Technology will change the face of education: BITS vice chancellor
Monday January 14, 2013 07:25:52 PM,
Anjali Ojha, IANS
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Pilani: While faculty
and infrastructure deficits are major hurdles in increasing the
reach of education in India, Birla Institute of Technology and
Science (BITS) vice chancellor Bijendra Nath Jain says there is a
need to take note of the changing pedagogy and using technology to
fill the gaps in the system.
"People haven't quite understood there is shortage of faculty, and
technology can address it," Jain said while talking to IANS after
the premier technology institute launched a service to connect all
its campuses through video-conferencing.
The future of education depends on such initiatives, Jain noted.
"Indian students prefer to take a research or teaching job abroad
but not in India. It is a problem for society, which does not
value the worth of a teacher. Even the compensation is very low,"
he said.
"We have not understood the pedagogy is changing," the vice
chancellor said.
"It used to be teacher going to a classroom, giving a lecture...
But today, all the information is already on servers. Classroom
contact is still required for clarifications of doubts, but most
of us have not understood that growth of education will now depend
on how we use these technologies," Jain added.
BITS is one of the leading technical institutes in India and a
deemed university. The new technology is launched along with the
BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA), BITS campuses in Pilani,
Hyderabad and Goa through an advanced wireless and internet-based
technique.
Called BITS Connect 2.0, it uses immersive telepresence,
high-definition video conferencing and live streaming technologies
for interaction between the different campuses.
The technology is Web-based and uses a high internet bandwidth to
ensure glitch-free transmission and high quality picture and sound
which make it a good alternative to face-to-face appearance.
It has an edge over normal video conferencing through the internet
or Skype as it assures high quality. It has been used to create a
classroom and a conference room in each of the three campuses.
"The classrooms can seat 180-200 students and are equipped with a
high definition screen. The rows for students are equipped with
microphones and push buttons. Pressing the button automatically
focusses a high definition camera on the student, making the
interaction more personal," the vice chancellor pointed out.
The conference room is also equipped with a semi-oval table, with
another half oval being visible on the huge screens mounted on the
wall.
"It gives a feeling of sitting face-to-face in a conference - as
if it is a large oval table," explained Prem Jain, Chief Mentor,
BITSConnect 2.0 and a member of the Alumni Advisory Council that
has substantially assisted in developing and implementing the
technique.
"In the classroom, students can even have eye-contact with a
teacher who is in a different campus," Prem Jain added.
Elaborating on the technology, the vice chancellor said: "It will
hugely help in coping with the faculty shortage. It will also
facilitate conferences and campus interviews as people won't have
to drive all the way down to Pilani."
BITS Pilani also was one of the first Indian universities to set
up IP Telephony, Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless accessibility on
campus with BITSConnect 1.0 in 2003.
Commenting on the technique, noted industrialist and BITS Pilani
Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla termed it a "significant step
forward that extends the boundaries of technology-enabled
learning".
A similar network across major Indian universities has also been
launched by the central government under the National Knowledge
Network.
Faculty shortage is a major problem faced by India as it attempts
to provide educational opportunities for its growing population.
According to a task force constituted by the human resource
development ministry, there is a shortage of 300,000 faculty
members at present.
Such is the extent of that shortage that the prestigious Indian
Institutes of Technology have proposed mentoring the top 15
percent undergraduate students from IITs, National Institutes of
Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Science Education and
Research (IISER) and National Institute of Science Education and
Research (NISER) through a teacher training programme.
Speaking about the role of private universities in the growing
education market, the vice chancellor said the contribution being
made by private institutes was still to be recognised.
"The role of private universities has to be understood, encouraged
and recognised. Not all government universities are good and not
all private universities are bad," Jain added.
(Anjali Ojha can be contacted at anjali.o@ians.in)
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