Experts press for tech use in classes

Gone are the days when classrooms were only a pen and paper affair. To create a student-centric learning atmosphere using information and communication technology (ICT), Maharashi Dayanand College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Parel, recently held a two day international seminar on ‘Information and communication technology as change agent in higher education’. 

“ICT in education is the need of the hour. It will help in making education collaborative and interesting to hold the attention of the students. Emerging technology has swept the world and has changed a teacher’s role to that of a facilitator or a partner in learning. Colleges should utilise resources like mobile learning, open education resources. Generation of e-content is the biggest challenge the world faces. We need to create content that is student-friendly and dynamic,” said Rajan Welukar, vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai, at the inauguration of the seminar on Friday.

Pankaj Athavle, head and creator of MUST Radio from the University of Mumbai, also attended the first day’s event.  Day two saw experts from the USA and Canada sharing experiences of using technology while teaching.

Through video-conferencing, Aniruddha Deshpande and Shruti Deshpande, both doctoral candidates (audiology) from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, spoke of tech resources available for classrooms, like PowerPoint, Youtube, Skype and other web-based services.

Rory McGreal, UNESCO/COL Chair in OER, Athabasca University, discussed mobile learning and open educational resources. SS Pathak, vice-principal (commerce) of Maharashi Dayanand College, said, “We are planning to introduce ICT in a big way in the college.”