Ford India launches education project

K-12

By

-

November 19, 2007

Ford India in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has launched an educational project to improve the educational infrastructure and quality of education of government-aided schools in Tamil Nadu.

The programme, launched to mark the Children's day, has been evolved with a holistic approach of intervention at three levels amongst parents, teachers and students. For this project, CII has played an imperative role in facilitating BODHI Consultants, Training and Counseling center as the knowledge partner. The project would provide education, guidance and counseling to children at an important stage of their life with the help of both parents and teachers. For students, the module aims at motivation towards studies, holistic development by renowned trainers and successful people from corporate and public circuits, facilitating students to develop skills such as memory, reading, writing and concentration skills. For teachers in the government-aided schools, the project would provide training through workshops. Apart from educating parents on psychological impact of the primary system on the growth and development of the child, the programme would enlighten them on their roles and responsibilities as parents, the impact of education on the child's future and career opportunities and their role in career planning.

SEAMEO to focus on use of ICT in education

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 18, 2007

Education ministries of member countries of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) will convene at the 30th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting (HOM) from 20-22 Nov., 2007 Prof Dr Wichit Srisa-an, Minister of Education of Thailand will open the meet.

SEAMEO is aimed to share programmes and innovations and explore possible collaborative work on education initiatives and to discuss education issues; foremost among them is the use of Information and Communication Technology in improving the quality of education. Organised annually by the SEAMEO Secretariat, the SEAMEO HOM is attended by the key education officials of the 11 SEAMEO member countries namely, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, TimorLeste and Vietnam, and the directors of SEAMEO's 15 regional centres. Representatives of the eight SEAMEO associate member states – Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Spain, and the International Council for Open and Distance Learning, the affiliate member – will also attend the meeting, along with some of SEAMEO's partner organisations such as Asean, UNESCO, UNICEF, ADB and the World Bank. SEAMEO, established in 1965, is the oldest intergovernmental organisation and the longest-serving forum for regional cooperation in education, science and culture in the Southeast Asian region.

Educomp to spend INR 2,000 cr to enable 150 schools

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 18, 2007

India based e-learning company Educomp Solutions will invest over Rs 2,000 crore to enable setting up around 150 schools over the next four years.

Under this model, Educomp will earn its return on investment by providing intellectual property (IP) for the schools through its Educomp School Management programme and leasing infrastructure through its subsidiary Educomp Infrastructure. Said Shantanu Prakash, managing director, Educomp said to set up five to seven schools by June 2008, that will not necessarily be run under the Educomp brand name. Educomp already has two schools that are operational in Bangalore and Chennai, and plans to open the third unit next month. The average investment in each of the schools ranges between Rs 12 crore and Rs 14 crore, and the schools are expected to be set up in eight to nine months. Educomp Infrastructure will provide the land and building on lease. Educomp currently has nearly 6,000 public-private partnership school projects, with several state governments.

‘New movement’ in education

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 16, 2007

Students at the DePaul University's College of Commerce are doing their daily work through podcasts and vodcast (podcast with video). Students often have no Internet access when they travel, so they use podcast service, which is downloadable on their telephone, iPod or a computer.

The University is producing podcasts and vodcasts for students to watch before signing up for classes to learn about professors and coursework. Kelly Richmond Pope, assistant professor in the college's School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems is using podcasting to communicate with her students in Taiwan. While at some colleges and universities, students produce their own podcasts as part of their assignments. Students at Duke University in Durham, have been assigned to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language via a podcast and create short movies showing scenes they imagine from a Jane Austen novel.

YouTube moves into education

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 16, 2007

Richard Muller, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley is offering semester-long course in YouTube with help from Berkeley University and Google's video-sharing site.

Berkeley University is the first university which is bringing higher education to the web in this manner. While Harvard University is bringing a law course through its extension program. Berkeley has opened the virtual doors of its university to the world at large. Under its partnership with YouTube, students can also view other parts of the university like campus life and events. Berkeley has its own 30-second promotional video, called “You see Berkeley,” on its YouTube page. The content also works as a marketing tool to help strengthen alumni ties and expand community outreach. Berkeley has also launched a podcasting partnership for courses with iTunes. Currently, Berkeley has 1.3 million views and 700,000 downloads on its three channels run on its page.

Harvard unveils ambitious plan focusing on South Asia

Higher Education

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 16, 2007

Harvard University has unveiled an ambitious plan focusing on South Asia which envisages partnerships with institutions and organisations to advance teaching and learning in the region and increasing number of students from there.

The project entails a host of new courses and programmes through which students will be exposed South Asia's cultures, histories, opportunities and challenges. It will be pursued with collaboration and coordination across the entire university, including Harvard College and Harvard's 10 academic units. The just announced plans stresses on further partnerships with universities and other organizations in South Asia with whom Harvard may partner and strengthening the South Asian community on the Harvard campus by expanding financial support and scholarships for students. The university plans to enable more students and scholars from Harvard to travel to South Asia to study, teach, conduct research, and collaborate and vice versa. It also plans to optimize and accelerate research on a broad array of topics from South Asia from ancient times to present-day economic development, health, education and governance opportunities and challenges and expand the faculty that will drive the research. Students from South Asia represent one of the largest groups who come to Harvard from outside of the US. The numbers from India alone already exceed those from Germany, France, and Japan or the UK.

NIIT partners with a US based co. to introduce Math Lab

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 16, 2007

NIIT Ltd, an Indian IT training company, has announced an alliance with the US-based Key Curriculum Press Inc, a provider of software research and development for Mathematics Education, to introduce 'Mathematics Laboratories' in Indian schools.

An MoU to this effect has been signed between the two companies. 'Math Lab' is intended to enable school students to learn and explore mathematical concepts and verify mathematical facts and theorems using technology tools such as 'The Geometer's Sketchpad', together with hands-on activities using a variety of mathematical models.

iPods to train teachers in Zambia

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 16, 2007

Education Development Centre (EDC), As part of a creative pilot project, has distributed iPods to sixth grade Zambian teachers experienced with EDC's interactive radio instruction (IRI) and trained them in their use.

The initiative is to enhance professional training in mathematics, science, and English.The iPods are loaded with the IRI lessons as well as with audio and video training materials designed to support teachers in their presentation of complex topics. The iPods bring teachers enriched professional content right in their hands, in their classrooms, when they need it. Using the iPods in combination with a foot- or solar-powered generator and a set of speakers, the teachers can also broadcast the IRI lessons without being tied to the radio broadcast schedule.

Dove Multimedia to launch CDs in healthcare, education

K-12

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 16, 2007

India based Dove Multimedia Private Ltd plans to launch CDs in healthcare, education and regional customs.

The company is contemplating bringing out class wise educational CDs in Malayalam. They have already brought out CDs in English for students from Class 1 to 12th standard. CDs on Map Track India containing geographical details, Encyclopaedia Brittanica besides CDs on Panchatantra Tales, Ramayana, Krishna, Hanuman, Bible stories, Grandma Tales are available, besides CDs on day-to-day activities on traffic signals, bank activities etc for chidlren in animated form.