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South Africa launches first e-School

The first of South Africa's six new Nepad e-Schools has been launched. The first school to be equipped with an HP computer lab, complete with servers, personal computers, printers, faxes, scanners, copiers and wireless connectivity, was the Maripe Secondary School at Bushbuckridge in Limpopo.

The launch was part of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) e-Schools project, which aims to increase the use of technology in education and to increase information technology (IT) skills. Less than 20 percent of the global population has access to IT, while in Africa, only one in every 130 people has a computer. The first African e-School was opened in Uganda in June 2005. Egypt's first e-School was launched earlier this year.

Technology education lags student interest: survey

Canadian students are facing a gap between what they desire and need for technology education and what they are being taught in schools, according to a new survey released by Microsoft Canada.

Although 92 per cent of students surveyed said it is important to have technology experience for career success, 91 per cent thought working in the sector would be rewarding and 72 per cent viewed technology as a positive factor in their lives, relatively few felt their education adequately serves their interests.

Fewer than half of those who participated in the survey thought they were getting the education they need to prepare them for an information technology-related career, and just 28 per cent thought their school kept them abreast of technological advances.

FEC endorses training of 20,000 Nigerian graduates by Cisco on ICT

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved an agreement between the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria and a worldwide software company, CISCO to train 20,000 Nigerian graduates with a view to making them employable in modern Information and Communication Technology- based economy.

This arrangement would entail CISCO spending N3.7 billion (or 84 per cent of the total cost of N4.3 billion) while the Federal Government will take the remaining N684 million (or 16 per cent). The participants for the training were selected through an online survey of Nigerian graduates from tertiary institutions over a 10-year period. 29,000 graduates responded in the exercise. The ministry hopes that a good number of the graduates would be transformed at the end of the exercise which will span 6 months, 12 months and 15 months certification.

ETS renames its ICT Literacy Assessment

ETS, the nonprofit institution that customises solutions to meet the need for teacher professional development products and services, classroom and end-of-course assessments, and research-based teaching and learning tools has changed the name of its ICT Literacy Assessment to the iSkills(TM) assessment and is also introducing new, customisable score reports for institutions.

The iSkills(TM) assessment is a simulation-based test designed to measure information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, that is, a student's ability to navigate, critically evaluate and communicate information using digital technology, communication tools and networks. During the 75-minute assessment, college and high school students are asked to perform 15 information problem-solving tasks – such as researching a topic from a database, identifying authoritative and unbiased web sites, or composing an e-mail summary of research findings.

Irish Department of Education purchases 25,000 licenses of education software

The Irish Department of Education and Science has purchased 25,000 licenses of SolidWorks Education Edition software, made by SolidWorks Corporation that develops and markets software for design, analysis, and product data management, to expand technology education in second level schools and grow the pool of skilled local engineers. Students between 12 and 18 years old in 550 schools will learn SolidWorks in four technology subjects.

SolidWorks Education Edition is the standard for teaching students CAD fundamentals in Norway, Northern Ireland, and France, and has been deployed in major school districts in Germany and Spain. t4 – Technology Subjects Support Service, Ireland's teacher support and training division for technology education in the Irish Department of Education, chose SolidWorks because its intuitive interface will allow students to quickly grasp design and engineering principles so they spend more time creating 3D models than learning software.  

INDIA

BSNL to connect 1.1 lakh schools

In one of the biggest broadband projects in the country, the state-owned telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is planning to provide broadband connections to 110,000 schools in the country. The public sector unit is also looking at roping in the Ministry of Human Research and Development for the project.

The company will be offering both wireless and wired broadband connectivity. In the first phase to be completed by December 2007, the company will provide connectivity to 15,000 schools in 1,500 towns. Under the second phase, the company would cover 20,000 schools in rural areas. In the last phase, the remaining 65,000 schools across 5,000 blocks will be covered.

New funding patterns for SSA

In the 11th Plan, the states will have to spend more on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

The funding pattern has now become 50:50 between the states and Centre. For the last five years, ever since its inception, the funding pattern was 75:25 where the Centre paid 75 percent and the states 25 percent of the entire year’s budget on elementary education. The situation is particularly bad for the northeastern states, which used to get preferential treatment and had 90:10 funding pattern. But the state governments want to continue with the ratio of 75:25. The states had already expressed their inability to spending more on SSA.

AP farmer-women win award for educational video

A group of women farmer- filmmakers from a remote village of Andhra Pradesh has won the prestigious University Grants Commission- Consortium of Educational Communication (UGC-CEC) National Award for “Best Educational Video Film”. The winning film was one of 246 entries to the competition held recently by UGC-CEC, an inter-university body that promotes educational television for Indian varsities by running an educational TV channel, Countrywide Classroom. The Dalit women-farmers of Pastapur village in Medak district were provided microphones and cameras and they produced their own images and voices.

Second phase of e-Literacy scheme in Kerala

The e-Literacy programme has entered its second phase in Kerala. With a view to initiate new learners into the second phase, packages such as `Vijayabheri,’ `Inter- learn programmeme’ have been chalked out under the Akshaya programme.

For those aspiring for more advanced programmes, the organisers have designed the `e-Vidya,’ package. The Internet programmes designed are Internet to the masses, computer animation, besides other programmes such as Learn English. A number of service programmes too would be channelled through the Akshaya Centres such as payment of  electricity bills, university fees,  BSNL land and mobile phone bills among others.

NODLINET: Towards an open network

Treading on the lines of the recommendations made by different state open universities and distance education institutions, the Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) board of management has approved the National Open and Distance Learners Library and Information Network (NODLINET) initiative. Furthermore, the expert committee set up by the ministry for human resource development (MHRD) has endorsed the initiative, which will now be implemented in a phased manner within a period of five years.

