Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Little Joys

Little Joys in every day Life


What all is required from a good Learning Assistance System?

An optimum learning can be reached if the Right Blend of a Teacher led Teaching is infused in correct balance with new technological innovations like communication devices, higher Internet access and new software innovations.
Internet is reach in India is increasin at a rapid speed. Also, the accessibility of mobile devices powered with Internet.


Advance software innovations available today can be leveraged to achieve a complete Learning Assistance System which primarily should be able to offer tools for:
  • Productivity Tools
  • Administration Tools
  • Communications Tools
  • Student Involvement Tools
  • Course Content Delivery Tools
  • Curriculum Design Tools


In the coming posts we will try to explore what are these tools and how we can use these tools to impart optimum learning experience. 
 

Friday, November 6, 2015

Beat the challenges of e-learning in India

How to beat the challenges of e-Learning?


Today’s technology along with ever increasing internet accessibility has opened of new avenues for learning and teaching. The learning with the aid of these newly evolved medium is largely known as e-Learning. The meaning of this term is also evolving with new innovations in technology as well the educational content creation.
Many people see many cons or pitfalls in e-Learning.
People cite many challenges for adapting e-Learning:
  1. Lack of structure
  2. Technological awareness and know-how
  3. Lack of social interaction.



We will try to take look at how many of these challenges are still relevant in Digital India of 2015.

Challenge
Lack of Structure: This is number one challenge posed by critics of e-Learning. Lack of structure and motivation may make learner disinterested is primary concern of critics of e-Learning.

Solution
A well designed, planned and engaging course mitigates this challenge to a larger extent. It’s primary responsibility of course facilitator/trainer to design course in such a way that it keeps learners interested. To keep up the motivation many instructors offer in course rewards, badge system, which keep students not just engaged but drives them to give extra to the course.


Challenge
Technological awareness and know-how: Many critics feel that to create an e-learning environment needs lots of technical nitty-gritties both and Learner and Instructor end.

Solution
With today’s technology this has to been true, now a days’ advance learning assistance system makes creating e-learning course and participating in it easy as breeze. Once setup these courses sometimes become easier than actually attending the class at physical location.


Challenge
Lack of Social Interaction: Critics many times cite this problem where a learner engaged in e-learning does not get enough of social interaction.

Solution
In the age of facebook, twitter and whatsapp our medium of communication has drastically changed. He youth today is more aware of social politico changes, is more vocal and expressive about them although the channels they use for it are these new age messaging, social networking mediums. E-Learning offers learners to Learn, Teach and Share their knowledge through the medium they understand best. An e-learner can share their learning, get their doubts cleared and offer answers using these new age messaging systems quiet easily.



Towards the end, we all know a self discipline and motivation is any time better than the forced in field of education. e-Learning in India today effectively promotes the same and hence is one of the best available modes of imparting education.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Usage of smartphone among youth in India

A comparison between smartphone usage among youth in Tier-1 and Tier-2 Cities in India


Post under the series "Youth and eLearning in Digital India"


ePrabodh.com
The Classification of Indian cities comprises a ranking system used by the Government of India. The earlier classification of cities was changed from A-1 to X, A, B-1 and B-2 to Y and C and unclassified cities to Z. X, Y and Z are more commonly known as Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities respectively.

Tier-1 Cities or Metros as we call them are Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Tier-2 or Mini metro class cities are Agra, Ajmer, Aligarh, Allahabad, Amravati, Amritsar, Asansol, Aurangabad, Bareilly, Belgaum, Bhavnagar, Bhiwandi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Bikaner, Bokaro Steel City, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Dehradun, Dhanbad, Durg-Bhilai Nagar, Durgapur, Erode, Faridabad, Firozabad, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Gulbarga, Guntur, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hubli-Dharwad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jammu, Jamnagar, Jamshedpur, Jhansi, Jodhpur, Kannur, Kanpur, Kakinada, Kochi, Kolhapur, Kollam, Kota, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Madurai, Malappuram, Malegaon, Mangalore, Meerut, Moradabad, Mysore, Nagpur, Nanded-Waghala, Nashik, Nellore, Noida, Patna, Pondicherry, Raipur, Rajkot, Rajahmundry, Ranchi, Rourkela, Salem, Sangli, Siliguri, Solapur, Srinagar, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Tiruppur, Tirupati, Ujjain, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vasai-Virar City, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Warangal.

According to a survey done by TCS in the cities mentioned above, in year 2014-15, a whopping 72 percent of high school and above students own smartphones (compared to just 40 percent in 2011-12).

Out of these youth in metros has been using smartphones from quite a sometime and had formed a habit of using mobile based apps apart from the regular social networking and communication apps. Hence time they spend on the mobile is already occupied.

