1. Dr. Shyam Sunder Sharma
Department of H & S (Physics)
Women Engineering College, Ajmer- 305002, India
(An Autonomous Institute of Govt. of Rajasthan)
Email ID: shyam@gweca.ac.in
Digital Learning: A Pathway Towards
Education and Research OR
Role of Digital Learning towards Higher
Education in Rural India
National Seminar on “Challenges and Innovative Measures for Enhancement of
Education and Research in HEIs of Rural Areas, at Mewar university, Chittorgarh’’
during 14-15 Oct. 2022
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Content of talk
Introduction to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Education system of India
Role in terms of NEP-2020
Origin of MOOCs
MOOCs platforms in India
Why MOOCs on SWAYAM- NPTEL
Importance of MOOCs in University
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Education system of India
India has a multi-layered formal education system with ~ 260
million students[1] enrolled in more than 1.5 million schools and
~ 39,000 colleges catering to 27.5 million under graduate and
four million post graduate[2] students.
Formal education includes primary and secondary schools,
graduation, post- graduation and diploma courses. Schools are
governed by state and central bodies, viz. CBSE, ICSE, state
and international boards.
[1]- All India Survey on Higher Education (2015-2016), MHRD, 2016
[2]- Educational statistics at a glance, MHRD, Dec 2016
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Higher education in India though governed by UGC has a 3- tier
structure comprising the university, college and course. Different
regulatory bodies such as Medical Council of India (MCI), All
India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Bar
Council India (BCI), among others, manage different
professional courses.
Informal education includes pre-primary, coaching classes,
vocational education and multi-media/technology based
educational courses aiding as a supplement or substitute to
formal education.
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Challenges in Higher Education in India
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)
Lack of guidance
Financial issues
Lack of infrastructure
Shortage of faculty
Gender inequality
Political interference
Quality & Accreditation
While most of these areas need transformative changes, which
will take time, technology can help drive it faster. With the
increased use of smartphones in rural areas, e-learning
platforms can be accessed easily. Many are also affordable.
This new way of learning can be made attractive to children.
Courses from the best educators e-libraries for research
material and teachers will all be available in an instant.
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Indian higher education system is growing very fast irrespective of
various challenges but there is no reason that these challenges
cannot be overcome. With the help of new-age learning tools, it is
easy for country like India to overcome these problems and bring a
paradigm shift in the country’s higher education sector. With such a
vibrant country with huge population properly educated, the
possibilities are endless.
If knowledge is imparted using advanced digital teaching and learning
tools, and society is made aware of where we are currently lagging
behind, our country can easily emerge as one of the most developed
nations in the world.
There are two main challenges of education system in India namely
expansion and excellence.
No doubt the expansion part has much been achieved by opening of
new colleges and Universities. But still there are large numbers of
areas, especially in rural India, where to provide education at the
doorsteps is still a dream.
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The second challenge of excellence is still a major concern
specially in rural India.
To address these challenges, the Digital learning can really play
a critical role.
The National Education Policy 2020 emphasises digital learning
as an alternative to the conventional classroom model.
Following are the digital learning platforms for education and
research:
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Virtual Labs
Digital Library
PHET interactive simulations
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Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Under the National Mission of Education launch through Information
and Communication Technology 2009 (NME-ICT), Technologies have
become an important part of Education system.
E-learning is the latest and easiest way for the learners to enlighten
their knowledge.
E-Learning is an umbrella term which consist online learning, virtual
learning, distance learning, self-based learning and flexible learning,
which is offering via the MOOCs.
Massive Open Online course MOOCs is the platform which is open
for all. It is the type of free web-based distance learning program,
beneficial for geographically dispersed students.
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Contd.
It works as an interactive forum between learners and facilitators by
providing assignments and feedback options.
MOOCs provide a qualitative content in the form of video which can
be downloaded and watched again and again.
This platform comes to reach education at every corner of the world
those who wants to learn can be get benefited by using E-learning
platforms like SWAYAM, Coursera, edX, Udacity and Udemy.
Recently, the recommendations of the New Education Policy (NEP)
Committee members highlighted the critical role of the “Online
Learning” mode in achieving the targets of Sustainable Development
Goal 04 (Quality Education).
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Contd.
The key objectives of Sustainable Development Goal Number 04
(SDG 4) also make it imperative to study the readiness of our digital
infrastructure to enhance the quality of education.
To enable member nations to achieve the motto, "Ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all."
Thus, several different platforms which specifically cater to these
needs were launched in recent years, and the prominent ones include
NPTEL (2003), mooKIT (2014), IITBombayX (2016), and SWAYAM
(2016).
For offering MOOC, interested institutions can go for 'self-hosted
platforms' or use 'licensed platforms' like Coursera. Under the self-
hosted platform, the developer can have thefreedom to either develop
their platform such as IIT Kanpur by creating 'mooKIT,' or use an open
source platform available already.