A national task force, of which IGNOU vice-chancellor, V N Rajasekharan Pillai will be chairman, is now in the making to concretise the plans. The task force would comprise vice-chancellors of different open universities across the country, representatives from MHRD, experts on library and information science, and heads of DEIs.

Access to quality support material is difficult in most cases as it is not physically possible to set up libraries in all the 5,000 study centres across the country. NODLINET is an initiative, which will integrate the concept of virtual or digital library to be supported by several portals. NODLINET will include e-Books, journals and other digital and e-Resources for all ODL students. It would also provide help and give guidelines to all DEIs to strengthen not only their physical libraries, but also for their automation.

India launches first education satellite

India has launched its first satellite for education, which will connect classrooms in remote areas of the country.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the first satellite, EDUSAT for education. Initially, three universities from three states, Karnataka, Maharashtra and central Madhya Pradesh would be linked through the satellite. In the second phase, the satellite will connect two more states and connect more than 1000 classrooms. The main mission of the satellite is to help train teachers and provide primary and university education in remote regions. The satellite will be sent into space by the locally-built geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle, which can carry communication satellites weighing up to 2,000 kilograms.

Pubjab schools to benefit from ICT project

Gemini Communication Ltd. has bagged an order worth INR 57.60 crore from the Punjab Government.  Gemini will now be the service provider for supply, installation and maintenance of IT Infrastructure for phase III of information and communication technology (ICT) Education project. This project would cover about 2085 Government Schools in rural and urban areas across the state of Punjab.

The project would be on a lease, maintain and transfer (LMT) model for 5 years under the ICT Education project in schools. Gemini’s responsibility will be to set up the entire networking in the school, install the workstations and servers with all the software and also maintain the infrastructure for five years. Teachers/Instructors employed by the Government will utilise the infrastructure to provide computer education to students. With the Punjab Schools project being a BOOT model, Gemini will execute orders worth about INR 175 cr in the first two quarters while recognising revenues for about INR 125 cr.

Anna Science Centre-Planetarium to get EDUSAT link and IBM kiosk

The Anna Science Centre Planetarium situated in Tamil Nadu, will soon be getting an EDUSAT uplink with the support of the Department of Science and Technology. An interactive scientific kiosk, established by the IBM, will also be operational at the centre soon.

The educational broadcast through EDUSAT will be available at the Anna Science Centre Planetarium by June, 2007. The planetarium would also get video conferencing facility in order to facilitate interaction with other science centres across the country. The programmes will include regular interaction with scientists for which an annual agenda will be drawn. The centralised agenda will be coordinated along with other science centres with EDUSAT facility, including the two centres in Tiruchi and Chennai. The centre has also come up with a new planetarium show titled `Astounding Universe’ on astronomy and constellations.

B-Schools plan to use podcasting

Now, India based B-schools will record lectures and make them available to its students over iTunes.

Mumbai based B-School has planned to provide lectures over iTunes. The 750 full-time and 13,000 distance-learning students would be able to download lectures onto their computers. The advantage of podcasting is that the user can time-shift the episode to a convenient time. Te institute will start this service with the new batch of the students this year. Since it works on Internet’s RSS feed standard, podcasting automatically downloads iTunes onto the computer, which can be synchronised with an MP3 player

CAP Foundation Launches Workforce Development Initiative

A Workforce Development Initiative (WDI) making  Non-Governmental Organisations, corporates and like minded individuals come together and form enriching partnerships, have been launched on 18 April 2007 in New Delhi, India, to work towards linking learning and livelihoods for disadvantaged youth. The launch, made by CAP Foundation was to announce the formation of an alliance, the first of its kind, that will actively work towards  developing the workforce of  21st century India. The CAP Foundation is an independent registered organisation demonstrating public partnership initiatives between civil societies, corporate and government agencies in linking learning and livelihoods for communities of children, youth and women `at risk’. The Foundation  reaches out to the adolescent at risk by providing a holistic education and livelihood promotion module, which combines formal education with vocational training skill development training, life skill modules, job placement and career exploration opportunities, through an experiential mode, aimed at developing confident individuals capable of self directed growth.

The Key outcomes of this launch were the signing of the CAP UK partnership document and showcasing the various partnerships of the alliance.

A number of panels discussed issues related to the context of livelihoods in growing urbanisation, pre-employment training programmes – an emerging strategy for corporate- NGO partnerships and on employability skill training and targeted interventions for youth at risk.  The panels brought out some very valid points on how it was important, that corporate and NGO India link hands together for developing the workforce, and how important work force development was to the future of the nation. They discussed on how they should work together to keep this alliance alive and working. Some of the speakers discussed how  this partnership was reaching across regional and religious barriers and uniting everyone towards one cause.

The initiative was launched after a presentation of the programme review by Nalini Gangadharan of the CAP Foundation, among the participation of representatives from corporate, development agencies, and government sector, some luminaries being Anjli Paul, daughter of industrialist Swaraj Paul, Diana Hayden, Former Miss World, Dr C R Naidu, IG Police, Andhra Pradesh, Prof P V Indiresan, Former Director, IIT Chennai, Dana Fischer, Director-Office of Social Development, USAID India, Shakti Sharma, Secretary, Tata Steel Rural Development Society,  Surina Rajan, Project Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO), representatives from SARD and American Indian Foundation, representatives from prestigious B- Schools Amity and XIM- Bhubaneswar, Jamia Milia Islamia, and IIT Delhi, corporate representatives of Pepsico, Genpact, Moserbaer, etc.

CAP has been providing a consistent effort in learning and workforce development through some of its flagship projects like Child centered community based development programme, the Teen Channel, the Ek Mouka employability training programme, etc. The successful implementation by the Foundation has shown that more sustainable and holistic development of children is possible through integrated multi modular interventions related to learning habits and livelihoods through Child Centred Community Development modules.

