G.D. Goenka Transforming Students’ Potential Into Success Stories

Interviews

By

-

December 2, 2019

We have collaborated with internationally acclaimed icons like M.S. Dhoni, Jwala Gutta, Saroj Khan and Shankar Mahadevan with an aim to provide professional training in the field of sports and performing arts to our students and transforming their potential into success stories, says Chandan Agarwal, Chairman, G.D. Goenka Public School, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).

Built over 4 acres along with world class infrastructure in Kanpur, what is the mission and vision of your school?

MISSION: Our mission is to become the number one school that is a preferred choice of parents and students like. We focus all our efforts towards providing the students with the best of the facilities and resources and helping them grow up to their full potential and grow in all areas—be it physical, intellectual, moral or social

VISION: Our vision is to provide value based education that is globally benchmarked with the world. Our endeavor is to grow our students into aesthetically rich, intellectually aware and well grounded individuals capable of fulfilling their dreams and aspirations and contributing positively to the society.

Along with academic competition, schools need skill and propagation for survival. At G.D. Goenka, how do you cope up with competition?

Since its inception, G.D. Goenka has not considered itself to be part of any competition. Our ideology, promotes relentless efforts to surpass one’s own limits, to continuously improve. We focus on harnessing the inherent talents and potential of the students and providing them with frequent opportunities to showcase their skills.

We feel immense pride in sharing that ours is the only school which has collaborated with internationally acclaimed academies of icons like M.S. Dhoni, Jwala Gutta, Saroj Khan and Shankar Mahadevan with an objective to provide professional training in the field of sports and performing arts to our students and transforming their potential into success stories. To add on, ours is also the first school in the city to initiate an in-house Career Counselling Lab.

What are the initiatives taken by your school to make it safe and secure for the students?

The safety and well being of our students in the school premises has been our major concern. The school is under the surveillance of more than 100 cameras. Each school bus also has cameras installed and can be tracked at all times with the help of the GPS. Guards are on duty on every gate of the school 24×7. The school does not permit senior students to commute by themselves to school and vice-versa. Id cards and pick up authority cards are mandatory for guardians and parents.

Technology plays a pivotal role in Education. How it is making an impact in the classrooms?

Being one of the most futuristic schools, the use of technology becomes quintessential to our teaching pedagogy. Lesson plans based on VAK technology (visual, audio and kinesthetic) cater to students with varied intelligences. All our classrooms are equipped with smart classes which definitely are very helpful in explaining typical concepts in a smooth and easily comprehensible method. Workshops on integrating technology with teaching are frequently conducted for our facilitators.

What are your future projects or initiatives to emerge as one of the best schools in the country?

Education sector is going through a challenging period at present. However, in spite of all the obstacles, we are completely focused towards the holistic development of our students and have never compromised as long as the future of our students is concerned. As stated earlier, the school has collaborated with renowned Sports and Performing arts academies to provide an unparalleled, professional training, and hands on experience that will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in chiseling the potential of our students and enabling them to become the Champions of Tomorrow.

Education Landscape from Brick & Mortar to Click & Mortar

Expert opinion

By

Reetika Bose

-

December 2, 2019

The education landscape of today and the future is “click and mortar”. It not only appeals to those born in the new millennium or Generation Z as they are fondly referred to, but it also focuses on acquiring skill sets through a virtual medium. The new generation expects educational institutions to provide knowledge through mobile digital devices, platforms and other similar channels. As technology has made it possible for educators to reach a broader spectrum of students, it can safely be predicted that the strongest educational institutions will be the ones whose brand is founded on the “brick and mortar” model with the adoption of virtual education, making them a “click and mortar” as well.

The advent of the “click and mortar” education system has brought several changes with it. These changes, which Elearning has initiated, have sparked a revolution in the way education is imparted and received. The query that comes to mind here is, “What exactly are these changes?”

Elearning has and continues to influence education in three important arenas. First, by easing access to education, Elearning gives students the luxury of learning from within the comfort of their homes by using internet-connected devices like tablets, computers, and smartphones. It is essentially self-paced.

Second, eLearning provides quality education to students. This student- centric mode of learning assures learners of updated knowledge. Online guided discussions with professors and lecturers are a hallmark of eLearning, which allows sharing of expertise where both, the teacher and the student gain simultaneously.

