Varsity offers free online lessons
Learn
about consumer behaviour from a teacher at a different college or study
elasticity of demand sitting at home or in another part of the world.
Students will now be able
to access subject material online thanks to the Mumbai University's newly
launched “Open Education Resource“ on Wikieducator. This allows teachers to
upload content for free that can then be accessed by students across streams,
across colleges and across cities.
The project has been
launched on a pilot basis for modules in microeconomics and soft skills, and
will be expanded to other subjects. The first set of 20 modules on these two
subjects went up on the site last month after the first set of teacher training
workshops.
“Economics is one of the
most taught subjects at the university, and students also find it difficult,“
said Kavita Laghate, coordinator of the project and an associate professor at
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.
“The best teachers may not
always be available, students from different colleges may not be able to access
their notes. This opens up the system.“
Laghate added that soft
skills, which includes communication and etiquette, was chosen because “it
would benefit everyone“.
The modules have been
pitched at the level of first year students, and over time will be expanded to
cover the second year and third year syllabi as well.
The topics uploaded so far
include: oligopoly, consumer behaviour, cost concepts and dumping The system
will also allow for corrections and modifications by users, which would be
vetted by senior academics. All the material is free of charge.
“Teachers should produce
material for global education,“ said Rajpal Hande, director of the board of
college and university development of the University. “Not only will our
teachers be teaching their students, they will be reaching out to a global
audience.“
The teachers will attend
another round of workshops later this month. The project has begun with a group
of 25 teachers, but hopes to include other academics who would like to
contribute.
Source | Hindustan Times | 18 November 2011
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