The Teen Channel is a community learning centre initiative, that attempts to connect learning and livelihoods in a model that addresses critical issues affecting the quality of life and future of adolescents who opt out of school as well as potential drop-outs among school going adolescents between the ages 13- 17 years in an enabling environment of educational, social, life skills, recreational and workplace readiness.

The primary goal of ‘Ek Mouka’ is to provide access to market oriented livelihood opportunities to the disadvantaged youth and women through locally sustainable livelihood hubs. The Employability Exchanges that are established through this project are dynamic sustainable livelihood hubs that provide for exchange of resources, opportunities and competencies between business and communities that contribute to long-term sustainable local economic development.

ICT is an integral component of the ‘EK Mouka’ employability skill training programme. The Employability Centers use computers, projectors and other audio visual equipments to impart training. Not only that, CAP is extensively working on digitising its content, quite a few modules have been digitised and are being tested in the classrooms. These will enable the facilitators to deliver the modules better, and also help the students in self training, and later in refreshing their modules as and when needed. CAP is also working on setting up studios and transmission systems, whereby, the students will be able to either see pre-recorded sessions and maybe
even live sessions over a period of time. CAP Foundation realises the importance of technology and equips all its trainees with basic computer operations skills.

The Objective of the recent launch of the workforce development initiative is to enable self directed growth of disadvantaged youth by providing easy access to market oriented employability skills and through setting up of institutionalised mechanisms for Public Private Partnerships. The road ahead consists of a four sequenced strategic objectives for the purpose-

1. Enabling the disadvantaged youth, especially young women to access increased and equitable participation in the expanding work force.

2. Customised, contemporary and quality training for market oriented work force development by setting up an institutional mechanism to build competency levels of trainers and capacity building of partners to sustain the training programmes and the employability centres.

3. Institutionalised programme interface with industry, relevant government and other institutions for placement, accreditations, certification and resource mobilisation.

4. Mainstreaming of the programme model and its best practices (processes, procedures, partnerships and pedagogy) to positively influence policy and regulatory barriers and promotion through research, advocacy and networking.

With the launch of the initiative, the Foundation foresees an accomplishment of its vision, to be an end-to-end community based solutions provider in linking quality learning and sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable communities of children and young people.

Nurturing the New World Trends in Education

Swati Kohli
Computer TeacherThe Indian School

Its not about the magnificent building with its lush green fields, well-lit ventilated class-rooms, the library, and the mathematical labs. Its about the well designed effort  to fulfill the needs of a twenty first century learning environment that equips all to keep pace with multiple learning methods of the future. The Indian School in South Delhi, India since 1996 came into being equipped with modern infrastructure that would keep pace with the rapid advances in Science and Technology while providing India’s roots in so many other forms. The Indian School has been among the first to implement the order of the High Count in opening its doors to the “weaker sections” by offering an active school after school to the not so fortunate. Computer club, NIIT computer-aided learning sullabus, IBM certification,… all come integrated to the school programmes with the innovative usages of information and communication technologies at different levels. Swati Kohli, the computer teacher at The Indian School gives more glimpses of these innovations.

Computer Club – A club is functional for classes VI upwards  after school hours, for learning courses other than in regular computer classes like Linux. The course is taught by learned faculty from IBM. A kit with books, stationary and bag is provided free of cost to the students.

Computer Aided Learning – CAL for English, Science, Social Science and Maths subjects is conducted by interactive one-to one multimedia programs with quiz and exercises and  sound in most of the lessons by NIIT.

Teachers also make their own power point presentations with lots of pictures from Internet for computer aided learning  in all subjects at all levels.

A host of multimedia CDs/cartoon movies/educative programmes are used by teachers to show to the students in AV room through LCD projector.

Teacher’s Training/Resource Room – Five computers with Internet connection and printer, scanner, USP ports are available to all the teachers during  and after school hours to enhance their learning. Teacher training programmes were conducted to enhance their knowledge in Word and PowerPoint.

Computer Newsletter – The Computer Department takes out a newsletter at the end of 3 months to update teachers on the latest  trends in IT. This time the newsletter has editorial contributions  from all the students at all levels for the newsletter.

Junior / Senior Lab – The senior and junior lab have in all 55 Pentium 4 machines with TFT screens (flat screens), optical mouse with headphones. They are networked together with Internet connection, DVD writer and CD writer.

Thin-Film-Transistor (TFT) – The traditional TV like box monitors are done away with in the computer labs. The 55 machines now have TFT – flat screen monitors for better eye health and  space.

Networking – All the computer in the labs are connected for sharing resources like printer, scanner , DVD and CDwriter and Internet.

IBM Certificates – The school offers IBM curriculum to students from classes I to VIII. The faculties are certified by IBM to conduct these courses. At the end of each class, each student gets a certificate from IBM.

Website- The school has an interactive, multi-dimensional Website – www.theindianschool.in with  e-mail at various departments the most commonly available, one being contactus@theindianschool.in. The website hosts all current and future activities in school along with its vision, departments etc. The website is maintained by the computer teachers along with a group of students.

C++ and Web Tech courses are offered at XI and XII levels and are popular with the students as they see it as the latest and most essential course today for futher / higher studies. CBSE couses are run at classes IX and X level with more than 95% results at class X level.

Software learnt – at our school include Windows OS, Paint and Wordpad at junior levels, MSOffice – for Word documents, Power Point presentations and MS Excel for calculations and charts, Frontpage – for web page designing. MS-Access for managing database, CorelDraw for enhanced drawing and art work., Photoshop for editing and managing photographs, Flash for animation are also taught along with HTML.

Exchange programme through  email – Roxeth School, London – Students of classes IV and V exchange their views, information, curriculum through e-mail.

