IT FOR EDUCATION

IT for School Science Education

The traditional method of learning was by ‘doing’ and concomitantly, teaching meant ‘making the student do and thereby learn’. School children, especially rural children, are continuously learning by ‘doing’. This provides the clue on how to effectively ‘impart’ science education to such children. A laboratory is the ‘place’ where science gets ‘done’ and IT provides the methods of creating such places and activity - virtual laboratories - and making them available at distributed locations.

A strategy that makes available the best resources to every student while not demanding his relocation and which can be sustained over time and space would solve the problems identified hereto. IT provides these strategies.

• Digitised Knowledge packages. - CD, Online, Web based - with multimedia inputs can be made available in the regional/local medium.

• Virtual laboratories would make available the practical training that is so important to conceptualisation in Science.

• Transmission of these packages to remote areas can be affected, among other possibilities, through Wireless in Local Loop technologies.

• Reception and dissemination at local centres (rural schools) using appropriate audio-visual appliances (say, a modified TV set) is an eminently feasible proposition.

Thus, IT based methodology has the advantage of making the best instruction/training available to the remotest student.

The ‘experiments’ in a virtual laboratory have two aspects: demonstrative and interactive. The user (student) first gets to ‘see’ (audio, video and animation) a process –preferably a natural one- and aspects pertaining to concepts that are to be learnt are emphasized. He could then introduce variations in some aspects and observe their effect.

Complementary lessons are designed keeping a list of concepts, which are fundamental to the subject being taught, in mind. Depiction is done choosing real-life or natural phenomena which best highlight these concepts.

IT for Technical Education

There is a need for generating quality manpower with IT skills to meet the growing needs of industry. A number of B.E., B.Tech and M.Tech programs in C.Sc.E and IT apart from MCA programs have been started. During the last decade there has been a significant increase in the number of institutions imparting education and training in the IT area. Andhra Pradesh alone has more than 150 engineering colleges however, there is a severe shortage of teachers in this area and an added need of improving the quality of instruction so that graduating engineering students are equipped to meet the needs of industry.

It is imperative that steps are taken to ensure that the quality of instruction is significantly high. Furthermore, opportunities need to be provided for students to develop their creative skills.

Curriculam need to be upgraded constantly to keep pace with the rapidly changing IT scenario and requirements.

Courseware development will be along the following lines:

• Recording of classroom lectures (delivered at IIIT) and their deployment in suitable form ~V CD, web etc.

• Development of self-paced learning material- lectures and tutorials.

• Based on the success at the BE/B.Tech level, attempts will be made at developing content and course material for non-professional courses where IT is an essential component.

Courseware developed at the Centre for Education Technology can be used by the engineering colleges for strengthening their instruction. The existing teachers would be trained and their knowledge and skills upgraded frequently so that they would act as mentors for such courses.