How to enhance knowledge and skills

We are all familiar with the refrain: Management finds employee performance to be slacking off while certain routine matters are flagging. What are the common responses to an issue and what are needed to provide or revive knowledge and skills within an organization? The typical answer, of course, is training. While effective, if designed and implemented right, one would think at some point whether training is the only solution, and how does it really impact on the business strategy.

Many companies, especially the more progressive ones, now look at learning solutions as an integral part of their business strategy. They adopt a broader perspective and approach for assessing and meeting their organizational requirements. Based on my experience with some of these organizations and their leaders, I have chosen three key principles, which I now put forward to other companies for consideration and, if deemed appropriate, apply them. They are:

Make the Learning & Development (L&D) group your internal business consultants

The L&D group is often looked at in an organization as just a provider of training and seminars. This calls for a change in mindset, from being a training provider to an internal consultant. As consultants, their value comes from them being able to understand the “business” of the company, including how it operates, its product and service offerings, its constituents, its business strategy, etc.

Thus, when a problem that is initially identified as a training issue is given to the L&D group, they should first find out what the business and performance requirements are, determine the issues and the root causes of such problems, and only then recommend the appropriate solution. In some cases, it may turn out to be outside the scope of L&D. This should be fine. But thinking only like trainers, on the other hand, would often limit them to the discussions they have with you and their solutions might just be too focused on the training needs. That will prevent them from seeing the bigger, truer picture.

So, how do you make them consultants? Make the L&D group your business partners, and encourage the group to ask questions; the right questions. Typically these questions are open-ended at first, so that they will encourage a broader discussion of the issue. Questions like, what keeps you awake at night, what is the problem you are trying to solve or what does success look like, may seem to be simple and trite, but it really opens up the discussion to explore the different areas that may be contributing to the needs or even beyond.

Provide a variety of learning solutions, not just training

Learning solutions, unlike training, provide a broader perspective that considers a wider array of learning approaches—experiential, social, and structured programs—typically referred to as the 70-20-10 Principle that were introduced by the Center for Creative Leadership, to enhance organizational competencies. In this model, training is just one of, but not the only, solution.

So how do you apply the 70-20-10 Principle? Consider ways by which your organization can enhance the learning experience. You can implement on-the-job programs through secondment, cross-team postings, or individual swaps/exchanges. These assignments can even extend to clients or external organizations. You can also cascade a coaching and mentoring process where constant feedback and knowledge sharing is done across all levels. It’s about building a culture and structure where your employees seek and are able to learn by application and from others, through programs or ad-hoc opportunities.

Align the learning strategy with the business strategy

Learning can be strategic as well as tactical. A major difference between the two is that strategic learning focuses on supporting the organization’s vision and strategy, while tactical learning focuses on addressing performance gaps. Strategic learning is long-term and tied up to organizational metrics while tactical learning is short-term and measured through team or individual performance indicators, typically around productivity, quality, and timeliness. Training done across the organization is not necessarily strategic unless it is aligned with organizational outcomes and goals.

So what do you do to start aligning your learning programs into strategy? A useful first approach is auditing your learning initiatives. Determine which of those initiatives support your strategy and which address specific team or individual performance needs. It’s a simple method to see where the gaps are, but it really challenges you to evaluate whether the effort and resources are being channeled to where they make the most impact and sense.

As we strive to direct our organization forward, there has to be a deliberate effort to realign our learning perspective and paradigms. Positioning L&D closer to the business core, and providing a wider range of learning experiences, will help increase organizational effectiveness, improve employees’ morale as well as the company’s chance of success.

Mon San Jose is a director with the knowledge management group of P&A Grant Thornton, a leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing firm in the Philippines, with 21 partners and over 700 staff members.

Source | http://www.manilatimes.net/how-to-enhance-knowledge-and-skills/284380/

What is a librarian?

There seems to be little argument that the stereotypical kind older matron with the white hair in a bun is no longer staffing the public library.  In addition, depending on your school district, you are less and less likely to see a public school with a full time librarian staffing the desk when your children come by for reading time.  It may even be true that Katherine Hepburn’s days in the classic film Desk Set depicting a corporate librarian are long gone.  Indeed, with the advent of the Internet and search engines such as Google, who needs a librarian?  I am here to tell you, you do.  You need a librarian, and mostly because you have no idea what a librarian does.

A colleague recently sent me a copy of the WSJ’s article, In Age of Google, Librarians Get Shelved.  While I generally enjoy a provocative editorial from the WSJ, I cannot fail to see how far off the mark this particular article fell.  In the Age of Google, librarians are needed more now than ever.  I am not here to proclaim that things must go on as they are.  I am here to tell you that you cannot go on without your librarian, and your librarian is your ticket to the future.  As my experience is focused in the legal arena, my comments and examples will draw from that industry.

Let’s set aside the fact that there is still a vast section of the population that does not know how to utilize the fantastic tools of the Internet, such as Google.  I am not just referring to those who are older in years.  My dear husband is terrified of technology.  He won’t admit it, but he conveniently can’t find any electronic device to Google even the most basic of questions when the need arises. I am his search engine.  Even a group text sends him into fits.  He is not alone.  While iPhones and Android phones are ubiquitous, it does not mean that everyone in our society knows how to research online.  And even more important to the seekers of accurate information, being published online does not make a fact true.  “I pulled this up on Wikipedia” might as well be, “I closed my eyes and threw a dart at the wall”.  I was recently asked to verify a piece of research material found online.  The truth was, there was absolutely no way to verify the material.  It came from a dubious website, and had no citations or any scholarly backing.  In fact, the only thing it did have were words stating exactly what the requestor was looking for.  Well if that isn’t the Bible truth, then I don’t know what is.

I return to my original question.  What is a librarian?   Some of the best librarians I have met and had the privilege of working with could be described with a few of the following characteristics:

• Organized
• An attention to detail
• Naturally grouping and organizing like things
• An inquisitive mind
• The ability to break down problems
• The ability to rely on a vast amount of knowledge to recall where information is located (in print, electronically, or real tangible matter.
• A detective like mind, working to find each piece of the puzzle

A librarian researches, organizes and presents information.  A librarian is aware of their area of expertise.  As a legal librarian I work with the law, and more specifically I work with Labor and Employment law.  On my team the librarians understand the basics of Labor and Employment Law. They watch new developments and explore trends in our particular area of law and indeed in the practice of law.  This expertise allows them to provide our attorneys with excellent research distilled down to the information required to best respond to the clients’ need.

What about all of the administrative work that is done in a library?  Does it take a Master’s Degree to put a book on a shelf?  No, it does not and that is precisely why most institutions utilize para-professionals.  I dislike this term as it implies that a library assistant is not a professional, however; the term does indicate that the person in question has library skills and works in a library but does not have a MILS and does not perform high level research.  In my particular organization we use library assistants to do a host of tasks that help free up time for any number of professionals including our librarians and our attorneys.  Someone does have to open the invoices, shelve the books, manage IDs, maintain databases , manipulate spreadsheets, route the newsletters, and deliver requests for copies of court documents.  None of these tasks should be confused with the in depth specialized research performed by highly skilled librarians.  A librarian is not, and may I assert never has been the person who reads and checks out books.  True these tasks must be done, and often a librarian might have done them. But in that same vein an attorney uses the copier, answers the telephone, and knows how to make coffee in the office.  Does that make the attorney a clerk?

One might be tempted to ask, why can’t the attorneys (or any professional) do this research themselves?  Well they could, just like you can remodel your house by yourself.  The work will get done, but without the special skills needed. It will take longer, be lower quality, and in the end could cost you more than hiring a professional.  If you are an attorney in a large firm with a billing requirement and a cost conscious client, you certainly do not want to waste your time, firm resources, or the client’s money.

The Wall Street journal probably did get one thing correct.  That very kind white haired lady behind the reference desk at the public library is likely going to retire soon, and very likely she will not be replaced.  However, the state of public libraries and local government finances is light years away from the conclusion asserted in the article that all librarians are now useless.  Librarianship as a profession is not dead.  If anything, this is the best time to become a librarian.  Maybe we need to rename the librarian something more appropriate, such as Research and Information professional, to take away the stigma.  With the VAST amount of data and information flooding the Internet someone has to be available to sort it out, organize it, decipher truth from fiction, and get you a fully formatted client ready report before your noon meeting on Tuesday.  Good luck pulling that off using Google.

In DigitalIndia; Student will get All CBSE Books online without any charge

There is a big news for the more than 14 lacs students of class 10th and 12th lakh, as they are going to get their books without any charge. Some of the books are already available and now with the #DigitalIndia mission all books will now be available in coming days.

As per theAccording to Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani, NCERT has already made some of its books available online through its mobile app and e-books, and will look to add CBSE books, videos and other learning material. and All CBSE textbooks and other learning material will be made available online by the NCERT.

“We made NCERT books available online for free through e-books and mobile applications a month-and-a-half ago. We are similarly going to make CBSE books available online along with additional learning material and videos as part of our good governance efforts,” Irani said at the inauguration of a new building of the school in Khichripur.

This is a really big decision as digitalizations in the education field is really important as this may impact large number of people In rural India.

Government is also taking more people online with the partnership of state owned BSNL with Facebook to offer free WiFi

How you can get these Books ?

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) currently offers copyrighted textbooks online for classes I to XII in Hindi, English and Urdu.

• The online textbooks can be accessed from here
• After that you need to select Class and Subject
• The Title list is populated after selection of class and subject
• When Title is selected the respective books is made available.

