Kenya’s University of Nairobi-Keen on ICT : Dr Ndunge D. Kyalo, Kenya’s university, Kenya

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February 5, 2008

Tell us a bit about the ICT programme(s) in the University?

The e-Learning division is in the same campus which houses the School of Continuing and Distance Education. Our e-Learning initiative is something that is intrinsic part of our University. We have some e-Learning platforms that were developed using ICTs. We have started developing, uploading a lot of material to enhance e-Learning.

What kind of learning materials are you developing?

People are being trained, making the learning materials converted into e-Content. We transform the written material into e-format. Currently the students are able to access a lot of materials there, for example, in our departments it is our target to have our material accessible as e-Content. We might not have gone a long way in terms of distance learning, but at least our learning material is accessible online. Although we don’t do any teaching online, there are a lot of books and reference material available to the students online. A lot of people in the e-Learning department are researching ICTs in education, some of the research are even up to the PHD level.

Is there a separate ICT research unit?

It is part of our School of Computer Science division. ICT research is a definite component of our area of attention and work.

Are the teachers trained in the use of ICT?

Teachers are being trained to adapt. They are being trained to adapt and not just rely on the traditional methods of teaching, traditional methods of content. They are being inducted into the system and this has been going on for some time now, with the idea of bridging the gap between the university and e-Learning.

What do you plan for future on the e-Learning initiatives?

It started in the year 2000 and since then it has been constantly doing about training people, changing contents in to the e-Learning mode, research and development. What we have in our distance learning front is still dependent on printed material. It is not completely in an online mode. But we are working towards an online model and are definitely keen on employing ICT in education in the future.

Learning by Doing : Madhuri Parti, Kothari International School

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February 5, 2008

Kothari international School, a GEMS affiliated school situated in Noida, India catering to students from Playschool to Grade 10 follows the National Curriculum for England and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). As one of the world’s largest providers of private K-12 education, GEMS Schools caters to nearly 65,000 students from 124 countries. KIS benefits from the sharing of best practice across the GEMS and other global network, aimed primarily at enhancing the standards of learning and teaching. The principal Madhuri Parti shares her experiences of integrating technology into the school curriculum.

How do you see the usages of ICTs in teaching and learning processes?

Until and unless we as schools and as teachers have our role clear in ICTs, it may seem like we are just the facilitators, guides, and the outsiders. It is very important to understand how do we watch and how much we see from outside! Instead of becoming an informational tool, it has become a communication tool. We go on the Orkut, we go on Google, Yahoo…, we just talk. The idea is not that. Communication is one of the things that we want children to do, but that is not the only thing that we want them to do. So here comes the role of schools, teachers, parents, and leaders, to take it beyond communications, to facilitate for further knowledge.

We did a website for school- Vasudhaiva kutumbakam (All the world is but one) – www.effortsunited.com. Here we brought in everybody together, parents, teachers, students, govt., and the community at large. We had captured right from Kashmiri Shawlwala, what is the impact of terrorism in his life, up to the government, people who have been on their peace force, to every strata and segment of life. So we get the students technology, but at the same time we facilitate.

Even when a child is a couple of months and we give him his first toy, a rattle, we actually make him to imitate by acting in front of him. Hundreds of generations have used the toy, but still before giving the toy, a tool to enjoy, we tell the child how to go about it.

But when we are giving something as powerful as ICT, we as teachers, parents, do not take our role of telling them how to go about it. Unless and until we, like a rattle, tell them how to use it before actually handing it over, we cant succeed. So, integrating that into our system and not as a subject to be taught, but as one of the tools of learning, that will be the best of options we have.

Has the classroom(s) gone beyond computers, when we talk about technology?

Of course! Technology has taken classrooms to collaboration at global level. We are participating in various contests, we are doing a lot of web conference in different parts of the world. We have lot of e-pals…

What is the participation level of the students in all these activities?

Most of these activities are carried out by students only, where teachers only facilitate. There are partner schools we have in different parts of the world, which are again not necessarily only the GEMS managed school, but others also. We are going through Mondiaigo, UNESCO; we are going through Think Quest. We have done lot of collaborative learning and thinking, and bring the concept of I, You to WE. There are lot of projects happening in collaborative learning and thinking in different parts of the world. That is how we have to bring the globe together. That’s how we have to make the children feel that we are all a part of the same earth, where there are no boundaries.

Any kind of difference do you notice with children in such collaborative learning process?

See, these include a lot of team work. There is lot of analytical thinking and collaborative thinking that is happening. We are all plus-minus as teenagers, facing the same difficulties in our lives. We go through the same cycles.There is nothing different in other parts of the world also. It is plus-minus of few cultural differences, but then we are all part of the same world.

Would you like to discuss more about these global collaboration projects?

We are collaborating with the iEARN (International Education and Research Network) in India; with Mondialgo, UNESCO in Czeck; Think Quest with Oracle, ‘Doors to diplomacy’ with Global SchoolNet. We are also doing ‘CyberFair’ with Global SchoolNet.

From computer education to global collaborations…where are we moving with technology?

Computer is just a tool of learning. This tool should now enhance the other components of education- the content, methodology… We had the simplest of the pen earlier, that we used to dip in ink and write. Today, it has developed into Luxor. Has that changed learning? It has only enhanced learning. These are tools to enhance learning and we learn to handle them to enhance our learning. The ultimate goal is to enhance learning, and not to sound hi-tech, whether it is a smart board, computer, video conferencing….
The other important aspect is- we spend lot of time with children. But then we forget to tell them to use their time constructively. If we are giving something like this to children, then there is time-management to be taught to them. How to handle the spare time that you are left with is important, if you are enhancing the time Vs achievements.

How do you build teachers’ capacities in rendering technology mediated education?

There are lot of in-house teachers’ training. We call lot of people from out side, who add to our capacity building programmes. Last week, we had a team from Australia, who shared with our teachers as to how technology is being used there. A team from UK again talking on how multiple intelligence along with the ICTs is being included in the school curriculum.

What are the challenges you come across while integrating technology to the teaching learning process?

Teacher’s training was a big challenge. Our teachers, of course, are trained to handle technology very well. But certainly, how to integrate it into education is one thing we are still struggling with. We have much better plans for next year. Curriculum for 2008-09 is going to be technology driven. But as I shared earlier, before handing it over to children, we will tell them how to use it.

How do you evaluate the plentiful content or teaching learning material provided by the solution providers today?

We are also negotiating with lot of the solution providers for such materials, basically for the content. But we do not want couch potatoes. I am not looking for somebody who would give a ready made information to

India news

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February 1, 2008

India targets 80 % literacy by 2012
The central government is targeting 80 percent literacy by 2012, against the present 65.38 %, with a whopping INR850 billion ($21 billion), five times the budgeted allocation from the previous five-year plan budget, earmarked for education during the 11th Five Year Plan. The bulk of it is for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the ministry’s flagship programme.

According to A.K. Rath, Secretary, Secondary Education and Literacy in the human resources development ministry, India will witness a complete literacy by 2015. He claimed that the dropout rates had also come down and that the government was committed to enhancing the reach of the SSA by emphasizing on quality, equity in the ongoing 11th Plan. It is also looking at improving basic learning for students, computers, infrastructure in schools and improve teaching standards.

Spare the rod, keep child in school

Corporal punishment severely affects the human dignity of the child, thereby reducing his/her self-esteem and self-confidence. According to the latest Unicef Global Statistical Review, of every 10 children in primary school in India, four drop out by Class V. India, a signatory to the UN’s Education for All by 2015 goal, shows ‘insufficient progress.’ In 1986 the National Policy on Education explicitly mentioned that corporal punishment should be firmly excluded from the education system. Yet, 20 years later, a countrywide study by the Centre in 2006 had revealed that two out of every three students in India were a victim of physical abuse at school. In between, the Supreme Court, in 2000, banned corporal punishment. Delhi High Court upheld the ban the same year while Calcutta High Court banned caning of students in 2004. But despite the apex court’s decision, only Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh amended their education laws in 2003 and 2002, respectively, to implement the ban. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had in the past issued a circular to all affiliated schools, asking them not to resort to physical punishment. Affiliation bylaws of the CBSE were recently amended to empower the school management to punish teachers guilty of physical abuse of students. The ministry has now asked state education boards to emulate the CBSE reforms.

Rural South India slipping in maths education: survey

Contrary to the claims of the government, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for rural India by Pratham, an NGO, is not on the expected lines. According to ASER (2007) findings, in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, only 24.8% children in the age group 6 to 10 could listen to a specific subtraction problem and answer. Only 7.8 % children in the same age group could answer specific division problem.

Among the children in the age group 11 to 14, 40% could answer specific subtraction problem and 37% could answer division problem. Similarly, in the rural areas of Karnataka, ASER 2007 reported that only 21.3% children in the age group 6 to 10 could answer specific subtraction problem and 5.4 % could answer division. 34.3% children in the age group 11 to 14 could answer specific subtraction problem and 37% could answer specific division problem.

In the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, ASER 2007 findings reported that 25% children in the age group 6 to 10 could answer specific subtraction problem and 18 percent children could answer division problem. Among the children in the age group 11 to 14, 27% could answer specific subtraction problem and 54% could answer division problem.

India, France ink 21 agreements in education

France is now aggressively courting Indian students and linking up with educational institutes here with the establishment of an Indo-French educational consortium to initiate projects of joint research and enhanced cooperation at the Masters degree level and signing of 21 inter-university agreements in the field of student and faculty exchanges at masters and undergraduate levels.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi inked a deal with Groupement des Ecoles des Mines for cooperation in the field of advanced research at the doctorate level in applied mathematics and physics. Similarly, one of France’s best known institutes in political studies, Sciences-Po Paris signed two separate agreements with University of Madras and Delhi’s St. Stephen’s college for exchanges in social sciences and economics.

Mobile TV in India

Mobile TV, the advanced technology is soon to debut in India and is a natural evolution in technological innovation as it will enable consumers and users to watch television on mobiles or cellphones. It also assures to open improved opportunities for governments to provide enhanced services such as education, healthcare, safety and security to all citizens. In India it is expected to launch this year.

The country is expected to announce the 3G policy, a vital requirement for introducing this innovative technology. GPRS edge or 3G, based on Java application, is the fundamental or basic requirement for launching mobile TV. Through this consumers can access all the channels provided by the subscribers.

Ericsson and BPL mobile manufacturers are keen on establishing the Mobile TV platform for telecom patrons in India. BPL is signing a partnership with China´s ZTE to make the innovative technology of Mobile TV possible on GSM platform. Nokia, the world´s largest mobile phones manufacturer, is planning to establish manufacturing hubs in India and China for manufacturing N-Series-Mobile TV Phones. Reliance Infocom has already started offering news channels through video streaming on its CDMA network.

States fail to utilise funds for ICT in higher education

While the clamour for more attention to technical education is getting louder by the day, a number of states haven’t even spent a single penny from about INR 211.67 crore released during the calendar year 2007-08 for introducing information and communication technology (ICT) for higher education. Delhi, Bihar, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshdweep, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Manipur, Pondicherry and Meghalaya haven’t so far utilised the funds allocated for this purpose. Andhra Pradesh has spent the highest with INR 37.5 crore during the year on ICT while Karnataka spent INR 45.58 crore. Uttar Pradesh spent INR 31.15 crore. Nagaland INR 12.99 crore and Goa INR 57.15 crore.

The non utilisation of allocated funds is significant as finance minister P Chidambaram has slapped an additional cess of 1% on the name of secondary and higher education. This is in addition to the 2% cess that has been in place, which aim to fund the efforts to universalise elementary education.

Computer connections to make big impact in small village

The village of Chahalka, 50 kilometres from New Delhi, with a population of about 3,000, will soon have a new computer school, thanks to volunteers of four Newfoundland Rotary Clubs who help complete a computer school to bolster the economy of a small village in India.

The group will refurbish two buildings and set them up with 10 computers, a computer teacher and staff in the village of 3,000 people. In the community, people as young as 12 years of age work to make some money for their families and are unable to attend school. The group, which is comprised of an international team of Rotary members and people associated with them or the project, will also bring sewing and weaving machines to the community to be used by members to produce commercial products. The cost of setting up and running the school is expected to be about USD 50,000 US. Of that money, USD 22,000 goes towards salaries for people teaching and running the schools for this year.

CAT to go online from November 2009

The directors of the seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will meet to discuss details of a proposal to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) online by 2009. The CAT exams may also be formatted on the lines of the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) so that the scores are valid for two to three years.

The move could benefit thousands of students. In 2007, around 2,30,000 students took the exams. This year the number is expected to exceed 3,00,000. For online CAT exams, the IIMs could outsource the project to an IT firm specialising in education and training services. The IIMs may also conduct a preliminary test for students to be eligible to take the CAT. The format of group discussion and personal interviews will, however, be the same. Taking CAT online stems from IIMs’ concern over the chaos that occurs during declaration of results. Last year, heavy traffic caused the website to crash when the results were declared. Besides the seven IIMs, which conduct the exams, the CAT results are also used by other 124 management institutions to enroll students.

One-laptop project to debut in Maharashtra

MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project has finally found its way to India. The project, which aims to provide digitally-enabled education through the use of low-cost laptops to children in developing countries, will see its first deployment in Maharashtra.

About 500 XO laptops, as the laptops are called, would arrive in February for deployment in various schools in the state. The laptops have been localised and come with the keyboard in Devanagari. So far, a few XO laptops had been given to school children in a village called Khairat in Raigadh, Maharashtra under a pilot project started in September-October last year. India plans to open Central Schools in Gulf India is planning to open central schools (Kendriya Vidyalayas) in Gulf countries to provide affordable and quality education to the large Indian expat population in the region.

The HRD ministry is consulting Indian embassies in the region in this regard to explore the possibilities of opening such schools. Currently, the gulf region is home to around hundred CBSE affiliated schools. However most of the schools are managed by private groups which generally demand high fees.

UK gives fillip to education in India

Giving a big fillip to cooperation in the field of education, Britain announced an 825 million pound grant for India, a major chunk of which will be spent on improving the educational infrastructure in the country over a period of three years.

The British Premier Gordon Brown, on his visit to India, at the end of his bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, made the announcement. Elaborating on the grant, he said that around 500 million pounds would be dedicated to improving education and health care. The two sides also agreed to initiate specific measures such as setting up an Education Forum and enter into a Memorandum of Understanding on an India-UK Higher Education Leadership Development Programme.

IIT Chennai steps in to improve science education in schools

IIT Chennai, has now tied up with number of schools to enhance high school science education in the country. According to Dr. T S Natrajan of IIT-Chennai, young Indian students are conditioned to answer questions in examinations without being able to relate the concepts to the real world around us.

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country, the new ‘Science Enrichment Programme’ is first direct initiative of the institute for betterment of school education. Under the new programme, IIT Chennai will provide consultancy and develop Science Enrichment Program for classes Five to Twelve in Physics and Chemistry by planning and developing problem based worksheets and activities which will make science fun and easy for children.

States lobby for 30 world-class universities

Several states are competing with one another to house one or more of the 30 world-class universities mooted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to upgrade the higher education system and serve as ‘launching pads’ for India’s rightful place in the knowledge economy.

In a bid to upgrade institutions of higher education, the government also plans to upgrade the 19 existing central universities, such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, Benareas Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi University and Visva Bharati, that are funded and maintained by the central government. The larger blueprint also includes an upgrade of the existing eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and five Indian Institutes of Science (IISc) and research establishments. Also on the cards are 14 additional IITs and IIMs across the country, for which the human resource development ministry has prepared a blueprint and which has been submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Planning Commission.

Budget 2009: INR 31,000 Crore to develop skills

The Union government is setting up a INR 31,000 crore skill development mission in the Union Budget for 2008-09. Expected to be operational in the next fiscal year, the programme is to extend training facilities to 10 million people a month, up from 2.5 million a year at present.

The mission, accorded top priority by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is expected to oversee and facilitate the entire process, which the government will run in collaboration with the private sector.

While the mission will be headed by the Prime Minister, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia will be its vice-chairman. Heads of industry associations are expected be part of the mission’s general body. Besides, 17 Union ministries, which are already associated with skill development projects of some sort, will help implement the programmes.

The government has projected that 70 million jobs will be created during the 11th Plan (2007-12) and proposes to spend INR 31,000 crore during that period. The mission will oversee short-term vocational courses ranging from six months to two years, which will be provided by both government and private sector institutions as also certification of such courses. More than 8,000 vocational training institutes run by the government together with those run by the private sector are expected to facilitate the mission and will play the role of sub-missions.

NDMC for quality education accreditation

The New Delhi Municipal Council has for the first time approached the Quality Council of India for accreditation of its schools.According to a memorandum of understanding signed by the Navyug School Education Society on behalf of the NDMC, the Quality Council would prescribe the educational quality management standard for schools and grant accredited status to them if they qualify according to the prescribed standards.

Envisioning a National Policy on ICT in Education

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February 1, 2008

Dr. Anjali Prakash

CEO
Learning Links Foundation

If India today aspires to emerge as a front-runner among the knowledge based societies, the usage of ICT in providing education of desirable quality can hardly be over emphasised. While many states have their own ICT policy, it has been felt that a coherent and enabling policy for ICT at the national level would have tremendous benefits for the synergetic growth of our country. There is a need for a National Policy which would need to consist of objectives, guidelines, practices and must clearly articulate the role of ICT in school education.

Globalisation: While recognising the phenomenon of globalisation, The National Curriculum – Framework for School Education – 2006 speaks of the emergence of learning societies due to the multiplication of sources of information and communication, transformation of the nature of work requiring flexibility, necessity of team work and use of technologies. Integration of technology would have several other implications. This in turn would make demands on educational planners. Media production, interactive video and multimedia computer software shall have to be perceived as an integral component of the curriculum development processes, rather than external to it.

Technological Advancements: Unimaginable changes are happening every single day in the realms of technology. These advancements have been brought about due to massive installation of undersea fiber-optic cable and bandwidth that have made it possible to globally transmit and store huge amounts of data for almost nothing. Second, the diffusion of PC’s around the world. Third, the convergence of a variety of software applications – from email, to Google, to Microsoft Office, to specially designed outsourcing programs – that when combined with all those PC’s and Bandwidth, make it possible to create immense technological advancements.

Changing Pedagogical Paradigms of the 21st Century: Today’s education faces irrelevance unless we bridge the gap between how students live and how they learn. Students will spend their lives in a multitasking, multifaceted, technology-driven vibrant world and they must be equipped to handle the challenges of the 21st century effectively. It is obvious that the old pedagogical framework of de-contextualised instructional practices and fixed curriculum is clearly inappropriate. With information having increasingly short shelf life, education must empower learners to learn for themselves, and to continue to do so incessantly. It is important to understand the key learning skills of the future – interpersonal skills, information skills, technology skills, basic skills, thinking skills and learnability.

National Curriculum Framework: The NCF clearly focuses on the child as an active learner. It takes into account the importance of children’s experiences, their voices and their participation. The NCF talks of the need for adults to change their perception of children as passive receivers of knowledge and that children can be an active participant s in the construction of knowledge. The school should recognise the innate ability of each child to construct his/her own knowledge, and the fact that every child comes to school with a fund of pre-knowledge. The NCF recommends significant changes in language – Maths, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences with an overall view to reduce stress, make education more relevant and meaningful. NCF states, ‘Integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
into schooling needs serious consideration. Teachers, educators, curriculum developers, evaluators and others will have to redefine their roles to tackle ICT rich environment and harness its full potential for the benefit of learners.’

Quality of Education: Planning for ICT Policy must definitely keep in mind the quality aspect of education. It is crucial to analyse what quality in education means, how it can be assessed and how it can be measured. Research conducted around the world reveals that using standardized quality standards enable schools to move towards organisational excellence. Quality bench marks in the areas of visionary leadership, strategic planning, student and stakeholder focus, workforce engagement, process management, and diverse results have now been accepted. The criteria are designed to help organisations use an integrated approach that results in delivery of ever-improving value to students and stakeholders, contributing to education quality, organisational stability and personal learning.

An overview of the policy framework as envisaged

The ICT in Education Policy is a blueprint for the integration of Information Technology (IT) in education as a strategy to equip our children to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The ICT in Education Policy must continually anticipate the future needs of society, and work towards fulfilling those needs, develop appropriate ICT skills required for the future based on 21st century skills, address the issues of Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Access, and Equity.Operational dimensions of any policy enable vision to be translated
into reality.

Curriculum, pedagogy and content development

We have to prepare for a future in which information will be increasingly accessible and the renewal of knowledge in many fields increasingly rapid. The school curriculum will have to evolve a better balance between the learning of factual knowledge and the mastering of concepts and processes. Learning would shift from information receiving towards an emphasis on finding relevant information, learning to apply information to solve problems and communicating ideas effectively.

Integrating technology into the curriculum and assessment

ICT should be integrated into the schools to meet the curricula goals.
Effective integration of ICT in schools must consider integration issues into both the curriculum and assessment.
When ICT is introduced into the assessment process, there is a need to reconsider the assessment approaches. There may be a greater role for formative assessment when ICT is integrated into the assessment process.

Shift in pedagogy, redesign of curriculum and assessment, and greater school autonomy

In order to optimise the potential of ICT, there should be a change in pedagogies, redesign of the curriculum and assessment, and more autonomy for schools. When ICT enters the school environment, everything in the environment has to change to take up the opportunities and address the limitations of ICT.
The shift in pedagogical approaches should be consistent with the goals and underlying principles of the education system.

Content development that supports the curriculum

Local development of ICT-based resources is crucial to support the curriculum. It increases the relevance and enhances the authenticity of the resources for the students and teachers.
In order to develop high quality ICT-based resources, the Ministry of HRD should attract well-established education software developers to work with pedagogues. This will also promote the transfer of skills and technologies.
The ICT-based resources should be customisable so that they will meet the needs of the teachers and students based on their context.

