Summary:
With the
adoption of technology in education there is a revolution in the making. The
changes it will bring about will be so extensive, that we would be hard pressed
to imagine the changes that will unfold. Learning occurs in the students head
and the traditional approach of imparting knowledge through "Brick and
Mortar" methods by discourses that occur in a classroom, in higher
education, will be literally turned on its head! Instead of students going to
college, we will see colleges going to students. The space and time continuum
of teacher and student being at the same place at the same time will be
obliterated. Recorded lectures, and automated courses, that includes testing,
enables deliver once, reuse many times, any time, anywhere, by anyone.
Accompanying
this revolution are immense and unprecedented opportunities for India
IIT-Bombay’s
Eklavya Project spearheaded by Prof. D.B. Phatak is aimed at taking IIT-Bombay
outside the confines of the Powai campus and improve the Quality of Education
all across the country. The IIT-B Spoken Tutorial Project is another such
initiative that provides an overview of Free Open Source Software.
The IITs
are unique in that they can evolve into a consortium of inter-connected
universities that leverage each others strengths. There is no other institution of this sort in
the world today that is dedicated solely to technology education and research.
The Upcoming Paradigm Shift:
Traditional
classroom based education will still be the case for school going children. And
vocational courses will continue with the requisite hands on site training.
Also the importance of labs will not be diminished. But once the student
graduates high school the vista open to them will only be limited to the
capacity of the student to absorb knowledge obtained from a well spring of
sources that emanate from anywhere in the world. The paradigm of a student
going to college will change to the college reaching out to the student.
Extended education (that includes distance learning, automated learning, access
to lectures etc.) is a very fast growing segment in education. Google “Online
Degree” and you will get an idea of what is in store.
This
won't diminish the importance of students congregating in a common place called
a college. Social interaction would still be important and necessary for the
evolution of the student. The importance of labs and research facilities for
majors that require such facilities will continue to be important. The impact
of this revolution will mostly be felt in the theoretical imparting of
knowledge.
The Vista of eLearning:
As
mentioned earlier, learning occurs in the students head. The established
delivery mechanism today is transferring knowledge in the class room. The
objective remains the same, with technology changing the delivery mechanism.
How technology will revolutionize education like we have never envisaged
doesn't stop with interactive learning. There could very well be knowledge
transference that could occur through a man-machine interface! Who knows, there
may come a time when a student puts on a helmet, goes to sleep and wakes up a
genius. But let’s stick with the near future for now.
IIT-Bombay’s Eklavya Portal:
The
phenomenal rise in the number of engineering colleges has not been matched by
the requisite infrastructure and resources, leave alone dedicated and competent
teaching faculty. The Eklavaya Project spearheaded by Prof. D. B. Phatak,
Subrao Nilekani Chair Professor, of Department Of Computer Science &
Engineering, IIT Bombay, aims to fill this gap with the Eklavya Portal.
IIT-Bombay’s Spoken Tutorial
Project:
IIT-Bombay
is offering a “Spoken Tutorial” program that provides an overview of Open
Source products such as Linux, OpenSQL, PHP etc. complete with tests and
certification.
The Udacity Project:
MIT Automated Curriculum:
MIT (Massachusetts Madras
Why would
MIT do so? For starters, it will not "cannibalize" enrollment for
MIT. This initiative goes after students worldwide, who couldn't attend in
person for some reason or the other. It would instead take away students from
other Universities. If industry values a certificate from MIT, preferable to a
degree from a lesser known college, then students who are faced with a choice,
may opt for MIT. Furthermore, one does not expect MIT doing this for altruistic
reasons. There is an opportunity to “monetize” as well. MIT can franchise
centers that will be responsible for exam setting just like SAT, GMAT etc. You
go to the center to take the test. If you are talking about millions of
students paying to take a test, that adds up to a significant amount of revenue.