Digital India For Education

There are many updates in the field of education. These includes

• HRD ministry has set up National Institutional Ranking Framework all educational institutes and universities will get rankings by April 2016
• Government launches GIAN a government project to boost the higher education in India
• In the month of November, Smriti Irani had announced  ‘e-Pathshala’ program. Besides desktop, these books would be now available on mobile based apps as well.
• Khan Academy has also launched their India-centric website in Hindi, and made the content available in Hindi.

Source | http://www.bumblebeehub.com/2015/12/in-digitalindia-student-will-get-all-cbse-books-online-without-any-charge/

In the age of e-learning With advancing technology, the process of teaching and learning is also undergoing radical change.

Technology has completely revolutionised classrooms. Whether it is submitting assignments and projects, or making classroom teaching more interactive, the applications are manifold. Instead of carrying heavy bags, students can now carry an enriched digital textbook which contains all the study material.

Several initiatives have been taken to enhance teaching and learning methodologies. One such initiative by Ram Gollamudi, Prasanna Boni and Ramesh Karra, founders of Edutor technologies, aims to take digital learning in India to the next level.

“Our focus has been on developing a robust set of technology to enable schools and colleges to go digital,” explains Ram. “We thought, instead of teachers doing a lot of paper-based assessments, is there an easier way for them to assess where the class stands? Can the experience of reading textbooks be made more enriching?”

Five to ten years back, companies like Educomp and Everonn introduced smart classrooms, where teachers could show interactive content through a TV or an interactive board. But the students were largely untouched by it and still had to carry heavy bags. This led the founders of Edutor to come up with the innovative idea of introducing tablets instead of heavy textbooks.

Going digital

“We work with top publishers such as McGraw Hill, Oxford and Cambridge, among others. The textbooks by these publishers are available on the tablets and are enriched. For example, wherever there’s a static picture on the page, it is converted into a video or an animation. So, the experience is much better than reading a passive textbook,” explains Ram. “If a student takes one hour to get a grasp of a topic from the textbook, he can do it in 15 minutes through the tablet,” he adds.

Not only students, but teachers can benefit from this as well. Usually, teachers test the level of understanding of students through worksheets. But correcting so many worksheets can be a tedious task.

This problem can be solved by using a tablet.

“What we have is an automated assessment solution where the teacher can ask a set of questions to the students with a single click. These are automatically corrected and the teacher can immediately know how many students understood the topic and how many didn’t. Based on this, she can decide whether to move on to the next topic or explain the same one again. She can also identify the few students who are struggling and carry out remediation for them separately,” says Ram.

Cloud services

There are several other methods that are being used by schools and colleges to integrate technology into the learning process. Edusync, a cloud-enabled service launched in 2014, is enhancing the learning and teaching experience of students and teachers through a mobile phone application.

The app provides a central platform to teachers to manage their classrooms digitally and makes it easier for students to access study materials.

“Edusync is a socially aware platform created to make education simpler. It is divided into four simple divisions — class schedules, assignments, library and chat. Edusync also allows parents to sign up to keep a better track of their wards' academic performance and track records,” says Kushal Chudiwala, CEO of Edusync.

Teachers can create multiple classrooms on Edusync’s platform, distribute and receive class assignments, make class schedules, put out announcements and have a personal talk with the students if needed. Students, on the other hand, can view their assignments, get access to all the study material, get quick solutions to their queries from their respective teachers and so on.

“Connecting students and teachers together and organising course materials on both sides has really helped them both. It has also enabled students to understand their subject better,” says Kushal.

Challenges

Traditionally, technology has been seen as a deterrent to studying. Several colleges prohibit the use of mobile phones and tablets in the campus and classrooms. Their apprehension is understandable. Often, students use their phones for texting classmates or friends, rather than paying attention to what is being taught. How can this problem be avoided?

“It is important to make the key stakeholders such as parents, teachers and principals understand that tech devices in classrooms are not a distraction, but a powerful tool. To address this issue, we have enabled the device to be locked so that students will not be able to access anything apart from their textbooks and reference material. This will ensure that they focus on their subjects and not on Angry Birds,” explains Ram.

It is also essential to train teachers to use the devices efficiently which would help them to adapt to the new technological changes. “Teachers will have to evolve from being the sage-on-the-stage to a mentor-on-the-site. Most teachers are able to adapt without much difficulty,” says Ram.

For students, the transformation has been easier. “They are inherently quite comfortable with technology. We advise them about what it takes to be a good digital citizen and teach them the best practices. Though the device would be locked, it is important for them to understand that it’s for their own safety,” says Ram.With technology progressing in leaps and bounds, the time doesn’t seem far when classrooms would get replaced by virtual classrooms.

“Some subjects and courses might fare well, but I don't know if it’s possible to replace normal classes. However, supplementing regular classrooms has met with positive results and we must push that boundary continually,” says Kushal.

Source | The Hindu | 21 July 2015

Today's librarians more than keepers of books

Michele Lind doesn’t fit the image of the librarian sitting behind her circulation desk muttering “Shhhh!” every few minutes.

In fact, she says she would be thrilled — not embarrassed — if her principal walked in while kids’ chatter filled the library.

“My philosophy on quiet has changed,” said the library media specialist, who works at Roosevelt and Lewis and Clark elementary schools in Mandan. “I don’t want it to be wild and crazy and out of control, but I want it to be a little noisy.”

So do a growing number of school library heads who no longer see their sole purpose as keepers of books. They increasingly provide activities to prompt kids' imaginations and collaborate with teachers to integrate technology into the classroom.

The shift from old-school librarian to present-day library media specialist has occurred gradually over the past two decades. Still, local library media specialists find themselves debunking myths about their jobs.

Lind, for one, can see why people might question sending her students on a geocaching expedition. With GPS devices in hand, they searched their schools last year for hidden treasure.

“We are teaching them how to use technology,” she said. “We are teaching them how to apply latitude and longitude. They learn those concepts, but they are so foreign to them.”

Makerspaces

In some ways, children’s weekly visits to the library mimic those of their parents and grandparents. In Mandan and Bismarck public schools, they still check out books and listen to a library media specialist or an assistant read aloud.

“When I started, we were the study hall,” said State Librarian Mary Soucie, who worked in school libraries in the 1990s. “That’s where kids went when they were being disciplined.”

Some students today also spend their recess in the library, Lind said.

The difference? They come because they love “makerspaces,” which are designated areas within a library for kids to create anything from robotics to bookmarks.

The spaces popped up in school libraries throughout the country over the past several years, including in Bismarck and Mandan.

Library media specialists provide the supplies, then let the kids do the rest. Lind split classes into teams last year and gave each 100 red Solo cups. Each group had to come up with a way to stack the cups to ensure the structure would stand.

“I don’t think kids have time to play anymore,” Lind said. “A lot of them are on devices and computers. They forget about playing and creating.”

Misti Werle started a popular makerspaces club last year at Solheim Elementary School in Bismarck. The library media specialist, who earlier this month became the districtwide library media systems innovator for Bismarck Public Schools, regularly oversaw 25 kids who packed her library for weekly meetings after school.

“I had to turn kids away,” she said.

Collaborating with teachers

Blogs, Twitter chats, conferences and school library journals keep library media specialists up to speed on the newest tools available to enhance teaching.

The challenge is finding teachers who want to collaborate, Werle said.

“Often times, they don’t know what you can do for them,” she said.

The way she describes it, library media specialists have to advertise.

Lind knows what that's like. She researches what teachers at her schools are doing so she can devise ways to support them.

One tool she wants to try is Glogster, which she describes as a computer posterboard that can embed pictures, video and text.

“We are still trying to get that up and going,” Lind said. “It takes persistence and one teacher to set the example.”

She found some success last year teaching students email. She showed all her schools' third-, fourth- and fifth-graders how to compose and send an email, requiring them to use proper capitalization and punctuation. Every student messaged her, and she responded to each one.

One of the Lewis and Clark teachers then integrated that lesson into her class. Instead of turning in a sheet of paper with answers to questions, that teacher asked her students to email their responses to the assignment.

Split time

Lind sees the email lesson as a start to more collaboration. Part of the problem, she said, is that she’s split between two schools. She’s not always present when it’s convenient for a teacher to work with her.

That’s the case for library media specialists in Bismarck, too, which has 19 specialists split between 24 schools. Many work at two Bismarck schools, though there are several assigned to three, Werle said.

Kirsten Baesler was the librarian at five elementary schools when she started working for Bismarck Public Schools in 1989. Before she was elected state superintendent in 2012, she served dual roles at Saxvik Elementary School: assistant principal and library media specialist.

“My time as a library media specialist was the best training ground to know my responsibilities as a state superintendent,” she said. “It was absolutely essential for one to know all the standards on all the subjects for all the grade levels.”

Navigating resources

In doing so, Baesler could work better to assist teachers with classroom projects. As a young librarian, she frequently scoured the shelves and borrowed books from neighboring libraries to supply kids with an adequate amount of research materials.

“My big challenge was to make sure there were enough resources available to our students,” she said.

That changed by the time she was elected state superintendent. She taught kids to sort through the plethora of information available online, discerning reliable sources such as .gov sites from Wikipedia articles.

“There are people who say libraries aren’t relevant anymore,” said Werle, explaining that kids’ first instinct is often to turn to Google.

Students will probably find higher-quality sources in databases, which can quickly sort through articles with the search of a keyword, she said.

The State Library at the Capitol grounds in Bismarck pays more than $270,000 each year for databases, including Encyclopedia Britannica, and makes them available to school districts, Soucie said.

Werle said Bismarck Public Schools alone could not afford all those subscriptions.

“Libraries have and always will be about making connections,” Soucie said. “We’re just using different tools to do that now.”

Source | http://bismarcktribune.com/

 

It was difficult to cope with academic workload: Students

In an unprecedented action at any IIT, the institute at Roorkee expelled 73 students whose performance was not up to the mark after their first-year of the B Tech programme.These students scored less than 5 CGPA (cumulative grade point average) in their exams and were expelled late on Wednesday .

At the time of admission, the parents of these studen ts had signed a declaration stating that their poor performance could result in their removal from the institute: this is unlike any other previous instance at an IIT.

Students have been expelled from IITs but taken back, except in one instance each in IIT-Kharagpur and IITKanpur.

On Thursday , a meet was held to consider the mercy plea of the students. The decision was taken at the meet. It was attended by over 160 senior officials, including professors, heads of departments and the director. A decision was then taken to expel the students. A former director of IIT, Kharagpur, recounted that in 2006, around 15-20 first year students were expelled on account of poor performance. This decision was taken by a panel that evaluated undergraduate students. The director, however, eventually overturned the decision to expel the students and re-admitted them.

Sources told TOI that IIT Roorkee's move to expel stud Roorkee's move to expel students occurred after the second-semester exams ended in May . Many students who fared badly were called for a meeting with college authorities and told to pull up their socks.

During counselling sessions, many students admitted that they were finding it difficult to cope up with the academic work load. Institute officials said a few students claimed they had not given much attention to studies as they were “enjoying the firstyear of college“. In mid-June, poor performers were sent a notice of expulsion by the institute. They were given time to file what the institute termed a “mercy appeal“.

Many affected students refused to speak with TOI, saying they were still in shock.

A few said it was an “unjustified decision“ and that they were never warned that scoring less than 5 CGPA would result in expulsion. “I have scored a little over 4.5 CGPA, but even then, I have been asked to leave. It is not fair. What will I do now? My whole academic year has gone waste,“ said one student Student body representatives said the institute had acted in haste and should reconsider the decision.

“Many of them come from vernacular-medium back grounds and it is difficult for them to comprehend certain subjects. They should have been given time to adjust...,“ said Rajveer Choudhary , trea surer of Students' Affair Council of IIT Roorkee.

Meanwhile, the institute's registrar, Prashant Garg when contacted, said the deci sion was justified. “The IITs are premium institutes and the rules regarding under performance were clearly no tified to students at the time o admission. These 73 students could not attain the required credits and had CGPAs lower than 5, which qualifies for ex pulsion,“ Garg said.

“The decision to expe them was taken after consid ering their mercy appeal which was rejected by the apex academic body yester day . We acknowledge that the number of expelled is huge but we will ensure pre ventive measures are taken and that there is no need to expel even a single student on the grounds of poor academic performance next year,“ Garg said. As their parents have already signed an agree ment saying the students could be expelled for poor per formance, these students are now left with no recourse said a source. 

Source | Times of India | 10 July 2015

Govt Launches eBasta, A Digital Library Of Downloadable School Books.

The Digital India initiative is spreading it’s wings in every area possible. Over last few months there have been many initiatives launched under this scheme, but most of them have been geared towards transparent Governance and other Government related services.

Now, under Digital India initiative, the Government has launched a platform that extends may help Indian school students tremendously. Aptly called eBasta (Basta means school bag in Hindi), this new platform was unveiled today by the Government that will provide digital and eBook versions of school books and other study material to school students through-out India.

The platform, eBasta, is merely not a library of books, but a collaborative platform where school Book publishers, School teachers, students and even various etailers can participate.

According to the eBasta website, “it is a framework to make school books accessible in digital form as e-books to be read and used on tablets and laptops. The main idea is to bring various publishers (free as well as commercial) and schools together on one platform. In addition to the portal, a back-end framework to facilitate the organization and easy management of such resources has also been made, along with the web based applications that can be installed on tablets for navigating the framework.”

What Can School / Teachers Do with eBasta?

The school or teachers can log on to the portal and search for eBooks and other digital content. They can then logically organize it by creating eBasta for their own students. It’s exactly like you create a bag full of schools books that are related to each standard or course.

School teachers can choose and bundle content according to their teaching methods. Access to variety of resources – text, simulation, animations, audio books, videos, etc – to choose from.

What Can Students Do with eBasta?

eBasta provides an Android Application download, which students can install on their mobile phones or tablets. The students can then go to eBasta and download the eBasta that has been created by their school or teachers. This way, the students will have all the content as required by their teachers.

Because the content is in digital format, it can be stored on any device and shared or copied making the entire content very accessible and portable for students to use.

What Can Publishers Do with eBasta?