Professional Development (Pre-service and In-service)

Teacher training is a key element to education reform, particularly training that focuses on classroom practices and engages teachers in a community of professional practice and development.

Policy in teacher training on ICT

The ICT professional development program for teachers must plan for the continuous training of teachers – from pre-service teacher education to induction to in-service professional development. the existing training model with regard to objectives, methods, costs, and effectiveness.

Need for ICT competencies and standards before training

The application of ICT competency standards allows teachers and students to seamlessly integrate learning materials from a wide range of sources.
The ICT competency standards should avoid software or product specific skills. Instead, the standards should focus on generic skills of particular applications.

Content focus of capacity building for pre-service teachers

The ICT professional development program of teachers should be planned based on the vision of the ICT Policy of the government.
The foundation course on ICT integration in the pre-service education program should focus on applying ICT skills to achieve pedagogical objectives, rather than teaching ICT skills in isolation. That is, ICT skills should be learnt within the context of classroom objectives and activities.
The pre-service teacher education institution should collaborate with private or public ICT training agencies to equip trainee teachers with the basic ICT skills. These agencies are specialists in ICT training and may be more competent and effective in the training. The teacher education institution can work closely with these agencies to develop the curriculum of the workshops, and leave the training to the latter.

Technology infrastructure and connectivity

Operational policies must include a provision and budget allocation for technical resources that are needed to accomplish the nation’s strategic goal.
This is typically a policy emphasis in the early stages of a country’s use of ICT in education.
Such plans often include the amounts and type of computer and multimedia hardware that will be purchased but they may also refer to resources related to television and radio, especially in developing countries.
Increasingly, the Internet and local networking resources are also included, along with a budget for educational software.
Technical support – Another important operational component is ongoing technical assistance, which teachers need not only in early phases of ICT use but as hardware and networking technologies become more sophisticated and educational applications become more complex.

Koshish

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February 1, 2008

As computers were launched commercially in this country, schools began to incorporate technology into their curriculum. In India, Intel launched its Intel Education initiative in 2000. Under this initiative, its flagship CSR programme

News WORLD

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February 1, 2008

Distance Education via radio and TV programme to improve literacy

The first distance learning video was produced by Educational Radio and Television ERTV and shown to representatives of the Italian government, UNESCO and MSPA. A large group participated in a presentation managed by Educational Radio Television (ERTV).

The Educational Radio and Television ERTV project, funded by the Italian Government, started in 2003 and has seen UNESCO support a range of reconstruction and training activities to help the Ministry of Education achieve its goal of providing education to Afghans in all parts of the country. Given the mountainous landscape and the difficulties many people face in attaining an education, distance education via radio and TV programmes is seen as a key medium to improving literacy and providing access to information.

Cyberschoolbus launches new live video chat feature

The United Nations Cyberschoolbus has added a new feature called ‘live video chats’ that will allow teachers and students around the world to see and hear up to four guest speakers at a time and interact with them live from the comfort of their desktop or laptop computers.

The UN Cyberschoolbus website aims to raise awareness about key issues such as international affairs, peace and security as well as bring together diverse communities of students and educators from around the world. Within the website there are a number of activities and projects that teach students about global issues in an interactive, engaging and fun way.

BETT 2008 showcases talking pen

Move the pen over a word, sentence or picture and the student hears the words spoken by a native speaker.

One of the world’s largest educational technology events, BETT 2008 took place in January 2008, at Olympia London and demonstrated the latest ideas for employing information and communication technology in learning.

Mantra Lingua, manufacturers of Talking Pen Francais feel, the pen can bridge the gap between traditional classroom language learning and the practice pupils may need to improve understanding and pronunciation.

Another innovation which has caught the eye of schools is online test results. Cambridge Assessment and Harcourt Publishing are launching an online assessment programme which they believe will help pupils to make progress by providing instant feedback and lesson plans.

Attracting 700 educational suppliers and close to 30000 visitors, BETT brought together the global teaching and learning community for four days of innovations and inspirations. BETT is organised by Emap Education, part of Emap Communications and Emap plc. and is sponsored by BESA (the British Educational Suppliers Association).

US government to support education in Ghana

The Ghanaian Embassy in the United States announced that plans were afoot for the U.S government to help improve the Ghanaian educational system under the U.S President’s Special Initiative on Educational Programmes.

From May 7 to 9, the US State Department, in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Communications, will hold a Telecommunication Conference in Accra, which was expected to attract experts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from West Africa and the rest of the world.

98% of Irish schools now have broadband

Some 98% of Ireland’s primary and secondary schools now have broadband connectivity following an investment of €18m by telecoms companies and the Government in the Schools Broadband Access Programme, the Telecoms and Internet Federation (TIF).

The Schools Broadband Access Programme launched in 2004 is a joint approach between TIF and the Government to ensure that every primary and secondary school in the country has broadband. They jointly committed €18m to the rollout of broadband to all primary and secondary schools: €15m provided by five member companies of TIF and €3m from Government.

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February 1, 2008

China’s ICT ready to boom

Information and communication technology (ICT) is one of the most dynamic market sectors in China’s economic boom. End-user IT spending in China passed $119 billion in 2005. This data includes all ICT spending as reported by ICT providers. To put into perspective, India, with a comparable population size, spent $35 billion on IT in 2005, while Japan, with a population less than a-tenth the size of China’s, spent more than $292 billion.

