MUMBAI: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) collaborated with the Tata Trust to launch the Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx), a program that will alleviate learning experiences for students from secondary schools in the country by making effective use of information and communication technology (ICT).
While phase-I will include over 1,000 state-run schools across four states - Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram - and reach out to an estimated 1.65 lakh students in less than three years, in phase II, the initiative will look at extending the scope to other states, including Maharashtra, and in more Indian languages. An additional major focus will be professional development for roughly 4,400 teachers in the four states.
The announcement was made on Wednesday in Mumbai in the presence of chairman of Tata Trusts, Ratan Tata, MIT president Rafael Reif, S Ramadorai, chairperson of the board and Director, TISS, S Parasuraman.
Initially, the focus will be to offer content in English, Hindi and Telugu for subjects such as English, Science, mathematics and professional values. CLIx will support the existing school curricula in the country with their technology-integrated aids. "It will also be in sync with India's national goal of improving the quality of secondary education, enhancing professional development of teachers and creating an open ecosystem to nurture collaboration for innovation," said the press statement issued by Tatas. The programme will be making use of visuals, 3D images, videos, and educational games, simulation tools to make education exciting and interactive for children. Open-education resources and massive open online courses will be made available to all students.
"With large numbers of students entering secondary education for the first time in Indian education history, on one hand, and new advances in technology and connectivity, on another, we have a unique opportunity to provide quality education at scale. Through focus on English, science, mathematics, and values for work preparedness, CLIx promises to break new ground," said Tata.
"Online learning technologies can offer teachers (and learners) everywhere the tools to transform the educational experience by engaging students in active learning that stimulates their curiosity, makes every lesson more memorable, and helps build skills relevant to students' experiences," said president Reif.