L'e'gal makeover
The HRD ministry in India set up a 12-member ’round table on legal education’ this August, and with it, hopes to evolve a brand new approach to legal education in the country, in line with international standards. Among other issues such as encouraging the element of research, the board will recommend ways to improve curriculum design and delivery as well as current examination systems. As TOI reported, jurist N R Madhava Menon, a member of the round table commented, “The current pedagogy of lecture method does not impart skills to train a lawyer. Lawyers need skills for negotiations, intervention and other things that is needed internationally…”
This brings us to the question of how technology, ICT and yes, e-learning could be incorporated to enhance the system’s ‘curriculum design, delivery as well as the examination methods’. There has been little progress in bringing e-learning into the picture in law schools in the country. Fact of the matter is, even internationally, several renowned institutes have been experimenting with various technologies that would improve law students’ learning experiences. To illustrate, the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice has been using Moodle (an open source, self-service course management system) to introduce a range of e-learning elements such as webcasts, podcasts, chatting, MCQs, interactive materials, and of most importance to law schools, portfolios (to train lawyers and as a means of compiling evidence of post-qualification continuing professional development). Some of these functions worked, some didn’t and some are still being researched for future applicability to law students. What’s important is that a lot of investments are being made (even by government bodies such as the UK’s UKCLE) to test the boundaries for e-learning in the legal education context. Take a look at this presentation of an experiment by Glasgow Caledonian University in using SecondLife (a 3D virtual world) as a platform for enhancing students’ learning experiences!
While we may be just starting out with technology enabled learning delivery methods in India, these efforts do bring out the need to relook and rethink our current legal education system. It’s definitely time for a makeover, and its great to see the HRD ministry agree! As for the actual implementation, let’s hold our breaths see what the round table comes up with…
Watch this space for updates!
- Reetika
Last 5 posts by Reetika
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