China is by far the largest market in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) in terms of total enterprise IT spending. With a current market size of more than $80 billion, nearly 80 percent of China’s spending on IT, and a 7 % CAGR, the Chinese telecom sector is an extremely significant part of the country’s IT industry. Despite being the world’s fourth-largest economy (when measured in U.S. dollars) and second-largest when measured using purchasing power parity (PPP), the Chinese market can be very disappointing.

According to the Communication University of China, the country has a domestic audience of over 1.2 billion radio listeners and 1.2 billion television viewers. It has 282 radio stations, 314 television stations and 1,913 broadcasting stations at the municipal level. CCTV, the country’s largest TV station, has 14 channels, including English and international channels, and broadcasts via satellite feeds to over 90 percent of the country.

OLE Nepal gaining ground

Open Learning Exchange (OLE) Nepal is a Nepali non-governmental organisation dedicated to assisting the Government of Nepal in meeting its Education for All goals by developing freely accessible, open-source ICT-based educational teaching and learning materials.
OLE Nepal’s goals include the development of high-quality free and open-source interactive digital learning materials that conform to Nepal’s national curriculum and to implement a plan to provide universal access to primary and secondary school level ICT-based teaching-learning materials
by 2015.

OLE plans to develop core open-source digital learning materials for grades two and six in math and English, develop a virtual library of learning materials, teacher training, monitoring and evaluation and to help the government launch the One Laptop Per Child project pilot at a public school on the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley in April 2008.

Khmer language ICT textbook released

The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) has launched a new Khmer language ICT textbook that will be used by all public teaching institutions in Cambodia. The book marks the change to use computer software in Khmer language in all schools, phasing out software in English and French. The Secretary of State also inaugurated the Low Cost Computing Research Laboratory for Education, a new research laboratory that will study the issue of sustainability of computer facilities in schools.

Both activities are part of the Open schools programme, a joint initiative of the Ministry and the Open Institute NGO that aims to improve the quality of education in Cambodia through the use of ICT. The Open Schools Programme is a three-phase project that will mainly develop and implement a Master Plan for ICT in Education.

CISCO Networking Academy opens at Abu Dhabi University

The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Abu Dhabi University (ADU) announced the launch of a Cisco Networking Academy in cooperation with Cisco Systems, which will open its doors in February 2008.

The Cisco Networking Academy (Netacad) utilises a blended learning model, integrating face-to-face ?teaching with a challenging web-based curriculum, hands-on lab exercises and Internet-based assessments. Academy ?graduates will be prepared for networking and IT-related careers in the public and private sectors, as well as for higher ?education in engineering, computer science and related fields.

Full literacy by 2015 may be unrealistic for India

With the current national literacy rate being 64.8 %, there is a serious question mark on the government’s flagship educational programmes. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), the country’s official census agency, said the literacy rate grew at a mere 1.5% per year. However, government officials claim they will maintain a steady growth of 5% every year till 2015 to attain complete literacy by 2015.

The UNESCO, in a report, unequivocally stated that India would miss the bus of ending illiteracy by 2015, pointing to huge disparities between urban and rural areas. Nearly 70 % of the country’s illiterate population belongs to the eight states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. All these states have not shown any major improvement in the Government’s flagship programmes, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All), for universalisation of elementary education in a time bound manner, and the National Literacy Mission.

But 13 states – Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar – have a literacy rate below the national average of 64.8%, according to data published by the Directorate of Adult Education.

Even prominent educationists have apprehensions about the Government’s claim of full literacy by 2015 and the way in which the entire exercise is being carried out

Corporate News: Feb 2008

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February 1, 2008

Private sector has big role in education: Finance Minister

Calling upon the private sector to play a major role in providing higher education, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram is hopeful that as long as there were regulatory bodies that established and enforced standards, it did not matter whether institutions were run by government or private bodies. Noting the UPA government was committed to carry out the decision to provide 54% reservation for Other Backward Classes in higher education, he said achieving this needed capacity expansion of the existing institutions. Another key area where private agencies could make significant contribution was skill training to help children who did not move beyond school education, to come up in life.

Tata Indicom spurs mobile education

Tata Indicom has joined hands with SNDT Women’s University, ATOM (Any Transaction on Mobile), and Indian PCO Tele-services (IPTL) for an initiative called Mobile Education (m-Education).

The purpose of this programme is to aid distance learning, support learning for rural communities and for the physically challenged. Through M-Education, the coalition wants to make education available in the remotest corners of the country. For the purpose of imparting m-Education, SNDT University will develop and manage content, Tata Indicom will be the carrier, ATOM will provide the intermediary interfaces, while IPTL will look after service distribution and dissemination. In the beginning, the M-Education service will be available in Hindi and English languages. The alliance plans to later make the service available in other regional languages as well.

SNDT, HP Labs in education initiative

SNDT Women’s University, in collaboration with HP Labs India, announced the launch of HP Educenter Lab, an innovative engineering learning programme comprising a digital library solution, multimedia content, and computing infrastructure. A nodal association comprising all seven IITs and the IISc, NPTEL, has created multimedia content in engineering and science courses. HP Educenter Lab is designed to provide SNDT students the digital library and technology backbone for ‘on demand’ access to this high quality multimedia engineering course content.

HP Educenter Lab is based on a software developed indigenously out of HP’s laboratories in Bangalore. It provides a solution for capturing, storing, editing, and using multimedia in the educational process, made available over LAN to students on an ‘on-demand’ basis.

Asure Software announces classroom scheduling solution for higher education

Asure Software, headquartered in Austin, Texas, a leading provider of workforce management software, announced the expansion of its flagship room scheduling product, NetSimplicity’s Meeting Room Manager (MRM), to include the ability to integrate with SunGard Higher Education Banner(R), the world’s most widely used collegiate course scheduling solution.

