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Empowering India's Future through IT
Howz IT redefining Education and increasing its reach amongst masses? What innovative solutions are used to disseminate information? Howz
e-Learning unshackling the barriers of distance, regions and language? Howz the public-private partnership model working for the welfare of rural
societies? We look at all this and more
Monday, October 01, 2007
Literacy rate is a critical yardstick to determine the economic growth
potential of a country. From a paltry 18.33% during independence to around 65%
now, India has surely come a long way. But there's still a lot of ground to be
covered to reach the magical 100% figure or even the minimum acceptable of 75%.
There are many reasons for this. The most obvious one is the lack of
infrastructure, which is more pronounced in rural areas, and is there in urban
areas as well, but at a lesser extent. Shortage of teaching staff and a lack of
the right teaching tools are some other issues. This is where the use of ICT can
do wonders. Some of the well known higher education institues like IITs and IIMs
as well as private educational institutes have already started embracing it and
reaping its benefits to some extent. But there's much more that remains to be
done. So far, the
journey of IT adoption in educational institutes hasn't been like a Twenty20
match (with all the slam-bang action) but more like a Test match (a slow and
moderate start spiralling into a massive score). It all started with computers
being reduced in form; from mainframes to the more compact PCs. Remember those
days when x86 machines started entering tiny computer labs in schools in the
80s! Those were the days when students started learning how to use a computer
through simple exercises. Little did someone imagine that the same machines now
loaded with more powerful processors and when connected through a backbone of
high speed networks would truly revolutionize the way we seek education, ie
education at the place of your choice, your time and your duration; fully
customized with the resources you want. A lot has happened in ICT for this
otherwise neglected sector, and a lot more can happen. In this story, we'll look
at both.
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The case for IT in Education
The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words 'IT in
education,' is e-learning solutions. However, ICT has much more to offer than
that. In fact, there are solutions for all types of educational institutes,
right from a small time primary school down the street, to a high-tech B-school
or T-School that charges exhorbitant fees. One just needs to know how to break
down the functions and processes that are used in institutes. These remain the
same across all educational institutes.
For instance, every year an institute needs to advertise the commencement of
its courses. It then needs to manage admissions by conducting entrance exams,
evaluate candidate applications, enrollment, hand out course material, books,
uniforms, etc.
Further, it needs to manage the timetables for each student efficiently,
allocate the right faculty for the right course, design courseware, conduct
routine tests and examinations, evaluate answers, procure equipment like
furniture for classrooms, sports and labs equipment, etc. It also needs to
manage the bus fleet, their timings, etc.
The moment you do this break-up of processes, a whole range of opportunities
emerge where IT can prove its worth. There can be generic solutions as well as
those meant specifically for educational institutes. For instance, software for
classroom timetable management and courseware management are meant specifically
for educational institutes. There's a huge variety of them available, right from
simple ones that run on a single PC to complex ones that would run on a network.
An accounting package on the other hand, is a generic software that can be used
by any
organization, including educational institutes. Again, there are lots of
accounting packages available as well, both simple and complex. Portals and
technologies for building them are also universal. They can be customized to the
requirements of any organization, so why not for educational institutes?
The pain points
As you could well imagine by now, there's tremendous opportunity in the
education sector for IT. Everything from a school management information system
to a classroom automation solution is available for institutes. Moreover, these
are available in both the Open Source and commercial worlds. However, the
challenges lie elsewhere.
One is a lack of basic infrastructure itself, especially in rural areas.
Second is a dearth of qualified teaching staff, which exists in both rural and
urban areas. There are initiatives to train teachers and make them more
effective (see box: training the trainers).
Third is a gap in the levels of education. On one side, we have brilliant
young minds doing wonders for the country, and on the other we have people who
don't even know how to write their names properly. Both have different sets of
requirements from education. The problems don't end there. There is considerable
disparity between rural and urban literacy percentages. As compared to 80%
educated population in major cities, only about 56% of the rural population can
barely read or write their names. India also has the dubious distinction of 192
million illiterate women, almost one-third of the global total. Bringing such a
massive chunk of illiterate populace in the education fold takes some doing.
