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The business of knowledge
THE LEARNING society is here. That at least was the belief of Mohan Verghese Chunkath, secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Higher Education Department, who gave the inaugural address at "Get Connected, A Seminar on Distance Learning: Developments and Opportunities," hosted by the British Council at Le Royal Meridien, Chennai.
A host of resource persons from the academy, the Government and the corporate sector, both from India and the United Kingdom, participated in the seminar that was spread over two days.
In a situation where demand has never been satisfactorily met in the traditional sector, Distance Learning (DL) obviously has a vital role to play. But there is a mistrust of "correspondence courses" due to concerns over their quality. Not only is the student-to-student interaction but also the feedback a teacher gets from the student is minimal.
Once these questions are addressed, and technology can play an important role here, said Mr. Chunkath, DL can be more effective. In fact, with the fibre optics network being readied, we are to see a revolution in delivery modes. DL can also be an effective instrument of a more equitable distribution of knowledge.
If there are opportunities, there are also challenges. In a learning society, the needs of the learners have changed. As one speaker said at the seminar, time is the new distance.
Hence courses need to be flexible, modular and tailor-made to the needs of the learner. Welcome to the world of just-in-time learning.
SUBASH JEYAN
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