The President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam recently announced a vision plan that envisaged an empowered science and technology base by 2015 saying that there is a need to energise our university system and enable it to respond to the pressures of the market, so that it can retain and attract talent. A proposal of the government too was announced to set up several institutes of science, technology and IT in various parts of the country as part of its efforts to revitalise the higher education system. The National Knowledge Commission has also in its first report laid emphasis on the need to invest in education at this level of the knowledge pyramid. Although elearning has all potential in Indian higher education sector, adoption has been slow and will need major awareness and marketing efforts.
The interest in distance education is growing very rapidly in India and is expected to double up in the next decade. In the last decade the number of open universities have gone up to 12 and the institutions providing correspondence courses crossed 100 mark. Indira Gandhi national Open University, New Delhi, the apex body to coordinate and monitor the distance education system in India has more than 7,50,000 students with extremely varied profiles, spread throughout the country.
There exists an immense opportunity for institutions to establish new forms of electronic collaborations. The emergence of Internet and its combination with EDUSAT and communication and computer technology has opened opportunities to provide learning on demand and learner centred. The emergence of broadband and mobile Internet service in India makes it feasible to create a cluster of an institution with study center located in far flung areas which can further be connected in the another cluster to form a grid. In addition Wireless in Local Loop,Direct to Home satellite communication technologies are also becoming available.A combination of satellite communication technologies and grid Internet connectivity can be used by the institution for effective delivery system.
Distance education is still a new phenomenon in the newly transitioned economies like Mongolia, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. Due to reverse economic and social conditions of developed countries, countries like Bangladesh are yet to establish a reliable e-Learning system or institution. There needs to be a supporting mindset for the adoption of e-Learning as well as keep up with the global trend.
This issue examines e-Learning as a tool for promotion of higher education in Indian as well as in the global context. We are glad to introduce a dedicated space for the higher education community every month, with this special edition on e-Learning in higher education.
Oracle has launched a portfolio of over 80 industry-specific’ application solutions to address the needs of companies in 30 industry segments including industrial manufacturing, retail, life sciences, engineering, construction, professional services, financial services, government, education and health care.
MSC.Software Corp., a leading provider of enterprise simulation solutions to include simulation software and services, has detailed its Global University Programme, a multi-dimensional offering to complement introductions of MSC.Software’s SimEnterprise solutions.
What one needs for creating Technology Based Higher Education (TBHE) -environment in Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) are necessary logistics like multimedia projectors, computers, Internet connectivity with necessary bandwidth, skilled e-content development group, technology-friendly HEI administration, adaptability of the learners to TBHE environment, etc. In Bangladesh, many of these conditions do not persist at a satisfactory level. Besides, it is difficult for a particular HEI to incorporate all of them. Feeling the requirement of an implementation-friendly framework for TBHE, the authors propose a framework for promoting TBHE-environment in HEIs of Bangladesh, perhaps suitable for other developing nations also. The methodology of the framework was incepted from the National ICT Policy of Bangladesh and the feedback of the expert-group working on ICT and Higher Education in Bangladesh. For this, the authors used the data of the survey conducted by the Expert Group responsible for preparing report on “Strategic Planning for ICT in Higher Education”, of which one of the authors is an expert member. The TBHE-environment for dissemination of information in limited form in most of the public universities in Bangladesh. However, a few private universities are promoting TBHE-environment exists for authentic delivery of learning-contents in electronic form through web and other media. The authors studied their approaches and compared it with the proposed framework.
Within an HEI, the successful establishment of TBHE environment largely depends not only on the friendly administration and fund, but also on an approved framework. The framework helps in streamlining the quality of education, research and other services provided by various HEIs and eventually increases their competitiveness. Based on the learners’ needs (regular or distant), the framework helps the HEIs in designing their learning system, which is crucial for the development of the TBHE environment. Development of massive and costly system May not be useful due to socio-economic and cultural background of the learners. The framework can help HEIs in this regard.
In keeping pace with the latest trends, Rukmini Devi Public School in Delhi, India has been steadily adopting and implementing the latest technological developments not only for the betterment of its students, but also for enhancing the teaching process. As a learning resource, ICT is used for accessing contextual and referential information beyond the textbook and library, through the Internet and Intranet. Students acquire wide and in-depth conceptual understanding through audiovisual presentations on a regular basis. To further enhance skills to comprehend, analyse and interpret the information gathered, students are allotted IT projects for which they actively construct knowledge by exploring information through various ICTs, interacting with simulation and finally presenting their projects for evaluation. Similarly group project work promotes collaborative learning amongst school students and their contemporaries across global boundaries and caters to an understanding of complex issues belonging to different realms.
Learning being an eternal process, ICT has opened up several avenues to enrich and update teaching competence of the school faculty. They are able to train themselves in new pedagogical practices and are motivated to share perspectives through video conferencing, websites and other ICT inspired vistas. The school marked its imprint in 1998 on the Internet through its interactive website 'www.rdpschool.com'. It developed further adding up new sections and now has features to support a virtual school. At a micro level teachers are able to structure effective lesson plans after browsing through model teaching resources available on websites which brings a novelty to their teaching and takes them closer to their objectives.
Besides this, ICT is also being used in the school for ensuring efficiency and accuracy at all levels of administrative work. Statistical data is collected and managed with more precision for planning purposes in various departments like examination, accounts and the library which aids in monitoring results, assessing needs, allocating resources, etc in optimum time with no error.
Basic ICT skills are developed among the Rukminians from a young age itself by giving them initial training through multimedia and audio-visual labs. The skills are further polished in senior classes, where they are given knowledge of networking, progra-mming, latest application software and operating systems essential to them under expert guidance.
The school has a history of conducting several successful Multi cultural education programmes for enhancing children's understanding and appreciation for the world and its people. These exchange programmes, collaborative projects and other such activities are the efforts of the school to promote internationalism in school curriculum, which are facilitated by various ICT tools like e-mails, videoconferencing etc. In year 2006, British Council, India has recognised the incorporation of the international dimension in RDPS curriculum, by accrediting it with the 'International School Award'.
The ITN Asia Pacific hopes to work with educators within the region as well as outside of the region to provide interesting content and information that will be used by teachers and schools. Registration is free and open to all in order to be part of the network.
Leading processor maker Intel will soon introduce 'Classmate', a portable computer for children priced between INR 9,000-11,000, in India under its World Ahead programme, aimed at adding a billion new global computer users.
