A seamless hi-tech learning system

Updated on: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will, in a few months, launch an Open Course Guide (OCG) system, which will provide students a range of learning activities and experiences.

The system is designed to upgrade the university’s self-learning material for open and distance learning courses to the Open Distributed Technology Enhanced Learning System.

Christened the IOCG (IGNOU OCG), the system will be the first step towards setting up a university-wide education grid designed to provide a suite of Internet-accessed services that will help the university’s schools manage their courses satisfying the differing educational needs of their students.

The OCG will support online course management guidance and embedding of multimedia content and offer Indic fonts to support content in several Indian languages.

A key feature of the IOCG is that it allows for seamless use of the Internet, television, including the Internet protocol type, and mobile phones for student support, K.R. Srivathsan, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university, told The Hindu-EducationPlus.

The new IOCG version may be augmented by backend MOODLE Learning Management System, discussion forums and a comprehensive Query Management System managed by the Educational Technology and Information Services (ETIS) team being set up. IGNOU is in the process of augmenting its server systems to host the IOCG and associated backend services supported by the team.

To begin with, the new system will offer select courses, including recorded video lectures, of the National Programme on Technology Enabled Learning (NPTEL) in the open and distance learning mode as certified courses of the IGNOU. This is expected to build on the university’s existing best practices in course design, development and management. As part of the scheme, the self-learning material of the university will be enhanced to the Tutored Video Instruction — Open and Distance Learning Mode.

According to Prof. Srivathsan, the immediate need is to offer proficiency certification programmes using NPTEL courses to teachers of engineering subjects in colleges and universities. NPTEL courses were prepared by the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science with the objective of improving the standards of engineering education. Almost all engineering colleges and autonomous deemed universities face an acute shortage of teachers with adequate subject knowledge and teaching experience. The Master’s programmes in engineering are too weak and small in number to meet the demand for qualified teachers. Most of the persons employed as teachers for the Bachelor’s programmes are young B.Tech. or MCA graduates who themselves graduated from the same indifferent engineering education system. will, in a few months, launch an Open Course Guide (OCG) system, which will provide students a range of learning activities and experiences.

The system is designed to upgrade the university’s self-learning material for open and distance learning courses to the Open Distributed Technology Enhanced Learning System.

Christened the IOCG (IGNOU OCG), the system will be the first step towards setting up a university-wide education grid designed to provide a suite of Internet-accessed services that will help the university’s schools manage their courses satisfying the differing educational needs of their students.

The OCG will support online course management guidance and embedding of multimedia content and offer Indic fonts to support content in several Indian languages.

A key feature of the IOCG is that it allows for seamless use of the Internet, television, including the Internet protocol type, and mobile phones for student support, K.R. Srivathsan, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university, told The Hindu-EducationPlus.

The new IOCG version may be augmented by backend MOODLE Learning Management System, discussion forums and a comprehensive Query Management System managed by the Educational Technology and Information Services (ETIS) team being set up. IGNOU is in the process of augmenting its server systems to host the IOCG and associated backend services supported by the team.

To begin with, the new system will offer select courses, including recorded video lectures, of the National Programme on Technology Enabled Learning (NPTEL) in the open and distance learning mode as certified courses of the IGNOU. This is expected to build on the university’s existing best practices in course design, development and management. As part of the scheme, the self-learning material of the university will be enhanced to the Tutored Video Instruction — Open and Distance Learning Mode.

According to Prof. Srivathsan, the immediate need is to offer proficiency certification programmes using NPTEL courses to teachers of engineering subjects in colleges and universities. NPTEL courses were prepared by the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science with the objective of improving the standards of engineering education. Almost all engineering colleges and autonomous deemed universities face an acute shortage of teachers with adequate subject knowledge and teaching experience. The Master’s programmes in engineering are too weak and small in number to meet the demand for qualified teachers. Most of the persons employed as teachers for the Bachelor’s programmes are young B.Tech. or MCA graduates who themselves graduated from the same indifferent engineering education system.

The hindu

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