Compound that with an average teacher:student ratio of 1:58 in rural regions. We
have miles to go before we narrow this gap. This certainly looks impossible
without IT.
| Training the trainers
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) has forged
a partnership with Microsoft to train 80,000 teachers and principals across
India in computer skills under 'Project Shiksha'. The project aims to also
train around 35 lakh students in not just education curriculum but also in
software tools and applications. The vision behind this initiative is that
IT in education is a powerful force that can change lives, values, induce
prosperity and foster national progress. The empowerment of teachers with
requisite skills would in turn hone the IT skills of students and enable
them to become next generation cutting edge professionals, enabling India
retain its edge in IT. The curriculum designed by Microsoft includes
examples on how technology tools can be implemented in the classroom; hands
on implementations to reinforce each concept; and exploring the Web to get
more information on the topic. The course also looks at needling requisite
computer skills such as visual presentations and Web creation tools, digital
encyclopaedia and projects, spreadsheets, etc. The teachers are trained at
their respective KVs after school hours for 10 days by working 3-4 hours
extra per day. However, for cases where there is no proper computer lab in a
KV, they are being trained at the nearest KV where such facilities are
available. |
Where IT can help
There's no single answer to combat so many problems. On one side, there's a
major capital intensive drive required to improve the infrastructure. This needs
to come from both the govt and the private sector. It's an old saying, 'If a
society cannot help the vast majority of poor, the sustenance of those who are
rich is also threatened.' India is still a predominantly agriculturist society
with an overwhelming 70 per cent of its population residing in rural areas. We
still have vast stretches of villages without adequate electricity, water
supply, sewage or drainage facilities or even suitable employment opportunities,
let alone exposure to technology.
There's a strong case here to arm this underprivileged majority with
information and education, not through the traditional means of
student-teacher-school building mode but through e-Learning. We have a strong
belief that this can be churned into reality what with the Indian e-Learning
industry estimated to grow up to $182-billion by 2009. In the recent past, the
model government-private sector partnership has seen a plethora of e-learning
projects being launched for the benefit of rural populace. These projects range
from those that provide informal IT training to the rural illiterate masses to
community information services for people with minimal knowledge and access to
resources such as e-choupals and school based curriculum that impart education
to rural students. School based projects like SchoolNet India, Uttaranchal's
Aarohi and Mapping the Neighbourhood provide the IT infrastructure required for
enhancing the quality of education in rural areas, building rural communities
and for local content development.
If we stop for sometime and contemplate the hectic pace at which information
is shared these days, and compare it to the scenario 10-20 years back, the
glaring difference crosses our mind like a flash of lightning. To match the
contemporary high rate of development and information exchange, you need
resources.
With the acceleration in education reform measures, opportunities in IT lie
in facilitating communication and collaboration amongst schools and the various
stakeholders; such as inviting parents to be actively involved in school
activities of their wards; continuing the professional development of school
principals and teachers; and the use of online learning platforms and evaluation
packages.
The spread of education through the World Wide Web helps in inculcating
global outlook amongst students and teachers alike, by connecting them with
education communities across the rest of the world; thereby enhancing exchange
and collaboration. It also helps in breaking the physical barriers of classroom
learning and increase in computer access for resource sharing amongst students
in virtual classrooms.
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Prof Pradeep Pendse
Dean - IT/Business Design, Welingkar Institute of Management Development
and Research |
IT@Welingkar Institute
Please tell us how you're using IT
in your institute?
We have 25 Wi-Fi access points on campus to ensure
widespread network connectivity. All hostels are connected with broadband or
lease lines. We have also installed
SMS gateways and an intranet so that we can update
students on revised schedules of lectures for the next day. These are
particularly useful for part-time working
students. Welingkar has one institute each in Mumbai
and Bangalore. These are both connected via a 254 Kbps
ISDN link. Within each campus, we have a Gigabit Ethernet backbone, while at
the floor level we have 100 Mbps bandwidth.
With such a vast network, security threats are likely to creep in. What are
you doing to combat them,and what kind of control policies do you have in
place?
We're using Symantec enterprise security. In fact, ours was the first
educational institution to install an enterprise security solution. Besides
that, we have what most mid-sized companies have for their security. We have
Citrix which lets you define what applications can be accessible from
outside. If a visitor or a student logs into the system from outside he only
gets a controlled access. Eg, a library catalog will be available to a
person outside, however, he will not be allowed to update that catalog. Such
policies are regularly implemented and monitored. The server we have,
provides us with elaborate logs to keep track on everyone. There are
violation thresholds which are defined and if someone crosses those, then it
automatically gets logged in the server.
What are the challenges you face while deploying any
e-learning solution?
We need to be consistent in following standards. The solution provider
installs a particular solution but does not necessarily have skills and
expertise to integrate it with other things we have. A small institute,
which can't afford to have a large IT team runs into problems. So, we need a
provider who can look at a solution in entirety and
integrate his solution with our security features, servers and networks. We
do have a small team here, however, they have to put in a lot of efforts to
help vendors integrate their solutions. A lot of our clients for executive
programs demand advanced e-learning solutions such as video-
conferencing. Although, we already have video-
conferencing, the connection is only between Mumbai
and Bangalore. Connection with other customers depends on what products they
have and whether these are
compatible with our products. |
A few solutions
Now that we've talked about the key challenges and where IT can help, let's
look at a few specific solutions that are available for the education sector.
Virtual learning environment
Virtual learning environment (VLE) refers to a conglomeration of software
applications and tools for online management of courseware by teachers for their
students, no matter where the latter are accessing resources from. The teachers
not only administer the student's progress online but also have access to their
desktop screens to keep track of their activities. Such environments act as a
very good medium for continuing education for professionals who want to
supplement knowledge during evening hours while working or taking care of
families during day. The complete package is rounded off with face-to-face
interactions over the weekend amongst teachers and students. A typical virtual
learning application is hosted on a central server and students access
courseware as Internet pages.
The standard components of a VLE comprise templates for content pages,
forums, chat, MCQs, instant messaging and e-mail. Some of the recently added
features include blogs, RSS feeds while administration services include access
control, modification of e-learning content, communication tools and remote
management of user groups. VLEs have brought a paradigm shift in the way
education is looked upon with the young generation enthused by the prospect of
learning in an ambience that is not restricted to a particular building,
location or time.
| Sakshat-The one stop free portal
for education
Education serves as the pillar to develop and
enhance the human resource potential and in turn leads to a more
knowledgeable society. Broadband Internet is a powerful tool to spread
education deep into the massive rural belt that India has. To exploit this
vast potential and for providing anytime, anywhere access to educational
services, Min of HRD has launched the 'Sakshat' portal. It aims at providing
vocational skills to empower the youth through e-learning courses apart from
providing routine information such as board/university exam results,
addressing education and learning related needs of students, scholars,
teachers and in distance education. The portal has been conceptualized
keeping in mind the needs of all students, from KG to PhD. The National
Mission on Education would provide broadband access to each Indian with zero
charge for bandwidth for accessing this portal and its links. A key
challenge for developing this portal is the vast cultural disparity across
India, that varies sharply even from one district to other. The portal needs
to provide quality educational resources and teachers, round-the-clock to
learners irrespective of their social, economic and educational status.
Through this initiative, MHRD has synergized efforts amongst educational
organizations such as UGC, AICTE, IGNOU, NCERT, CBSE, IITs and IISc to
provide content for various stakeholders.
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