E-Learning: A Tool for Education in Rural India
The population of India counts to 1.0270 billion according to the 2001 census. 70% of this population is habited in villages or rural areas. Rural Indian population is not as fortune as the urban population in terms of access to quality education system (technical education) and information & communication technology infrastructure of cities. The Information Technology (IT) Giant India needs to take its development programs of education, health, technology, agriculture to the masses to eliminate disparities, specifically the digital divide. India has an excellent education system of more than 380 universities and 1265 engineering colleges [4] providing IT education in the country. Despite this the availability of trained manpower is in short supply as far as IT manpower is concerned. As projected in many reports India could face a shortage of 0.5 million skilled IT manpower by 2009. These statistics are indicative of the fact that there is a need of other alternatives to reduce the digital divide (Rural V/s Urban) in the country and also to fill the gap of shortage of IT trained manpower. In such a scenario e-Learning could play a vital role since its enabler, IT infrastructure is developing in India at a very fast pace as it is evident with the development of Business Process Outsourcing industry and number of telephone users in the country. The President of India in his address (4th August, 2004) to the children of the nation said “education is the catalyst of change” and ‘Information Technology is the major driving force and change agent”. To achieve the objective of providing education to all children, he announced the project “EDUSAT”, which would install 150,000 ground terminals in the country. In addition new initiative of e-Government policies of the government are encouraging the usage of information technology in all sectors of the economy including education. In the nutshell, India has a conducive environment where e-Learning could develop in future to solve many problems of education especially in rural India. Keeping this in background, author presented in this paper, various facets of e-Learning in India, present status of e-Learning activities, major organizations & their technologies for creating e-Learning information systems, regulatory framework, government initiations, impact of e-Learning technologies on the education system. In addition the paper includes a framework of e-Learning for rural India and a business case of implementation of e-learning “knowledge hubs” in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
Internet for child mental health: Boon or bane
Internet for public use in India was launched on 15th August 1995 by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL).[1] In 2005, following the formulation of a government broadband policy, internet usage accelerated. According to the latest reports issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, there are 324.89 million internet subscribers in the country.[2] Approximately 35% of internet users in India are adolescents.[3] With an ever-increasing number of young users, the internet has revolutionized education and social communication.[4] Children and adolescents of 21st century are more connected, aware of the latest developments in various fields, and have access to academic and recreational material that would be inaccessible without internet.[2,4]
Quality Distance Learning Programs and Processes
With today’s advances and capabilities in electronic communications, distance learning is a natural extension to any quality educational program that wishes to maximize its reach to qualified students. Any institution that desires to provide quality distance learning opportunities must commit to a significant investment in developing the infrastructure and leadership (Beaudoin, 2003). The University of Florida’s (UF) Division of Continuing Education (DOCE) has provided that infrastructure to implement and build a quality distance learning effort along with executive education initiatives. After the launch of several successful distance programs, the provost of the university established the position of Associate Provost for Distance, Continuing and Executive Education and provided the budget necessary to begin an organized effort toward building a quality distance learning infrastructure throughout the university (www.aa.ufl.edu/itr/pdf/DistanceEd.pdf). Ten percent of the gross revenue from those programs was distributed to an account for distance education initiatives in the provost’s office. The DOCE was also added to the associate provost’s responsibilities, as was executive education. A successful leader, who had implemented early distance learning programs, was appointed to the associate provost position while dually maintaining his position as dean of one of the colleges on campus. He enlisted various directors within the existing DOCE structure to begin building the infrastructure and to advance the processes by which new programs could be developed, marketed and evaluated. The newly organized office under the associate provost became known as the office for Distance Continuing and Executive Education (DCEE). Its mission was defined as promoting and supporting the development and application of distance learning, continuing education and executive education for the University of Florida. The office became the leading source of information, resources and recommendations for colleges and departments interested in developing non-traditional courses, seminars, certificates and programs. Prestera and Moller (2001) note that “high-quality organizations actively support performance through processes, structures and feedback systems that are aligned with organizational goals”; subsequently, one of the first efforts for DCEE staff was to create a process for developing new distance learning programs. This process started with open discussions among department/college representatives about content, timelines, staffing and budgets. The DCEE office developed expertise in marketing intelligence studies to determine if a market exists for a program prior to building it. Rather than a “field of dreams – build it and they will come” program development approach, the DCEE office took a business approach to determine if programs would have a viable market, allowing for an economic model that would provide internal or external revenue for the department and college involved. The DCEE office assisted departments and colleges in developing a business plan so that resource needs and revenue projections are understood and properly allocated. Recognizing the importance of economic viability, the DCEE office wanted to ensure that scarce resources were not depleted from other programs. A positive revenue flow was necessary for reinvestment in distance programs and distribution to other programs as well. In further developing the program, a decision was made to provide the following additional services: