IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Die Europäische Kommission hat ein Programm für die Integration von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien in die allgemeine und berufliche Bildung angenommen. "eLearning" geht auf die Initiative von Vivianne Reding, EU-Kommissarin für Bildung und Kultur, zurück und wird von der EU mit einem Budget von 36 Mio. Euro ausgestattet. Das Programm soll vor allem die digitale Kluft überwinden und eine bessere Nutzung des Internets in Schulen, Hochschulen und in der Berufsbildung erreichen. Das Projekt hat eine Laufzeit von 2004 bis 2006.

As part of the Pan-African e-network project between India and Africa that was launched last year, DU will start conducting these unique tele-education classes for students of the African Union from July this year.

Professor Oheneba-Sakyi said this at the first congregation ceremony for distance education programme at the University of Ghana’s Institute of Continuing and Distance Education in Accra.

He said greater opportunities would be opened for post-graduate E-Learning programmes via online and other technology-mediated learning for the school’s educational entrepreneurs for lifelong learning.

Augustine Sefa, Deputy Commissioner, Training and Development at Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has said staff of the Authority would from November 2022 receive information technology training through an e-learning platform.

Mr Sefa who was speaking at the official commencement of the GRA’s IT training centre in Tema said E-learning which was a feature of the centre would enable all its staff across the country to access the needed IT training without having to travel to Accra with its associated financial burden and inconveniences.

Recently, Ho Chi Minh City National University launched a warm-up electronic education program for bachelor and master’s degrees in IT engineering.

From February to March 2011, 44 civil servants completed the ICDL programme which covers modules meant to impart basic knowledge in handling computers especially in utilising e-mails and ICT systems—an objective in line with the e-Government Strategic Plan’s target to have 100 per cent e-mail usage in the civil service.

Sharifah Hajah Fatmah bte Shaikh Haji Ahmad, the Director of Civil Services Institute (IPA), said the government has plans to further proliferate this programme.

Over the last 18 months, teachers and students across the country have embraced technology at unprecedented speed. Despite some initial challenges, this experience has given us a glimpse into the potential of the ‘digital classroom’ and how technology can enhance teaching and learning for years to come.

Prior to the pandemic, the importance of ICT (information and communications technologies) in education had been growing on the radar of government and industry with the last Digital Strategy for Schools a step in the right direction for driving technology use in the classroom.

It is hoped access to online educational media will allow schools to share resources, access global teaching aids, help students learn new skills, and engage students more deeply through the use of online interactive content.

In Sachen eHealth tut sich die Schweiz schwer. Die Versichertenkarte soll sich zwar bis 2009 etabliert haben. Erst Ende 2015 aber sollen alle Menschen in der Schweiz über ein Elektronisches Patientendossier verfügen. Die IG eHealth nimmt sich den elektronischen Gesundheitsdiensten nun an und will einen Beitrag zur Verbesserung der Effizienz, Qualität, Sicherheit und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen leisten.

The shift to online education during the pandemic has highlighted the need to incorporate cybersecurity in the curriculum

Using computers and Internet technologies without understanding the basics of cybersecurity is akin to driving a car without seatbelts. Though Information Technology as a discipline has been popular for decades, cybersecurity as a structured curriculum is a relatively recent phenomenon.

On the prospects of online education in India:

Traditionally, only correspondence programmes have been in vogue in India, mostly in non-technical courses. This is changing with a massive infrastructure built around Infor­mation and Communication Tech­nology (ICT). However, with new interventions in ICT, AICTE is relooking at the distance paradigm in technical education. Two points of caution: the last mile problem of implementing ICT and reaching students with quality content at their place and the non-negotiable requirement of conduct of workshops, labs, etc only in a face-to-face mode of learning.

The question is no longer whether there should be digital learning inside classrooms, instead the question to be asked is how to implement digital learning and in what measure.

Although digitisation of classrooms has arrived and is here to stay, there are certain concerns. Does too much digital learning lead to brain plasticity? Or is digital learning only about the use of new gadgets? If all the technology is available for the urban rich, what about the rural poor students?

The nationwide lockdown due to Pendomic Covid-19 has initially thrown higher education in deep crisis but the universities and very many colleges in India have been able to adopt Online teaching from home.

It is all the more gratifying that the young students have found Online Classes both interesting and greatly satisfying, says eminent Academician Prof PB Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of Amity University Gurugram.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has announced to partner with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and Common Services Centres (CSCs) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).

“After the MoU, IGNOU will be able to collaborate with NeGD to prepare e-governance training videos. NeGD will be providing all the technical assistance required for the LMS. While partnering with CSCs will be fruitful for IGNOU students,”IGNOU’s Vice Chancellor VC Ravindra Kumar said during university’s Independence Day celebrations.

The School Education Department of Madhya Pradesh had a challenging task before them. They wanted to achieve universal elementary education and promote quality education up to class 12. The massive number of stakeholders involved made the task both important and demanding. They had to administer more than 1 lakh schools, 3.5 lakh teachers and staff, maintain and monitor a database of more than 1.6 crore students.

Majority of government schools in the district do not have Internet facility due to which digital boards are of limited use.Only the study material provided in pen drive is taught and teachers are not able to explore various subjects for which they require Internet access.

In some schools, teachers are using personal hotspot for Internet access while exploring subject content.

The corporation will be promoted by the government of Orissa with 30 per cent share holding, MKCL will have 30 per cent share holding and consortium of universities will have 30 per cent stake while the rest 10 per cent share will be owned by voluntary organization and other academic bodies, Mishra said. MKCL had also set up Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited in joint venture mode.

I'd classify the changes into two broad categories: changes before and after the mobile phone.

Before mobile: Technology transformed the education delivery inside and outside classrooms in the following two ways:

1. Interactive delivery of education inside the classroom through information and communication technology (ICT)
2. Remote delivery of education through VSAT (virtual classrooms, etc) to rural areas

In an interaction with ET Telecom, Tata Teleservices Chief Information Officer Ashish Pachory talks about IT-related challenges attached with 4G environment and services that will drive the data uptake in the country.

He also talks about trends in the Indian ICT and telecom market. Excerpts

Q: What are the growth drivers for data? How data would be consumed? What would be the top few services driving data demand on networks?