Putting rumours to rest, the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) has warned Class 10, Class 12 students and their parents not to be deceived by any fake calls asking for money.
According to the UP board, some people, who identify themselves as board members, are asking money from students in order to pass them.
In a statement UPMSP said “Some undesirable elements are using the COVID-19 situation for their personal benefit by creating confusion regarding board results…students and parents should not fall for these fake calls. We request you to inform the police if you receive any unwanted call.”
Previously, the board had announced that it will start evaluation of Class 10 and Class 12 answer sheets in districts with containment zones from May 19, 2020.
The results of Class 10 and 12 will be declared soon.
Recently, National Testing Agency, or NTA, released circular asking students to beware of fake and fraudulent calls, SMS and email regarding National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate, or NEET UG 2020.
The Bihar Board is expected to declare 10th Result 2020 by afternoon today. The Bihar Board is set to declare the BSEB Matric results on its official websites- biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in and biharboard.ac.in.
The BSEB Chairman will declare the Bihar Board class 10 results during a press conference, which was expected in March end or early April but suffered a delay due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Bihar board completed the evaluation process and also held verification drive for all the exam toppers through telephonic interviews.
Students can check results, BSEB Class 10 Results 2020 via SMS, students must type – BSEB 10 -space- ROLL NUMBER and send it to 56263.
The board has barred the students to gather at their schools for results.
We are living in the age of incessant technological breakthroughs, which is disrupting all aspects of our lives, including education. This fast paced disruption in the field of education causes shortening of the learning curve, there by making it imperative for learners, instructors, education companies as well as academic institutions to constantly rediscover and re-educate themselves to be able to survive.
There has been a big shift in pedagogy and the way content is being created, packaged, distributed and consumed. However, the sheer speed of such changes in education sector is the most challenging disruptor. For example, while it took a couple of decades for Radio to gain popularity, the same happened in 10 years for TV, three years for the Internet, a year for Facebook, and a couple of months for WhatsApp. These all are media for content dissemination and the accelerated pace of their popularity is a good proxy for the accelerated pace of change in the way modern learner learns.
Modern pedagogical paradigms and changing trends in education, reinforced by use of technology and digitization, create an unsaid compulsion to use new approaches and techniques to implement active learning. However, one aspect of learning that has and will always remain relevant, despite all technology disruptions, is ability to relate to the content. Benjamin Franklin once famously remarked, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn”. In a way, this was, is, and will always remain the central pillar of any meaningful teaching methodology – whether it involves technology or not! Gamification is something that many believe is the key to successfully blend these changing trends in the ever evolving pedagogical paradigms.
Gamification in Education
Gamification has the potential of reinventing the very basics of teaching methods to make them more engaging and relevant for the learners and enable long-term learning. It is a brilliant way to be a part of the digital reality and enmesh it with meaningful learning. Gamification, by definition, is the use of game mechanics and elements in the learning process to create a more engaging environment. It also includes processing the available information on students’ learning behaviors and tracing their progress to arrive at tangible learning outcomes.
Author- Dr. Lalit Singh, Managing Director, McGraw Hill, India and South Asia
The basic idea behind any game is to achieve a specific goal (to win, to move to the next level or to score points) in the presence of multiple obstacles with varying degrees of difficulty. This is what education aims to accomplish as well. However, the central issue of concern with modern education is the lack of engagement and motivation which makes the learners turn to their smartphones and other gadgets which they look up to as their instant source of information and knowledge. What learners look for is often not found in classroom lectures (even the most gripping ones) and rote textbook learning, which are still endorsed by a large number of educational institutions. This is exactly where gamification can fill the gap.
Gamification in learning focuses on the art of creating a learner-centric teaching environment. It also enables learning beyond the convention by creating “do-it-yourself” tasks which are conducive to development of key skills. Teachers must learn to be facilitators and should utilize these tools to nurture communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity among the learners. For Gamification to be effective, the learning objectives of the game should be clear, the profiles of the participating learners should be carefully defined, the game should be able to induce a sense of competition and active participation among the learners, and finally the game tool should have the ability to deliver measurable outcomes for the learners.
How to meaningfully incorporate Games in Education
In order to meaningfully gamify the learning process,course content must be built keeping the learner’s needs at the center. It is important to make the learners understand that their true potential is unknown and they can achieve anything when they work with passion, effort, and practice.
Course creation should follow a systematic process to drive the desired behavior among the learners. This process can be broken down into 4 steps, repeated over and over again with collected experience and feedback:
Step 1 – Understanding the Target Audience
To begin with, we need to understand who the target learners are, what is their current level of understanding, what are their specific learning needs and their specific challenges. This, of course, includes an understanding of the pain points in the current education system also. The pain points of their existing learning system could range from availability of technology infrastructure, motivation, engagement and skill level of the teachers, learning environment at the institution and homes,and the very nature of the course in question.
Step 2 – Defining the Learning Objectives
Once we have developed a good understanding of the target users, the next important step in the process is to define specific, achievable and measurable learning objectives for the target users. For example, a good learning objective for a game on Class 6 Mathematics could be to help the student achieve better understanding of principles of multiplication. While for a student of computer science engineering, the learning objective can be as simple as writing effective algorithms to optimize the code.
Step 3 – Creating the Story board
Now, the learning objective has to be broken down into smaller elements, which, when put together in a logical order, will help the learner reach the overall goal. These elements, in our example, could be reading about various ways to multiply numbers, solving some simple sums, interpreting some word problems and understanding the relationship between multiplication and division. And for the aspiring computer science engineer, it can be elements like effective use of flowcharts and modularity of code. All these elements of the story then need to be stitched together into a nicely flowing story to keep the users engaged while they play and learn.
Step 4 – Build the Game
The last step in the process is to add interesting gamification features to the story to let it unfold for the user. It includes constructing an entire universe of learning with a range of activities that lead up to the final objective while building a strong sense of competition and/or achievement for the learners. These elements can include achiever’s badges, simple time restrictions, levels, virtual goods, cooperation and teamwork activities, etc. Irrespective of the elements used, in the end the game has to create a sense of winning, reaching a goal or accomplishing something for the learners to stay engaged.
Using such elements helps provoke different reactions from the learners.For instance, to complete a certain level, a student may have to acquire and apply certain skills. However, if the stage is tedious and wrought with obstacles, learners might feel discouraged at the onset itself and may need some social elements to make through, like communication, teamwork, community building, etc.
For learners to be pushed to consecutive stages, it is important to ensure that they are repeatedly motivated with bonus points, winning opportunities,or any other element of surprise and excitement that will want them to come back despite the challenges. The learning program shall surely have an edge if it allows learners to participate at different times with a leader board that refreshes on a regular basis. This avoids the feeling of not being able to catch up and creates a sense of hope and motivation to contest again with the aim to lead.
The ultimate goal is to design the program with a perfect understanding of the overall objective so that each element can make the requisite contribution to the global aim and lead to the desirable, measurable outcome. However, like with any other process, the process of building an educational game is also an iterative one. The feedback from the learners who have used the application is of paramount importance and should guide revision and further development of the game.
In the end, it would be apt to conclude that real-time, long term learning takes place when technology is seamlessly integrated into the learning process, keeping the learners’ core needs at the center of innovations, rather than treating technology as an add-on or an after-thought. The seemingly evolving landscape of digital learning has to blend within the existing landscape of education.
To provide relief to students, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said that the Students enrolled in Universities and affiliated colleges may undertake SWAYAM courses and avail credits by completing these courses as per University Grants Commission (UGC)’s present regulations.
The HRD Minister further said UGC has shared a list of 82 Under Graduate & 42 Post Graduate Non-Engineering MOOCs courses with University Vice Chancellors and College Principals, which will be offered in July Semester 2020 on SWAYAM Platform i.e.www.swayam.gov.in.
He also added that these courses cover subject areas such as Biochemistry/Biotechnology/Biological Sciences & Bio engineering, Education, Law, Computer Science and Engineering, Commerce, Management, Pharmacy , Mathematics , History, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc.
The Minister further said that in the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic scenario, Students, Teachers, Life-long learners, Senior Citizens and Homemakers may enroll and avail the benefits of SWAYAM courses to widen their horizon of learning.
SWAYAM is a programme initiated by Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality.
Students, we won’t let #COVID19 hinder your learning!
82 UG & 42 PG Non-engineering MOOCs to be offered in July’ 2020 semester on @SWAYAMMHRD.
With these new courses, you will also be able to avail the
benefits of credit transfer and certification.
More: https://t.co/cUnYHqqPzepic.twitter.com/YVxhr5Wj1C
— Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) May 21, 2020
Indira Gandhi National Open University became the first university in the country to provide MA Hindi programme online. The initiative was launched by Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ through a Facebook live session.
The new online programme is initiated to give strength to the “Padhe Online” campaign. The minister stressed on the role the Hindi language plays not in India but in other countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, etc.
He congratulated Prof. Nageshwar Rao, VC IGNOU for the initiative and encouraged other institutions to promote online education.
