INAUGURATION TOMORROW

Varsity to reach out to pupils via virtual classroom

Yogita Rao TNN 

Mumbai: Mumbai University will start an automated virtual classroom this weekend, probably the first traditional public university in the country to have the facility. 
    On Saturday, when the chief guest inaugurates the classroom at the university’s Kalina campus, the event will be live-streamed across affiliated colleges through the facility. Supposed to be modelled on the virtual classroom at Harvard University, the room with 58 seats will also be connected to an auditorium with a capacity of over 300. 
    While initially the classroom will be used to live-stream special lectures by eminent resource persons, workshops and conferences, it can also bring a sea change in academic activities at the university and its affiliated colleges. The facility will solve the problem of shortage of qualified teachers and make interactive learning possible with limited resources. Participation in events with restricted entry can now be thrown open to all university students. Students and teachers of colleges in remote places such as Raigad and Sindhudurg can now attend important conferences/meetings that will be conducted at the university and transmitted in their classrooms. 
    “Once the facility is ready, we can use it for multiple academic activities. It will also help us connect to universities world over. We also plan to offer online courses in future,” said pro-vice-chancellor Naresh Chandra. The inauguration will be held in the presence of the governor, chief minister and the minister for higher and technical education minister. 
    A university official claimed that the virtual classroom was designed on the lines of a similar facility at Harvard University. “Everything in the classroom is automated and can be controlled using a touch panel. Even the sliding of writing boards and adjustment of lightings in the classroom can be done at the click of a button,” said the official. The facility has been developed by the university’s in-house computing team under the leadership of vicechancellor Rajan Welukar. 
    Of the 700 colleges affiliated to Mumbai University, 420 have already enrolled for the digital system, A-VIEW. While academic sessions/conferences can be live-streamed across colleges, videos will also be available on the university’s site for students who wish to view it later. 
    All the facilities on the internet will be made available under the NME-ICT (National Mission Education through Information and Communication Technology) of the ministry of human resources development, and the A-VIEW virtual learning tool designed by Amrita University. IIT-Bombay already has a virtual classroom. 

College Requirements A PC with Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 512MB graphics card and Windows XP or above 
TVs/projector that support 1,024x768 resolution 
A camera with connectivity to computer with live video streaming 
A composite to USB converter/video capture card 
Mic, loudspeakers, an audio-mixer Digital writing pad (optional) for writing on A-VIEW’s whiteboard A 2Mbps internet connection 
Only to access lectures, only a normal projection system will be enough. For interactive sessions, a multimedia projector will be required 
    A-VIEW will deliver ‘live’ and ‘recorded’ lectures to students 
    It allows teachers to interact with multiple students through video and chat 
    Students can ‘raise their hands’ virtually through the software if they have a query 
    The software, when run on individual PCs, allows for easy sharing of files and can be run on multiple platforms such as Windows, Macs, Linux, & mobile devices like tablets

GOING E-CLASS 
To conduct its virtual classes, Mumbai University will use A-VIEW, an indigenously built software tool that facilitates an e-learning experience which is as good as a regular classroom. A-VIEW is a real-time collaborative multimedia platform which allows an instructor to teach ‘live’ students afar. With its help, the university hopes to address the pressing issue of higher education in India: shortage of qualified teachers. Online courses will be added soon

Source::: The Times of India, 16-08-2013, p.02. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW