I agree. But in the small university college of education in Switzerland where I work it is very slow going because the teachers are not really keen on change, technoloy and new methods to learn. We are quite well equipped - thats not the problem. There is just too much fear and resistance to really implement new things. Even so blended learning would be a good thing since we have too little physical space. But we do have many students and they all find jobs easily since teachers are scarce. So there is no pressure.

In INDIA, I am working in Periyar University, Salem district in Tamil Nadu. Here each and every department have Interactive White board with SMART classrooms. Normally teacher is engaging to teach with that devices. Students can use in their Seminar Classes. Teachers can utilize the Internet services to develop the student's knowledge. The students can retrieve and re-use the teacher's notes from the IWB. Hence the teaching skill will develop at the same time student's knowledg will upgard than book materials. [email protected]

@Prof Muthu, it is really heartening to know that the use of technology is really being made in Periyar Uni. It is a question of intention, sincerity and implementations with full honesty. Many institutions in North India has put up smart class rooms, only to showcase for admission and inspection purposes. I could not find even one institution out of 14 so far, where B Tech is being taught with NPTEL videos. It is a shame that so-called 'regular' education is nothing but a sham for running 'for profit' business. Therefore, I believe an option of on-line education has to be made available to the students in India.

Respected Kulwant Sharma Sir,

Here in Periyar Univ, we were taking regular classes through SMART, instead of regular Chalk-talk board. Sometimes we use powerpoint presentations; not using that IWB. It is not for admission purposes, it can use for teachers' skill improvement as well as students' learning effciency.

Respected sir, it is not the case for everyone. We, here in MIER College of Education Jammu India use these technologies for teaching learning in actual sense. There are enormous applications for which these gadgets can be used. Though we are in the process of using these technoloies to a greater extent yet we also face difficulties in improving teachers as well as teacher trainees attitudes towards technology and other prevalent problems as you mentioned.

Sir, our students in school of education, lovely professional university, make use of Learning Management System extensively in its graduate and post-graduate teacher preparation programs enabling their instant attendance marking, uploading of continuous assessment tasks, uploading of marks, accessing teacher's uploaded study material, lodging comments, suggestions, complaints, etc. This brings faster communication between teachers, administrators and transparency in the process. This happens despite many students hailing from a semi-urban and rural community as the computer learning goes complementary through curriculum. In their teaching practice and internship they are encouraged to use ICT tools in teaching and facilities are provided for those who are willing for it. Virtual guest lecture sessions are conducted to provide them exposure on ICT use. However, the challenges remain, ultimately most of them will join schools, may be in country side, where there would be only chalk board and duster, or computer which may be gathering dust. Trainees are also made aware of this so that they seek alternatives to overcome it.

Thanks @Ananda and Mool Raj ji. Underscoring the real importance of usage of technology is, creating self driven autonomous learner community. Unless students accept that UG and PG courses are mostly self driven, they will not get out of the Indian habits of spoon feeding. Technology - LMS, video and other course material on the net is a great source to develop this competency of autonomy. They will remain life-long learners and learning will generally happen if they develop inquisitive minds and scan the www themselves. It is heartening to note that you universities and institutions are making the difference. Thanks...

Hi guys,

you might want to check out www.iversity.org

iversity allows you to create courses and research groups to share infos and discuss with your students and / or your colleagues. I'm a co-founder of this Berlin based startup and I would be very much interested in your feedback.

Thanks

Hannes

@Hannes, thanks. I think Dr Stephanie's comment - 'The platform is brilliant. It works intuitively, sends out notifications to all participants, is easy to use and a very valuable asset in collaborative academic work' - says it all. What is more interesting is move to open courses. Excellent videos and lectures...I actually went through Milton!!! True global institution. But what was very surprising - the ease to navigate through register and get on-line. This something which many Web 1.0 LMS lack. Thanks Hannes. After a few more trials on it, I will attempt to give some feedback.