He said “In the last five years, more than 85 thousand learners have enrolled themselves in MA Hindi programme in IGNOU. The same number of students must have also been registered in the BA Hindi programme. This number is going to increase rapidly.”
The HRD Minister also said that initiatives like National Digital Library (NDL), Swayam, Swayam Prabha, Diksha among other platforms are offering online education to lakhs of learners across the country and this step will give stimulus to digital learning.
IGNOU offers online courses through its portal www.iop.ignouonline.ac.in. The online programme also includes video and audio lectures, tutorials, etc. The online programmes will be offered in the fee structure similar to conventional programmes.
Keeping the safety of people in mind, Amazon has launched a virtual internship programme for the students in India. The internship is being conducted with an aim to help sharpen the leadership skills and innovative talent of the students.
A virtual curriculum spread across a span of six to eight weeks has been set for the students interning at Amazon.
Amit Agarwal, Country Head, Amazon thanked the teams who made a virtual internship possible wishing the interns a great learning experience at the company.
The internship programme for the students includes mentorship from senior officials at Amazon, opportunities to connect to other interns, moderated group discussions, and fireside chats with senior leaders at the company.
Amazon will also conduct networking events for the students along with them getting the opportunity to attend the leadership conference with the senior executives of Amazon.
With the lockdown being enforced across the country since March 2020 many of the summer internship programmes were cancelled, postponed. The central government also recruited students from the Indian Institute of Management or virtual internships in ministries which are helping with the COVID-19 crisis.
New Delhi/Ghaziabad –The outbreak of the pandemic, Covid-19 has precipitately brought a halt to all educational institutions as they have been padlocked. Although this time has brought a lot of disturbances, one of the best institutes of Engineering, Management and Pharmacy, KIET Group of Institutions, situated in NCR-Delhi, Ghaziabad, has learnt abundantly during this period. The happiest moments for the institute came amidst lockdown when the students of KIET brought laurels by excelling in placements and earning the offers of 27.40 LPA package, by commencing the online internship for 3500 students, by winning 1st prize of Rs 3 Lac in Hackathon and launching an extremely educative Techno Magazine. Even the faculty members of KIET enhanced the pleasure of learning by successfully filing their patents.
To reiterate KIET Group of Institutions switched to digital & distance learning models in no time after the pandemic was announced. When they faced challenges in conducting practical/lab work, they created virtual labs to facilitate their students. Nevertheless, the institute has been seamlessly participating in internships and recruitment activities to save guard the future of their students. It seems that the pandemic has taught them that if we get into our learning mode instead of fighting, we can survive any catastrophe.
It is a matter of pleasure and pride that KIET has maintained its trend of bringing the best multinational companies to the institute for recruitments, wherein the average CTC for B.Tech students is more than Rs 4 LPA since last 3 years. The finest thing that has been announced during lockdown is that two girls of final year, Ms. Mehak Gupta and Ms Palak Aggarwal, from the department of Information Technology, have been offered a package of Rs 27.40 LPA by the eminent IT Brand‘Adobe’.
“My passion and perseverance to work in the company par excellence has made my dream come true. I am extremely grateful to the institute, the placement department, my department, the faculty members and even my friends who have motivated me ever since I was able to make through the first round at Adobe. My sincere confession, I’m proud to be a KIETian!!” said Mehak Gupta after receiving the offer.
Moreover, the Campus Hackathon Challenge 2020 organized by Lowe’s India brought some of the brilliant minds of KIET to the forefront as the students of 3rd year, Aakash Bajpai and Isha Bansal, blew it up with their incredible hacks. They won the Campus Hackathon beating more than 1000 other teams. They secured 1st position and an amount of 3 lakh rupees and the team has been offered an internship, with a stipend of Rs 40,000 per month, to be followed by a job offer at Lowe’s India.
Speaking with a feeling of contentment, Dr A Garg, the director of KIET Group of Institutions remarked, “We believe KIET has already set an example of being an epitome of agility and adeptness, towards the inevitable changes that were the need of the hour. We believe, that in the Education Sector, seamlessly delivering technology implementation, is the most powerful tool in the coming days. We have prepped our students, including those of core branches, to gain proficiency in Information Technology. I appreciate the diligence of our students & efforts put in by IT department and CRPC in bringing glories to the institute.”