Visits / competitions and achievements – Recently  the students of classes XI and XII visited IIT-Delhi for leaning through projects at their open-house. Students were taken back by the scope of doing computer courses at XI-XII levels.

Students constantly compete at various competitions at different schools in presentations skills, programming skills, painting etc. Last year, students stood second at Powerpoint presentation and stood first as the best participating school at Tagore Intl. School. We hold Cyber Olympiad conducted by National Science Foundation every year at all levels. We participated at CBSE Informatics Olympiad. We participated in Microsoft aptitude test/ IT awareness at all levels this year held in our school.

Projects – The exercises given for learning the above software are in accordance with what the students learn in other subjects in their classes at that time, eg in PowerPoint the students make parts of plants if they are learning about plants in science. The projects also run parallel to our school Spiral Learning Project.

Hindi typing- with keyboards compatible in Hindi our Hindi teachers make extensive use of the computers as well for their report, papers, lesson plans etc.

Computerised Administration – usage in labs, lib, examination, accounts, office, computers are used extensively in all these departments for efficient and timely work (fee collection, time tables, bus rosters, class lists etc)

AudioVisual usage – Teacher’s  show Presentations to the children in the AV room. We use LCD for the various wokshops conducted by the school, for outside guests.

Constant maintenance and upgradation – The labs are constantly maintained by engineers on  weekly visits. The labs are upgraded with latest software like photoshop, corel draw, flash as well as hardware like headphones, optical mouse, TFT screen etc.

School newsletter is worked and compiled at the computer lab. Incorporating image transfer through digital camera.

Teachers usage- Teachers extensively use the lab for – curriculum planning,  marks sheet, presentations, Internet (downloads – chapters of books not available through NCERT, etc.), question papers, circulars, boardwork, etc.

Social Space in Online Forum

Chong Yaut Lee, Lily

senior lecturer
HR Management Unit, School of Business at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
chongyoutlee_bizcyl@nus.edu

Online learning is drastically altering education and learning patterns worldwide. Online forum is the use of the Internet to access learning materials and to interact with the content, instructor and other learners. A social space is located in three dimensions of online social relationship: group atmosphere, cohesiveness and participation. Using the Kreijns, Kirschner, and Jochems’s (2004) concept of social space, the  study presented in this article utilised survey questionnaire and interviews to explore the social relationships amongst fifty undergraduates, who engaged in a four day online forum. The participants, who were of different ages, levels, faculties and nationalities participated in the online discussion as part of their course requirement for the module on employee management in Singapore at the National University of Singapore.

The findings showed that students who perceived a comfortable and warm group atmosphere and experienced a sense of community participated actively in the online discussion. They learned collaboratively as a group, drawing insights and different perspectives to the issues discussed. It was also discovered that the online exchange of students’ practical experiences reinforced their learning, enabling them to have a deeper understanding of the concepts and theories covered in the classroom. However, those who experienced an impersonal and competitive online environment found a lack of cohesiveness, and reduced their level of participation, thereby limiting learning. The findings suggest the necessity to provide support to the students during the online forum. To this end, the moderator should take on the pivotal role of developing a high social space throughout the learning process, thereby ensuring effective online social interactions and group learning.

There is much research evidence to attest that technological innovations, such as e-Learning have the potential to radically change education and learning patterns globally. In fact, the introduction of e-Learning in higher education represents a major transformation in teaching and learning practice, which needs to be carefully managed using appropriate pedagogical strategies (McPherson, 2003). Online forum is the use of the Internet to access learning materials and to interact with the content, instructor and other learners. It is used to obtain support, acquire knowledge, construct personal meaning, and to grow from the learning experience (Bruggen, 2005). Online forum provides the platform to develop independent learners in the ongoing improvement of students’ skills, which will underpin innovation and enterprise in the economy and society (Department for Education and Skills, 2003).

In order to be effective online users, students have to project their personal characteristics and present themselves as “real people” in the text-based interface. There is a general concern that Internet educators and researchers focus primarily on the cognitive learning processes and tasks (Kreijns et al., 2003). Cutler (1996) observed that research findings surrounding computer-mediated communication and learning are almost entirely task-based and concentrates on cost and efficiency. Little consideration is given either to the changes affecting the users or to the social relationship created from the online technologies.

Social space: A concept

Social relationship is not only central for cognitive learning such as critical thinking (Rourke, 2000), but equally important for socio-emotional processes. Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems (2004) proposed the concept of a social space, which they define as a network of social relationships amongst the online group members. The web of relationship is embedded in the group structure, norms and values. They argue that a sound social space promotes three dimensions of social relationship. Firstly, a sound social space contributes to a warm online atmosphere within the group (Brandon & Hol-lingshead, 1999; Rourke & Anderson, 2002).

Secondly, a social space is characterised by strong group cohesiveness, together with a sense of community. These feelings of community can intensify the flow of information among the participants while encouraging support, as well as commitment to group goals and cooperation. Learners benefit by experiencing a positive affect, a greater sense of well-being and greater group support in the presence of a sound social space (Rovai, 2001). Lastly, group participation is enhanced when the social space is high. The high participation level establishes, reinforces and maintains the social group interaction, and encourages open critical dialogues in warm social environments that neither hurt nor offend group participants because they know and trust each other (Rourke, 2000). Here, the goal is task-driven or socio-emotional. Learning performance includes factors such as effectiveness and efficiency as it relates to the learning outcomes, and degree of shared understanding.

Findings

The online forum provided an avenue for students to engage in thoughtful discussions and resolve differing views. Slightly more than half of the students submitted a minimum of twenty postings during the duration of the online forum, suggesting a fairly high level of commitment and participation. They commented, they were comfortable conversing through the text-based environment, and could sense they were part of an online community. The experienced group atmosphere was warm, and the members were enthusiastic as online learning was engaging and refreshing, for example, “The students are enthusiastic, as everyone tries to contribute”. Another commented, “It’s engaging. Some ideas were refreshing and creative.”

Students who perceived a relaxed, warm and sociable group atmosphere and experienced a sense of cohesiveness, participated enthusiastically in the online discussion. They learned collaboratively as a group, drawing relevant and diverse insights and perspectives to issues pertaining to employment management in Singapore. On the other hand, those who experienced an impersonal and competitive online environment experienced a lack of group cohesiveness, and found group participation difficult and frustrating, hindering their learning.

Also, the cohort of students perceived that the online group was generally cooperative and supportive. They accepted each other ideas when they were interesting and relevant, and learned from one another, drawing invaluable insights to the issues discussed. The experience was satisfying, for example, “It’s satisfying and very different from other learning methods”. Others added that they learned a lot of practical examples when students talked about their related experiences in part-time work and industrial attachments.

An estimate of 20% of the participants perceived the group atmosphere as impersonal. They said that members participated in the online discussion as a task to be completed, and as a competitive activity to score better for the module. This group of students found online participation difficulty and frustrating, even overwhelming, and hindered their learning.

To what extent does online forum provide an effective platform for students to deliberate on relevant issues, smooth out conflicting views and learn?  The findings concurred with the findings by Garrison, et al., (2000). Students who perceived a relaxed, warm and sociable group atmosphere and experienced a sense of cohesiveness, participated enthusiastically in the online discussion. They learned collaboratively as a group, drawing relevant and diverse insights and perspectives to issues pertaining to employment management in Singapore. Their commitment and participation in the online forum were amply rewarded with a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction.  On the other hand, those who experienced an impersonal and competitive online environment experienced a lack of group cohesiveness, and found group participation difficult and frustrating, hindering their learning. In other words, they felt that online learning was neither effective nor efficient for them as their learning was stifled in the perceived lack of a sound social space, which was usually characterised by warm work relationships, high group cohesiveness, respect, a sense of belonging, satisfaction and a feeling of community.

Longer group interaction builds intimacy and interpersonal relationships. Understandably, positive outcomes were hard to achieve in a short online forum that lasted four days. Therefore, it is recommended that the online discussion should be conducted nearer to the end, rather than at the beginning of the course, where students are almost like strangers to each other. The postponement of the online forum to a later date enables students to have more time for social and class interactions. Research studies propose that interpersonal communication and effectiveness is improved when the interaction time is not restricted (Markus, 1994). In e-learning, social interactions evolve over time, beginning with more formal communication and then developing to closer social relationships by forming impressions of others through text-based interface (Gunawardena, & Zittle, 1997). These socio-emotional processes underlying group dynamics lead to the establishment of a sound social space (Kreijns et al., 2003). Such sound social space is vital as it facilitates, reinforces social interaction and influences the effectiveness of collaborative learning.

About 20% of the students commented that they learned from the practical experiences of other students in part-time work and industrial attachments. This implies that the students are able to reflect and connect their practical experiences with the concepts and theories taught in the classroom. Online forum provides an opportunity for them to reflect on their experiences and theoretical concepts, thereby enabling students to have a deeper understanding the models and theories covered in the module. Additionally, students gained invaluable insights into improving online learning, such as, it requires an open mind and there is to be flexible and adaptable to the different learning environments.

Whilst a sound social space hinges on group cohesiveness and warm group atmosphere, critics noted that online participation is not the only way to engage in group learning. There are users who prefer to keep a distance, and not interact, but log on to read posted messages (Mayes, et al., 2002). To this end, appropriate training and support for moderators and students and the devising of appropriate learning models and approaches for e-Learning initiative are pivotal (McPherson, et al., 2006). Whilst several existing instruments purport to measure the social climate, social intimacy and social presence in online interactions (Rourke and Anderson, 2002; Kreijns, et al., 2003), the search for an accurate and comprehensive measure of social space in online group interaction continues to be an uphill task for researchers.

The present study examined the group atmosphere, cohesiveness and participation level of the online participants, based on the concept of social space (Kreijns, et al., 2004). It was found that students who felt comfortable and experienced a warm group atmosphere and a sense of online community displayed a high level of online participation and in doing so benefited from the online learning. The cohesiveness of the online group granted them opportunity to draw a variety of insights and perspectives to the discussion topics. Their commitment in online forum participation was rewarded with a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction.

The findings suggested that the moderators’ intervention is central. They can lend support to students’ interactions, thereby facilitating the development of a sound social space throughout the learning process. Secondly, moderators or lecturers should be provided with proper training and support on e-Learning and its processes. Thirdly, moderators and administrators must collaborate and devise appropriate learning models and approaches for e-Learning. The identification of an accurate and comprehensive instrument to measure the social space of online group interaction is a prerequisite in the development of a sound social space.

Prioritising Initiatives for the Eleventh Plan

The government of India feels the country was still a long way from realising the goal of every child completing eight years of good quality education. Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh made this admission while convening the two-day conference of state education ministers, to discuss the human resource targets for the Eleventh Five Year Plan. The Minister also admitted that the surveys of the attainment levels of schoolchildren do not give much cause for satisfaction.

The Conference of State Education Ministers was organised at New Delhi on 10 and 11 April, 2007, by the Ministry of Human Resources Development that was attended by Education Ministers of 19 of the 28 States. Senior officers of the Education Departments represented the other States and Union Territories. The two Ministers of State in the HRD Ministry, M A A Fatmi and D. Purandeswari, and Bhalchandra Mungekar, Member (Education), Planning Commission, also participated in the Conference. The conference deliberated on issues concerning the entire gamut of education such as elementary, secondary, higher and technical education, to jointly take stock and to plan ahead, so that maximum possible progress can be achieved during the Eleventh Plan in the education sector, in terms of access, equity, quality and efficiency.

The minister also hoped that during the Eleventh Plan, the gross enrollment ratio for higher and technical education would go up from the existing figure of 10 percent of the total population of school-going children to at least 15 percent by the end of the plan period.

The discussions revolved round all the vital aspects of education in India. What should we now do to accomplish the goal of Universal Elementary Education (UEE) by the end of the Eleventh Plan? How do we improve achievement levels of children in elementary and secondary schools, especially state funded ones? What action is being taken by states to meet their enhanced share under SSA in the Eleventh Plan? What steps should be taken to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio for higher and technical education from the present about 10% to at least 15% by the end of the Eleventh Plan? Despite increased outlays, we are still quite far from the goal of spending 6% of GDP on education, which has been reiterated in the Approach paper to the Eleventh Plan. How best can this responsibility be equitably shared between the Centre and the states? How to improve quality of higher education, especially in state-funded colleges and universities? How to  maximise use of ICT, including EDUSAT to widen access and improve quality of education at various stages? The discussion also included many other aspects like minority education and vocational education in the country.

Points of consensus emerged

Constructive discussion on the major issues raised by the Central and various State Governments, resulted in some broad consensus based action points.

India Progressing Towards Universal Elementary Education

Kerala, the southern Indian state, once again has emerged as the top performing state while Bihar finds itself in the last spot in a recent official survey on the status of elementary education in India in 2005-06. The coefficient of efficiency reveals that the primary education system is efficient to the tune of only 62 percent

The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) has recently developed School Report Cards of more than one million Primary and Upper Primary schools. Covering 11,24,033 schools, the publication updates more than 400 variables for 604 districts across 35 states and union territories on all aspects of universalisation of education, and shows that Kerala, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh are the top five while Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Assam are the five bottom-ranked states.

Whatever may be the reflection through the ranks in education development index, the number  of  children  joining  education  system  and subsequently the number of out-of-school children show a declining trend in the report. The student retention rate is still remained low. With such low retention and high drop-out rates, it seems India is affected by the ‘give another decade’ syndrome to realise the goal of universal primary education.

Government of India’s plans and projections at various points of time says, ‘all children complete 5years of education by 2007. All children complete 8 years of education by 2010. In 1950, government claimed to provide free and compulsory education till age of 14 in next 10 years. In 1992, they claimed they would implement the same by 2000. In 2004, the claim is that they will achieve Universal Elementary Education by 2015. The whole syndrome never leaves us in a correct situation of where we are. Are we really getting closer to the target of UEE? What takes the country towards a more time taking syndrome? Less motivation towards enrolment? Schools receiving lesser amount of development grant? Average teachers available per school or high pupil-teacher ratio? Schools having less computer in schools? Or the low retention rate?

The Supreme Court of India in its judgement in 1993 has held that all citizens have a fundamental right to education upto the age of 14 years.

The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by the parliament to make the Right to Elementary Education a fundamental right and a fundamental duty. Education is the primary vehicle for children to drive towards economic and social upliftment. NUEPA, the professional wing of Government of India, with specialisation in policy, planning and management in education, has created a comprehensive database on elementary education in India under one of its flagship project, District Information System of Education (DISE), supported by the Ministry of Human Resources Development and UNICEF. The project covers both primary and upper primary schools of all districts of the country. The survey not only presents the million plus school report cards but also makes a strong case for the state to care about education and to shift our focus from inputs like the money spent upon education, to outputs, that are the real educational outcomes.

There is no doubt that the average drop-out rate in primary classes suggests a consistent decline; but the same is still too high to attain the status of universal retention at the primary level of education. Universalisation comprises four components- universal access, universal enrolment, universal retention and universal quality of education. The flagship  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme of the Government of India launched in 2001 in this direction has also this objective of universal retention by 2010. The drop-out rate indicates an average rate of 9.96 percent in primary grades. In many states, drop-out rate in Grade I is noticed to be alarmingly high. The very few exceptions, however, are visible in states like Tamil Nadu, where retention rate is 100 %; it is more than 95 per cent in Kerala as well.

If resources are available, child-tracking is the only way through which drop-out, retention, survival and completion rates should be analysed. A few states have designed their own formats and even developed monitoring software for the purpose

69,353 schools in the country have enrolment less than 25, out of which 94% are located in rural areas. One in three primary schools have enrolment less than 50. The enrolment of students in classes I to VIII in 2005-06 was 168.29 million, an increase of 12.28 million from the previous year, according to the DISE data. However, about 180 of the 581 districts reported decline in primary enrolment. The average of all the districts has shown a consistent improvement in both the gender parity index (GPI) and girls’ share in enrolment, but the share, both in primary and upper primary, is found to be slightly lower at rural areas. The report shows the GPI in primary enrolment is a little low in states like Bihar and Rajasthan and goal of universalisation of primary education in such states may not be realised unless all girls are brought under the education system.

The  coefficient  of  efficiency  presented  reveals  that  the  primary education system is efficient to the tune of only 62.40 percent.

The DISE report suggests that if resources are available, child-tracking is the only way through which drop-out, retention, survival and completion rates should be analysed. A few states have designed their own formats and even developed monitoring software for the purpose. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), like in the above instance, plays always a role of a driving tool to gear up the drive towards achieving Universal Elementary Education.

Teacher information
4.69 million teachers: 78% rural areas, 22% urban areas
Of 4.69 Mn, 2.06 million (44%) in primary schools
86% primary teachers in rural and urban areas
As many as 1.70 million teachers imparted in-service training

The DISE figures also show the percentage of all schools having computer, an exponential growth over the years- from 7.02 per cent in 2002-2003 to 10.73 per cent in 2005-2006. The tool can be harnessed further not to miss out the rest 40% of efficiency that can actually help speeding up of our march towards UEE, although many states show a not so encouraging figure

Though the percentage of Primary schools having computer facility is much lower than percentage of other types of schools, more than 1,20,591 schools imparting elementary education in the country in 2005 had computers in place in school. The number of schools having provided computers during the previous year 2005 was ninety three thousand (8.99 per cent) and seventy two thousand (7.68 per cent) in 2004.A significant difference is noticed in percentage of schools having computer in rural areas and urban areas.

Of the total (1,20,591) schools that have computers, 74 per cent are located in rural areas. In the previous year,  of the total 93,249 schools, 63 per cent (58,746 schools) are located in rural areas and only 34,502 schools (37 per cent) in urban areas. Compared to 5.14 per cent Government schools having computers, the percentage in case of schools under private managements is much higher at 30.52 per cent.
Considering some of the constraints in the usage of ICTs in elementary education, about 99 percent schools that impart elementary education in Delhi and about 93 percent in Kerala had the electricity connection in school. Where as, the percentage of Primary schools having electricity connection remained as low as 0.91 percent in Bihar. Scenarios like this delimit the scope of making education truly universal. A large number of states have not been able to make much headway in the area of computer-aided learning and the necessary investments and therefore end up reaching far behind the target of achievements. In states like Bihar (51.50 percent), Uttar Pradesh (44.78 percent) and Rajasthan (53.18 percent), the coefficient of efficiency obtained is much lower than the average of all states. However, in others like Kerala and a few smaller states, primary education system seems to be an efficient one, indicating that there is still much scope for improvement. The reasons as well strategies vary from location to location. Adopting reasons and area-specific strategies can possibly be the best guiding factors, without which no improvement can be expected. We still have three years to optimally and rigorously utilise provisions made under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to work towards achieving universal elementary education in general and primary education in particular, and to grab the efficiency tune of 100 per cent.

A stitch in time…

The time now coincides with the Global Action week on Education; the campaign trying to raise awareness of the importance of Education for All. In the 2001-2002 school year, some 115 million children of primary-school age were not in school. According to current estimates, 77 million eligible children are not enrolled in school and many of those enrolled do not attend. UNICEF, through this campaign, urges governments and other stakeholders to keep their commitment towards the goal of universal primary education by 2015.

Back home, in India, a joint effort by UNICEF, Ministry of Human Resources Development and National University of Educational Planning and Administration, throws up several interesting facts about the school enrolments and retentions of 1.12 million Primary and Upper Primary schools in the project report of District Information System of Education (DISE). The enrolment of students in classes 1 to 8 in 2005-06 was 168.29 million, a figure showing an increase of 12.28 million from the previous year, but 180 of the 581 districts still show a decline in primary enrolment. DISE has also presented an education development index placing Kerala as the top ranking state and Bihar at the end.

True, there are wide state-wise variations with some regions of the country performing badly on almost all fronts, while others seem to be hitting the target with greater ease. It has often been thought that reinforcing preschool education could address this issue to some extent, not much have been done on this too. The DISE 2005-06 too underlines the need to sit up and plan for pre-school education.
While the government tries to reorganise its efforts, the NASSCOM report on Corporate Social Responsibility indicates that corporates invest the most in education and are engaged in diverse programmes that supplement the efforts of the government be it in education for out of school students to capacity building through ICT or supplementing the Midday Meal programme.

In our cover feature this month, we focus on the learning levels of the children under six, as the country  is approaching the timeline of the Universal Elementary Education and the universal retention target of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan by 2010. In this issue, we also cover how the Government of India is trying to reconsider the policy issues of keeping ‘all’ in the education sphere, thinking beyond the primary level, bringing in more empowering tools like information and communication technologies (ICTs) and taking all sectors to a new high, all as part of its preparations for the Eleventh Plan period 2007-2012). These steps does indicate that  fundamental right to primary education is a right of the have-nots, and a concern and attempt that is never-too-late.

Corporate Diary: May 2007

PARTNERSHIP

TutorVista partners with Vocabulary.com

Online tutoring company TutorVista.com and online education site Vocabulary.com have signed a deal under which TutorVista will serve as the exclusive tutoring service provider for Vocabulary.com. The affiliation between TutorVista and Vocabulary.com is expected to enable more than 19,000 schools to gain awareness of TutorVista's innovative tutoring resources.

 TutorVista will offer, for a limited period, Vocabulary.com's students USD25 off on its test preparation services and USD25 off on the first month of tutoring subscription. Vocabulary.com students will also be able to receive two free weeks of tutoring and two free hours of test preparation when they register on TutorVista. Vocabulary.com is claimed to generate 250,000 unique visitors a month.

IOL Broadband empowers e-Learning market in India

IOL Broadband is planning to launch interactive broadband services to boost the e-Learning market in India. The company has signed an agreement with Chennai based, ABAN Informatics Pvt Ltd. to provide this service. ABAN Informatics is the  firm offering curriculum specific web enabled content for CBSE and ICSE board exams.

This joint venture will allow millions of students to get instant online access to high end 2D and 3D multimedia content of CBSE and ICSE curriculum. The company promises to deploy cutting edge technology including, fast connectivity and has partnered
with some of the leading e-Learning content providers including,
IL&FS ETS, Educational Initiatives and W3Varsity.

PROJECT

Smart to expand ICT programme in more schools in Philippines

Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) will expand the Smart Schools Programme to include 50 more public high schools and 30 public elementary schools through out Philippines this year.

To date, 100 public high schools nationwide are Smart Schools Programme partners. Under the Smart Schools Programme, Smart constructs or upgrades computer laboratories into Smart Teachers Learning Resource Centers and provides free Internet connection for one year.

Partner schools are trained in Basic Computer Literacy, ICT Integration, Basic Troubleshooting and Maintenance, Leadership and Basic Web Page Design. In cooperation with content partners, Smart hopes to make local online content available to educators. Last month, Smart also launched Smart Mentors, a specialised training and development programme for faculty members of Smart Schools Programme partners.

Intel brings ICT for Education initiative to Malaysia

Intel Malaysia and the Ministry of Education have proposed an initiative to nudge the country towards becoming more competitive in the knowledge-based global economy by helping students develop digital skills.

Part of Intel's billion-dollar, five-year World Ahead initiative, ICT for Education will commence in Malaysia with Intel's donation of Intel-powered Classmate PCs to 10 classrooms at selected public schools during the second quarter of this year. Inclusive of the pilot, a total of 2,000 units of Classmate PCs will be donated over the span of three years.
 
This 1:1 e-Learning initiative, where each teacher and student has a dedicated laptop computer, offers both teachers and students continuous access to a wide range of software, Internet and all other digital resources for teaching and learning. In fact, it exceeds the government's aim to reduce the ratio of students sharing computers from 1:40 to 1:20 in increasing the child's exposure to ICT learning.

Aladdin eToken to secure e-Learning network of Indian IT students

Aladdin Knowledge Systems, the leader in Software DRM, identity management, and content security solutions, announced that The Consortium for Indian Information Technology Education (CIITE), a nodal agency at the national level focusing on IT education throughout the country, selected the Aladdin eToken authentication solution to secure its vast network of e-Learning resources throughout India.

Over the next three years, Aladdin eToken will be provided to CIITE's students wishing to access the CIITE Educational Portal. eToken will secure access to online academic services, including online libraries, video-based learning, and IT-related texts. In addition to eToken, Aladdin has provided CIITE with an Aladdin Authentication Course – a comprehensive, academic-level DVD training course detailing authentication and security. This course will be used by students in CIITE-supported institutes and high-level educational organisations. Aladdin also announced that it won a deal to supply its award-winning eSafe content security solution to educational institutes run by CIITE.

Product

SumTotal and HP Education Services deploy learning system for Singapore Prison Service

SumTotal Systems, a global provider of talent and learning management solutions, and HP Education Services have deployed SumTotal TotalLMS – 7.2 for Singapore Prison Service (SPS).

Total LMS is an enterprise software system for delivering and analysing learning over the Internet. With SumTotal's software, prison staff spread across 14 correctional institutions has online access to not only prison procedures and doctrines but also best practices designed to boost employee performance. With an LMS now in place, administrators can quickly create or adapt learning to meet the ever-changing situations that officers and staff face inside the prison. Unlike classroom instruction, SPS staff can tap into e-learning when the need arises. And the reports and data that administrators can pull from the LMS such as an officer's knowledge about, say, resolving conflicts give SPS leadership another way to manage the service's talent. In the coming months, SPS will convert many paper-based training materials into an electronic format for delivery and access by the SPS learner population.

Manipal offers distance education in Banking

The Bangalore-based Manipal Education Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) to start a diploma course in banking and finance. The course, targeted at graduates from any academic stream, will be a distance learning course and students will be provided with the course material, e-Learning support and contact classes.

Likely to be priced at INR 5,000 for the whole course, this is a self-paced course, for which exams will be held twice and year, and students can decide when they want to take the exam. The course will also be targeted at IT professionals as statistics show that nearly 20 per cent of the employees in IT companies are banking professionals. The exams for the course will be held offline and online.

Techweb launches SMS Reach Out

Techweb Technologies, a one stop e-shop offering cutting edge solutions to address the communication needs of all,  announced the launch of  its new innovative customer acquisition cum brand-building tool – SMSReach Out. Techweb is on the verge of obtaining
a process patent for its service SMSReach Out.

SMSReach Out the flagship product of Techweb Technologies integrates SMS (mobile), email and Internet technologies into the sales cycle. By incorporating the dedicated SMS number in the advertisement, corporates/institutions can open a new avenue for lead generation.  The SMS Reach Out service would acknowledge each and every enquiry and send the appropriate e-brochure of the product/service to the potential customer.

Headquartered in Bangalore, Techweb Technologies has a liaison office in the US catering to the North American market. Techweb has offered business solutions to different verticals including manufacturing, retail and education institutions.
Adobe to focus on training for deeper penetration
To provide designers and developers with a broad spectrum of creative options, Adobe introduced Creative Suite 3 product line in India and will also be conducting road shows to foray into the B and C class cities with the new product.

Adobe is also going to host a number of marketing activities to promote their products. As far as the verticals are concerned, the company will focus on education, e-Learning and content providers, advertising, printing and publishing, BPO, and animation.

To make the Suite 3 widely acceptable among the educational institutions Adobe wants specialised courses be made available to the students so as to make them well versed with the product. The education segment is having a tremendous potential and for that it is going to conduct design and other relevant institutional workshops in the colleges.  

OLPC machine comes at US$175

    The founder of the ambitious “US$100 laptop” project, Nicholas Negroponte announced that the machine is now available at US$175 and it would be able to run Windows in addition to its homegrown, open-source interface.

    He announced that now the OLPC machine will be able to run Windows as well as Linux. Seven nations, including Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Nigeria and Libya have expressed their interest to buy the little green-and-white “XO” computers. Quanta Computer Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of portable computers will develop the XO machines. Quanta agreed to take a profit of about US$3 per machine, less than what it gets from mainstream PC companies. Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank division has agreed to facilitate a payment system on a pro bono basis. The machine , which boasts extremely low electricity consumption, a pulley for hand-generated power, built-in wireless networking and a screen with indoor and outdoor reading modes is now available at US$175.

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