Educational institutions under the Higher Education Department in Kerala are set to usher in digitised pedagogy during a 100-day mission. The ‘Let us go Digital’ campaign will be marked by a mass adoption of an open-source platform for online learning and is being launched as part of the government’s efforts to digitalise teaching/learning techniques and ensure accessibility for all students to online classes.
Higher Education Minister R. Bindu, who held discussions with the Vice Chancellors of universities in the State and college Principals on Wednesday, said a learning management system would be introduced by the Kerala State Higher Education Council with the technical support of the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (Digital University).
While the learning management system can be customised by each institution to suit their needs, the open-source learning platform Moodle will be utilised all over. A centralised cloud storage will be set up with the assistance of the Digital University.
Training
As part of the campaign, teachers and students will also be trained in the usage of the system. Dr. Bindu will formally launch a week-long training programme by the council for 800 teachers on Thursday.
Another component of the ‘Let us go Digital’ programme involved ensuring the availability of digital learning devices and data for accessing online classes. While colleges have been urged to raise funds for devices locally, the Minister also proposed the creation of a digital bank that could loan such gadgets to students until the end of the studies.
Saying that the department strived to prepare the sector for the future, Dr. Bindu added that blended learning mode would remain in vogue even after the resumption of offline classes.
Vaccination
Referring to the government’s move to include college students on the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination, she said steps were being expedited for the drive. Students who were set to go abroad for higher studies would also be given priority.
