Overcoming the Classroom Mile

E-Content in the Social Sciences

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

Higher Education Cell, Centre for the Study of Culture & SocietyINFLIBNET Centre, AhmedabadCentre for Internet and Society (CIS), BangaloreCentre for Studies in Social Sciences, KolkataEnglish & Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad

REFEREES

Prof. Neeladri Bhattacharya, JNUProf. Partha Chatterjee, CSSSCProf. Ajit Kembhavi, IUCAA

SecretariatHigher Education Cell, CSCS BangaloreSet up at CSCS, Bangalore, in partnership with the Sir Ratan Tata

Trust, Mumbai.

Key initiatives: Networked Higher EducationRegional Language ResourcesSocial Justice in HEGender StudiesIntegrated Science Education

The Cell has identified inter-institutional collaborations, interdisciplinarity in research and teaching, and integration of hitherto segregated forms of knowledge production as the key strategies through which higher education could be made more relevant and more capable of addressing the challenges of our present time. The strategies are operationalised through the Cell’s support for Curriculum Development and Production of Resource Materials; Teacher Training Initiatives and Skill-building for students; Building Research Capacity.

The Initiative: NHEThe purpose of the NHE is defined within the context of the changing nature of the

digital classroom. Key concerns:

• Mechanisms of course validation• New issues for the delivery of resources to end-

users• New pedagogic practices in the classroom, and

new evaluation/examination methods• Need for teacher training for digital resources• Focus on peer-to-peer learning

The Initiative: NHECore strategy focussed around the following actions:

(1)Focus on Institutional Repositories (IRs): NHE to bring key tool of the Institutional Repository (IR) as an essential bridge in the conversion of received digital knowledge into teachable material.

(2)Workshops with students and teachers in Undergraduate Colleges in Southern and Western India.

(3) Assembling of one research consortium to build coursework

(4) Upscaling the experiments with IRs in partnership to make a national impact on colleges in India.

1. The Pathways ProjectInitiative across 9 UG colleges in Western and Southern IndiaEach college to assemble its own repository 27 student workshops and 6 technical workshops conducted and

200 college teachers trained in usage of digital pedagogic resources.

Approximately 700 students to receive direct exposure in peer learning techniques.

50 knowledge modules available for free access, to be a part of the NME-ICT pool of modules.

Institutional Repositories structure in place at INFLIBNET.

Impact: Tested scalable project available for further expansion into the INFLIBNET

Maharashtra colleges project. Uploading of video, text, still photography published by students as a means of course participation

Teacher trainingProject partially supported by the Ford Foundation, New Delhi

2. Maharashtra UG Initiative

Upscaling to 40 UG Colleges in Maharashtra

Field-testing of the outcomes of the Pathways project in 40 undergraduate colleges, with a view to subsequent expansion.

INFLIBNET to expand repository structure to 40 undergraduate colleges in Maharashtra.

Centralized training workshops on digital pedagogy hosted in one major social science location in Maharashtra (perhaps Tata Institute of Social Sciences). CIS methodology to be broadbased.

One statewide undergraduate programme in place.

2. Maharashtra UG Initiative

Upscaling to 40 UG Colleges in Maharashtra

Approximately 350 college teachers to attend annually. Approximately 5-7,000 students to directly benefit.

Approximately 3-500 new knowledge modules available for free access, to be a part of the NME-ICT pool of modules.

New methods for digital pedagogy pioneered at the Pathways programme to be broadbased.

Impact: Key impact to be expanded by INFLIBNET into national impact through MHRD-

supported N-LIST project (already approved).

3. Research Consortium for Course Building

Course Generation and Academic Research Consortium

(1)Initial experiment with Institutional Repositories as a Research Tool: NHE to set up full institutional repository which will publish faculty and student papers, books and student PhD theses. It will encourage faculty and students to use this as a publication tool.

(2)Academic Consortium Model: NHE to set up one domestic academic consortium, comprising CSCS, CSSSC, Kolkata and the EFL-U, Hyderabad. Collaborating institutions to (a) Benchmark each other’s course modules, and make them available to students across the consortium. (b) Share a common repository structure, which would be the first step towards assembling a ‘super archives’ of social science material (to be housed at INFLIBNET).

Organizational ChartSteering Committee: One representative from each of the 5 main

institutions: HE Cell-CSCS, INFLIBNET, CIS, CSSSC and EFLU + 1 Independent expert

(total 6)

Project HQ: CSCS, Bangalore.

Staff appointments for Project:HE Cell: 1 Project head, 1 Training and Community Coordinator, 1

technical (to oversee the research/benchmark courses), 1 Repository Editor.

CIS: two faculty-level implementation experts. INFLIBNET: 1 project director and two field-level trainers.

Institutional Partners: Each partner institution to have a Cell, and a Task Leader.