Virtual classroom for medicos

The much-delayed virtual classrooms in the field of medical education was finally launched, with the inauguration of the first VSAT-enabled studio at the M S Ramaiah Medical College here on Monday.

"The delay is due to the reluctance on the part of medical fraternity to embrance change and establish such medium of communication in medical education,” observed Dr S Kumar, Principal M S Ramaiah Medical College.

He said that these virtual concepts will now be of great help as teaching faculty can travel less and take classes and exchange ideas using the VSAT-enabled classrooms in their colleges itself.

Inaugurating the studio, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor Dr. S Ramanand Shetty said, "Apart from helping medical students, virtual classrooms will be more useful in TOT programmes (Training of Trainers). A skilled trainer, who earlier could train 30 trainees can now train up to 300 of them using this technology," he said. The VSAT studio will be managed by Everonn Education Ltd.  

The studio is equipped with digitally-enabled lecture platform with presentation tools, an administrator terminal, a control room, a presentation server and other communication equipment.

At present seven colleges - A J Institute of Medical Science, Father Muller Medical College, both in Mangalore, Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, Rajiv Gandhi College of Dental Science, MS Ramaiah Medical College all in Bangalore and JJM Medical College, Davangere will have the facility to interact.  However, all the 39 medical colleges and 43 Dental colleges in Karnataka will be linked virtually, shortly.