Monday, June 29, 2015

Report | Communication in the World of Apps – Understanding how app usage is transforming the way we interact

Communication apps like Gmail, WhatsApp, Facebook, Hike, others dominate smartphone use: Survey

Nearly half the time spent on smartphones by Indians is on communication apps, according to a report by Ericsson Consumer Lab. This figure is the highest among the countries covered in the survey. In contrast, users in Japan use their smartphones most for browsing. In South Korea, productivity tools get the highest billing after communication apps. Here's more...


Source | http://www.ericsson.com

India to set up chair for cross-border teacher education

New Delhi: India will set up a Malaviya Commonwealth Chair for Cross Border Teacher Education, and has also proposed a research consortium for the grouping, an official said on Sunday.

The announcement in this regard was made by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani at the 19th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held at Nassau (Bahamas) from June 22 to 26, an official statement here said.

The chair will focus on issues pertaining to curriculum development, pedagogy, student assessment, pre-service and in-service teacher training and capacity development.

Irani also proposed the setting up of a Commonwealth Consortium for Research which can function in collaboration with the Commonwealth Education hub and provide cross-funding for research projects which member nations deem appropriate.

India would provide its e-Learning platform SWAYAM to host e-courseware developed by Commonwealth of Learning, she said, and also proposed that India post digitized materials of Commonwealth countries on its soon-to-be established national e-Library.

The conference which deliberated upon `Quality Education for Equitable Development` was attended by the education ministers of 38 Commonwealth countries.

"There could be no more opportune time than now that the Commonwealth countries work towards a more coordinated and holistic approach towards rationalizing methods and processes for inclusive and qualitative expansion of education in the respective countries," said Irani at the conference.

"The concern of quality in education would remain the centre stage of deliberations of each country of the Commonwealth as a key parameter for sustainable development and, therefore, there is a need to create a platform to share both the resources and the best practices," she added.


Virtual museum for mythical Saraswati

NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of announcing a museum for Lord Ram in Ayodhya, the government has decided to set up a museum and a research centre for the Saraswati river to boost religious tourism and build a multidisciplinary research on the river.

Union tourism and culture minister Mahesh Shar ma said the museum will be set up in Mugalwali village and the Saraswati Udgam Sthal at Adibadri in Yamunanagar district in Haryana, which recently shot to fame after an old channel bearing a resemblance to the river was discovered. “Besides the village, Kurukshetra would also be brought on the global tourist map under our Krishna circuit… We will set up a virtual museum about the Saraswati river in which with the click of a mouse one will be able to see visuals and literature on the river,” Sharma told HT.

Haryana tourism minister Ram Bilas Sharma said the state will continue to excavate the site. “Saraswati is our belief, our history.” Superintendent archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chandigarh, GN Srivastava told HT: “After the discovery of the site, we collected some pieces of used utensils from the spot and found them to be 200 years old. This shows that the catchment existed even then.”

Source | Hindustan Times | 29 June 2015

Student-picked syllabus ready for launch

The first-ever textbook based on the feedback of hundreds of students and around 127 subject faculty will be launched at the University of Mumbai campus in Kalina on Monday. The zoology textbook for FYBSc students has been made based on the topic preferences of students and expert inputs from faculty who are in constant touch with the industry requirement.

“While introducing the new FYBSc syllabus in the subject of zoology from the academic year 2015-16 a need was felt to prepare and make available quality study material,” said Dr Anil Singh, a zoology professor from Mithibai College and one of the co-ordinators for the new text-book. “There was also a strong desire for uniform implementation of it in all affiliated colleges from Colaba to Sawantwadi in order to benefit students studying in urban as well as rural areas equally.”

The textbook is an attempt to standardise the syllabus across all the colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Special attention has been given to the ecology prevalent in and around the colleges in these regions so that students are able to get practical learning experience without going far from the college or their homes.

The textbooks and practical books with ISBN are prepared by writers’ committee comprising teachers in the subjects under the chairmanship of Vinayak Dalvie. The subject matter of the books are peer reviewed by more than 127 teachers and hundreds of students before being published by the University press. This exercise is a pioneering effort of the Mumbai University and if practised in all the subjects can generate revenue even if the prices of books are as low as Rs 60 and Rs 85.

The initiative is a first-of-its-kind as textbooks have been prepared solely by subject experts based on their research and study and their understanding of the requirement of the syllabus. However, Dr Dalvie said, “The centre has proposed a choice-based credit system and this textbook aims to integrate the same. The Board of Studies for Zoology has been the first to accept the fact that students have specific requirements and hence involved them in preparing the new syllabus.”

The textbook will be launched by minister of state for higher and technical education Ravindra Waikar at the Phirozshah Mehta Auditorium at the Kalina campus.

Source | Asian Age | 29 June 2015

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Soon, ‘instantly’ read newspaper articles on Facebook

Facebook will soon make its Instant Articles programme live, with publishers like NBC News and the New York Times already in the fray.

Other early-stage partners include the Guardian, BBC News, Spiegel Online and Bild. Facebook would host the content on its servers so that it loads faster than regular article posts on mobile phones.

Publishers are ready to ramp up content distribution on Instant Articles, with some newsrooms preparing to post a few dozen stories a day, the Wall Street Journal reported.

By publishing articles directly to Facebook through Instant Articles instead of linking back to their own websites, publishers hope to increase the exposure of their content on the social networking service, especially on mobile devices, and improve load time.

Under the new programme, publishers will get to keep 100 percent of revenue brought in from ads that they sell and 70 percent if Facebook sells the ad. The WSJ quoted sources as saying that The New York Times was ready to publish some 30 articles per day directly to Facebook’s news feed and the Atlantic might make most of its content available through the programme.

