Virtual classrooms plugging education gaps in remote areas
Under this project, around 300 state government schools have been connected to four central studios set up in the campus of Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya.
A teacher in a Dehradun studio teaching students via
virtual classrooms.
Picture this: It is 2 pm and
students of class 9 in Government Inter College Gaurihat in the hills of
Pithoragarh district are seated in front of an LED TV in their school and
learning “Simple Present Tense” from their teacher, Kavita Rawat. But there is
a twist. Rawat is not in the classroom. Instead, she is in front of a camera
inside a studio situated almost 500 km away from the classroom. Rawat is the
ICT Virtual Classroom set up in the campus of Rajeev Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya
in Dehradun. Earlier in the day, students of class 10 from various schools
across the state were getting clarification about “amorphous oxides” through
similar method from a science teacher stationed in the same studio in Dehradun.
This is an example of virtual
classrooms that have been launched in Uttrakhand recently and the state
government claims to be the first state to have this facility for school
education. The studios and the classrooms are connected through a satellite.
Under this project, around 300
state government schools have been connected to four central studios set up in
the campus of Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya
Vidyalaya. Each Studio has two cameras, a wall paper, a smart TV for output,
two computers to manage technical snags and keep an eye on the virtual
classroom set up in the schools in the remote areas. There are two microphones
as well in each studio. Each day, topics for the class are written on the
wallpaper while the concerned teacher elucidates the matters and she appears on
the smart TV screen.
In the classroom of these
connected schools, a camera with a microphone and a speaker is provided
alongwith an LED screen. The students watch the screen and are able to listen
to whatever the teacher writes on her screen in the studio.
The state government has a target
of connecting over 500 schools in remote locations with such virtual
classrooms. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the project
recently in Dehradun. Schools with connected virtual classrooms are now
available in all 13 districts across the state.
The Centre pays for 90 per cent of
the project cost while the state government manages the remaining 10 per cent.
The government claims that nearly 1.90 lakh students studying in classes 6 to
12 in government-run secondary schools will be benefitted by these virtual
classroom facilities. According to officials, the number of schools selected
for being connected to virtual classrooms include 82 in Pauri district, 61 in
Nainital district, 52 each in Almora and Tehri, 46 in Dehradun, 45 in Chamoli,
40 in Pithoragarh, 21 in Rudraprayag, 15 in Champawat and 10 each in Bageshwar
and Haridwar districts.
Dr Mukul Kumar Sati, Additional
State Project Director in the Education Department, said, “An MoU has been
signed with Centre’s Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) to setup
four studios in Dehradun”.
As virtual classrooms became
operational in middle of the current academic year, the Education Department
has decided to start formal classes according to the syllabus from next
session. “In the current session, teachers in the studio have been directed to
interact with the students and remove any confusions students may have about
the topics covered in the syllabus for the annual examinations. Students are
asking their queries and teachers in the studio are replying,” Sati said.
According to officials, the
virtual classroom project will be helpful for those schools where expert
teacher of any particular subject like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and
English are not available. Students enrolled in these schools will get classes
from expert teachers through virtual classes.
Manish Joshi, Assistant Manager,
technical operations in virtual classroom campus, said that more than 300
schools have been connected so far. “We have four teachers presently and
interviews are being conducted to hire more,” he said.
Officials said that from December
23, classes will be run to help students prepare for medical and engineering
entrance exams.
Source | https://indianexpress.com/
Regards
Mr.
Pralhad Jadhav
Master of
Library & Information Science (NET Qualified)
Senior
Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
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