The comparisons between Apple iPad and this $35 ‘still unnamed’ mobile device are so unfair. The online buzz about this new product is almost deafening. Ever since the Indian government announced the launch of the ‘$35 m -device’ (lets call it that, since it does not have a name yet, and this anyway seems to be the most exciting ‘fact’ about it), discussions abound on its viability, price, wasted funds, its not-so-successful predecessors, apps that it can offer and its future. While debate on all of these is justified, some more thoughts:

Why is cost such a big issue?

Continue reading ‘Education at $35… Dreaming big?’ »

So I played devil’s advocate, while the rest of the learning world appreciated the leap forward with the Apple iPad. Having carefully evaluated the bad and the ugly (thanks to everyone on Linkedin/this blog who shared), there is definitely a need to look at everything good that’s coming out of the tablet industry, of relevance to the learning community.

A market-ready foolproof device the iPad still is not, but there are plenty of interesting ways it may be leveraged for learning at the workplace / university (or actually, outside of those places). In this post, I want to the cover the actual implementations being made by educators (I’ll cover corporate initiatives in my next post).  A great example is Rutgers University’s iPad marketing course that I blogged about earlier. There’s a lot of talk of how the iPad is a game changer, but how many universities are putting their money where their mouths are, and investing right away?

Continue reading ‘Top 5 University iPad initiatives’ »

In our nationwide survey of ~400 Indian higher education students (for the EDGE report on online assessments), we had some interesting insights w.r.t attitudes about online exams.

Continue reading ‘Do students want to take subjective assessments online?’ »

Much has been said about m-learning, and the technology fueled future… rich with possibilities for the next generation of student learners. And that we are now entering a phase where we can peek into that future, through emerging technologies. Apple can be termed the big daddy in this race, the mover and shaker who challenges our perceptions of what technology can do for us, with innovations abound, come every MacWorld. In this post, I’d like to talk about where m-learning is heading, using Apple’s latest contribution to the mobile computing world – the iPad.

As early as the January unveiling of the iPad, the e-learning blogosphere has been buzzing with the possibilities that the device presented for learning, both at the corporate and the school/university level. I would say that post the initial excitement, the ground realities really sunk in. Innovative? Yes. Made things interesting? Yes. But recommend as a formal learning tool? Not so sure. Why the hesitation to a device that was designed to really ‘push the boundaries’ according to the maker?

Continue reading ‘iPad: m-learning at its best or worst?’ »

ValueNotes recently completed a study (in association with EDGE Forum) focusing on trends in adoption of exam technology by Indian exam authorities. As part of this initiative by MeritTrac, ValueNotes interviewed 75 key decision makers, including vice chancellors, controllers of exam, registrars and exam board directors. The study also comprised a nationwide survey of another key stakeholder in the education system – the student. This was primarily because the exercise of taking exams online will yield many benefits to the student population.

Vice chancellors we spoke to mentioned that there was a certain amount of reservation expressed by students and therefore adoption was slow. To bridge the perception gap of these university officials and students, we spoke with 400 students from across Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities, studying mostly at graduate and postgraduate levels, with a few inputs from junior college and PhD students. The aim was to capture the students’ awareness, readiness and experiences with online examinations. Even as efforts are under way to make ICT an inherent part of our education system, are the students really ready? We share some of our findings here.

Continue reading ‘Do Indian university students welcome online assessment?’ »

• Schools in West Asia and Gulf will be offering certification from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), with the formal launch of CBSE-I, the international brand of the board.
• The Foreign Education Providers (Regulatory) Bill that will allow foreign universities to open branches in India was recently approved by the cabinet. When this bill becomes a law after approval in the parliament, foreign universities will be able to enter the education market.

The developments in the education space have evinced a lot of interest. The pace at which changes take effect may not alter much with respect to the earlier years. Though if any of these are effective and achieve what they are meant to, India will arrive on the global education scene. The two instances mentioned above tackle two different segments within the education market – K-12 and Higher Education.

Continue reading ‘Indian education: Giant leap to globalization’ »

The growth of technology-enabled learning globally has resulted in hundreds of service providers mushrooming in India in the last 10 years. In 2009, the ValueNotes report ‘e-learning Outsourcing: Advantage India’ estimated over 140 technology-enabled learning providers catering to the corporate, government and education sectors across the world. While these companies primarily focused on international markets for business (US and UK), ValueNotes highlighted the trend towards exploring the domestic corporate and education market.

With the Indian higher education sector undergoing major changes, domestic providers are now offering a variety of services to help educational institutions become more efficient and globally competitive. Technology can benefit these institutes in areas such as course delivery (through e-learning), automation of administrative processes (ERP, etc), and exam management (through online delivery and assessment), among others.

Continue reading ‘Exam Technology Outsourcing: The Indian Higher Education Context’ »

ValueNotes is pleased to announce the launch of its report titled ‘Examinations and the role of technology: Emerging Directions’, in collaboration with EDGE forum, supported by MeritTrac and Excelsoft. The report was released during the 3-day conference EDGE2010 in New Delhi last Thursday, and I’m extremely happy to say, it was received with much enthusiasm from the crowd. We attended the conference primarily to present the findings of our report, but also to participate in the many discussions and sessions held pertaining to the Indian higher education sector.

The event had a great turnout, from biggies such as Sam Pitroda and Kapil Sibal who inaugurated the conference, to eminent personalities from the field of higher education. Many vice chancellors, pro chancellors, directors, principals represented the academic side, as well as senior management from companies servicing the sector. There were also quite a few foreign university/exam board/accreditation agency representatives, who gave the event a truly global perspective.

Continue reading ‘Our experience at EDGE2010!’ »

When Kapil Sibal first started to make news with efforts to bring education to the forefront, he took pretty much every one by surprise. Hardly does education grab front page headlines in the newspapers. With 44 Universities set to lose their deemed status,  it is the status of more than 1 lakh students that is at stake now. Will they manage to pressurize the government into not doing anything? National Knowledge Commission and the Prof Yashpal-led Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education have both recommended that ‘deemed to be university’ system be scrapped.

Considering that the repercussions of any university not functioning properly will be borne by the student community, its extremely important that their interests be held paramount. With universities running in 2-3 rooms, it is obvious that deemed university is a tag that many use for dubious purposes. The UGC has also added to the woes by providing the deemed university status to as many as 36 institutes in the last 5 years. Deemed is the now ‘doomed’… do you think?

Continue reading ‘'Deemed' – Not fit’ »

This is an oft repeated and clichéd way to refer appearing for and clearing the CAT exams. This time around it was more like ‘belling the ‘clawed’ CAT, where claws = online.

Assessments for admissions to some of India’s most prestigious management institutes, including the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) was mired in a controversy. As the exams moved online, problems hit from day one. Students complained of technical glitches that ranged from passwords not being accepted to screens going blank. Authorities were unavailable to help, and as usual, passed the buck, and as a result, many students are likely to lose out on a year.

I believe it would have been a bigger shock, had all of this passed without a hitch. This is of course not to say that these errors are acceptable. Students completely rely on this to chart the future course of their lives.

Continue reading ‘Belling the CAT-2009’ »