Thirdly, eLearning gives students access to specialized courses that may not be available locally. It enables access to education that is not readily available in certain geographic locations.

It is a fact that the brick and mortar framework is still the mainstay of our education system as there are undeniable advantages to learning in a shared physical space. However, online education is progressively gaining popularity. The autonomy and flexibility that these courses offer make them extremely popular with working professionals and students. The entire eLearning industry landscape is changing rapidly. It is characterized by emerging trends which will be more evident in the future.

Artificial intelligence is emerging as an integral part of the eLearning ecosystem. We see several AI educational solutions coming to the fore. It is predicted that AI can fill the need-gaps in learning and teaching. It is expected to broaden the purview of schools and teachers. For example, Machine Learning, which is a subsection of AI, helps in assessing the ability of the student to answer questions correctly or a student’s performance on a related topic and more.

Microlearning is another trend that is catching up quickly. It is also referred to as bite-sized learning and includes short learning nuggets of 3 to 5 minute duration, designed to meet a specific learning outcome. The accessibility of microlearning on multiple devices like smartphones, desktops, tablets, and laptops combined with their brevity makes them extremely popular in the education system.

The importance of personalized education is slowly sinking in. Personalized attention to each student becomes possible with Elearning. It offers the freedom of customizing the lesson according to the needs of the student. The learners of today want a learning experience that fits their learning speed, personal needs, preferred learning style, and their learning pathway.

With the increasing adoption of edtech in educational institutions and an influx of educational technologies, it is very likely that the future years will see further integration of technologies like Blockchain, Cloud computing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, ICT (Integrated Co-Teaching) classrooms and Edge Computing in the field of education.

In the age bracket of 5-24 years, India has the world’s largest population of about 500 million. With the paid online subscribers in the edtech sector witnessing a massive surge from 1.6 million in 2016, to almost 6 times more in the current year, the country is set to become the second-largest market for eLearning after the US.

“Click and mortar” education has triggered the concept of blended education where students can enjoy a combination of the traditional “brick and mortar” learning with the benefits of eLearning. This is in fact a boon to the education industry with both students and teachers reaping the best of both worlds.

The article is authored by Prof. Aindril De, Director – Academics, Amity University Online.

NEET 2020: Hijab, burkha & kirpan to be allowed in NEET from next year

News

By

Reetika Bose

-

December 2, 2019

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has initiated a new rule by allowing ‘hijab’, ‘burkha’, ‘kara’ and ‘kirpan’ in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) which will be conducted on May 3, 2020.

Candidates wearing such cultural dresses or carrying metallic items will have to report at the designated centres at least an hour before the gate closing time.

As per the latest notifications by NTA sources, if candidates are found wearing anything in alteration of the dress code or carry any assistive devices for medical reasons, they will be asked to take prior approval before admit cards are issued. The registration process for the medical/dental entrance test starts today.

With All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, joining hands with NEET-UG, the examination will be conducted in 11 languages and for the first time, the information bulletin will be made available in all these languages.

The exam will begin at 2 pm and the gates will close at 12:30 pm.

NEET 2020: Online registration begins today, check for more details

News

By

Reetika Bose

-

December 2, 2019

As per the latest information released on the official website of the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), the online registration for NEET 2020 begins today from 4pm onwards. All interested candidates can visit the official website i.e. ntaneet.nic.in and fill up the registration form.

The information was notified in the website by National Testing Agency (NTA) in both Hindi and English and can be found on the official website.

The last date to apply for NEET 2020 is 31 December, 2019.

All interested candidates can visit the official website i.e. ntaneet.nic.in and fill up the registration form. The exam pattern for NEET undergraduate 2020 will be OMR-based. The scores in NEET-UG 2020 will be converted into a percentile score.

According to the notification, the admit card for the exam is expected to be out by 27 March 2020 and the date of the examination is 3 May 2020. The tentative date of the results is 4 June 2020. The applicants who pass the NEET exam are eligible to apply to MBBS and other courses.

Required documents for online application:

Class 10 and 12 marksheet
Scanned copies of the candidate’s passport-sized photo and signature
ID proof like Aadhaar card of Voter ID card.