For school book publishers, eBasta becomes a marketplace where they can read out to thousands of schools across the country. They can register on the portal and then list, sell and distribute all their content in digital format.

Apart from listing and showcasing their content, the publishers can get direct feedback from teachers and students regarding the digital content they offer. The platform also supports DRM, so they do not have to worry about piracy of books too.

Here is how all stakeholders are involved on eBasta

Source | http://www.ebasta.in/

Social media, if used rightly, can create opportunities for a global-playing field

The concept of learning and acquiring degrees invariably throws up images of classrooms, blackboards, buildings, books, etc. Physical classrooms and books still exist, but it’s becoming tough to point out if technology is a learning aid or rightly the new and a more effective way to learn. The reach and ease of using technology is changing the way learners want to learn—virtual classes, forum for peer learning and even learning on-the-go through smartphones.

One of the biggest contributions of technology to this field is its ability to make high-quality education accessible to anyone with internet connectivity. The internet has facilitated education to such a great extent that distance learning or online degrees are accessible for students across multiple disciplines—right from art history to clinical psychology—enabling students to learn at their pace and plan schedules based on what works for each.

Most successful online programmes offer students a complete package of video lessons, assignments and assessments that take away the stress of rigid schedules and offer the freedom of flexible learning and the convenience of going through one module multiple times with the video lessons playback. Most of these programmes also offer forums for posting questions, exchanging notes and learning through peers, making for effective learning and engagement. Combine this with live doubt-clearing sessions wherein the faculty is available online to answer students’ queries and you have everything that a classroom offers with unimaginable freedom and possibilities. With smartphones available at a pocket-friendly price, education is literally in your pocket.

Towrads this end, global campuses have opened opportunities for students who check out universities through virtual tours, video-conferencing with faculty or admissions directors interacting with senior students through LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, etc. They can even follow their favourite professors or alumni on Twitter.

With the changing pace of technology, it seems that shifting gears from computer screens to mobile screens is here to stay. Customised education by educational institutions and ready adaptability by students is changing the paradigm of learning. From recording attendance to assisting with course work, today there is an app for everything. The impact isn’t limited to educational apps. Crowdsourcing is another interesting way of finding solutions to academic queries.

It is important to note that, by moving education out of a classroom and into the virtual world, the one-size-fits-all phenomenon is being replaced by individualised outcomes. The teacher moves from the role of a lecturer to that of a guide. Learning becomes a shared responsibility and students have a say about the way they wish to learn.

Social media becomes the mainstay throughout a student’s and a professional’s life. How does one search for jobs? Let’s start with networking sites such as Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook. Job portals such as Monster, Naukri and Shine give access to employment opportunities beyond one’s physical reach. There are multiple options; for example web albums, blogs to video resumes that add a three-dimensional effect and reach a global audience.

Let us not forget that the internet is a relatively new development. In 15 years, we’ve progressed from emails to social media platforms. The potential is tremendous. It can open newer vistas and create more opportunities for a global-playing field.

The author is senior vice-president, Marketing, TalentSprint

Source | Financial Express | 6 July 2015

5 Big ways Education will Change by 2020

In the next five years, we'll start to rethink a lot about education, from what's in school lunches to what a college degree really means.

We asked the world’s most innovative companies in education to school us on the future of the classroom, with predictions for the next five years.

Here's what we found out:

Students Will Interact With Others Remotely

Why do classrooms today look nearly identical to those 30 years ago—minus a few upgrades to the modern chalkboard, and sneaking texts in class instead of notes?

"With some exciting exceptions, public schools are one of the few institutions in modern life that have not seen radical changes spurred by technology," says Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. "I’m not talking about having computers in classrooms, but rather a lack of any seismic shift in the way things are done because technology is making the work easier or more efficient."

Williams predicts that education tech will continue the push towards individualized instruction for students. Hadley Ferguson, executive director of theEdcamp Foundation, agrees: Kids can "reach out beyond the walls of their classrooms to interact with other students, other teachers, and renowned authors, scientists, and experts to enhance their learning," she says. Some of those digital-native kids will grow up to become teachers, who will continue to build and use their own communities of learning online.

The Success Of Tech Will Still Rely On Skilled Teachers

We might be sending kids to school in self-driving cars by 2020, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be taught by teacher-avatars and given tests via drone.

"Education needs will drive technology use, rather than the ‘coolness’ oftechnology trumping education," predicts Shannon May, cofounder of Bridge International Academies. Instead of simply finding ways to put more tablets in kids’ hands, education technology will find new ways to supplement the best learning possible—regardless of the "coolness" of new tech.

Jake Schwartz, CEO and cofounder of General Assembly, predicts that astechnology advances, its limits will become clear. "‘Online’ is not a cure-all for education issues in this country, but it can help provide greater access to new skills training," he says. "This is powerful when combined with curricula and programming created and led by practitioner educators. The human factor is always important."

