e-solutions for learning

Amit Gupta of S.Chand is into building digital aids for school and college students.

His first day at work was a nightmare.And Amit Gupta tries hard to forget it.A mechanical engineer  with specialisation in operations management from Yamaha Motor Company , Japan,he realised that all that he had read and learnt from the books,the diagrams of the machine he had perused so many times,was of no use when it came to handling the machine that now stared challengingly at him.

This personal experience is what prompted Amit Gupta,CEO of S.Chand,to look at building holistic solutions of print,digital aids and solutions for schools.He was instrumental in forging a joint venture with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,USA,to propagate vigorously the need for developing interactive content in this field.The role of information and communication technologies in today's education is extremely significant.

Interactive
Today,there is an urgent need to accelerate the strategic use of technology in order to enhance achievement,to keep the present generation of students effectively engaged,to enable them to be on a par with students globally.
"When the CBSE urged schools to follow the guidelines as stated in the national policy of Information and Communications Technology(ICT) in school education,we decided to throw in our lot.The CBSE schools were asked to set up at least one class-room for each class in the schools equipped with technology that would enable usage of digital instruction materials.That was when we decided to branch out into this emerging sector." informs Amit Gupta,Director -Secretary,Global Knowledge Network Society, a non-profit organisation engaged in setting up educational institutions in partnership with world renowned organisations.

The partnership with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) a leading global K-12 educational publisher,one that is in the forefront in deployment and integration of learning technology and content across the world, gave S.Chand a definitive edge.
"We have our own standing in the field of academic textbooks.HMH brings with them the complete understanding of emerging needs;they bring its experience,content,products and investments.This is complemented by us to help meet local needs and carry out joint development.We launched a programme called Destination Success."
This programme is a technology-enabled education  solution using world-leading K-12 content.It is an interactive learning proposition  that meets all the elements of CBSE's directives. "It is designed to meet the needs of the teachers and students, uses the latest , easy-to-use technological framework to create enriched teaching and learning experiences . It is a holistic programme with digital and print materials."

"Currently ,we have implemented this programme quite successfully in huge private schools in India and abroad and it has benefitted around 70,000 students and 2,000 teachers."Some of the key components of the programme are software designed in conjunction with teacher's textbooks or curriculum; training to ensure that teachers are ICT proficient,simple technology-enabled learning programmes with engaging content and a flexible , varied activity like interactive whiteboards, computer labs,individual laptops etc.

By K.PRADEEP

From :  THE HINDU,HYDERABAD,TUESDAY,JANUARY 18,2011.
            METROPLUS.