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Origin of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Idea about the primary generation of MOOCs was provided by the
George Siemens and Stepen Downes in 2008.
There are two types of MOOCs, cMOOCs and xMOOCs.
Firstly, the ones emphasizing the "connectives' philosophy," and,
secondly, resembling the traditional course type.
cMOOCs follow the principle of "connectives' pedagogy,"
encouraging modifications in teaching materials with changing needs
of the learners. Additionally, cMOOCs encourage learners and
support to engage in collaborative dialogues and knowledge-building
processes.
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Contd.
The xMOOCs, however, still follow the traditional course format
involving a specified and pre-determined syllabus of recorded
lectures and self assessment tests and assignments. The instructor
takes the lead role in such a setting, and students‘ contribution is
limited to seeking advice and guidance.
XMoocs is the extended MOOCs.
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MOOCs platforms in India
1. National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning
(NPTEL)- 2003
NPTEL is a collaborative venture of IISc (Bengaluru) and IITs (Bombay, Delhi,
Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Guwahati, and Roorkee), launched in 2003, fully
funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
The courses are offered mainly in a visual format, where the lectures are
recorded in a classroom structure, with occasional use of PowerPoint
presentations to provide content. NPTEL has one of the largest online
repositories in the world in basic sciences, engineering, selected arts and
humanities, and management subjects.
The main objective behind offering certificate programs is to improve
students' employability in the resource market or prepare them better to
pursue a suitable higher education program.
Typically, 04, 08, or 12-week online courses on various sciences and
humanities topics relevant to the learners in higher education and
introductory core courses are being offered.
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2. mooKIT - 2014
mooKIT is developed and designed at IIT Kanpur.
mooKIT is ideally structured to resolve the problems of low-bandwidth
and low transmission capacity using the existing MOOC platform.
This feature benefits rural learners who do not have smartphones,
laptops, internet connectivity, or high bandwidth.
3. IITBombayX – 2014
'IITBombayX' was developed and managed by IIT-Bombay.
It operated on the "Open edX", an open-source platform, since 2014.
"IITBX" is based on the principle of the blended learning pedagogy
that offers a combination of both offline classroom-like learning and
online learning.
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4. Study Webs of Active–Learning for Young Aspiring Minds
(SWAYAM)- 2016
SWAYAM platform was initiated by the 'Ministry of Human Resources
Development (MHRD) in collaboration with the 'All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE) in association with Microsoft was explicitly designed to
improve the welfare of the working professionals, school and college
dropouts, as well as students from rural background.
The unique features of SWAYAM, rather its strength lies in its qualitative
evaluation system, equity access, recognition of credits, and cheap costs.
The initiation of SWAYAM took place in 2003 with the introduction of the
NPTEL.
The courses hosted on SWAYAM should follow the 04 quadrants, firstly,
Video lecture, secondly, downloadable or printable specialized study
material. Thirdly, self-assessment tests and quizzes; and lastly, providing an
online discussion forum for doubt clearance. To ensure that the quality of
contents produced and delivered is maintained, nine National Coordinators
have been recognized for the task.
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Contd.
The courses on the platform are available for free of cost to the public
domain and earners at large.
To obtain a certificate for the enrolled course, the learners are expected to
register for a proctored examination at a nominal cost.
The eligibility criteria for the credential vary from course to course, and the
same is announced on the course page in advance.
The higher education institutes approving credit transfers from SWAYAM
courses can demand the issued certificate to verify the grade obtained.
To further improve the enrolment of students in the courses, a new initiative
of 'Local Chapters' in HEIs have been launched, named 'NPTEL-SWAYAM.'
These chapters will be run by an instructor of the registered institute, who
would act as a 'Single Point of Contact' (SPOC) agent.
The SPOC will be kept in the loop with the latest NPTEL initiatives, further
disseminating the information amongst the students. SPOC must also
arrange professionals for various courses and ensure that students benefit.
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SWAYAM- NPTEL MOOCs superior to other e-learning portals such as edX and
Coursera due to the following reasons:
NPTEL is primarily based on the AICTE curriculum and offered by faculty from
top-ranked institutions.
Indian instructors can understand the students' background and the Indian
schooling system and modify or disseminate the content using different
approaches.
Except for SWAYAM-NPTEL MOOCs, no other MOOC portals conduct a
proctored examination to verify the student credentials. The exam has to be
attended in person, in offline mode compulsorily.
The assignments offered on SWAYAM-NPTEL platform are new in every
semester. Also, the final exam question papers are designed with minimal
repetition.
The e-certificate has a QR code that can be scanned and verified from the
NPTEL servers.
NPTEL works closely with Indian colleges and universities through its Local
Chapter program. There is an NPTEL coordinator in every local chapter college.
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