We’ll Think Differently About The Diploma

The growing amount of the population living with crippling student debt combined with the pressure to keep tuition costs down threaten the sustainability of tuition-dependent institutions, says Schwartz.

"This will help to force an innovation drive with an unbundling of degree offerings," he says. "The sector will see a shift towards more relevant competency-based programs and aggressive competition for students." The education-employment gap will force higher educators to think creatively about how to offer the training students need for a workforce that desperately needs them.

Traditional education is very top-down, heavy-handed—sit down and read, be quiet, don’t ask questions—there’s still a lot of room for innovation.

May agrees: "Today, diplomas granted by years in school are the dominant certification of ‘learning.’ Yet, in almost all cases, these diplomas certify nothing other than the fact that the person in question spent x years in school. Competency-based certifications testing specific skills, and bundling individual skills into professional groupings will become a global currency for both employers and job seekers."

The possibilities offered in technology feed into this shift as well. "A new curriculum is going to be created that builds on these possibilities," says Ferguson, "allowing students to move away from rote learning and tackle real-world challenges and develop solutions for them."

Students Will Have A Voice

Kirsten Saenz Tobey, cofounder of Revolution Foods, sat down in a school cafeteria to do a little research. When she asked the kids how they felt about their meal options, one turned to her and said, "Does this look like it was prepared by someone who respects me?"

Students are ultimately their customers, Tobey says; if they don’t feel respected or listened to, they’ll never buy in to the healthier options her company is dishing out. But it’s not all chocolate cake and gummy worms: They’re launching a mobile app to give kids nutrition info, see the day’s menu, and give feedback on what they’re served.

Engaging and respecting students and families as wellness partners will become a new focus in ways we haven’t seen before, she says. "Traditional education is very top-down, heavy-handed—sit down and read, be quiet, don’t ask questions—there’s still a lot of room for innovation."

Educators And Institutions Will Be Forced To Adapt

As the above four factors change—a wider global reach, students who need to feel respected, and a workforce demanding skilled scholars—the roots of education will need to find ways to adapt.

To May, that means paying attention to our condensing, shifting world. By 2100, more than half the world’s population will live in India, China, or Africa. "Global policy leadership and sales of education goods and services will be shaped less by issues and needs in the U.S., and more by the issues and needs of Africa, South Asia, and China," May says. "Market demand, and pressing policy issues related to urbanization and population growth, will shift the center of gravity of education provision."

Put more simply, Tobey says, "We’re not quite stacking up to where the rest of the world is. [The U.S.] is feeling the pressure to be the world leader we think we are . . . particularly in math and science."

"For schools of all types, content or curriculum will not be the core differentiator, but rather they will be judged on how well they coordinate complex offerings into a useful package for their students and graduates," Schwartz says.

"Most professions can point to dramatic changes in the way they work, thanks to technological innovations, but teaching still looks and feels an awful lot like it did when today’s teachers were themselves students," says Williams. "It is starting to change, but it has been incredibly slow."

Source | http://www.fastcompany.com/

The changing face of classroom tech - and what's coming next

Classroom technology has evolved out of all recognition, yet the biggest changes are yet to come

The last two decades have seen a revolution in the way technology is used in the classroom. We’ve moved from a world where a handful of computers might have been found in a school’s computer lab to one where ICT suites and interactive whiteboards became a fixture of every school - and now to a world where fleets of laptops and tablets are used by many students throughout the school day.

The pace of change has been extraordinary, but there are no signs that it’s slowing up. A new generation of devices allied with new software and services and shifts in pedagogy will only see further transformations on the shape of classroom tech.

While ICT suites promoted the teaching of basic ICT skills in school, interactive whiteboards and laptops had an even bigger impact, transforming technology from a subject area to a tool that could help primary age students with literacy and numeracy, support history, geography and science lessons, or help young people get to grips with a world of digital media.

Combined with the internet, online resources and Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), technology revolutionised education as a whole.

Things have changed again since 2010, not just because of a change in government that has seen major changes to the ICT curriculum and the promotion of computing skills in schools, but because classroom technology is changing to reflect the devices and services being used in business and the home.

The debut of Apple’s iPad was as much a watershed for schools as for the business and the home, as schools rushed to explore the clear potential of a simpler, more personal, highly versatile computer and a library of education-friendly apps.

Behind the iPad has come a wave of Android and Windows tablets and convertibles, while Google’s Chromebooks have given schools a low-cost alternative to Windows laptops, hooked in to a world of cloud-based services, learning resources and free web-based apps.

Mobile technology has entered the classroom in style – and it’s shaking up the way we teach and learn.

Rise of mobility

“I think that for certain, mobility is taking over” says Gus Schmedlen, HP Vice President of Worldwide Education, “especially in the mature or developed markets, where broadband availability and streaming availability are pretty pervasive.”

