Technology in the classroom

The Karnataka Education Department and chip-makers Intel are scouring the state to identify a taluk they would like to work with. Requirement: A taluk where IT and education can co-exist. A setup where computers and other IT tools are used to apply knowledge and information to real world problems.

To be able to create a CoE (Centre of Excellence) at IISc, to yield low-cost embedded chips and help Visvesvaraya Technological University create a curriculum in embedded chip design are some of the other initiatives, says Shelly Esque. Edited excerpts from the interview:

How does the Intel Teachers’ programme in India differ from what you do at a global level? Do you have a specific focus here?
Our programme strictly goes by priority and the requirements of different countries, not by a country’s economic status. We have the largest training unit in Germany, where we have trained about 4,50,000 teachers. We have trained  3,50,000 teachers in the United States. There is a greater requirement in the US for an education programme as the Obama administration has stipulated that states will receive funds against submission of specific programmes.
That said, we are not neglecting our responsibility when it comes to empowering marginalised communities. While we would like to do that, we have not forgotten the requirements of our own neighbourhood.

What makes your programme unique?
Our focus is specifically towards helping teachers integrate ICT with classroom subjects. ICT is an important tool in helping teachers encourage critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving. They must be able to enable students to apply theory to real- world issues and find solutions. In one of the schools that we worked with, two girls were shocked to learn that one of their classmates had dropped out of school because she was HIV positive. They — with the help of their teachers — put together a presentation on how to deal with HIV/ AIDS.

A concern among proponents of open source systems is that companies use their CSR programmes to promote proprietary systems which restrict students’ to only a specific set of products. What are your thoughts on this?
The choice about OS (operating system) or software usage is often made by the state governments or our NGO partners. We don’t make that choice for them. Our programmes in education or promotion of science are far removed from the business we are involved and depends a great deal on our partners’ requirements. Moreover, we respect international standards and practices which have enabled us to work with bodies such as the World Bank, UNESCO etc.

In Karnataka, what are the areas you would like to work on?
In the last 10 years, we have trained about 83,000 teachers in Karnataka, covering about 1,700 high schools and 1,500 primary schools. We are now working with the government  on a public-private partnership to create a model taluk in the state where our skills and knowledge would help integrate ICT with education.
In the field of higher education, we help universities develop a curriculum on multi-core (chip designing) architecture. The world is moving towards multi-core and we need programmers to work on them. We provide concepts and let the faculty develop the content. In Karnataka, we are working with Visvesvaraya Technological University. So far, we’ve been working on the curriculum for PG courses.

One of the issues in India is the dearth of research students in critical areas. Given that research is your strength, have you tried creating a change?
In partnership with IIT Kanpur,we hire their best PG students, treat them as our employees and allow them to pursue their Ph D for five years. They are on our payroll and they  have access to our facilities for research only. This is a small initiative, but we hope it will evolve into a wider industry practice in the future.