Also the lockdown has been marked with the launch of the first edition of the E-magazine Bits n’ Bytesthat’s been brought out by the members of INNOGEEKS Club at KIET through which an attempt has been made to bring insight into the latest technologies and various tech-related news during COVID-19. This magazine is a creative venture of the students to encounter the Gospels of cutting edge technology, that’s being played upon during this time of pandemic http://online.anyflip.com/oalvj/keql/mobile/index.html
Replicating their glee and feeling of pride, Dr Manoj Goel, the Joint Director, Dr Adesh Pandey, the head of IT department and Mr Arvind Sharma, Head CRPC congratulated these students for their accomplishments.
KIET Group of Institutions is one of the premier destinations for young minds, offering courses in Engineering, Management and Pharmacy. It continuously strives for the welfare of its students providing them with best opportunities both on the national and international platforms.
Keeping the safety of students in view, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced a Cyber Safety Handbook for the Class 9 and 11 students. With online classes becoming the new normal, the handbook is meant to ensure healthy digital habits among students.
The handbook contains information about Digital access, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital communication and commerce along with digital health and wellness. It also provides insight into regulations on the student’s digital rights, freedoms and responsibilities, online security, etc.
The handbook has assured to groom students in the areas of emotional harassment, attacks on devices through malware, production and consumption of a child’s physical being, etc.
In the handbook, CBSE has highlighted the importance of knowledge of English with most applications being presented in the language.
This book also aims to make use of computers and related technology which are necessary to avoid cyber crimes.
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank lauded the move by CBSE. The minister took to his official twitter handle to share the news and the efforts made by CBSE. With the students adapting to online mode of study from the past two months, the hand book will make students aware about crimes such as cyber theft, violations, etc.
Students, digital access has its own pros and cons!
Know your digital rights and responsibilities.
VIBGYOR High – Goregaon’s Manya Kewalramani and Ishaan Tibdewal were joint school toppers with 94.25% in the Class 10-equivalent International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), Cambridge International board examination.
The excellent results bear testimony to the high quality of education imparted at VIBGYOR. Both, Manya Kewalramani and Ishaan Tibdewal scored 8A*(Star) in the report card as the school registered 100 per cent pass results with students scoring 56 ‘A*’ while 62 ‘A’.
Manya Kewalramani, who had always been at the helm in her academics throughout her schooling, credited her results to immense hard work. “I use to meticulously plan my academics, so I could balance them with my extracurricular activities. I give a lot of credit to my teachers and parents who supported me right through my 10th grade.” Ishaan Tibdewal too, credited his success to proper planning and dedication as he secured 94.25 per cent results. “I thank my parents, teachers and my school who were extremely supportive to ensure I reach my goals.”
Congratulating, the students on their remarkable performance, Principal, VIBGYOR High – Goregaon said, “It’s a proud moment for all at VIBGYOR. Our students have put up an impressive performance and we are very proud of each one of them. Such accomplishments are a testimony that VIBGYOR Group of Schools stays committed to help the students achieve greater heights and succeed in every aspect of life. We also extend accolades to our faculty who have been instrumental in establishing a high standard of academic excellence and their consistency to set new milestones each year.”
The Coronavirus pandemic has significantly disrupted the higher education sector, which is a critical determinant of a country’s economic future. A large number of Indian students—second only to China—enroll in universities abroad, especially in countries worst affected by the pandemic, the US, UK, Australia and China. Many such students have now been barred from leaving these countries. If the situation persists, in the long run, a decline in the demand for international higher education is expected. Needless to say, the pandemic has transformed the centuries-old, chalk–talk teaching model to one driven by technology. This disruption in the delivery of education is pushing policymakers to figure out how to drive engagement at scale while ensuring inclusive e-learning solutions and tackling the digital divide. A multi-pronged strategy is necessary to manage the crisis and build a resilient Indian education system in the long term. One, immediate measures are essential to ensure continuity of learning in government schools and universities. Open-source digital learning solutions and Learning Management Software should be adopted so teachers can conduct teaching online.
Elets Technomedia and digitalLEARNING Magazine organized a webinar over “Role of tech and blended learning” – Way forward: approaching next academic session and delivering student’s learning” with eminent speakers from the Higher Education sector.
Silky Jain, Executive Director, Tula’s Institute, Dehradun said ”Most universities were not prepared for Coronavirus crisis. Now, online courses are become the most important thing for universities. Higher education is going through a drastic change. We are facing an issue with internet speed as most of the students are from tier II and III cities. With the new app, we addressed the digital infrastructure; students can learn anytime and will provide micro-learning for students. “
She also said Tula’s Institute has developed a Learning Management System to tap the students’ progress. In coming days, the app will be revamped to provide better services to students.
We are revolving around three things, capacity, willingness and interest. It’s high time to develop the interest of students. The new normal will be beautiful after the lockdown, she added.
