The Educomp Schools Conclave 2016 of Educomp Solutions Ltd — India’s largest education company and pioneer of the Smartclass education system in India — was held in Noida (Delhi NCR) on September 27. Over 50 principals of top-ranked schools in Noida attended the conclave where the company unveiled its latest offering in innovative learning branded SmartSTEM.
“The aim of the annual Educomp Schools Conclave is to update schools about the latest teaching modules and technologies. The conclave is staged to enable educators to become future-ready with state-of-the-art technology integration. The Educomp SmartSTEM designed to enable enjoyable and experiential learning of science and mathematics was enthusiastically welcomed by delegates to the conclave,” says Anubhav Singh, state business head of Educomp Solutions.
Over 4,000 schools across India are expected to participate in this year’s Educomp School Conclaves to be held across 85 Indian cities/towns countrywide.
Pearson Voice of Teachers Survey
The fourth edition of the Pearson Voice of Teachers Survey, 2016 was released on Teachers’ Day (September 5).
According to the survey, teachers feel that only 55 percent of students are actively engaged in learning. The survey highlights significant variations in student engagement with students of government schools far less engaged (51 percent) than of private schools (67 percent). Further, student engagement is perceived to drop from the school level (61) to 50 percent in higher education.
The 6,494 teachers in 546 cities/towns countrywide polled believe that excessive use of personal gadgets by students and lack of parental support are the main deterrents to student engagement. The survey included 12 key inhibitors to engagement. In private schools across India, excessive use of personal gadgets by students, lack of parental support and too much pressure to perform are identified as top factors for low student engagement. Lack of parental support is a much bigger barrier to student engagement in government schools, followed by challenges faced by students outside of school/college.
“As the world’s largest education company, Pearson is not only committed to ensuring efficacy for better learning outcomes through its products and services, but is also working with the education system globally to bring focus to it. The Pearson Voice of Teachers survey is a step in that direction. We engage with teachers every year to identify topical issues and suggest measures to bring effectiveness into the Indian education system,” says Deepak Mehrotra, managing director of Pearson India, speaking on the occasion.
OUP introduces Epigeum
Oxford University Press (OUP), the world’s largest university press, introduced Epigeum to the media in Delhi on September 23. A spin-off from Imperial College, London, Epigeum is a global provider of “exceptional online courses” designed to help universities and colleges transform their core activities in teaching, research, academic leadership and management. The courses are designed through global collaboration of experts and accessed through subscription.
“We are very pleased to launch Epigeum in India. It’s an innovative and collaborative approach to supporting university priorities of teaching, research, study, leadership and management. We hope Epigeum will be welcomed by the Indian and Asian teaching and research communities for its quality and ease of access,” said Nigel Portwood, chief executive, OUP, speaking on the occasion.
Added Bryan Fletcher, publishing director of Epigeum: “At Epigeum, we are very excited to be taking our first steps in working with Indian universities to find the right balance of international and local perspectives in training researchers, instructors and students through online and blended learning.”
Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad 2016
The Bangalore-based Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) announced the launch of its second Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad (TPO) national competition to reward, recognise and celebrate teachers, on August 1. TPO 2016 will be held online on December 3 in 22 cities across India simultaneously. The objective of the Olympiad is to test the subject expertise as well as classroom practice of participant teachers in 11 optional subject tracks in primary, middle and high schools. According to a CENTA spokesperson, registrations commenced on August 1 and will close on October 31. “Entries have already come in from teachers in 200+ cities/towns in 25 states,” says the spokesperson.
“The CENTA TPO’s aim is to reward, recognise and celebrate teachers and the teaching profession. We were thrilled by the enormous positive response to the very first edition last year and thus far this year,” says Ramya Venkataraman, co-founder and chief executive of CENTA.
All 13 subject track toppers will be invited and sponsored to attend the Global Education and Skills Conference 2017 of the Varkey Foundation in Dubai. Selected winners will also be invited to co-author a book to be published by Central Square Foundation, and the HT Parekh Foundation will confer 50 cash awards, including three Rs.1 lakh purses. The results of the TPO 2016 will be announced in mid-December.