|
Navigate DDN
|
| ICT FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED |
THe community will be interested in the use of information and communication technologies for improving the lot of the less privileged communities in the areas of education, training, healthcare and overall development.
The less privileged communities would include the nomads, handicapped, rural places, labourers and their families
| Latest Blog Posts |
| Read recently published entries from DDN member's blogs. Any DDN member can have their blog listed here, all you have to do is write a new entry. |
Strengthening e-skills and employability training in Europe
Meddie Mayanja | June 21
Barcelona: over 40 NGOs have been meeting here at Esplai to discuss how to strengthen e-skills and employability programs in Europe through collaborative interventions. For starters, e-skills and employability training is about using ICT as a tools in creation of jobs or re-skilling communities...
|
If ICT is the answer - then focus on global ICI deployment.
Digital Divide | August 18
Follow the pathogy with me:
.
Information Communication Infrastructure (ICI) -->
Information Communication Technologies (ICT) -->
Education -->
Capacity Building -->
Development -->
More Capacity Building -->
Sustainable Development.
.
Kofi Annan said: While education unlocks the door...
|
|
[ more ] [ xml ] |
Educational Resources For The Rural Sector: Creating A Multimodal Repository Using ICT
By: Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan | June 19, 2007
|
| The curricula, textbooks and common instructional resources are heavily dependent on urban examples and scenarios. As such, rural students are very often unable to comprehend the basis on which scientific principles and phenomena depend. These are observations based on the close interactions of the author and the rural schools, teachers and students.
Schools have been provided with computers, educational software, informational CDs and internet connections. But, the sad situation is that the materials are either safe in the shelves or are merely read as textual matter by the students. Interventions by the author have indicated that what is missing is the localized content, the integration of courseware with the classroom instruction and proper surfing techniques.
The current paper outlines the issues and then goes on to elaborate on how localized instructional resources can be located, classified and used in the teaching methods. Typical case-studies are given to prove the success of ICT-based methods.
|
|
FUNDING EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE “WHO GETS IT” DILEMMA!
By: Dr. M V ANANTHAKRISHNAN | June 18, 2007
|
| A typical exercise on funding educational development involves a triad i.e., the funding agency, the beneficiary and the intermediary (NGO, National/State government or a Nodal Agency). Even though the most critical factor for success is the beneficiary, they are forgotten in the overall planning and implementation of the programme. The result is one of limited success and little possibility of duplication/mirroring within an area/ country/ region.
The author is leading an ongoing project on creating a multimodal repository of instructional resources for rural schools in Maharashtra. The experiences and lessons learnt during a one-year period have brought to fore a number of issues.
The present paper outlines the possible measures that could be taken to tackle the issues indicated above and come out with implementable solutions, realistic estimates of budgets, achievable results and smooth transitions to integrate methodologies. |
|
Meeit: Marsghalling The Environment To Educate Through Information Technology
By: Dr.M V Ananthakrishnan, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | June 15, 2007
|
| About the Package
MEEIT (which in Hindi, the national language of India, means "Friend") is based on learning through the immediate environment and neighbourhood of a typical nomad camp, using anchored instruction and virtual environments. The ICT-based package is made up of
(a) an anchored instruction module, through which children interact in a group to learn to count, identify colours, identify good and bad practices in physical hygiene and inculcating good habits
(b) a virtual market through which the children explore the various items in a market and learn to manage money through virtual shopping
(c) a virtual world, through which children learn , organisation, sorting, matching, identification, assembling etc
(d) a module through which children can learn to write in the Marathi Language (or local language)
Suggested user population
Nomad camps, slums, elementary schools…where Marathi (or any other language) is the medium of instruction
|
|
ICT for the Education of Children of Nomadic Tribes: Lessons Learnt
By: Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan & Mr. Yogesh Kulkarni, IIT ombay & Vigyn Ashram, Pabal | June 15, 2007
|
| Nomads form a significant part of India’s colourful and widespread culture. However, the wandering nature of the tribes has resulted in short-sighted plans and indifference to educating their children. A few NGOs have set up in-situ schools where traditional methods of chalk-n-talk and corporeal punishment are in vogue. As a result, the children run away, either out of fear or boredom. The authors and their team have made a comparative study of traditional teaching and ICT-inclusive methodologies in four such camp schools and a nomad school in Maharashtra (India) over the last two years. Besides achieving positive results, the children have developed abilities to reason, evaluate and apply in real life. A few of the children are even able to teach their younger siblings. The team has, consequently learnt a number of lessons, which, would go a long way in enriching future programmes and in avoiding pitfalls. |
|
Redefining the Digital Divide
By: Subhajit Basu, Queen's University Belfast | April 18, 2007
|
| Hi-tech hypesters claim that the Digital Age is vastly improving the lives and opportunities of people around the globe, while public-interest hand-wringers worry that it is creating a Digital Divide - an enormous and growing gap between the "technology-rich" and the "technology-poor," threatening social and economic stability and progress. Who is right? |
|
ICT as a Motivator and Facilitator for Educating Children in Urban Slums
By: Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan, Ms. Rashmi Misra | March 14, 2007
|
| The Developmental Informatics Labs (DIL) in IIT Bombay is working in the area of using ICT for Education and Development. It includes projects in the areas of agriculture, language translation, water quality monitoring and education. The Group working on education is currently engaged in (a) the use of ICT for educating children of nomadic tribes in Maharashtra and (b) developing a multimodal repository of instructional resources for rural schools in Maharashtra and West Bengal (jointly with IIT Kharagpur). The major success stories have been the (a) use of anchored instruction and virtual environments in educating over 100 children in four nomadic camps across Maharashtra and (b) setting up computer facilities in rural schools, replete with courseware and internet connections. |
|
Wimax Forum Boast they can cover the earth for $2.6 trillion!
By: Digital Divide, A Sense Of Place Network | September 13, 2006
|
| OK, here is a trying-to-be-serious document from THE peak WIRELESS body of the latest technology in the world (WIMAX) -- they think their technology will globally "bridge the digital divide". |
|
ICT IN EDUCATING NOMADIC CHILDREN IN MAHARASHTRA:HOW AND WHEN?
By: Dr. M V ANANTHAKRISHNAN | August 1, 2006
|
| The current report is a summary of the exploratory studies made by the author in terms of identifying the right strategies for successfully educating the nomadic children. It summarises the current problems and then goes onto identify the possible parameters that could help in zeroing in on the right strategies. Finally, an example of a possible application of these norms in given through an in-depth study of the Medhangijoshi tribe in Ambernath (near Mumbai). |
|
VIRTUAL LEARNING “ENVIRONMENTS” FOR NOMADIC CHILDREN
By: Dr. M V ANANTHAKRISHNAN, ET AL | August 1, 2006
|
| The wandering nature of the nomadic people has had a “damaging” effect on the education and development of their children. Added to this is the reality that the children often accompany their parents on their daily business…consequently leading to their picking up the profession. Many a governmental and non-governmental body has tried to find a solution by either (a) setting up boarding schools for the children in strategic locations or (b) placing permanent teachers in the camps. However, there is a basic problem with the solutions in that the good teachers invariably do not opt for such assignments because of the pay and/or location.
Is there a panacea? Yes, it lies in providing the best of teaching uniformly across all camps (of course providing for language variations). It is here that virtual learning environments can help.
The Education Team in KReSIT, IIT-Bombay has designed and developed a series of virtual environments that are available on a laptop computer. These virtual environments simulate a nomadic environment and provide opportunities for the learner to (a) segregate entities, (b) arrange entities as per height/colour/type/usage, (c) measure the heights and weights of children, (d) add, subtract and find averages and (e) correlating knowledge with the real world around. The flexibility of the “virtual” environments makes it possible to continue anywhere and extend the learning to possible extensions and value additions.
|
|
A 24/7 TEACHER: ICT CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!
By: Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan, Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai INDIA | July 28, 2006
|
| The barriers to the spread of knowledge and information in a country like India are manifold, the principal ones being poverty, long distances, access to schools, communication centres and dedicated teachers. Added to this, is the problem of artificial “scarcity” arising out of political and regional influences and society.
ICT is no doubt a possible medium. But it calls for a systematic approach, followed by a disciplined development, design and implementation cycle. This cycle involves (i) studying the reaction of the target audience to new technology, (ii) alignment of new technology to the social and cultural traits, physical limitations and motivation, (iii) delivery mechanisms to ensure sustained usage and value addition and (iv) repeatability across the milleau.
The paper describes the work of the author in the use of ICT in (i) adult literacy, (ii) motivating handicapped children and (iii) guiding nomadic children to inculcate the 3R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic). The primary roles of ICT in each of these cases is as a facilitator and a 24/7 instructor.
The adult literacy project involves the identification of metaphors based on local folklore, entertainment, and social/cultural practices (specific to a region or language) and using them to develop absorbing literacy packages. The packages thus developed can (i) be used by an instructor to facilitate learning, (ii) be used by an individual to learn by oneself and (iii) learn writing skills. Field tests have shown that learners can become proficient enough to read newspaper headlines after going through a typical literacy programme spread over forty lessons.
The one on helping the handicapped uses an element of surprise and discovery in introducing the planetary system.
The nomad education project involves the testing of educational pedagogies to developing instructional resources and using ICT to facilitate its continued usage by the wandering tribes. Anchored instruction strategies form the core pedagogy followed by its reuse using ICT on laptops in the form of (i) video CDs to take care of repeatability and mobility and (ii) virtual scenarios to simulate real-life exercises in arithmetic, logic and vocabulary.
|
|
Educating nomadic children: An experiment with the Convergence of Technologies
By: Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan, Indian INstitute of Technology, Bombay, India | July 26, 2006
|
| The wandering nature of the nomads in a vast country like India has had a toll on their children, who are denied even a semblance of formal or regular education. This results invariably in the children continuing with the traditional nomadic culture. Maharashtra, a state in western India shares borders with a number of neighbouring states. The nomadic tribes in this state, therefore, invariably wander amongst the neighbouring states. This paper is a report on an exciting experiment with convergence of tradition and ICT.
The author and his team have studied the tribes in detail and have evolved a methodology that involves the use of all available technologies, based on relevance, availability, portability, repeatability and flexibility. The initial experiments carried out with three tribes in Maharashtra, have created the much needed motivation in the children and mothers and given the assurance that the efforts will bear fruit. |
|
ICT FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED
By: Muriyankulangara Ananthakrishnan, anjana:the educating people | July 21, 2006
|
| The so-called “less-privileged” in India are unique to this country. The illiterate, the physically challenged and the facility-challenged, all of them need some support or the other to be accepted in society and enjoy the fruits. The traditional methods and practices are invariably driven by us, human beings, and therefore tend to be biased. It is here that ICT can help by providing independence, flexibility and variety to the “less privileged learner”.
The current study report will cover three categories viz., the adult illiterates, the school children and the physically/mentally challenged and will be based on the work done by the author in using ICT to tackle and find workable solutions to alleviate the problem.
|
|
|
[ browse articles ] |
| |
| There are no resources available. |
|
|
|
|
| Documents |
| There are no documents available. |
|
|
| Events |
| No related events have been posted. |
|
[ more ] [ xml ]
|
|