Over faculties, she said there must be training sessions and need to develop the online teaching training classes regularly.
She also emphasized to address the psychology of students in this crisis.
Shaurya Pratap Singh, Regional Sales Director, India, Coursera said “There are four things educational institutions need, firstly, real-time communication system, secondly, the classes were flipped from offline to online as universities were not prepared to provide digital classes, thirdly, Learning Management System for students and lastly, assessment tools.
Coursera has over 55 million users registered globally, including 6 million in India. Over the past few months, Coursera has seen a 6-fold increase enrollment on its platform. A lot has changed in the Higher Education sector, but there’s a long way to go for education to evolve in the country, he added.
By 2030, the online gross enrollment will rise to 50 pc. There will be limitations in classrooms and mobility will be reduced and campus may have to open and close post-Covid, he added.
Coursera is providing degrees through online in many sectors. Coursera has received over 75,000 requests from colleges and universities in India and 1,696 programmes across many universities are active on the platform.
Sahil Aggarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Rishihood University, Sonipat said “The concept of blended learning was there in the sector in different ways. We must adopt flexible learning. With flexible learning, universities have to make many changes in their curriculum. With technology, teachers can reach to any part of the world. Learning will be integrated in the coming days.”
He also said the education has changed a lot in the last few months. Things are very uncertain, how the campus will open and what will be the guidelines to operate, he added.
Over teachers, he said adopting technology is compulsion for them. Faculties must focus on developing good content and act as facilitators, he said,
Dr. Yadwinder Singh Brar, Professor & Director Incharge (Main Campus), Electrical Engineering I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar said “Everything was uncertain after the lockdown was announced. Firstly, we need to develop the skillsets for using the technology in education. We have to make students learn to use the technology also. We have recorded lectures and sent it to students. With COVID we are developing new skills to tackle such crisis.”
Technology will play an important role in the education sector in coming days. Not only students but faculties must learn to use technology in education. There will be a surge in online courses in the coming days, he added.
Dr RS Bawa, Pro-Chancellor, Chandigarh University, Chandigarh said “The crisis is a new thing for every universities. We had developed our own LMS and over the years the university has turned paperless one. Technology is required for new age universities. The new situation will have three pillars- technology, innovation, and flexibility. We need to upgrade our technology also.”
The exams will have to take a back seat but ed-tech platforms will be crucial in the coming days. The role of technology to engage students is very important, he added.
He also said the challenge will be to make teachers empowered to use technology and secondly to keep students engage in virtual classes.
We are working on a lot of flexibility post COVID. We need to make students believe this crisis will not affecting their careers. The normal will be different normal post COVID, he added.
Over future plans, he said adapting new technology, self-analysis, and change in curriculum will be on the cards of the varsities.
He also emphasized transform and translate content which can reach every student in this pandemic.
Prof. (Dr.) Tabrez Ahmad, Pro Vice-Chancellor & Dean, School of Law, GD Goenka University, Gurugram said “Quality of content is the main issue for universities. The quality of content is the main difference and we need to focus on it. Technology can provide maximum learning in the classroom. Technology can help to engage students in the classroom. “
Firstly, we need to train our faculties and students to use technology. Secondly, we have to integrate skill orientated learning. However, in online education, peer learning will be hampered. Nothing can match the peer learning in campus, he added.
The Artificial Intelligence will be helping the students and teachers in relevant teaching. The AI will filter the content for teachers. Now teachers can focus on many other things. Faculties now will focus on research; a good researcher can be a good teacher, he added.
With new technology parents can check their wards progress and attendance, he said.
Over exams, he said they have used objective types to conduct exams and things were done in two hours. There is a great shift in attitude, he added.
Sudhakar Rao, Director-Branding, ICFAI Group said “We developed a Learning Management System in 2012, named it Quicforce. It’s a moodle based Learning Management System. Through the LMS we have conducted class participation, quizzes and many more. We are running the case studies with the help of animations and reduced them to 4-5 pages. We will be using the Quicforce to start our academic year. We are readily deployed to initiate the classes online.”
He also said “Variety of schools have finished their curriculum. Most of the universities have completed their exams. We are eagerly waiting for the next academic year. The colleges’ might open around September. The students have to be engaged until then. The other countries have adopted many preventive measures before opening the campuses. The parents are worried about the safety of students. The mobility will be hampered in the country. There will be a phase where institutions will settle down and there will be a phase where universities will adopt the digital campus.”
The role of teachers has changed completely and now they will act as facilitators. Big tech giants are going to make an alliance with educational institutions and offer programmes for the future.
