Technology with its ubiquitous presence has definitely improved human lives for the better, if we say so, apart from the share of worries it provides. But with the e-learning concept introduced in schools and colleges, technology has fast become an integral part of education, right from e-books, online knowledge portal to lecture transcripts and even video conferences. The Web has it all to act as a catalyst for the education system.
“These days a lot of schools and colleges use video clips in the classroom for demonstration and better clarity on any topic,” says Swati Vats, president of the Podar Education Group. She explains how Podar schools have a remote control system similar to buzzers used in reality shows to help interact with their children during a lecture. “This method helps speed up the process. Teachers too can give their results immediately post a small quiz or test,” says Vats.
Some other forms of e-learning like teleconferencing, is becoming a common practice among colleges and universities to help their students interact with members of other universities. Here, open source software like NPTEL, used by various IT, engineering and management colleges and universities in India, acts as a great medium for exchanging information and ideas between them. “Open source allows everyone to collaborate and add inputs in any project or to solve a particular problem. It’s also easier to get help and unleash creativity through it,” says Abhishek Shiwalkar, final year student at IIT Bombay.