The examination is divided into 3 sections- physics, chemistry and biology and it will last for three hours.

How to register online for NEET 2020:

Step 1: Visit the official website( ntaneet.nic.in)

Step 2: Click on ‘Online submission for application for NEET 2020’
Step 3: Click on ‘new registration’
Step 4: You will be redirected to a new page
Step 5: Fill in details and press submit
Step 7: Make the online payment

Candidates who have completed their 10+2 from open school are not eligible for appearing in NEET 2020.

Presently, NEET 2020 is the only undergraduate level medical entrance examination in the country. The examination is required for admissions to all medical/ dental seats in the country, including in AIIMS, JIPMER, private medical colleges, state-run medical colleges, AFMC, ESIC, etc

Seth M.R. Jaipuria Schools: Embedding Best Practices From Around the World

Interviews

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 30, 2019

Kanak Gupta, Director, Seth M R Jaipuria Schools

Rather than replacing teachers with artificial learning tools & apps, we need to arm them with the latest technology, says Kanak Gupta, Director, Seth M R Jaipuria Schools, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

What is the vision of your Institution?

At Seth M.R Jaipuria Schools, our vision is to make quality education available to students across towns and cities in India. We strongly believe that education has to be learner centric and participative, so our main focus is to provide a differentiated learning experience to the students.

Our education focus is of a new world in which relationships are governed by the spirit of universal fraternity; we are dedicated to serve the highest interests of nation-building that can ensure a vast synthesis of knowledge and a harmonious perfection of individual and the society as a whole.

How the curriculum designed and what makes it different from other Institutions?

At Jaipuria, the curriculum is designed to adapt itself specifically to every child’s requirements. We make our students work in teams, focus on creativity & innovation, to make decisions & to look beyond what they can see. The curriculum that we design is based on a constructive approach. We emphasise more on learning by doing, asking questions, and make students learn from activity based modules. This overall strategy makes us unique and different from rest of the schools.

Also Read: Seth M R Jaipuria School Ensuring Nation Building with Quality Education

What are the technological innovations adopted at Seth M.R. Jaipuria Schools for the holistic development of students?

We strongly believe that technology has to be integrated in the learning cycle and we must empower teachers and students to use it well. To say the cliché, technology can only be an enabler. Different technological innovations were adopted by Seth M.R. Jaipuria Schools for the holistic development of its students. More emphasis was laid on digitally enabled classrooms with a vastrepository of animated, lesson specific, 3D and 2D multimedia modules, for all subjects. Also, with the help of VR & AR Apps, students get the opportunity to learn more. They get to know the information related to the subject matter more easily.

In your opinion, what is to be done with the latest technology to get better results, instead of replacing teachers with these artificial learning tools and apps?

Rather than replacing teachers with artificial learning tools & apps, we need to arm them with the latest technology, so that they can better deliver results through teaching. The focus should be more on innovation with pedagogy. Whilst the teachers may have intention to use technology, they might not have the bandwidth to invest time in research and upgrading their skills.

What are the key aspects that make your Institution perform better than other schools?

There are many aspects that help us perform better than other schools. At Seth M.R. Jaipuria Schools, our focus is on overall erudition, value-addition, character building & transformation. We believe in the approach of combining management principles with development methodologies to providea rich array of resources to maximise achievement in any sphere of life. The biggest advantage is that this approach provides for a lifelong platform for growth. We are a learner centric institution that provides opportunities for academic, technical & lifelong learning in a collaborative culture dedicated to arouse curiosity, results and excellence.

NEET UG 2020: NTA to initiate changes in registration to control malpractices

Higher Education

By

Reetika Bose

-

November 30, 2019

With an aim to control malpractices, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is all set to introduce certain changes in the registration and verification process for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020. The notification for the exam will be released on December 2.

The exam is scheduled to be held on May 3, 2020. Interested candidates can fill the application form on or before December 31.

Based on the NEET score, candidates will get admission into All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). No separate exam will be conducted.

Changes in Registration & Verification

In a bid to discourage impersonation issues and cheating case, NTA may ask candidates to upload a live photo during registration process.

While filing up the application forms, students will have to pose in front of the webcam to click a picture and upload it accordingly. However, the process of uploading the pictures has not been disclosed by the National Testing Agency yet.

As per the report, “An applicant may also need to upload a live photo. The class X and XII roll numbers will also be used to verify the candidates. At the test centres, candidates may also be asked to show the identity card uploaded at the time of registration.”

NEET is an entrance examination in India for students who wish to study undergraduate medical courses and dental courses in government or private medical colleges and dental colleges in India.

CBSE informs schools to use the latest political map of India

K-12

By

Reetika Bose

-

November 30, 2019

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has informed all its affiliated schools to use only the latest political map of India for all purposes. They have been directed to use the education Series Maps for teaching and training purposes.

The latest political map prepared by the Survey of India is available on their official website (http://www.surveyofindia.gov.in).

A circular released by CBSE says, “Schools are requested to consider using these Education Series Maps prepared in line with latest Topographic Maps (OSMs) for Geography / Atlas / Map work / any other map related educational activity,” reads CBSE circular.

The latest edition of all the maps can be found on the Survey of India website and are also available for sale at their offices across the country.

Maps are an essential part of the curriculum. While political maps are used in History and Political Science lessons, Geographical maps are used to teach about the topography of a region.

Apart from the Political map of India, Survey of India has also prepared New Education Series Maps pertaining to Geographical areas. The New Educational Series Maps have been prepared with Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Grid. The Geographical areas for which new edition of maps have been prepared include Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab/Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.

Real-Time Tracking: A boon for Parents

Article

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 30, 2019

Pooja Khemka, Founder and CEO, trackNOW Pvt. ltd.

Three decades ago, working parents and full-time parents were worried about their child’s well-being. Working parents depended and relied on grandparents, extended family, full-time domestic help, neighbours and even unlicensed creches for childcare. However, this did not mean that full-time parents, mostly mothers, had nothing to worry about. Since mothers tended to the household or were unable to drive their children to school, it was common to send children in private vehicles, carpool, school buses, with servants or a specially appointed person who took groups of children to school.

Challenges Experienced by Parents

Since there were no mobile phones, CCTV facilities or GPS, parents simply trusted the concerned persons and asked their children if everything was all right. Furthermore, there was no way of knowing if the child was telling the truth or someone was pressuring or coercing the child into lying. There was also the risk of the child not alighting the school bus or private vans in time. In these cases, school buses simply left and alternative arrangements had to be made to drop the child to school. This caused much inconvenience to parents and children.

IT and Child Safety

With rising crimes against children, it has become more urgent than ever to devise solutions to ensure their safety and well- being. Thankfully, the swift advances in information technology and digital connectivity have given rise to school vehicle tracking apps, live camera access in daycare facilities, Whatsapp and SMS to communicate with school staff etc. — tools that help parents ensure their child’s safety.

myskoolbus is one such application that tracks school buses in real-time and sends notifications and updates to parents and teachers. Notifications include the bus’s location, the child boarding the bus, arrival time at the school, departure, alerts in case the bus breaks down etc.

Pooja Khemka, Founder and CEO, trackNOW Pvt. ltd., who developed the myskoolbus App can relate to parental anxiety about child safety as she too is a parent. She states, “It’s just like keeping fingers crossed every day until you see your child coming back from school”.

The app is popular with schools and optimized for computers, smartphone and tablets. Manan Choksi, Executive Director, Udgam School and Zebar School for Children states, “I didn’t expect myskoolbus to be so convenient, so useful, and so relevant, it is a boon for working parents”.

Thousands of parents have welcomed the myskoolbus application for its reliability and convenience. “Larger ecosystem partners are school chains that have multiple branches across the country. Recently, CBSE has made it compulsory for schools to use GPS in their vehicles” adds Pooja Khemka. Above all, parents can now rest assured that their children are safe and sound.

CAT 2019 answer key, response sheet released: Check how to download

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 29, 2019

CAT 2019 answer key: IIM Kozhikode released the response sheet, question paper and a preliminary answer key for the Common Admission Test at its official website, iimcat.ac.in. Over 2.44 lakh candidates registered for the CAT. Candidates can download their respective answer sheet and correct answers key from their candidate logins.