Both outlets are already prepared to start publishing, and only waiting for Facebook’s nod. A Facebook spokesperson was reported as saying that the programme would begin soon.

“We’re excited for the next phase. At the outset we’ll be putting most of our content into the feed and will closely monitor the effect,” Atlantic chief operating officer Bob Cohn was quoted as saying. According to Chief Executive Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed intends to publish as much content as possible to the Facebook stream.

Initially, Facebook plans to make the articles visible to only select groups of users to see how they react, according to Peretti. Facebook created a stir last month when it announced it was partnering with nine major news organisations for Instant Articles.

On May 13, five companies — including BuzzFeed, the Times and National Geographic — each published one story directly on Facebook to much fanfare, but since then no other Instant Articles have appeared. Eventually, Facebook plans to give news organisations the ability to publish Instant Articles whenever they want.

Source | Free Press | 29 June 2015

Audit of technical education bodies to start soon: Minister

In the recent years, there was no audit or inspection of Minimum Competency Vocational Courses (MCVC) institutes in the state. MCVC provides a lateral entry into a degree course and a direct entry into the employment market.

Ministry of technical education in the state has directed officials to squash the stay on the audit of education facilities provided to students in the private technical education institutes across the state.

Minister of state for higher and technical education minister Ravindra Waikar said, “The ministry had directed to make an audit of educational facilities provided in the private technical education institutes. The audit work will start immediately after start of academic year.”

In the recent years, there was no audit or inspection of Minimum Competency Vocational Courses (MCVC) institutes in the state. MCVC provides a lateral entry into a degree course and a direct entry into the employment market.

Earlier in the state assembly, legislator Vikram Kale had brought it to the notice of the government that technical education department had failed to inspect technical institutes mushrooming in the state.

Kale has presented several evidences in assembly underlining the pathetic condition of technical education. He had also brought it to the notice of state that head of a committee for inspection of colleges appointed by the governor, is not presently working in the State government service.

Taking serious note of Kale’s point, minister Waikar had called a meeting of senior officials of his department. Minister directed officials to submit report on the new syllabus formation for MCVC.

Officials said that audit of educational facilities will start from July or August. All institutes will be given copy of audit report and it will be binding on them to fulfill the compliance report in academic year otherwise the institute will be de-recognised.

Source | Free Press | 29 June 2015

Powering education with mobile technology

In many ways, mobile technology is motivating the younger generation to use modern gadgets for learning purposes

The world today is a technology-driven place to dwell in where the age of machines has taken over and has definitely ensured a comfortable life for us. The ability of mankind to use science in an efficient way has led to many inventions and opened up myriad possibilities to explore. We all live in the digital smart age where we have access to technology at our fingertips. Things that we thought to be impossible to achieve back then have been made possible now as we have eliminated the time and place factor.

Enterprise mobility

With the introduction of cloud-based systems, the term “enterprise” that was used earlier with a limited group of people or companies has extended its reach to small and medium sized organisations. Education is the new kid on the block and this sector is experiencing technology transformation in almost every area. Be it providing digital training, conducting online examinations or anything in between, we’ll experience technology adoption in every area going forward.

Enterprise mobility may seem to be an intimidating jargon, but if one can imagine students sitting at home and watching videos of their teacher explaining scientific concepts on their tablets, or think about college students finding their next class location on their handhelds, it becomes more tangible.

System of learning

From the days of the gurukulas to the high-end schools and colleges, we have come a long way, not only through breakthroughs in infrastructure but also in the concept of education as a whole. We have gone through the system of writing and memorising in copies to storing digital notes on a high-end device. In India, we are slowly witnessing mobility solutions being introduced into our education system. One can now find lectures delivered online and presentations created and transferred through internet or applications in a secured way. The idea has already been solidified and several mobile apps are being built to access this information.

Mobile devices have made the world smarter for students. They can reduce the time and money with the support of these devices, as they don’t have to travel anywhere to get in touch with teachers or their institutes. Institutes and colleges are using the mobile solutions in order to make learning fun, accessible and environmentally-friendly for their students.

Learning is a never-ending process and mobile applications are being developed to meet the learning needs with respect of time and money. Universities can manage students’ data, which consists of attendance, admission status, fees, performance report, and results using mobility solutions. It is tedious to manage the details like class schedules, teacher schedules, event management, class roster, discussions and announcements for the institutes, schools and universities. Therefore, a right solution is needed to cope with these upcoming challenges.

Mobile education

Mobility solutions have brought about a paradigm shift in the education industry. When we compare the learning process of students with earlier days, there has been a remarkable change today. Earlier, it was necessary for students to attend colleges and schools to gain knowledge. The teacher and the classroom were the only platforms for students to learn new things and then there was the age and time-limit for students to learn new things. Mobile technologies have made it possible for anyone to learn without taking location into consideration.

Today, there are many software and mobile application development companies which are providing mobile applications for institutes and colleges to streamline their learning practices. These solutions are proving to be productive and effective mobile learning for students and teachers. Videos pause as soon as the student takes her eyes off the screen, the device vibrates to bring the student’s attention back to the material, and teachers get feedback on which parts of their video lecture the students had the most difficulty with. Students can also create their knowledge graphs and based on their past learning and use the mobile app to receive recommendations on what courses to pursue next. And this is just the beginning.

To conclude, like in all the other fields, enterprise mobility has transformed the education sector as well, with educational institutes, teachers and students benefiting significantly from this uber popular movement. Recognising the gravity of its essence, IT companies have also made notable contributions, helping educators to leverage education apps, software and mobile devices in conveying information among the students. It is definitely the magic of mobility that has motivated the younger generation to use modern gadgets for learning purposes along with traditional textbooks.

Source | Financial Express | 29 June 2015