Varsities asked to adopt 'flipped' model using swayam e-content

Colleges and universities must adopt the ‘flipped’ teaching-learning model and use the e-contents prepared for various courses in the massive open and online courses Platform swayam, the Centre has said.

In Flipped model , students view short videos at home before attending classes, prompting them to focus on various exercises, projects and discussions relating to the topic.

“The flipped model –where students watch swayam videos and discuss it in class- will improve the quality of learning,” a HRD Ministry official said. “Vice Chancellors of varsities have been asked to encourage their faculties to use Swayam courses during their own teaching so that we can have a blended teaching process.”

Varsities have also been asked to set up a digital learning monitoring cell to ask faculties to review the current digital content, including Swayam, and suggest ways of utilising them better in universities and affiliates.

Both the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have asked varsities to “immediately” join the National Digital Library (NDL), a repository of books and learning resources created by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur.

“This will help students access more than 80 lakh digital resources at no cost,” the official added.

Swayam, made operational by the HRD Ministry last month, offers virtual classes for 29 secondary and senior secondary school subjects, 210 undergraduate courses and 192 post-graduate courses in various streams including Engineering and Management.

It will also offer 14 certificate courses for free in a virtual classroom environment. Though the content is free, those needing certificate, diploma or degree through Swayam will have to register in its portal for a ‘little fee’.

There will be an assessment at the end of each course through proctored examination. The mark secured will be transferred to the student’s academic record. If the student is enrolled in a college or university for higher education, the marks will be transferred to the parent institution.