Information Technology application for Education

Education through IT/ICT in India

IT Trends in education

Application of IT in Education

• Digitization of Books (E-Text Books)• Content Delivery using IT/ICT • Open Education Resources • Virtual Technical University • Mobility • Social Learning

IT/ICT Policy in Education• National policy on Education framed in 1986, and modified in 1992

Policy – Vision and Mission

• Vision– The IT/ICT policy in Education aims at preparing

youth to participate actively in the establishment, sustenance and growth of a knowledge society leading to all round socio-economic development of the nation and enhanced global competitiveness.

• Mission– Device, catalyze, support and sustain IT/ICT and

enabled activities and processes in order to improve Access, Equity and Quality.

Policy Goals• Creating an environment in the states to develop IT/ICT

knowledgeable community• Creating an IT/ICT literate community who can deploy, utilize,

benefit from IT/ICT and contribute to nation building• Create an environment of Collaboration, Cooperation and Sharing,

conducive to the creation of demand for an optimal utilization of and optimum returns on the potentials of IT/ICT in school/higher education

• Promote universal, equitable, open and free access to state-of-the-art IT/ICT enabled tools and resources to all students and teachers

• Promote development of localized quality content and enable students and teachers to partner in the development and critical use of shared digital resources

Policy goals contd.

• Promote research, evaluation and experimentation in IT/ICT tools and enabled practices in order to inform, guide and critically utilize the potentials of IT/ICT in education

• Motivate and enable wider participation of all sections of society in strengthening education through appropriate utilization of IT/ICT.

• Promote development of professional networks of teachers, continuing education of teachers; guidance, counseling and academic support to students

State Govt role in policy

• The States has a two fold task: – Define norms, standards, guidelines and

frameworks to enable various aspects of the program

– Facilitate and monitor the implementation of various aspects of the program

State Govt role in policy contd.• A programme of action, an appropriate road map and a feasible time line • Guidelines based on national standards and norms for infrastructure,

implementation processes at various levels, capacity building programmes, monitoring and evaluation criteria, targets, etc.

• Framework for procurement, development, selection, evaluation, deployment in repositories, and use of digital content

• Facilitation of wide spread participation of all stake holders, including community and private partners in various aspects of the ICT program

• Development, deployment and maintenance of infrastructure and digital repositories

• Development and phased implementation of an appropriate capacity building framework

• Mobilization of resources including from private and community sources• Development of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework • Monitor and evaluate the implementation

IT Initiatives

• The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT)

• Creation of e-content for 996 courses in Phase-II in Engineering, Sciences, Technology, Humanities and Management has been undertaken by IIT Madras

• Consortium for Educational Communication has been tasked with creation of e-content for 87 undergraduate courses

• UGC has cleared a proposal to publish e-content for 77 post-graduate courses

IT Initiatives contd.

• National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), a joint initiative of the IITs and IISc provides E-learning through online Web and Video courses in Engineering, Science and Humanities

• The National Knowledge Network (NKN) and Connected Digital has launched an initiative to cover 1,000 institutions besides providing digital campuses, video-conference classrooms, wireless hotspots, laptops/desktops to all students of professional/ science courses and Wi-Fi connectivity in hostels.

• IIT-Bombay has started the program of CDEEP (Centre for Distance Engineering Education Program) as emulated classroom interaction through the use of real time interactive satellite technology (Centre for Distance Engineering Education Program, India, 2007).

IT Initiatives contd.

• The launch of EDUSAT brought satellite connectivity to large parts of rural India.

• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is leveraging satellite, television, and Internet technologies to offer online courses.

• Private sector participation like HP’s Technology for Teaching Grant has transformed the ICT infrastructure in institutes like Anna University and Jadavpur University.

• In 2007, the Distance Education Council (DEC) allowed all allowed all premier institutes in the country to offer online courses.

• IIT-Kanpur has developed Brihaspati, an open source e-learning platform.

Govt IT Initiatives• 2004: Edusat

– Launched in Sept 2004 – First dedicated education satellite– receive Direct to Home quality broadcasts of educational programs

using any television set and a low-cost receiver

• 2002 – 2007: The Tenth Plan– The Tenth Plan outlined goals of improving access and reducing

disparities with the Common School System, as well as:• renewal of curricula with emphasis on vocationalisation and employment-

oriented courses;• expansion and diversification of the Open Learning System;• reorganization of teacher training and greater use of ICT

Govt IT Initiatives contd.

• 2002: Vidya Vahini– Vidya Vahini to provide for IT and IT-enabled

education in 60,000 schools in India over three years (India has about 1.1 million schools), as part of a Rs6,000 crore (USD 1.2 billion) project.

• 2006: Broadband connectivity in all secondary schools– Issue order to have broadband in all schools


• 2007: Digital Library and Information Network – Based on recommendations made by different

state open universities and distance education institutions(DEIs), the Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) board of management has approved the National Open and Distance Learners Library and Information Network (NODLINET) initiative.


• Internet and continuing education programme– Online learning material– Online academic counseling– Online assignments/projects /dissertation

guidance– Online collaboration

Govt IT Initiative contd.

• Project T4– Launched in Sept 2002– Launched in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,

and Madhya Pradesh– Offers interactive radio instruction (IRI) and

educational television for mathematics, science and English as a second language and is designed to reach some of the hardest to reach populations

– Telecast videos, IRI and educational programs through EDUSAT

Govt IT Initiative contd.

• UNESCO: Gesci (Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative)

– At the international level, the United Nations has generated the “Global school and Communities Initiative”(Gesci), a special campaign to promote the use of technology in education. Gesci will also work with the Indian ministries of Information Technology and Education facilitating policy support, technical assistance and global resources for the initiative.

Govt Initiative contd.

• 2004: Bridges to the Future Initiative– Partnership between the International Literacy

Institute (ILI) at the University of Pennsylvania(USA), Byrraju Foundation, IIIT, and other agencies in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

– The program aimed at providing literacy programs in the local language to out-of-school youth and primary school students, using computer infrastructure in schools after hours.


• 2005: Indo-US Collaboration– A collaboration between over 20 American

universities and Amrita University, ISRO and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to enhance higher education and research in India through the Edusat e-learning network

– use Edusat to deliver classes taught by US faculty to hundreds of collegesand universities throughout India


• Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre– establish 600,000 Village Resource Centres by

August 15, 2007– BSNL is planning to connect 80,000 villages of

India through wireless broadband

PPP for ICT in Education

• HEADSTART in Madhya Pradesh (2003) with provider of Linux technologies, Red Hat India.(Sharma, November 19, 2002; Government of MP Website)

• Project Shiksha (2004) with Microsoft in West Bengal, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshwadeep, and Tamil Nadu. (Microsoft India Website)

• The Intel Teach Program (February 2000) to train classroom teachers in over 35 cities nationwide to use technology to improve teaching and learning. (Intel Teach Website)

IT adoption in India - Challenges

• India faces the challenge of low technology • low people readiness• linguistic and cultural barriers

Benefits

References

• National policy on Education through IT/ICT• National Program on Technology enhanced

learning (NPTEL) – IIT Madras website• www.ifour-consultancy.com