This new import capability, available with Meeting Room Manager 7.6, provides customers the ability to import and view course scheduling information from Banner. Faculty and staff can then use MRM to see classroom availability and schedule the same rooms for other events, with assurance that those schedules do not conflict with courses scheduled in Banner.

HUL launches website for management graduates

Hindustan Unilever Ltd has launched Hul.CouldItBeU.in, an interactive website designed to influence post-graduate students to join the company. Hul.coulditbeu.in has various contests, tips on making a resume, interview and placement tips and reading material on leadership, among other features.Currently, the website has been launched in 14 campuses including the six IIMs, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, and SP Jain Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. There is also plan to introduce the site at other B-schools and some graduate colleges.

Online test portal of success runway

Premier training organisation BASE and ExcelSoft, an e-Learning solutions company, announced the launch of www.successrunway.com, a portal offering online test series for students aspiring to get into professional institutes like IITs, NITs and engineering colleges. Students can take five tests on the pattern of the competitive examination so that they become familiar with a wide variety of questions. Feedback is available immediately on answering the test.

UniGuru launched to guide Indian students looking for courses abroad

Hotcourses India has launched UniGuru.com that aims to guide Indian students looking for courses in higher education institutes abroad. UniGuru.com claims to offer peer-to-peer advice on over 100,000 courses at 808 institutes in UK, US, Singapore and Australia. According to the company, UniGuru.com will feature written posts, video diaries and photographs from existing students about aspects of their lives and studies.

StudyPlaces gets $3 million VC fund from KPCB, Sherpalo, Info Edge

Education portal StudyPlaces.com has received USD3 million from venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Ram Shriram’s Sherpalo Ventures and the Internet company Info Edge (Naukri.com).

The three investors have committed USD1 million each into the e-Learning company. Info Edge has already invested USD500,000 against the total proposed investment of USD1 million in StudyPlaces through its wholly-owned subsidiary Info Edge (India) Mauritius. Interestingly, Info Edge is also preparing to launch its own education portal Shiksha.com.

TutorVista plans to raise USD15 million to launch its services in India

Online tutoring firm TutorVista, which has made inroads in US and UK, is now rolling out a major India business plan for which it is planning to raise USD15 million. Earlier, TutorVista had received USD2.5 million funding from Manipal Education Group, USD7 million from Lightspeed Ventures Partners and USD2 million from Sequoia Capital India.

The company also plans to set up around 300 offline learning centres in B and C class towns in the country, mostly on a franchisee basis, for such students who seek quality tutoring but do not have a PC and Internet connection at home. TutorVista, the company aims to triple the number of its students to 30,000 by the year-end from the existing 10,000 students.

Everonn Systems gets into e-learning

Everonn Systems India Limited, a leading satellite-based education service provider in education and training, announced that it has acquired the e-Learning division of Aban Informatics (P) Ltd, a part of Aban, a transnational group based in Chennai.

The acquisition will enable Everonn to have access to world class content for K-12 segment and will enable Everonn also to reach out and become a complete e-learning solution provider within India and abroad.

Afilias and Cert-In sign mou to improve internet security in india

Afilias, a global provider of registry services, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to share critical information and resources to enhance cyber-security in India and world-wide, increase awareness of important security issues and to cooperate in emergency response to critical threats. As part of the agreement between Cert-In and Afilias, the two organizations will form a joint committee and agree to share best practices related to security threats to improve security of the infrastructure of the Internet. In addition, both organizations have agreed to collaborate on emergency response initiatives to tackle emerging cyber-security problems, to take proactive measures that can help protect consumers, and to participate in joint education and outreach initiatives on key security issues.

Mark Your Calendar, Feb08

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digitalLEARNING Network

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February 1, 2008

March
The 2008 International Conference on e-Education
27 to 29 March 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.e-case.org/e-Education2008/
Intl. Conference on Quality Enhancement in Educational Communication
29 to 30 March 2008
Tiruchirappalli
Tamil Nadu, India
http://bdu.ac.in
International Conference Of Educational Technology ICOET2008
3 to 5 March 2008
Muscat
The Capital, Oman
Website: http://www.icoet,.com
April
Strategic Marketing for Higher Education Providers Conference & Workshop (Hong Kong Venue)
7 – 9 April, 2008
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
www.conferences.com.sg/conf-em.htm
The International Conference on Technology, Communication and Education (i-TCE2008)
7 – 9 April, 2008
Kuwait
http://www.i-tce.org
Blended Learning Conference
9 – 11 April, 2008
Sydney, NSW
Australia
www.liquidlearning.com.au
TCC 2008 Worldwide Online Conference
15 – 17 April, 2008
Online
http://tcc.kcc.hawaii.edu
2nd International Computer & Instructional Technologies Symposium
16 – 18 April, 2008
Izmir, Turkey
www.icits.org
Third International Conference on Interactive Mobile and Computer Aided Learning, IMCL2008
16 – 18 April, 2008
Amman, Jordan
http://www.imcl-conference.org
International Conference on Open and Distance Education ICODE'08
25 – 27 April, 2008
Rome
Italy
http://wahss.org/
May
Sloan-C International Symposium on Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning
7 – 9 May, 2008
Carefree,
Arizona
United States
www.emergingonlinelearningtechnology.org
5th Global Conference: The Idea of education
8 – 10 May, 2008
Budapest, Hungary
www.inter-disciplinary.net/ati/education/ioe/ioe5/cfp.html
TL2008 – Teaching and Learning 2008
26 – 28 May, 2008
Aveiro, Portugal
www.iask-web.org/tl08/tl2008.html
13th International Conference on Education
20 – 23 May, 2008
Bandar Seri Begawan,
Brunei Darussalam, Brunei
Darussalam
www.ubd.edu.bn/news/conferences/webice08/
index.htm

NKC Second Report to Nation

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February 1, 2008

The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) was constituted on 13th June 2005 as a high level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India. NKC has a designated time-frame of three years: from 2nd October 2005 to 2nd October 2008.
Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission (NKC) has recently released the 2nd annual ‘Report to the Nation’ which was presented to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The Report assumes importance in the context of Government’s commitment to the knowledge initiatives in the XIth Plan endorsed recently by the National Development Council.

