DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING IN INDIA

P.Devakumar
( Ph.D. Scholar in Education)
Deputy Commissioner in KVS
Ahmedabad

Dr. AR. SARAVANAKUMAR

Asst.Professor in Education,
DDE,Alagappa University
Karaikudi
ABSTRACT

The term e-learning covers a wide set of applications and processes

including computer – based learning, web-based learning, virtual classroom and
digital collaboration. However the term e-learning is becoming widely accepted
as a substitute for online learning and web-based learning. E-learning has
become popular amongst educationists because of its inherent strengths and
advantages it provides to the instructional process. Development of a
repository of learning objects will be useful in the creation of courses and
programmes to be delivered in any of the three strategies discussed earlier.
However, to promote flexible learning online, the Government of India should pay
attention to the recommendations above. As the access to technology is all
poised to grow, more and more educational institutions would jump into the
“bandwagon”, duplicating courses and wasting national resources. During this
stage of infancy, e-learning in the India needs special care to improve its quality
and effectiveness.

INTRODUCTION

The term e-learning covers a wide set of applications and

processes including computer – based learning, web-based learning, virtual
classroom and digital collaboration. However the term e-learning is becoming
widely accepted as a substitute for online learning and web-based learning. E-
learning has become popular amongst educationists because of its inherent
strengths and advantages it provides to the instructional process.

ADVANTAGES TO THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS

 Ability to serve a large number of students at a potentially reduced cost

(Goldberg, Salari and Swoboda, 1996; Starr, 1997; McCormack and
Jones, 1998; Weller, 2000; Bates, 2001).
  Opportunities for international, cross – cultural and collaborative learning
 Increased learner control through hypertext based presentation of
information.
 Platform independent delivery, accessible through any computer with a
simple browser interface.
 Interactive and dynamic learning experience through online assessment
tools, simulations and animated learning objects.
 Ability to combine text, graphics and a limited amount of multimedia
enabling instructional designers to prepare quality learning materials
 Location and time independent delivery of course materials such as
course notes, diagrams, reading list, etc.
 Increased and flexible interaction with student through e-mail and
discussion forums.
 Quick and easy way to create update and revise course materials through
low-cost off- the – shelf software, and
 Access to educational resources from outside the institution on a global
and instant basis.

INDIAN CONTEXT

For a country with more than 400 million illiterate, struggling to cope
with the school dropouts, it has done tremendously well to become one of the
Information Technology (IT) superpowers. The Government of India has always
considered the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as
means of mass communication. From the use of satellite in the early 1970s to the
present interest in a dedicated satellite for education (EDUSAT). India has
considered education as a primary force for development of nation. India has a
strong educational infrastructure, particularly in the higher education with 13,500
colleges and more than 250 universities (UGC, 2002).

E-LEARNING DEVELOPMENTS

The developments related to e-learning should be seen in the

context of socio-economic and ICT infrastructure of the country. In spite of its low
PC penetration and internet access, India has progressed well in the IT sector
primary due to the IT training by the private sector. The country’s first online
educational enterprise also come with the private initiative, when the National
Institute of Information Technology started Netvarsity in 1996. Since then a large
number of on-line ‘teaching shops’ are in operation primary in the field of
supporting school level education for the preparing students for competitive
examinations. The real impetus for e-learning came from the National Task Force
on Information Technology and Software Development constituted by the Prime
Minister of India 1998. the Task Force report presents the master plan that India
has in place as a long term policy for capacity building of institutions, human
resource development in IT related areas, and use of ICTs in education.
E-LEARNING STRATEGIES

The development of e-learning in India is in its infancy, and the

discussions and establishment of policy guidelines by the UGC would go a long
way. The Indian Institutions follow all the strategies Supplementary,
complementary and independent to unplement e-learning. The UGC has decided
to enhance the quality of higher education through a supplementary path by
integrating e-learning in the classroom. At the same time, the effort of Tamil
Virtual University and Netvarsity is to develop a completely web-based
environment, though Netvarsity has adopted complementary approach, lately.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University on the other hand adopts different
approaches depending on the context and needs of the programme. Using the
strengths of Indian software developers and programmes, most of the institutions
develop their own platform for the delivery of e-learning. It has also been
observed that –e-learning is labeled as “elitist” because of the demand it places
on access to computer and internet. With poor access anmd high digital divide,
teachers tend to resist adoption of 3-learning. Parihar (2004) identified the
following bottlenecks in the introduction of ICT in academic setup:

 Teachers have to make a move to new education, but lack time

 Teachers fear that ICT will dislocate them
 Teachers are unsure of the security provisions for their study materials,
and
 Perceived unreliability of networked services and local computing
services.

In order to promote e-learning, it is important to develop teacher

competencies in use of web-technologies, especially the use of e-learning
platforms that are considered as empowering tools for teachers. Redid and Sinha
(2003) emphasizing the need for capacity building and training says “it needs to
be understood that any new technology comes not merely with hardware and
software, but with a learning and teaching style and grammar of its own, and that
management practices need to be adapted in order to use the technologies
effectively”. However, we do not see any strategic effort in this direction, except
for some sporadic training programmes conducted by organizations like IGNOU
and the COL’s regional centre at New Delhi – The Common Wealth Educational
media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

To boost the systematic development of e-learning in India we

recommend the following steps”

i) Establishment of Indian Council for Online Learning (ICOL) as a

statutory body to:
 Develop a national distributed repository of learning objects
 Maintain standard of online learning
 Coordinate and promote online learning
 Accrediate onling learning courses and programmes
  Develop and maintain online learning portals for life long learning
ii) Establishment of “e-learning consortium” including member
educational institutions to offer e-learning programmes without
duplicating efforts.
iii) Develop facilities for on-line training of teachers
iv) Facilitate development of small learning objects by teachers.

CONCLUSION

Development of a repository of learning objects will be useful in the

creation of courses and programmes to be delivered in any of the three
strategies discussed earlier. However, to promote flexible learning online, the
Government of India should pay attention to the recommendations above. As the
access to technology is all poised to grow, more and more educational
institutions would jump into the “bandwagon”, duplicating courses and wasting
national resources. During this stage of infancy, e-learning in the India needs
special care to improve its quality and effectiveness.

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