant will be used to close the digital divide between those with visual impairment and others by using the latest technologies available and improving teacher training and infrastructure.
Speaking at the 12th World Conference of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairments, the minister also launched the Education for All Students with Visual Impairment Global Campaign.
US pledges $2.5M for classrooms in Mindanao
The United States has pledged a $2.5-million bilateral aid package to build more classrooms and rehabilitate old school buildings in Mindanao in Philippines as part of USAID funded project Education Quality Access to Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLs). The aid agreement was signed by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Petron Development Foundation chair Nicasio Alcantara.
Under the package, 120 classrooms would be built and 480 more would be rehabilitated over four years. During the current school year, 20 classrooms in the regions will be built and 54 will be renovated. Funds will also be allocated for improving infrastructure in schools.
Quality science education a must for prosperity in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has no alternative to using science education as a tool for improving the living standards of the people and for dealing with economic and environmental challenges it faces, experts at a roundtable on ‘State of Science Education in Bangladesh’
have said.
Science textbooks need to be simplified, teachers’ salaries need to be raised, and science graduates need to be motivated to become teachers, said speakers. They also suggested introducing a terrestrial television channel broadcasting educa-tional programmes, to reduce students’ dependence on private coaching centres.
Intel launches skoool.ph in Thailand
Intel Technology Philippines, along with the country’s Education department have announced the availability of the Philippines’ version of the skoool educational website (http://www.skoool.ph). skoool is a free online platform to help teachers and students learn key concepts in Mathematics and Science.
The Philippines version of the skoool.ph contains locally relevant educational content, which was finalised by the Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) after evaluating the contents of skoool.com, originally developed by Intel Ireland. Only those lessons were selected that aligned with Education department’s curricula for high school levels.
With the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) clearing the proposed Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) recently, the way is cleared for the launch of a mission-mode exercise to universalise secondary education. Union Human Resource Development Ministry will now place the proposal before the Cabinet. Designed along the lines of the ongoing Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to universalise elementary education, the RMSA seeks to make secondary education ‘available, accessible and affordable’ to all 15 and 16-year-olds by 2017. Another target of the RMSA is to ensure universal retention by 2020.
Delhi University has joined hands with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide professional skills to college students and address the skill shortages faced by the Indian industry. The partnership is aimed at providing industry endorsed professional skills through a six-month certification programme under the aegis of School of Open Learning and DU. There would be separate courses on IT and automotives. More than 200 students have applied for the professional skills project, an MoU for which was signed between DU and CII in March.
Bihar Information and Technology Minister Anil Kumar inaugurated the Web Resource Center of the Computer Application Department at Patna Women’s College, calling the move ‘very progressive that would go a long way in educating the girls of Bihar’. Urging other colleges in Bihar to emulate Patna Women’s College, Dr Kumar said such efforts were highly commendable and helped bridge the gender divide that exists in the state and other parts of the country.
What is unique about this method is that it encourages people to utilise multiple senses simultaneously, promotes co-operative learning and makes use of a well established pedagogical principle in the field of education called “learning by doing.” The e-Blocks system consists of a software package, a sensory panel with 15 pockets, plastic blocks with various colours, letters, shapes imprinted on them, flash cards and reproducible activities, teachers’ guides with audio CDs. With the help of visual and auditory stimuli, children are introduced to letters, words and sentences. Children are then required to make a response based on the learning activity selected by the instructor. They are asked to make their responses by inserting the blocks into the pockets of the sensory panel. The programme then evaluates the students’ responses and provides immediate feedback to the students. Afterwards, at the end of the learning session, the programme generates a detailed performance report including numeric scores, and identifies areas in which improvement is needed.
many educators ask. Most people budget for a three-to-five year useful life for projectors and PCs and expect about the same for the SMART Board interactive whiteboard. There are a number of things that you should know about our product.
RapideL-i, the internet-based rapid e-Learning tool has been upgraded to include a new feature to convert MS Powerpoint slides into e-Learning. This feature allows users to import static Powerpoint presentations into RapideL-i and, at the click of a button, convert the presentation into a SCORM complaint eLearning course. It also allows users to add pages created using RapideL-i into the converted course.
Intel has announced key initiatives in Palestine, including expansion of the Intel Higher Education Technology Entrepreneurship Program and the launch of a new multi-core computer lab at Birzeit University.
Microsoft will supply productivity and server software worth about R750-million to 26,000 government schools in South Africa, bringing modern information and communication technology to more than 11 million school students. A three-year agreement was signed in this regard, renewing the company’s original software donation agreement signed in 2002. Through this the country’s Education Department hopes to widen the reach of ICT and see more students leave schools being computer literate.
With the proliferation of digital photography, consumers are capturing thousands of memories in digital media. Most of these memories remain in the PC, but consumers want to share them with their families on the big screen. One of the challenges that consumers have is to precisely reproduce those captured moments on a large screen projector. Texas Instruments introduced Brilliant Color technology to provide DLP projector brands and end users with a broad set of tools to better represent those unforgettable moments. In Q2 2008 80% of DLP projectors sold incorporated Brilliant Color technology.
In summary, Brilliant Color enables a much broader set of options for manufactures and end users to adjust colour to their individual needs. There are projectors in the marketplace that supports up to 10 different pre-configured modes without impacting average lamp power or colour fidelity. Other technologies which use just RGB only support a few modes with a direct impact to brightness and colour fidelity. In addition, end users have more options for configuring primary and secondary colors while RGB projectors support adjustments to primary colours only. Having a BrilliantColor projector empowers the end user to fine tune colour preferences and truly bring those memories back to life on the big screen. 
From landscapes to lives, everything is changing in Rajasthan. Radiating unparalleled energy and optimism, the educational reforms in the state have gone a long way in driving social and economic progress. The Intel Initiatives with the state government have made it possible to accelerate this vision of 21st century education.
Science today is taught in an abstract manner in most Schools across India, primarily using the Rote method of instruction and to a certain extent Apply and Understand method of instruction (Anderson’s Taxonomy), which essentially are lower order learning skills. From cognitive research done around the world, it is found that the rote method assimilating knowledge is actually counterproductive to learning.
The process of relating to from familiar concepts/events/things and reinforcement actually helps in effective learning. Science should be taught as something which is very much part of everyday life, for e.g., like showing the child the science involved in pulling water out of a well, or every day examples about the levers etc. This aspect was found to be critical in learning the fundamentals of science, and this would lead the child to start thinking more analytically. Further, an essential part of learning science comes from experimentation, which enables the learner to actually comprehend what he has learnt earlier in a clear and precise manner.