For Schmedlen and HP, mobile devices play a critical role in preparing students for a world where every industry is being disrupted by technology, and where the most important skill a school can teach is learning itself.

Backed up by cloud services and effective, easy-to-use management tools, they can make transform the way technology is used in the classroom, and help teachers improve outcomes in a tangible way.

HP’s latest mobile devices, including its Education Edition tablets and ProBook laptops, provide them with total access to learning, and can be better tailored to the way that individual students learn.

For primary school students, this might mean working with a stylus to practice handwriting or basic maths skills. For secondary school students, HP’s partnership with Pasco turns its tablets into effective scientific instruments, where you can attach over 70 sensors to a tablet and see the incoming data live on the screen.

The potential to engage students in exciting, practical science lessons should be clear.

Economies of scale and cost reductions are also enabling more schools to look at 1:1 access schemes, where every student in specific years, or even across the whole school, is provisioned with their own tablet, Chromebook or laptop.

This doesn’t just impact what and how students learn, but where. “1:1 is a reality now, when you look at the cost of these devices” says Steve Beswick, Director of Education, Microsoft UK. “You’ll get to a point where anytime, anywhere learning really can happen.”

For Beswick, though, it’s not just about having the devices, but about the way devices integrate with services and applications through the cloud.

“It’s no point having 1:1 if it’s all disparate. You’ve got to handle it all in a seamless way. It has to be so that what Johnny does at home he can access from school, and what Johnny does at school he can access from home.”

Beswick describes how, at Bett 2015, teachers using Windows mobile devices on the showfloor were able to use OneNote and Office 365 to set tasks for students back at school, then receive work and feedback from the classroom in real-time while still at the show.

Both with Microsoft’s cloud services and Google’s flexible, integrated platforms are making for a dynamic and engaging environment for teaching.

Liz Sproat, Head of Education, EMEA for Google, cites the take-up of Google Apps for Education and Google Classroom in UK schools, and how the new Google Play for Education initiative should drive more teachers to take advantage of mobile tech.

“We see more schools using this technology to improve learning” she says, “and really benefitting from the advantages it can bring. This is my second Bett at Google, and already the level of the conversation is getting much more involved.”

Mobile technology also supports new blended approaches to learning. At Bett 2015, HP talked of Blended Reality, where students might use text books imprinted with a watermark that could trigger supporting video or audio materials on a tablet or smartphone.

“If a student is trying to learn Pythagorean theorem and they’re confused about what it means, they can take their mobile device, put it over the Pythagorean theorem and see a video about it and why it works” Gus Schmedlen told us. “What we’re trying to do is increase the number of modalities that a student uses to learn one learning objective.”

HP isn’t alone in this endeavour. Across the Bett 2015 showfloor we witnessed innovative approaches that combine digital content with real-world materials to engage students and improve learning.

Whether using 2D or 3D scanners with large-screen interactive displays, using 3D printers to bring digital objects into real-world forms, or combining computer science with chemistry or robotics, developers and teachers are finding new ways to mix the best of ICT with the best of more traditional pedagogy.

Large-format interactive displays and holographic screens, like HP’s ingenious zVR series displays, give educators powerful new tools to teach with, yet still give them scope to put their own knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to good use.

Cloudy thinking

Meanwhile, new cloud-based communications and telepresence platforms are enabling more collaborative approaches to learning, not just within the class or between classrooms in the same school, but across schools in the same area – or even different countries.

What’s more, the way we interact with technology is changing. Voice recognition, natural user interfaces and innovative PC systems like the HP Sprout all have obvious classroom applications.

All this new technology will pose challenges for teachers. “I think it introduces a new digital divide” says Microsoft’s Steve Beswick, “between the teachers who get it, in terms of how to teach using technology, and want to drive that forward, and those who don’t. There will still be some who don’t get it, and that’s not good, but we will help those who want to cross the chasm and join the teachers who do.”

For all the applications of this new mobile technology, we can’t forget more basic skills. HP’s Gus Schmedlen believes that laptops such as the new £179 HP Stream 11 Pro (above) still have a major role to play in education, because as long as students need to create a lot of content, a keyboard will still be an essential.

Gemma Harris, from St Cuthbert and Matthias School, London, agrees. “If the children are just using iPads, then they lose the skill of being able to use a PC. Employers are telling us as teachers that they need people who can use a PC and Windows, and while tablets are fine, we still need to make sure that children learn all the basic skills of computing and using a mouse.”

We live in an era of unprecedented, accelerated change, where the technology being used by young people outside the classroom evolves at a rate that leaves those of us who aren’t digital natives struggling to maintain the pace.

Yet if we can take advantage of the latest classroom technology, we can do a better job of preparing students for the world outside. The financial barriers are breaking down and there’s help on offer for training and development. 

Source | http://www.pcpro.co.uk/