About
The introduction of technology to the learning scenario has opened up immense possibilities for imparting knowledge to the students. The traditional approach of class room based learning has become more of a history and institutions are looking forward to incorporating virtual classrooms in their future developments. However, due to the need for high quality connectivity infrastructure, hardware and equipments, above all, non availability of appropriate digital content are hindering factors in the rapid spread and reach of e-learning technologies.
There need to be balanced approach between the investment made, and the results expected out of it. To make a good impact on the teaching methodologies, It is important that schools and institutions of higher learning resort to incorporating IT into their teaching methods. It is a pertinent fact that the students benefits out of the usage of technology in learning in this knowledge age.
Back Ground
The use of information technology and multi-media applications in developing course ware and for delivering learning materials to students Is highly on the rise across the world. However, in the case of courses which involve technology, there is always a perceived constraint in developing the course materials. There is a general contention that education in a generic sense and more specifically technical learning can be imparted effectively only with a classroom interface. It is widely argued that a trained instructor will alone be able to impart the expected level of knowledge to the students.
Considering the authenticity and gravity of the arguments made, this document proposes a balanced approach towards how e-learning solutions can effectively supplement the conventional learning methodology. This proposal does not intent to propose a solution for replacing instructors with e-learning materials, but propose methods by which the course delivery by students can be further enriched and enhanced by the use of Information and communication Technology. And how students and instructors can be effective partners in building a rich resource base of dynamic digital content.
Even in the context of schools which have state- of the art computer labs, connectivity and other infrastructure, and even when the students and faculty are highly skilful in used computer and internet, there is a bigger challenge of providing the right content for the students which they can access using computers. Acknowledging the fact that there are many a online community driven initiatives, which encourage users to develop content on a collaborative platform, there is serious limitations to its acceptance among its end users, in terms of usage of multimedia technology and richness of content. These online platforms, often tend to lay emphasis on textual content and has limited scope for adding video, images or animated content, which are bound to create exiting learning opportunities for students.
Identifying that there is a wide gap in this front in providing e-learning solution, this proposal is put forward the objective of providing a supplementary learning repository which will be unique with its extent of usage of emerging technologies in Rich internet applications The e-learning solution propose to offer digital content on a online platform or on CD/DVDs, which will be able to support text, audio, video or animated training content, as per the convenience of the end user. However, the proposal suggests that a highly interactive online portal which will have seamless possibility to integrate all modes of digital content will be more appreciable for the target users.
Advantages of the online platform
- It is not mandatory that students, academicians and experts are to be physically present at the campus for conducting the course.
- A wide resource base of experts and academicians in different parts of the world can be build by the schools since the interaction between students and teachers can be online.
- This mode can cater to all types of courses viz. general course, to series of specialised courses.
- Schools can have exclusive learning centre can have all state-of-the-art distance learning technologies, with audio/video support, virtual classrooms, video conferencing techniques that accompany audiovisual or multimedia products.
- This mode will help the schools to network and collaborate with other institutions, colleges or universities across the world to offer specialised programmes to students, which will be an USP of the schools.
- The entire pedagogical process be in line with the conventional learning methodologies already followed by the school.
- This will bring in a paradigm shift in teaching methodologies, the students get access to an alternative learning repository which will be rich in content, can choose their flexible time, contribute to the learning content, study at their own pace ,while being in their comfortable location.
Users
The users of the system are
- Students who have registered to use and share resources.
- Guest users who want to gather information about the courses from the portal.
- Academic Community
Functionalities
E-Learning Module : The components of the e-learning module will be developed with the following being addressed.
- Pages and content will developed and designed as per universal standards followed in e-learning
- The e-learning module will be designed for the learners who are the targeted user groups and will be completely learner-centric.
- Online Course creation. The course module will provide the faculty to add their notes, observations, comments learning links to the prescribed course materials which will be highly beneficial to the students.
- Online assessment tool- An online assessment system will be integrated with the system, which will aid the faculty to conduct periodic assessment of the students. The online module will also integrate a quiz engine and an exam engine, so that the Institution can adopt innovative ways to conduct examinations and even to award certificates to successful students. However, this module can be made optional by the school if they wish to delink assessment from the learning portal.
- Multimedia interactive Training- The learning module will integrate all multimedia technology devices like audio, video, mobile, interactive sessions, webinars, podcasts, to enrich the learning experience of the students.