The exam was held on November 24, 2019 at 376 test centres spread across 156 cities. The overall applications have witnessed a rise of nearly 3,000 from last year as a total of 2,44,169 candidates applied this year against 2.41 lakh last year. The registration of women candidates in the CAT 2019 has gone up to a six-year high with as many as 85,810 female candidates applying for the test.

IIM CAT answer key 2019: Check how to download
Step 1: Visit the iimcat.ac.in
Step 2: On the homepage, click on ‘candidate log-in’
Step 3: Log-in using credentials
Step 4: Answer key, question paper and response sheet will be in the dashboard, download

Based on the final answer key, the CAT results will be declared by the second week of January 2020. The CAT 2019 score will be valid till December 31, 2020, as per the official notification. Based on this score, candidates can seek admission to B-schools including IIM, Delhi University as well as JNU among others.

Critical Need to Change the Definition of Education

Article

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

November 29, 2019

Our notion of education and its purpose needs a significant revision. We must begin by acknowledging the limitations of conventional textbook learning and also revise the way we evaluate students’ abilities, writes Dr Chandrakanta R Pathak, Principal and CEO, HVB Global Academy, Mumbai for Elets News Network (ENN).

We live in an increasingly mercurial, inconstant world thanks to the unmitigated explosion in technology in the last fifteen years. Consider, for instance, how modern smartphones and social media have redefined how we interact with family, friends, relatives and colleagues; how online retail shops such as Amazon and Flipkart have completely altered our shopping preferences and habits; and, on large-scale manufacturing front, production of goods such as furniture, clothing, household appliances, automobiles and even food are being rapidly automated. We now have Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms that can compose poems, write stories, trade stocks (High-Frequency Trading) and learn to mimic artistic styles of virtuoso painters such as Van Gogh and Johannes Vermeer in just six hours.

Thus, our way of life has undergone complete revision in the last ten years. This dazzling pace of change is unprecedented in the history of mankind, and so are challenges that follow from it. One such consequent challenge that we currently face is the rate at which knowledge and skills that were once considered useful and employable are being rendered obsolete. As a result, workers with lower-order and conventional skills are becoming increasingly unemployable and are being replaced by machines and AI algorithms at an alarming rate.

Therefore, it is natural that we should feel anxious and ask ourselves—what are we doing to ensure a safe and secure future for our children? Are we equipping them with the tools and skills needed to survive in a world rife with unpredictable challenges? This naturally leads us to question the efficacy of our education system— the institution that has the mandate to train our youth in skills needed to survive and thrive in a technology-driven, inconstant world.

It is not possible to, nor should we try to, check the juggernaut that technological progress is. Instead, we must come to terms with the reality that for our children to understand and successfully address future challenges, their knowledge and skillset must also evolve in step with the change. The fact, however, is that the conventional school curricula have remained stagnant, in relative terms, for more than a decade. Almost all modern challenges are essentially interdisciplinary in nature and, therefore, demand a more holistic and application-oriented approach to education. In contrast, conventional school curricula offer compartmentalized subjects that do not venture beyond the confines of traditional disciplines and are rarely of any practical utility.

Moreover, conventional annual examinations evaluate students on a few narrowly defined metrics that fail to accommodate the many skills and abilities that are useful in today’s increasingly complex world. Important skills such as creative critical thinking, complex problem solving, empathy and human resources management that cannot be automated do not figure into most curricula and assessment methodology.

It is evident from these reflections that our notion of education and its purpose needs a significant revision. We must begin by acknowledging the limitations of conventional textbook learning. We must also revise the way we evaluate students’ abilities. As teachers, we must ensure that training programmes we offer to our students integrate a kaleidoscopic range of subjects consistent with the characteristics of challenges they are likely to face in future. As parents, we need to accept the utility of vast knowledge that lies outside the purview of textbooks and become open to the practical utility of a wide range of skills that are not included in formal curricula. We must also become open to enlisting the help and support of those businessmen, industrialists, engineers and scientists who are at the forefront of change.

It is high time we acknowledge the increasing complexity of the process of modern education and view it as a collaborative effort of parents, teachers and other stakeholders in society to ensure that our students are equipped with best tools needed to thrive in a world replete with unpredictable challenges.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories