Pearson offers tablet-based education solution in India

 Pearson, an education-related company unveiled tablet-based education solution, MX Touch platform for schools in India. The MX Touch platform will provide an access to effective personalised and collaborative digital learning with rich digital content, 3D animations, quizzes and videos.

MX Touch is compliant with the school syllabus. The product also allows parents to monitor the academic progress of children more accurately to assignments, difficult lessons covered during school hours and archived assessments and tests.

Genevieve Shore – Chief Information Officer and Director of Digital Strategy, Pearson said, “The MX Touch is a great example of how Pearson is harnessing technology to improve the learning opportunities and outcomes of school children in India. We believe that if our products and services can help learning flourish, so will people.”

MX Touch is available in three versions: MX Touch – ActiveTouch, MX Touch – Digitally and MX Touch – Ultimate.

MX Touch – ActiveTouch has pedagogically sound, graded digitised textbooks already loaded on the tablet. ActiveTouch is available in four subjects — English, Science, Mathematics and Hindi — for classes 3 to 8. Engaging animations, captivating videos from BBC Motion Gallery, and a host of interactive activities and worksheets will help the teacher add to their lessons. ActiveTouch instantly cuts the environmental impact of printing multiple textbooks and the number of books a student would have to carry with them during their school day.

MX Touch – DigitALly is loaded with DigitALly Student Edition, another edition of Pearson’s patented and award-winning teaching tool. DigitALly includes animations, videos, self-explanatory diagrams, worksheets, quizzes and several hours of experiments for different subjects designed to make the learning more engaging. MX Touch – DigitALly SE (student edition) can house an entire curriculum of a grade on a device and offers access to it not only within the classroom, but also outside and at home.

MX Touch – Ultimate is a bundled version that includes MX Touch – ActiveTouch and MX Touch – Digitally SE.

"Our vision is to empower users by giving them a cost-effective, eco-friendly product that captures their needs and has the curriculum framework at its heart” said Naveen Rajlani, Senior Vice President and Head – School Division, Pearson Education India.

http://voicendata.ciol.com/content/news1/112110603.asp

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State to clear decks for e-university exams

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is in the final stages of putting online the process of conducting exams in all 17 state universities. The higher and technical education department will hold a meeting on Wednesday to work out the final modalities of a pilot project which, if successful, could be extended across universities with the idea of preventing paper leaks.

Governor K Sankaranarayanan in meeting on Saturday directed vice-chancellors of various varsities to build infrastructure for a full-fledged online mechanism to be put in place across universities soon. The meet followed a presentation to the governor over the use of technology to bring about reforms in the existing exam system.

"We will soon finalize the tender for a pilot. Once implemented successfully, it could be extended to all varsities in the state," said state minister for higher and technical education D P Sawant.

Sources said that several IT firms are in the fray for the ambitious pilot, including Tata Consultancy Services. The initiative is part of recommendations made by government's exam reform panel, which submitted its report recently. It has suggested several reforms, including online examination and submission of thesis online. Headed by state IT secretary Rajesh Aggarwal, the committee has also recommended a pilot project for starting technology-based examination in the universities.

Some other reforms suggested include: mandatory display of results online, including complete breakup of marks, open book examination and take home examinations, where students are given deadline for submissions, use of technology in registration, acceptance of forms, delivery of question papers, and answer booklets, etc. Once implemented fully, officials said, universities will be able to register students, accept exam forms, evaluate papers and even release the marksheets of students using the online process. "With this, we would be able to bring about some transparency in the system and drastically reduce the instances of paper leaks which have now become commonplace," said a senior official.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/education/State-to-clear-decks-for-e-university-exams/articleshow/17122378.cms

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Pearson Education launches Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective

Report by India Education bureau, Delhi: Pearson Education, India’s leading education company, launched the 14th edition of Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective today, authored by Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Abraham Koshy and Mithileshwar Jha. The book was unveiled by Jessie Paul, CEO of Paul Writer.The event saw the participation of eminent scholars, academics and distinguished guests.
Marketing Management is recognized as the gold standard text by students and teachers across the world as it comprehensively reflects changes in marketing theories and practices.

According to Professor Philip Kotler, “Marketing Management provides solid academic grounding. It covers all important theoretical concepts, models and frameworks in marketing, and offers conceptual guidance to readers so that they can solve practical problems in the field.”
The 14th edition of Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective preserves many of the distinguishing features of the past editions and, at the same time, provides revised and updated content from the global as well as local context.

Present at the book launch, Mr Ranu Kawatra, President & Chief Executive Officer, Pearson Education, said, “It is indeed a pleasure for Pearson to announce the landmark 14th edition of this renowned classic. The 14th edition ofMarketing Management: A South Asian Perspective brings extraordinary global, local and modern ideas to the marketing student in South Asia. Written by the foremost experts in the field, we are confident that this book will further the cause of excellence in the marketing management domain across institutes in South Asia.”

Unveiling the book, Professor Abraham Koshy said, “The 14th edition of Marketing Management provides comprehensive, updated and enhanced coverage of current developments in the field of marketing. The book owes its marketplace success to its ability to maximize three dimensions that characterize the best marketing texts—depth,breadth and relevance. This edition is structured on the theme of Customer Value as the bedrock of modern marketing. The focus on the context of India and South Asia and the coverage of current trends such as social media marketing and marketing to rural consumers in South Asia make this edition more relevant and contemporary.”

Present at the launch, Jessie Paul, CEO, Paul Writer, said, "Contemporary case studies and vignettes make this an interesting read that any student or practitioner of marketing will enjoy dipping into. The inclusion of local case studies and examples of real-life marketing scenarios makes the text relevant to today's marketer. Frameworks and structures can help marketers find solutions to everyday problems without reinventing the wheel, and this is what makes this book a must-have for every bookshelf".

The key features of Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective are as follows:

·         Each chapter starts with a brand new opening vignette that provides insights into the marketing practices and challenges of local brands and companies. These vignettes capture interesting developments in the South Asian market. Examples include Tata Chemicals, Eureka Forbes, Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar, and Vodafone’s popular Zoozoo campaign.

·         Updated and revised Marketing Memo and Marketing Insight boxes discuss the practical aspects of marketing and describe the challenges and opportunities unique to rural markets in South Asia.

·         There are many new in-text cases in each chapter, including cases on nearly 100 Indian brands and company situations and a similar number of international brands. Some South Asian examples discussed in the text are Volkswagen Vento, Airtel, Royal Enfield, Apollo Clinic, Fabindia. These cases are in addition to the Marketing Excellence cases at the end of each chapter.

·         Marketing during economic downturns, the rise of sustainability and “green” marketing, and the increasing role of digital media in marketing are some dramatic changes in the current marketing environment that have been addressed through local as well as global examples.





http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=16721

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Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Meets Vice Minister of Education of Mozambique

Report by India Education bureau, New Delhi: A delegation led by Mrs. Leda Hugo, Vice Minister of Education, Republic of Mozambique called on Shri K.H. Muniyappa, Minister of State (Independent Charge) here today.

The Minister of MSME welcomed the visiting dignitaries and recalled the friendly ties that India has historically had with Mozambique. The Vice Minister of Education, Mozambique stated that India has been successful in formulating policies and programmes for promoting vocational training in the country and that Mozambique is looking forward to learn from India’s experience and expertise in this area. The Mozambican side explored the possibilities of availing technical assistance from India for carrying out programmes on vocational training as well as for setting up of new enterprises. The Minister of MSME offered all support and assistance to Mozambique for evolving programmes for promotion of vocational training in Mozambique. The Indian side referred to MoU between Ministry of MSME, India and Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Mozambique and stated that specific projects that are mutually agreed could be taken up under the MoU. The Indian side further stated that NSIC, a PSU under the Ministry of MSME, is setting up a vocational training centre / incubation centre at Maputo under the India Africa Forum Summit. Based on the performance of this centre, this initiative could be replicated in other parts of Mozambique. Meeting ended with exchange of thanks in the spirit of mutual cooperation.

Mr. Jose Maria Morais, High Commissioner of the Republic of Mozambique to India and Mr. Luis Tembe, Head of Department at Technical Pedagogical, DINET, Mozambique were part of the visiting delegation. Shri Vivek Rae, Secretary, MSME and Dr. H.P. Kumar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) were also present during the meeting.

http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=16725

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Education must be more goal-oriented

What do Indian parents want? Indian parents want their children to get a ‘good’ education. Given their resources and their understanding of education, they look for the best school their money can buy. They send their children to tuition or coaching classes and they buy other school materials.

The assumption is that ‘more is better’ — more years of schooling, more supplemental inputs into schooling  and more expenditure. For most parents, whether rural or urban, high income or low income, ‘success’ means doing well in exams. Exam performance is the only way to get to the next stage, whether it is to further education or into the workplace.

What does the government want? The Right to Education law requires government to ensure that every school in the country has a specified set of inputs and processes.

Here the belief is that once these are in place, ‘education’ will be guaranteed. Underlying the government’s push to provide inputs is the assumption that more is better but appropriate number of qualified teachers, classrooms, days of teaching are needed. Going by what is stated in the RTE document, ‘success’ means that all schools have all the mandated inputs and processes, all children in India in the age group 6 to 14 are enrolled in school and all children complete eight years of schooling.

What does the evidence say? Data from all sources in India point to enrollment levels that are well above 96%.  Putting both centre and state together, expenditures on elementary education in India have risen from Rs. 62,000 crores in 2006-7 to an estimated figure of Rs. 112,000 crores in 2010-11.

While there are still input gaps, the number of teachers and basic facilities is rising consistently each year.

What is stuck is what children are learning in school. Regardless of what you feel about learning outcome measurements done by Assessment Survey Evaluation Research (ASER) or by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the evidence points to the fact that the value added for every year spent in school in India, is low and unchanging.

ASER uses basic reading and arithmetic tasks for assessment; the same set of tasks are given to all surveyed children from age 5 to 16. The exercise is carried out in every rural district in India every year.

While there could be discussion on the measures and methods, the fact remains that without basic reading, and arithmetic skills, children will not go far in school or in life. PISA is a more sophisticated international effort which measures what 15 year-olds can do. Again, there can be debate on how or what PISA does but the message from both exercises (as well as from any recent empirical evidence on student outcomes in India) is clear.

There is a crisis. The crisis is about the capabilities that every child in India should have by the time she or he finishes each stage of schooling.  This crisis cannot be tackled simply by believing that more is better or proceeding as if it is business as usual.  Concrete, clear, new pathways connecting inputs and processes to outcomes have to be built.

These pathways must be understood and must be implementable by schools, parents and teachers.

Clarity is key
Both in policy and in practice, our education system needs at least three fundamental and urgent shifts. First, capabilities and learning goals need to be articulated for each stage of the education system. These goals need to be clearly stated and be understood by ordinary people. Goals need to be such that most children can achieve them at each stage.

Clear articulation of goals will help everyone to understand that simply knowing textbook content or doing well in exams is not the objective of the education system. Parents and communities must understand what the school system is supposed to achieve.  This understanding can lead to local accountability and also to support for schools.

Second, all elements in the school system need to be aligned in both design and implementation to maximise the possibility of reaching the goals.

These elements include appropriate allocation of funds, teacher preparation, curriculum,  textbooks, methods of teaching, materials, organisation of schools and monitoring. A continuous system of field support and review will allow refinements and changes to be made to figure out what works.

Third, in a country with a weak culture and appetite for measurement, simple methods have to be used on scale to gauge the progress being made every year. Such measurements need to be carried out by both the government and citizens.

The measurements should help school systems internally to refine and review their procedures and enable parents to pressurise schools to do better.

Measurement also means engagement — in understanding the situation and figuring out what to do next.

India has almost reached universal enrollment. This is an impressive achievement. This happened because everyone understood the goal. Policymakers, planners, practitioners and parents all understood what had to be done: get every child in school. To have every child in school and learning well, we need a similar clarity, priority and alignment for a new set of goals and figure out new effective pathways for achieving them soon.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ColumnsOthers/Education-must-be-more-goal-oriented/Article1-955328.aspx

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Record Number Complete High School and College

Although the United States no longer leads the world in educational attainment, record numbers of young Americans are completing high school, going to college and finishing college, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available census data.

 This year, for the first time, a third of the nation’s 25- to 29-year-olds have earned at least a bachelor’s degree. That share has been slowly edging up for decades, from fewer than one-fifth of young adults in the early 1970s to 33 percent this year.

The share of high school graduates in that age group, along with the share of those with some college, have also reached record levels. This year, 90 percent were high school graduates, up from 78 percent in 1971. And 63 percent have completed some college work, up from 34 percent in 1971.

The study attributed the increase both to the recession and a sluggish jobs recovery, which led many young people to see higher education as their best option, and to changed attitudes about the importance of a college education. In a 2010 Gallup survey, about three-quarters of Americans agreed that a college education is very important, up from only 36 percent in 1978.

The wage premium for those with college degrees has leapt 40 percent since 1983, according to Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

“The demand for college graduates has been increasing about 3 percent a year, while the supply has increased only 1 percent a year, which is why the college wage premium has increased so precipitously,” he said.

The United States was the undisputed global leader in educational attainment until 1992. But more recently, some European countries have been producing degree-holders at a higher rate — and a faster-growing rate.

“The recent increases in the U.S. come at a time when other advanced economies are registering similar or greater gains, leading experts and college presidents to question whether the U.S. has been losing its competitive position as the global leader in higher education,” the report said.

Over the past few years, education experts have warned that the United States had undergone a worrisome “education reversal,” in which older Americans are more educated than younger ones. For example, in 2007, the share of adults aged 45 to 64 who had graduated from high school or earned a bachelor’s degree was slightly higher than among 25- to 29-year-olds.

But now, the report found, “the education reversal that arose in the first decade of the 2000s has vanished or been reversed by recent improvements in the education attainment of young adults.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/education/record-numbers-of-young-americans-earn-bachelors-degree.html?_r=0

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Scott links his education plan to jobs

 BOCA RATON --

Gov. Rick Scott continued his push Monday for changes to how schools operate, saying education is the key to a robust economy.

Speaking to the state Board of Education at its meeting in Boca Raton, Scott outlined his "College and Career FIRST" plan. He gave no new details but drew praise from the board.

Scott said the plan could reduce regulations that cut into teaching time, expand school choice and increase accountability. He said successful schools are key to the state's well-being.

"If we have the right education system, then we'll have plenty of jobs in the state," he told the audience gathered at Boca Raton High School.

Scott's plan includes measures that aim to avoid spending cuts, reduce regulations, expand charter schools and provide debit cards for teachers to purchase classroom supplies. The proposal also would prevent the introduction of new standardized tests unless the exams support planned common core standards.

Scott said his plan for higher education is still in the works, but that college affordability was necessary to help all students. He said the issue resonates with him because he once lived in public housing.

"If we don't keep it affordable, there are fewer kids, or kids like me, who won't have the chance," he said.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/nov/06/memeto3-scott-links-his-education-plan-to-jobs-ar-555386/

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Intel to invest $5 million in Israeli Education

The company Intel announced it’s intention to invest five million dollars (NIS 20 million) into scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical education in Israeli high schools over the next four years.

The main part of the amount will be put into the Education Ministry’s goal to increase the number of high school students graduating with scientific and technological diplomas from today’s 6.5 percent to 14 percent, a target that the ministry itself has planned to fund with NIS 50 million a year over the four-year period.

The initiative, which was announced by Intel’s CEO Paul Ottelini as he visited the country last week, will start in 25 schools of southern Israeli cities such as Kiryat Gat, Ashkelon, Beersheva, Netivot, Ashdod and even the Bedouin village of Hura, next to Beersheva.

Representatives of Intel, along with the schools’ educators, will accompany the students throughout their six years of studies in junior high and high school to inspire them to take the scientific and technological track by making use of social media, videos and virtual games. The program also includes visits to Intel’s facilities in Israel to expose students to the high-tech environment.

"Israel has long been at the forefront of technological innovation worldwide," Otellini said, "Some of our most sophisticated engineering is made in Israel.”

“As the largest private employer in Israel, we want to invest wisely and preserve the economic strength of the country. Improving scientific and technological skills of Israeli students is essential to innovation and competitiveness of the state,” he continued.

As the project was made public on Thursday, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar pointed out that technical education has been on top of his agenda since he took office in 2009 which is also why he had increased it’s designated budget from NIS 38 million to NIS 450 million.

“Strengthening excellence in education in general and in science and technology in particular, establishes the advantage that the State of Israel has compared to the rest of the world,” Sa’ar said.

“Student excellence in Israel is the main growth engine of the country’s society and economy,” he added.

The new program, which will encompass about 4000 Israeli teenagers, is expected to be expanded to 200 schools in the country and attract more high-tech companies to join it. The Ministry of Education and Intel explained the enterprise is aimed at finding a long-term solution to the worsening shortage of engineers in Israel.

The project is the latest addition to Intel’s ongoing investment in education worldwide which already includes many high-schools and higher education programs as well as teaching resources and research initiatives.

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=290460

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Quality of Education Tied to GDP Growth: Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi, Nov 5 (IANS): Improving the quality of education is central to achieving the GDP growth aims set by India, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor said Monday.

"The biggest challenge is that there has been no significant improvement in terms of quality education delivery. The issues of skill gaps, skill shortages and unemployable graduates still persist," Tharoor said at the FICCI higher education summit.

"A study of infrastructure quality of 1,471 colleges and 111 universities by the UGC revealed that 73 percent of the colleges and 68 percent of the universities fall under the medium or low quality," he said.

The minister said that for India to "sustain its growth momentum... a world class higher education system is an important prerequisite," he added. UGC, or the University Grants Commission, is a statutory organisation set up in 1956 coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university and higher education.

Tharoor took over as minister of state in the human resource development ministry last week.

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=154607

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Vermont progressing in special education reporting

Despite a 35 percent jump in the number of Vermont schools accurately reporting the after-high school plans of disabled students, more improvement is needed, according to a new rating released by the federal office that tracks state special education reporting.

The Federal Office of Special Education Programs reported that Vermont received approval ratings in 19 of 20 required indicators for school year 2010-2011 after reviewing Vermont’s “annual performance report,” or APR, sent from the state Department of Education in February.

The only area Vermont was found to be deficient was “transition plans,” or how some high schools report how they are preparing disabled students for life after school.

The indicators Vermont excelled in included reporting of graduation and dropout rates, testing results, parent feedback, timelines for eligibility and reporting where special needs students end up after they graduate high school.

In 2009, Vermont had 22 percent of schools accurately recording how they help students succeed in life after high school in detail, in their students’ Individual Education Plans or IEPs. IEPs are personalized academic requirements for special education students.

One year later, in 2010, that number jumped to 57 percent of schools. But despite that significant growth, the federal education office is looking for a 75 percent rate or better, according to the state’s Director of Special Education Alice Farrell.

Farrell said the federal rating doesn’t reflect the work happening in schools.

It could just mean some special education teachers and administrators in schools aren’t reporting every detail of how special education students are progressing toward goals.

A transition plan is likened to an “IEP within an IEP” — a very strict, detailed reporting of the progress of a special-needs student through grade levels approaching their senior year and beyond.

The information, which includes 18 written requirements, is embedded within a student’s IEP, a larger overall academic plan written by an IEP team at a school.

The IEP, and the transition plan within it, is then carried out by school staff.

An example of adequate transition plan recording was provided by Farrell.

If a student in the 10th grade wants to be a pilot, for example, school staff must record what the high school has done to assist the student in knowing about the career and what the best ways are for the student to access pilot training, according to Farrell.

The next year, the student might determine that he/she is better suited for a different job in aviation.

The variance from one year to the next must be recorded, as well as all the steps taken by school staff to inform the student.

Then, some kind of a transition is needed in 12th grade, to help that student make connections with vocational rehabilitation providers or other employment, Farrell said.

“While schools are well meaning, they may sometimes truncate those 18,” Farell said. “As monitors, we have to report them as not meeting the standards in the paperwork. The school may be very successful with those kids but the writing on the IEP may not meet the standards for a good transition plan.”

Farrell said the state education department, the federal department, the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center and a state transition specialist are working together to help guide the remaining 35 percent of Vermont schools through the process of writing out all the transition goals for their students.

“It may be time consuming but they need to do that,” she said. “It shows that a good transition plan was written and they are having good outcomes. It has to balance on both sides.”

For more information, go to education.vermont.gov.

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20121105/THISJUSTIN/711059943

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