RSS
“Learning processes belong to learners and nobody else”
Professor Vasudha Kamat, Joint Director of the Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) from New Delhi since 2007, was appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of SNDT Women’s University in May 2011. Kamat joined the SNDT Women’s University as an Assistant Professor in the PVDT College of Education in 1983, and has served as Head of the Department of Educational Technology since 1986. She has over 32 years of experience in research in Educational Technology, Educational Psychology, Textbook Development etc. Her areas of research interest are Instructional Design, Online Learning, and e-content Development.
Vasudha Kamat’s favorite online site is…
ZaidLearn
What role should ICT integration in education play in countries as extensive and populated as India?
India is a thickly populated country and it has a very peculiar dimension to providing education due to population. Integrating ICTs would definitely help address this issue in a very fruitful manner. ICTs would help in reaching large numbers of learners and also with quality. Presently, India is using an educational satellite through which two-way audio two-way video can be used. This satellite helps reach large number of learners in schools as well as in higher education and also teachers. Similarly, community radios, FM radios, are used for education. It helps in reaching a large number of individuals with course contents and with innovative ideas.
New ICT tools like web 2.0 tools and virtual classrooms are also gaining importance, especially in higher education.
Would you give us an example of a new ICT tool recently applied to Indian education?
The ‘Lab in a Box’ initiative, for instance. This was an initiative taken by CIET and NCERT. This project was developed in collaboration with HP. In India many schools do not have adequate infrastructure for computer labs. To create an extra room in the school would take months and by that time, the technology has already become obsolete. We developed a computer lab in a container (40*8*8 ft) which was properly air-conditioned. This box has 15 computers with broadband connectivity. It can be lifted by crane and moved anywhere.
This has, in fact, turned out to be a very handy solution to creating a computer lab. Fifteen students can sit in it and work. A teacher table, library stand, board and projection facilities are all created inside the box. If required, up to 30 students could be accommodated. It had all FOSS applications as we wished students to use free and open source software. Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development, inaugurated it on February 2, 2011.
Alternatively, how can mobile technology add value to education?
India seems to be having a growing number of mobiles; growth in June 2011 occurred at the rate of 11.41 million new subscribers per month. India is projected to have 1.159 billion mobile subscribers by 2013 (Wikipedia).
Many educational institutes/universities are using mobiles not only for administrative purposes, but also academic use. SNDT Women’s University is conducting research in use of mobiles for teaching-learning, also in the area of Instructional Design. It has a lot of implications for open and distance learning organizations in India.
Is virtual education the only way to provide educational access to everyone?
In today’s technology era, there is no ‘the’ solution, there are many alternatives. Learners who are used to the traditional ‘face-to-face’ educational set up have now modified their learning habits through ODL, where print material was provided along with a small component of contact programs. Indeed, at the present time, blended learning is appreciated to a great extent by students as well as having contact with their teachers, either virtually or face-to-face.
The truth is that online learning can be currently provided through many modes, bringing in a variety of educational experiences. We must take advantage of this versatility.
Any other considerations to generate successful learning experiences?
Learning is a process of active engagement. And engagement in education should be looked at from student participation in the process of learning – not only physically but emotionally and cognitively as well. In other words, it is not just important to have experienced something, but it is equally important to reflect on this experience. In this regard, there is a paradigm shift taking place in Indian education through a constructivist approach to learning. This shift conceives that students need to be engaged more in the process of learning by owning it, since it belongs to them – and nobody else!
We, at the SNDT Women’s University, developed a strategy called Zero Lecture Project way back in 2003. We used to conduct workshops for teachers on how to teach without lecturing (talking) in the class. Basically, this initiative attempted to open the minds of teachers towards engaging students in their learning process, making them master of their learning process, and shifting the role of teacher to that of facilitator.
Many experts believe that if online copies offline methodologies and procedures, that will lead us to failure. What’s your belief?
Unfortunately, many other people also believe the opposite! When I was at CIET, nearly every day I was visited by ICT vendors to demonstrate their educational products. They all would first promise me that their product will do exactly what a teacher does in the classroom but through e-mode – i.e., e-content, online learning, virtual learning, etc. I remember telling them that they better leave then, as we do not want to create the same Teaching and Learning Process (TLP) using ICTs.
ICTs today have so much to offer for cooperative and collaborative learning in which I strongly believe. We should first delimit teacher talk in the class and start believing that learners are capable of learning, on their own as well as in groups. We need to work on creating intellectual environments where challenging tasks are put in front of the students and through which they learn. ICTs can be of great help for a teacher to create such a rich environment.
However, some educators tend to act differently, though…
True! And it’s our job to change their frame of mind. We conduct teacher training workshops in ICT integration. And we never include presentation tools as they can be learnt anytime, but mainly because these tools are mostly used to facilitate teachers’ talking. Instead, we bring teachers’ attention to collaborative tools by which a ‘we’ feeling can be developed. In my opinion, the learning process shouldn’t thus be driven by just ‘thinking’ but also by ‘feeling’ to be part of a community.
What other imminent changes should online educational institutions implement in order to assure successful learning experiences?
I think the university may not direct all its worries about whether to offer face-to-face or online education; what it should do is to focus on student engagement, their involvement, and their commitment to learning. Also, the process of learning should be anchored. Online learning can certainly help in interacting with other learners from varied places, from many other countries. This interaction – which is not possible to such an extent in on-site environments, brings with it understanding about social reality, different cultures, views, and ultimately, about the richness of the world we live in. This is certainly very fulfilling.
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