Tell me, I’ll forget; Show me, I may not remember; Involveme, I will understand

Everonn believes in the adage of W .B Yeats, ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’.

Across all levels of education there is a significant shift from the chalk and talk method to more inquiry based methods. Everonn Systems India Ltd aims at making significant contribution to the student and teacher community by blending the traditional methods with technology-assisted tools to ignite the passion for quality learning.

Technology facilitated reach-out
Everonn, has revolutionised the domain of education by launching live and interactive ‘Virtual Learning Classroom Networks’ across India to deliver quality and affordable education. Everonn reaches out to the students via a VSAT enabled platform, permitting two-way audio and video interaction. This podium is effectively used to beam live sessions of classes conducted by Everonn faculty from the state-of-the-art studios of Everonn. Scores of students simultaneously participate in these highly interactive programmes. This collaborative learning enhances the quality of education.

Enriched content

Everonn develops and integrates content for Indian and global audience at schools, colleges and corporate segments. The content development is based on proven instructional design strategies and addresses the complete needs of the audience.

Everonn @ Schools : Path to Progress
The content for schools is integrated with the formal academic syllabus and is enhanced by relevant and attention-grabbing pictures, animations, video clippings and challenging quizzes. The sessions reinforce the concepts taught by the school teachers and also address the needs of the Board examinations. Everonn also offers non-curricular modules in language and mathematical skills to add value to the learning process.

Another Everonn product prepares the students to successfully compete in the IITJEE, AIEEE and similar entrance exams.

Everonn also has the expertise to implement IT education in schools under BOOT model. Currently present in over 3200 schools spread across 14 states.

Everonn @ Colleges : Learning for Earning

Everonn offers career counseling, career enhancement programmes, soft-skills training and aptitude development programmes over the virtual platform through “Everonn Learning Centres” at the colleges. It addresses the needs of IT, ITES and BFSI domains.  Everonn’s ‘Learning for Earning’ segment enhances the degree of employability amongst college students.

Interactive lectures by eminent personalities (educationalists, IPS/IAS officers, scientists, and domain experts) are also enabled through this platform. These interactions help the students to broaden their vision and understand the industry trends and needs.

The Indian education system is the second largest in the world and is perhaps the most complex in terms of its spatial outreach and profile of students and teachers in terms of their linguistic, social, cultural and economic background. It consists of more than  300 universities and about 17,500 affiliated colleges where millions of students enroll for higher education. Out of these 300 plus Universities close to 170 Universities are directly funded by UGC ( University Grants Commission). All these Universities have PG courses and most of them have Doctoral programmes as well.

Academic journals – where high end peer-reviewed research articles are published are must for the students and researchers of PG and Doctoral studies. Traditionally, Universities have been subscribing to these journals from International publishers in hard copy. Normally the subscription prices of these international journals increase by 5 – 10 % every year , sometimes higher , and fluctuations in foreign currency increases the overall subscription prices of them straining the ever reducing library budgets of the Universities.

To overcome this problem and keeping in mind the improved awareness and infrastructure of Internet connectivity at the Universities UGC started the ambitious UGC-Infonet programme through its autonomous centre- Inflibnet Ahmedabad. In the year 2003 Inflibnet approached  major international publishers and discussed  the feasibility for providing online access to their journals in the field of Science Technology and Medicine (STM) to 50 Universities in the first phase. Cambridge University Press (CUP)- the oldest publisher and printer of the world which publishes more than 220 journals and 2000 books every year was one of the first publisher to sign a MOU with UGC for providing online access to its 78 STM journals to 50 Universities. The CUP journals are available online on its own platform called as Cambridge Journals Online (CJO).

Cambridge University Press (CUP)- the oldest publisher and printer of the world which publishes more than 220 journals and 2000 books every year was one of the first publisher to sign a MOU with UGC for providing online access to its 78 STM journals to 50 Universities. The CUP journals are available online on its own platform called as Cambridge Journals Online (CJO)

As concept of accessing online journals was new at most of the Universities , CUP started a major user awareness programme in all these Universities by creating special posters, holding seminars for end users, email campaigns, etc. CUP also started  a novel approach – quiz for the participating delegates. The results were immediately seen . There was a substantial increase in the usage of these online resources helping students and faculties alike in their studies and research.

Based on the encouraging response from the student as well as the faculty community, next year UGC signed up with CUP for 50 more Universities and for the Humanities and Social Science (HSS) journals as well. So currently more than 100 Universities in India have online access to the entire range ( more than 220) of Cambridge University Press journals.

This facility has given a ‘level playing field’ to our students and faculty members as all these peer-revived journals are now available at the same time to all the  students in remote corners of our country as they would be available to students of say Cambridge , Harvard or Oxford University. More ever the users have access to the back files of the information , mostly starting from the year 1997.  The missing issue problem of print Journals is also resolved by the online availability of these journals 24/7. The Government saved huge amount of money in this endeavor  and as University Press of Cambridge, CUP is able to fulfill its objective of dissemination of information , advancing learning , knowledge and research worldwide.

It’s a win-win situation for all the stake holders and CUP will continue  to provide a range of online products to students and researchers of India at very affordable costs.

Alex Daniel

Director
Globus Infocom

What is an Interactive Whiteboard?
An interactive Whiteboard is a large, touch-sensitive panel that connects to a digital projector and a computer, displaying the information on the computer screen. It resembles a traditional White board and is used similarly. The computer connected to the interactive White board can be controlled by touching the board directly or by using a special pen. Such actions (inputs) are transmitted to the computer instead of using a mouse or keyboard.

Possible educational uses
Interactive White boards present educational resources in a highly interactive way and are suitable for whole class and small group settings. They allow pupils to engage and interact with the technology to become active participants in learning. Pupils with special needs can particularly benefit from the presentation of multimedia content on a large screen as it can aid in both information processing and retention. Optimal use of an interactive White board involves both the teacher and students using it in a classroom situation. It can, for example, be used to:

• Allows presentation of student work in a more interactive and collaborative model
• Show video clips that explain difficult concepts (in any curricular area)
• Demonstrate how an educational software program works, e.g., an art programme with students using their fingers and hands to draw rather than working with a mouse
• Cater more effectively for visually impaired students and other students with special needs
• Display Internet resources in a teacher-directed manner
• Create handwritten drawings, notes and concept maps during class time, all of which can be saved for future reference

Technical Considerations
To get an interactive whiteboard up and running, five separate components are involved:

• Touch-sensitive whiteboard
• Digital projector
•  Computer
•  Software
• Connectivity (wired or wireless) between the computer, whiteboard and the projector

Types of Boards
There are 3 different technologies used for this purpose.

Resistive membrane
The advantage of whiteboards based on resistive technology is that one does not require special pens to write on the board, a finger can be used just as well. One possible disadvantage is that as the  surface of the board is soft it can be damaged by the use of ordinary markers, so the school needs to make users aware of this.

Electro-Magnetic pick-up
These boards are made of rigid construction and can take usage abuse in a class. These boards withstand pricking with a sharp nib, nail or compass and last for a longer period. Some boards have the entire electronics in a geometry size controller box placed behind the board and in case of a failure only the controller  needs to be replaced. Controller based electronics offer maximum uptime rate and are the best in the industry.

Infra-Red scanning
These scanning devices are light and portable and can be used with different types of standard whiteboards. Tracking of color and patterns is based upon using special encoded pens, each of which has a uniquely encoded reflective collar that the board uses to identify its color and position. At many times, the recognition or encoding may malfunction.

Purchasing Considerations
Software is almost always included in the purchase price of the Whiteboard, but it is necessary to check if this software allows users to:

• Draw or write on the board using different colored pens or even the students’ fingers
• Print out or save the results to the computer
• Use “layering”, “grouping” and other features which allow the user to create their own classroom resources, often with the help of an associated gallery.
• Preference in case of class room should be given to the surface of the board, which should be long lasting and able to with stand rigorous usage.
• Other relevant questions:
• Is there local technical support in case there are hardware or software failures?
• What is the duration of the suppliers warranty?
• What is the track record of the supplier?