The Plan places high priority on education as a central instrument for achieving rapid and inclusive growth with specific emphasis on expansion, excellence and equity. This is reflected in the proposed allocation of INR 3,00,000 crore, a five-fold increase over the Xth Plan. The share of education in the total plan will accordingly increase, from 7.7 percent to 20 percent, representing a credible progress towards the target of 6 percent of GDP. NKC believes the education agenda outlined in the XIth Plan is a critical step towards realising the objective of an equitable society.

The second Report to the Nation includes recommendations on Portals, Health Information Network, Legal Education, Medical Education, Management Education, Open & Distance Education, Open Educational Resources, Innovation, Intellectual Property Rights, Legal Framework for Public Funded Research and Traditional Health Systems. Together, in the last two reports, the Commission has covered 20 subjects and outlined about 160 concrete action items. Most of NKC recommendations on Education, Vocational Training, Libraries, Translation, National Knowledge Network, Innovation, IPRs, Traditional Health Systems etc are integrated in the XI Plan and adequately funded.

NKC recommendations on education

Right to education
NKC has reiterated the need to ensure that a financial provision requiring the central government to provide the bulk of the additional funds needed for realising the Right to Education must be there in the central legislation. NKC’s recommendation to set up an Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE), at an arm’s length from all stakeholders, that would accord degree granting power to universities, is one way to supplement the process of setting up universities through legislation. The regulator would also be responsible for monitoring standards and settling disputes.

Open and distance education & Open educational resources

NKC recommendations on distance education focus on creating a national ICT infrastructure, developing web based common open resources, establishing a credit bank and providing a national testing service. Regulation of distance education would be performed by a sub committee under the proposed independent regulatory authority.

Professional education

NKC has recommended that the present regime of regulation in all professional education streams, be replaced by subgroups on different streams under the proposed independent regulator. This would have to be accompanied by independent multiple accreditation agencies that provide reliable ratings. Other measures include allowing greater autonomy to institutions, reforming the current examination system, developing contemporary curricula that are regularly updated and encouraging research.

Indian Law schools need to orient themselves to meet the growing international dimensions of legal education and of the legal profession. Centres for Advanced Legal Studies and Research (CALSAR), one in each region, have been proposed by NKC to carry out cutting edge research on various aspects of law.

Vocational education and training

NKC’s recommendations focus on increasing the flexibility of vocational education and training (VET), within the mainstream education system. They point to a need for quantifying and monitoring the impact of vocational education.

It is necessary to ensure a robust regulatory and accreditation framework, along with proper certification of vocational education and training. This will allow easier mobility into higher education streams, enhancing the value of such training and providing continuous opportunity for upgradation of these skills.

Libraries
NKC recommendations focus on modernizing the management of libraries to ensure greater community participation; including creating models for public private partnerships in LIS development. Leveraging ICT for various applications such as cataloguing, digitisation of content, creating e-Journals, etc, is also highlighted.

English language

NKC recommends that the teaching of English as a language should be introduced, along with the first language (either mother tongue or the regional language) of the child, starting from Class I. Further, NKC has also focused on the need to reform the pedagogy of English language teaching and learning, to reduce the disproportionate emphasis on grammar and focus on creating meaningful learning experiences for the child. Given that language learning is contingent on the environment, all available media including audio visual and print should be used to supplement traditional teaching methods.

Translation

NKC recommended setting up a National Translation Mission with a focus on promoting translation activities across the country.

Knowledge network

An important recommendation emerging from NKC is to interconnect all knowledge institutions throughout the country, through an electronic digital broadband network with gigabit capabilities, to encourage sharing of resources and collaborative research.

Portals

NKC has proposed creating national web based portals on certain key sectors including Education. The portal would serve as a single window for information on the given sector for all stakeholders, from students to researchers and practitioners in the field. These portals should be managed by a consortium consisting of representatives from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that they are not owned by any one organisation, but have a national character. NKC facilitated the setting up of a teachers’ education portal.

The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) was constituted on 13th June 2005 as a high level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India. NKC has a designated time-frame of three years: from 2nd October 2005 to 2nd October 2008.

While releasing the first NKC Report to the Nation at the start of the year 2007, the PM emphasised that the Commission “must be involved in ensuring the implementation of their innovative ideas”. The focus of NKC work has therefore been on ensuring that while the Central government designs appropriate strategies supported by financial allocations to implement their recommendations, the Commission engages simultaneously with diverse stakeholders to build up a groundswell of favourable opinion and assist preparation of implementing strategies at the grassroots.

NKC has tried to provide a platform for sharing and debating ideas, a critical requisite for accepting and steering change. NKC is now moving on to the next stage of its work which is formulating Knowledge Initiatives at the State and the District levels to ensure that there is institutional and mental preparedness at the grass root level to absorb the financial outlays of the XIth Plan.

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