The youth in mini metros, on other hand, has newly acquired the smart phones and is rapidly forming habit of these apps, it’s easier to introduce more productive apps and mobile based e-learning to this demography as the time they spend on the mobile is largely unoccupied currently.

An interactive, engaging e-learning activity is more adaptable to this group of youths. The most vital requirement for such app which can deliver e-learning is it should capture students attention in fun way along with imparting knowledge and value add to their mobile usage.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Impact of Mobile on youth today

This writeup is first of the series: "Youth and eLearning in Digital India"

Communication is essential need of individuals

thus portable communication innovation is necessary piece of youngsters. Moment, pace and numerous time and space progress are components of portable communication . Youngsters like to talk more by means of new communication advancements stages. Youngsters and their regular life are exceedingly connected with portable communication innovation. Mobile telephone is utilized for some various purposes instead of just calling or messaging. Mobile telephone and its network are so essential in nowadays and in the life of youthful individuals. Mobile telephones and its ringtones, wallpapers mirror the client identity and state of mind.
Portable influences brains of individuals, and it results into half focus, feeling uneasiness, checking phones over and over for system. The lives' of youngsters is appended with new communication advances. Over use may bring about mental issues and issue. It makes numerous spaces and time connection.

Mobile is more than just a communication technology now a days for youngsters, they also inuse it for many online  exercises. Internet on Mobile telephone has changed the very way of portable communication . The utilization of informal communication locales and application like we talk and whats-application makes the versatile client snared to the gadget for long time. Versatile makes circumstance and feeling like together yet alone.


In spite of the fact that youngsters know about the negative parts of Mobile telephones yet at the same time use it much of the time. Youngsters and every single mobile user never make their Mobile telephones switch off indeed, even in those ranges where Mobile telephones are limited. Spots like sanctuaries, mosques, and church are not free from the aggravation of Mobile telephone. Versatile communication is only a method for communication yet portable has multiplied the utilization like other media as well. Like web, music, radio, recordings, melodies, movies and considerably more.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Knowledge vs Information

Many a times individuals see things in light of either what they have seen, experienced, listened, read, learned or construed after some experimentation.


These recognitions are then classified in the brain as data, information, knowledge, understanding or wisdom.Knowledge is the brief and accurate accumulation of information in a manner that makes it valuable and useful while information refers to data that has been given some which means by method for social association. In registering terms it is information that has been prepared. The "signifying" connected to the information may not as a matter of course be helpful.Digital Learning's impact on innovation as a device to upgrade learning in an assortment of ways. At the point when innovation is coordinated with reason, understudies can make relics to show theoretical authority, apply a variety of gained abilities, represent the development of knowledge, and be enabled to take responsibility for learning.

To get discuss more on how digital learning can impact your kids education check our site
http://eprabodh.com/ 

Friday, October 16, 2015

Digital India inspires new thinking

India is rapidly moving forward towards being digital.
Digital India aspires to connect India’s cities, towns and 250,000 villages by end-2016, along with a system of networks and data centers say the National Information Infrastructure.
ePrabodh is inspired by the vision of Digital India, the vision to empower people with technology in day to day life, especially in Education sector.
We, at ePrabodh believe:
  • Knowledge is strength – and empowers the People.
  • Quality Education must reach the most inaccessible corners driven by Digital Learning.
  • Technology as learning tool maximizes the growth potential of students.
  • Creativity & Innovation helps achieve outstanding learning and progress.
With these four pillars as our vision’s foundation, we have created ePrabodh, Learning Assistance System. The System reflects our ideology in every feature we have created. It strives to provide Educator with right blend of his own Distinctive teaching method and all the benefits of advance technology.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Paradigm shift in Teaching and Learning

10) What is Flipped Classroom?
Answer: Flipped classroom is a teaching technique and a kind of blended learning that shifts the traditional educational arrangement by making learning content
available, often online, outside of the classroom. It moves activities, including those that may have conventionally been considered homework, into the classroom. In a
flipped classroom, the students are introuced to content in online lectures in audio, video, multimedia and social network format, collaborate in online discussions,
or carry out introduction and builtup of lesson at home and engage in concepts in the classroom with the guidance of the teacher.

9) How Flipped Learning impacts student’s growth?
Answer: Latest research, conducted be leading Learning Behaviour experts, suggests that the flipped classrooms make a tremendous amount of difference on students’
learning. The research confimred, a about 80% improvement in student’s attitudes toward flipped classrooms and that standardized test scores were up 67%, according to
the survey. It enables student collaboration while retaining the ability which gives teachers valuable insight on individual contribution. Easily keep tabs on each
student’s individual contributions during group work

8) What are student’s opinions about flipped classroom pedagogy?
Answer: Every single response is survey conducted by Singapore Management University implied a good learning experience. Common terms used in their answers include
“effective”, “efficient”, “helpful” and “useful”. Students loved the idea of being able to repeat the video clips as many times as needed. Several people commented
that viewing the videos at home is huge timer saver which allows more to be done in the classroom. Many students were glad that they were “forced” to come to class
prepared. Students like the self-assessment quizzes because they alert them of gaps in knowledge and prompted them to review the videos again with clearer objective.

7) How does it work?
Answer: There are several ways for the flipped classroom—the term is widely used to describe almost any class structure that provides prerecorded lectures followed by
in-class exercises. In one common model, students might view multiple lectures of five to seven minutes each.Online quizzes or activities can be interspersed to test
what students have learned. Immediate quiz feedback and the ability to rerun lecture segments may help clarify points of confusion. Instructors might lead in-class
discussions or turn the classroom into a studio where students create, collaborate, and put into practice what they learned from the lectures they view outside class.
As on-site experts, instructors suggest various approaches, clarify content, and monitor progress. They might organize students into an ad hoc workgroup to solve a
problem that several are struggling to understand. Because this approach represents a comprehensive change in the class dynamic, some instructors have chosen to carry
out only a few elements of the flipped model or to flip only a few selected class sessions during a term.

6) What are important considerations before you flip a classroom?
Answer: If you are planning of redesigning your course/syllabus to include blended learning methods, then simply adding more online activities to the list of
assessment requirements in an existing course/syllabus will create more work.
If you have an existing face-to-face course and now want to start using an online technology, consider the following:
– One has to use the new technology or tool into the learning experience with such tact that students must use the new part to complete the course results and
assessment successfully.
– If the presence in classes are important for discussing certain topics, keep such topics for in class sessions.
– Make changes to a course in such a way that students aren’t bamboozled by them. Don’t make all the changes at once; don’t add too many new tools at once. Consider
making step by step changes each time you plan teach the course.

5) How to achieve right blend?
Answer: In order to achieve right blend in learning experience consider following breakdown
Online or text-based contexts are really useful for:
—More complete, detailed responses in writing
—Thoughtful, reflective answers
—Individual and group-based activities
—Email, discussion forums, wikis (delayed communication)
—Quizzes: can give students with feedback on learning to encourage reading and revision.
Live or Face-to-face contexts are well suited for
—Stories & anecdotes
—Recounting insights from experience, and research
—Spontaneous moments
—Trust, empathy and reciprocity
—Group debriefing after field trips, practical
—Sensitive or controversial material or comments

4) What are important benefits to a Flipped Classroom?
Answer: No more long, frustrating homework sessions.
Students have more time for extra curricular activities.
A flipped classroom promotes student collaboration, sharing and concept of mastery exercises.
Flipping your classroom will create a student-centered environment.
Video lectures are short – typically under ten minutes – keeping students engaged.
Teachers are available for more one-on-one interaction with students in a flipped classroom.
The flipped classroom provides flexibility – everyone works at their own pace.
Students take on the responsibility for their learning.

3) What are hardware requirements for achieving this?
Answer: Due to advancement in technology flipping a classroom can be achieved with minimum hardware need.
>> ONLINE VIDEOS
– Computer (PC or Mac)
– Broadband Internet
>> NARRATED SCREENCASTS
– Microphone (internal or external)
– Web cam – Optional
– Interactive Tablet – Optional
– Computer (PC or Mac)
– Broadband Internet
>> VIDEOTAPED LECTURES
– Digital Video Camera
– Tripod – Optional
– Computer (PC or Mac)
– Broadband Internet

2) What are the downsides?
Answer: A flipped classroom can require more preparation time.
Flipping a class requires more time in planning and time used for content creation than does a traditional class.
Flipping the classroom assumes that students will complete the out-of-class preparation.
All students may not watch the digital content or complete the out-of-class readings and will therefore be unprepared for participating fully in class. Short quizzes
at the beginning of class can provide students with incentive to complete the out-of-class assignments.
1) How ePrabodh can help you here?
Answer: In the flipped classroom enviroment, technology contributes a major role, especially the use of videos developed by teachers or others.
With these features of ePrabodh, this work is quiet seamless and hassle free:
A) The activity modules can help track student understanding of content as well as prepare them for collaboration and face-to-face activities.
B) Advanced Forums allows participants to exchange ideas by posting comments.
C) The Assignment activity allows teachers to collect work from students, review it, and provide feedback, including grades.
D) Last but most important, Videofile resource plugin intended to provide teachers with easy handling of cross-browser compatible videos.