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ICT in Open
Learning
Pratibha Dahiya
ICT is Information and Communication Technology which
encompasses all technologies such as internet, wireless
networks, cell phones, satellite communications, digital
television etc. that provide access to information. This
technology is used to store, manipulate, distribute or create
information. During the past few decades, ICT has provided
society with a vast array of new communication capabilities
and has fundamentally changed the way we live now. It has
opened up new horizons for progress and the exchange of
creativity and intercultural dialogues. We find a world of
difference in the practices and procedures of various fields
such as education, medicine, banking, business, engineering
etc.
ICT in education is the need of the hour. It can help students
to acquire skills like digital literacy, innovative thinking,
creativity, sound reasoning and effective communication.
It can help in enhancing the quality of education through
blended learning by supplementing the traditional talk and
chalk method of teaching. It has provided viable platform for
generation, adoption and exploitation of knowledge through
open learning and can help pave the way for the creation
of virtual schools in the long run. E-content which is highly
interactive and multimedia enriched can play an important
role in the knowledge gained by the learner through self
learning and assessment.
For the capacity building of open schooling system and for
providing more flexibility and access to the learners Haryana
Open School is making use of the technology in various ways.
An innovative ICT based On Demand Examination system
has been introduced in which the learners can register
themselves online for taking part in the examination. Using
this technology the learners can submit their applications
online, can pay the fees through payment gateway system
using credit/debit card and net banking from anywhere and
at anytime, can receive acknowledgement of receipt, track
the progress of their application and can receive results of
their evaluation online. The tutorials in the form of audio
and multimedia packages have been provided to the study
centers for helping the learners in their difficult portions
of the curriculum. The assignments in all the subjects at
secondary and sr. secondary levels have been uploaded
for the self assessment of the learners which can be
downloaded using the Internet whenever required. Huge
question bank in various subjects containing the questions in
different forms has been made available online for providing
academic support to the learners while preparing for their
examinations which can easily be accessed at any time
through the use of ICT. Haryana open school has initiated
with On Demand Examination system and is in process for
applying the technology for ongoing examination systems
and will introduce more innovative systems also.
So, the culture of learning has shifted from the culture of
students passively listening in a classroom to the culture of
proactive reading, encoding and decoding the data anytime
and anywhere. The use of technology in open learning for
capacity building has changed the face of open education
from mainstream classroom education to an independent
system, endowed with tremendous capacity and capability
to cater to the needs of education for all at reasonable cost.
So the use of ICT provides advantages of greater flexibity in
the location of educational experience (home or workplace),
wide choice of courses/programmes, global curriculum,
best practices and experiences, on-demand admission
and examination and value addition in the education
of the disadvantaged (physically, socially, economically,
geographically).
In an online learning environment, the learners take
greater responsibility over their own learning paths and can
share their experiences and knowledge with others in their
personal contact classes. It has provided viable platform for
generation, adoption and exploitation of knowledge through
open learning. Hence, the use of ICTs for expanding open
learning is both a necessity and an opportunity in this era of
globalization.
Dy. Director(HOS)
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