These centers can offer enhanced services like real labs at a fraction of the
cost. The net result is that the cost of delivery is reduced with some of the
savings passed on to the students. Cheaper, better and recognized by a premier
University, would be hard to pass up for students.
The Impact of eLearning:
The
student will have a choice of “accessing” the best lectures and the onus to
learn will be on the student. The excuse that it was a bad lecturer/professor
will no longer hold. The “Academy of You” - Udemy is offering both paid and
free courses. An existing college might decide to sign up with another college
or form a consortium with other colleges or affiliate itself with another
University like MIT. This would reduce its need for “teaching” faculty or
eliminate the teaching faculty all together and have teaching facilitators
instead. In doing so, it will enable the college to deliver education at a
reduced cost. The impact of eLearning will threaten the very existence of
smaller colleges. Some colleges might close their doors all together or become
the extension of the University they are affiliated with by providing space for
students to gather, mingle and do their group projects and lab work.
While
these initiatives are in their nascent stages, it is being fought tooth and
nail in some Universities, by the entrenched and tenured faculty, who see this
as a threat to their very existence. The extent by which eLearning impacts a
college or university would be determined by the policies adopted by the colleges.
The opportunity for IITs:
The
Undergraduate program is the Jewel in IITs crown. It is the UG alumni that has
brought name and fame to IIT, for the most part. By getting on the eLearning
band wagon expeditiously will enable the IITs to improve the UG experience and
also enable the faculty to focus on research and interaction with industry.
Technology
presents an opportunity for the IITs to look at themselves as a distributed and
hyper-connected learning institution that leverages the strengths of each other
and also reach out to students who didn't score an admission. The IITs can
establish extension facilities situated in existing colleges, that students
attend and obtain a degree or diploma issued by the affiliated IIT.
For
instance at IIT, take a core course such as Fluid Mechanics 101:
- Why can't it be taught by the
very best say five professors, regardless of where they are and have
students from all IITs, and other affiliated colleges as well, attend these
lectures real time or on their own time?
- Doing so will reduce the
burden of recruiting teaching faculty which is a big challenge currently
and that will not change. Doing so will also avail the students of the
Best of the Best Professors.
- Tutorials and group
discussions could take place with a local or remote tutor. In the
- Why not set one exam paper and
have all the students take it at the same time.
Each IIT
could focus on a specific area that is unique to it and leverage the other IITs
for the overlapping curriculum. For instance IIT-Kharagpur offers degrees in
Architecture and Agricultural Engineering. This would result in optimal use of
funding and resources.
Additionally,
each IIT can forge relationships with selected Universities overseas and in
doing so feed into the inter-connected consortium of IITs on the one hand and
feed out to other colleges on the other, to form an extensive hyper-connected
technology educational web.
Universities
are going to expand their reach by either affiliating or merging with other
Universities and this is where the IITs, due to the nature and structure have a
unique competitive advantage that gives them a significant lead over other Universities.
The biggest being an established feeder system that ensures an abundant supply
of bright minds that constitute the best of the best.
Conclusions:
The only
thing standing in the way of the above is resistance due to skepticism, human
frailty and insecurity. As an activist in the field of education said, liberalization
unleashed Lakshmi, now we need to unleash Saraswati, in reference to the stranglehold
India
On-Line Lectures and CourseWare Sites:
On-Line Lectures and CourseWare Sites:
IIT-B Eklavya: http://ekalavya.it.iitb.ac.in/ekalavyaHome.do
IIT-B Spoken Tutorials: http://spoken-tutorial.org
Yale: http://oyc.yale.edu/
Udacity: http://www.udacity.com/
Online Courseware Portal: https://www.coursera.org/landing/hub.php
Udemy: www.udemy.com
Articles:
MIT launches automated course. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has revealed its first fully automated, accredited course which can be studied with out charge:
Stanford offers more free online classes for the world. In an ongoing experiment to leverage new educational technologies, the university is launching five free online classes this month.
