OUR STAFF REPORTER Indore
The University Grants Commission ( UGC) has identified as many as 35 subjects for e- content development at the post- graduate level and invited expression of interest from teachers wanting to co- ordina
te the activity that would bring sea changes in present educational set up in the country.
According to the UGC, it has decided to start e- content development work with 35 subjects and more subjects would be identified in future for the task.
The e- content development initiative is a part of National Mission on Education through ICT ( NMEICT) scheme of the HRD Ministry.
Following the directives of HRD ministry, the UGC had constituted a Standing Committee for development of e- content at postgraduate level. The committee identified 35 subjects in the first phase of this initiative. The subjects are a mix of traditional and professional subjects.
For instance, traditional subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, Hindi, English, zoology, botany etc.
And professional subjects like management, mass communication and journalism, law, library and information science, public administration etc.
Senior faculty members/ academics ( including retired) working in universities and other institutions of higher learning and scientists working in R& D laboratories having interest/ experience in econtent development can apply to become subject coordinator for e- content activity.
Teaching experience at the PG level is an essential qualification. The e- content development scheme would provide financial assistance and technical support to the teachers and other experts based in colleges and universities. The new work will also not seek to replace traditional teaching and learning, but is expected to supplement them.
Inclusion of e- content in learning is now inevitable, and the UGC initiative is designed to meet the new challenges, and to help India take the lead in this newly emerging field. The content, once developed, will be maintained at the mirror sites of the UGC Information Network ( UGC Infonet) and made accessible to all teachers and students of the Indian universities system.
The present scheme addresses the important issue of the creation of content.
The goal of the UGC scheme is to encourage individual teachers, groups of teachers in colleges and universities and experts in the IT industry in visualization and multimedia production to develop educational content, in electronic format, suitable for use in various teaching and learning programmes.