Interactive White boards create a range of learning opportunities for both students and teachers. Studies have found them to be highly motivating and learner-centered when integrated innovatively.

Over twenty years ago, when Dave Martin and I created SMART Technologies Inc., we wanted to do something significant,  something that would change how people undertook and completed their work. We didn’t exactly know how and we didn’t really know what, but we were determined to have an impact. We have never really accepted that things should be done a particular way if that way didn’t make sense to us in the context of our environment or fit with what we wanted to accomplish. We both feel that we have created a company that is revolutionizing the way that teachers teach and children learn. It is this higher mission that drives our people and our decisions today.

Someone’s going to do something
We never let the fact that we were from Calgary (a city best known for oil and gas, cowboys and the 1988 Winter Olympics) or that we had never created and sold a product around the world stop us from dreaming big. We always thought that someone somewhere was going to do something important and that it might as well be us. This thought played in our minds over and over as we struggled through the earlier years when no one understood our product or bought into our vision. Even in the darkest days we talked about changing the way that children learned and business people worked.

Dave’s idea

It was in the course of trying to figure out how we would use liquid crystal display technology (something that is old hat today but that was very new at the time) that Dave imagined a system that included a computer connected to an LCD projector (actually an LCD panel sitting on top of a standard overhead projector) and an interactive whiteboard. He imagined that people would be able to connect to and communicate with other people located anywhere in the world. Many of the enabling technologies that make the SMART Board interactive whiteboard so functional and versatile today didn’t exist those many years ago – but Dave had the foresight to imagine that they would some day exist. Today the enabling technologies that we combine with our products are not only more broadly available, but they also have the functionality and price points that make the overall solution appealing to large numbers of customers.

Committed to our customers
The easy part for many of our customers is spending the money on our products. While money is never plentiful, actually deploying the products in a productive and transformational way is the hard part. Effecting change in a pedagogically sound fashion takes commitment and assistance from us as well. We work hard to appreciate our customers’ challenges and aspirations concerning where our products can take their students’ learning experiences.

Reputation is everything
For us, our personal and corporate reputations are everything. We have always believed that it is not enough to simply do good things. We must be good. People have to believe that our company is here to serve a higher purpose beyond its obvious commercial mandate and that we support our customers at all levels. That perception comes from not just our words, but from our actions. Not every good thing that we do is made public – we do not seek press coverage for all of our programs and initiatives, for instance. We believe that in many cases, goodness is its own reward.

Uniquely appreciated
Nothing pleases us more than having people describe SMART as a unique technology company or a company that really understands and cares about education – both educators and students. People know that we are a forprofit company and that we have a large staff who directly depend on our decisions and actions every day for their livelihood. But they also see that we take a longer term, more strategic view of out customer interactions and that we are not motivated by short-term gain.

The SMART brand
We have carefully built the SMART brand through the years to represent a company that our customers can trust for leading edge innovation, outstanding quality, superior service and long-term, meaningful relationships. We listen, consider and act – always in a responsible fashion. Certainly unique and more.

“This program, designed for the specific needs of professionals from the software and IT industry in India isnow available simultaneously to students in Bangalore and Chennai & potentially to students in other cities;thanks to the seamless technology brought to the fore by Actis.”
                                                    Dr. Rajendra K. Bandi, IIMB

After 1947, the Government of India focused on creating a solid technology base simultaneously augmented with management talent  and resources. Thus, Indian Institutes of Management (JIM)were born. With its highly accomplished faculty and a motivated student body, JIM Bangalore evolved into a premier centre for management education and research. Today, IIMB strives to achieve excellence through partnerships with industry and others world over.

The challenge- Bridging the communicationgap
The Post Graduate Program in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) aims to produce business leaders with strong technical andmanagement knowledge and a global perspective in a way that transcends borders of the institute in Bangalore. Thus, a distance or “distributed” learning initiative was conceived for Bangalore and Chennai. However, the institute was clear that students in Chennai should have the same learning experience as those in Bangalore.

Today while distances are bridged faster than ever before, providing a seamless learning experience between two separate cities was a challenge. For instance, the limited IIMB faculty could not travel between two locations. Yet, teaching in a distributed classroom was not to be significantly different from traditional teaching. And technology was to be simple enough to not impose any constraint on teaching style, or classroom interactions.

Actis – An effective role

• Reality: As experts in audio-visual-environment control technologies,the Actis Pro.fessional Services Group was certain that a ‘zero-distance’interaction was required. Classes would conference in real time.
• Clarity: The lecture would need to be delivered to local and remote classrooms without acoustic echo or ambient noise. Clear visuals of faculty and students were important and so was the ability for remote stuilents to ask questions during a lecture.
• Contact: ‘Eye contact’ between remote students and faculty was key.The ability to lecture freely and share computer presentations and documents with both locations in real-time were important as well
• Ease: It was also important for the system to be user friendly

The Solutions

After understanding the needs, and rounds of consultations with key members at IIMB, Actis suggested setting up a videoconferencing facility.The institute built two classrooms in each location with the same layout and equipment:

• Three LCD Displays installed in each class: Two displays in the front show the remote classroom, a third at the rear displays remote students for faculty.The Displays in the remote classroom show faculty.
• A MultimediaProjector powers the Motorised Screen, displaying presentations in colour and detail without dimming the lights.
• The Interactive Whiteboard allows the faculty to go beyond a computer presentation to explain his/her point. The board captures the faculty’s writing and transfers it in real time to the remote classroom on another projection system.
• A high end Video Conferencing codec and high resolution 3-CCD cameras are used to transmit video. Satellite IP connectivity is provided by EDUSAT,ISRO. ISDN connectivity over PRI is used for redundancy. Computer presentations are transmitted using NetMeeting.
• An intuitive Camera Joystick Control provided in the central control room tracks faculty, allowing them complete freedom to  move and interact with the class.
• The Visualizer captures and transmits sharp images of documents, 3D objects and slides to both classrooms in real time.
• Slim Gooseneck Microphones are installed on tables for students. A wireless lapel microphone is used by faculty. A DSP audio processor with acoustic echo cancellation transmits clear audio to the remote classroom without unwanted noises.
• The unique voice tracking system makes the camera instantly ‘look’ at the Sudent who is speaking, withtheir video transmitted to the remote classroom in realtime.
• Monitor Speakers reinforce speech audio uniformly in the local classroom, besides program audio and the voice.
• Connectivity receptacles are installed on faculty desks for laptop connectivity with the AV system.
• A DVD Recorder records and plays back the lectures.
• The lighting control system creates optimum room lighting presets for various activities.
• The touch panel seamlessly activates and controls the AV gear at just the touch of a finger.
• What’s more, the technology is ‘hidden’ away in a central control room wherein LCD Monitors are used to preview and control content sent to the remote classroom.

“Actis has made it possible for us to conduct seamless classes across locations… the faculty andstudents experience a smooth interaction… from white board drawings to question-answer sessions,” states Dr. Bandi.

IIMB was successfully able to achieve the objectives that it had desired during conceptualisation. The regular online interaction between two remote classrooms has bridged the gap and students in remote classrooms can now enjoy the benefits of being a part of the prestigious IIM Bangalore institution. No wonder that IIMB plans to extend the program to other cities like Hyderabad in the near future.

The Actis Advantage

Actis from the Greek word signifying a beam of light matches our mission to provide advanced communication solutions for spreading knowledge in an enhanced environment. Actis focuses on the environment and technology for presentations; the two go together to form an integrated solution.

As providers of integrated solutions, Actis package together the most appropriate technologies for visual and oral communication (large screen displays, sound and conferencing systems) and environmental controls (lighting and HVAC), depending on your requirements. The aim is to improve the technical quality of the presentations,enhance the environment of the meeting place and simplify manipulation of complex equipment so that one can effectively increase the audiences’ receptiveness to the message.

Actis has clients in India, Australia, Germany,Greece, Israel, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States of America.