MOOCs for Development? A Study of Indian Learners and their Experiences in Massive Open Online Courses

The study outlined in this thesis provides an account of the demographics, motivations and experiences of Indian learners in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) comparing the UK-based platform FutureLearn and the Indian platform NPTEL (The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning). A sequential mixed-methods approach was adopted. A web-based survey (n=2373) was used to collect demographical data and evidence of respondents’ perceptions about their motivations for taking a MOOC, their learning experiences, and any challenges they may have faced while taking a MOOC. The survey phase was followed by 30 semi-structured interviews with learners from both platforms, adding a rich level of qualitative data to the study, revealing the varied experiences and backgrounds of MOOC learners from India. Analysis of the collected data suggests that learners from India tend to be male, younger, more likely to be in formal education, and more educated than participants featured in many existing studies on MOOC learner demographics. Further, the current study outlined several demographic and motivational differences between learners on FutureLearn and NPTEL, likely to be attributable to the distinct objectives of the two platforms. A more in-depth exploration of learners’ experiences suggested that a diverse group of people, particularly on the FutureLearn platform, are using MOOCs to learn more about areas of personal interest, and, in some cases, using FutureLearn resources to assist in their teaching practice. Conversely, learners on the NPTEL platform, who tended to experience more technical challenges such as connectivity issues, were using MOOCs as a supplement to their formal studies, to make up for some of the systemic lack of quality education in many Indian universities. This thesis suggests that educational technology, in the form of MOOCs, might not necessarily be widening participation in education in a Global South context like India. However, it offers a unique insight into the experiences of learners from India, and provides practical recommendations on how best to serve the needs of the varied Indian learners that make use of MOOCs

Digital Libraries and Prospects of a Programme on Technology-enhanced Learning in Africa

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) in India is an illustrative project based on the concept of multimedia based courses with high potential for interactivity. It has become a popular and viable option for both developed and developing nations, though for different reasons. Offering multimedia courses in technology-assisted modes has not only become invaluable for the learner, but also an attractive and creative option for faculty. . The broad aim of the project NPTEL in India is to facilitate the competitiveness of Indian industry in global markets through improving the quality and reach of engineering education. The operational objective of NPTEL is to make high quality learning material available to students of engineering institutions across the country by exploiting the advances in information and communication technology. The present paper presents a prospect for such an initiative for African countries and institutions (as potential Associate Partner Institutions) to enhance the quality of human resources in technology and in the arena of the digital library itself

VIRTUAL LEARNING ON SWAYAM PLATFORM BY ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS DURING COVID-19: AN ANALYSIS

Democratization of education has formed the base for open and free education. The movement of Open Education is gaining its impetus through the emerging trends of new educational technologies. In the context of OER (Open Education Resource), the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) concept is providing a framework for virtual classroom and collaborative learning. ‘Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds’ (SWAYAM), as an Indian MOOC, has been providing several courses in various disciplines. The present study tries to analyse the courses in engineering and technology category on SWAYAM during the COVID-19 situation. The present study has critically analysed the courses. The analysis of present study shows the trends of learners’ interest in engineering and technology discipline. The present study summarizes that the most sought after area is computer science and engineering, followed by a multidisciplinary sub-category. The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), is the course coordinator for a maximum number of courses, and IIT Kharagpur is that institute which provides maximum courses

Role of Academic Libraries in the age of MOOCs in India

The study aims to report the current growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and its evolution, features, benefits, various types, International and Indian scenarios, and challenges. The study also examines the role of academic libraries in the expansion of MOOCs in the present era. The study employed web content analysis and questionnaire methods to collect data related to the current growth of MOOCs in India. The study interviewed 75 students and 45 faculties of St. Teresa\u27s College, Ernakulam, to explore their perceptions of MOOCs as a higher education system and how Academic Libraries become their centre for MOOC courses. The study found that 75.3% of respondents joined/completed the MOOC courses, whereas some respondents had no ideas about it. Among the 75.3% of respondents who joined/completed the course, 89.4% of respondents completed one or two certification courses, 7.6% of respondents have completed 3 to 5 classes, and only 3% of respondents have completed between 6 to 10 online courses. The expansions of online education through MOOCs in India, such as the NPTEL and SWAYAM, have positively impacted the growth of Academic libraries

Usage of Electronic Resources by the Faculty Members of Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore: A Study

This paper examined the awareness and usage of e-resources by the faculty members of Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College. The present study is based on primary data collected from the faculty members working in the various departments of Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College. This study is conducted using a total number sample of 277 Faculty Members were randomly selected from thirteen departments. The data were collected by using empirical method of the questionnaire. The study aims to analyze the awareness and purpose of e-resources, frequency of using e-resources, Utilization and Satisfaction level of e-resources. It is found that the majority of faculty members are highly aware on IEEE 218 (86.17%), Springer Open 128 (50.59%) and O’reilly Open book and Free Engineering books 91 (35.97%) and further found that majority of 203 (80.24%) faculty members fully satisfied with about NPTEL resources

OPEN COURSEWARE: A NEW PARADIGM IN E-LEARNING

History has proved that education and discovery are best advanced when knowledge is shared openly. Open Courseware (OCW) is a part of a comparatively new educational movement in the line of Open access and also an opportunity in the field of distance/elearning that leading institutions and universities around the world can capitalize for the betterment of the society. Great Universities and institutions constantly expand their reach, working across traditional boundaries to grasp and meet the global community’s most critical needs. Already world famous institutes like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), all Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) are working along this way that will automatically inspire other institutions to openly share their course materials for open dissemination of knowledge and information that can open new doors to the benefits of education for humanity around the world. India is a vast country with different culture and languages. In this paper we studied different aspects of OCW and its impact on total learning processMizoram Universit

Cost Effective Library ICT Implementation - A Case Study

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has provided plenty of opportunities and challenges to the Librarians. This paper discusses the cost effective ICT methods that have been implemented at Sri Sarada College for Women, Tirunelveli. The case study method has been adopted to study the purpose. Sarada Library has implemented library automation with barcode facility, institutional repository, library consortia, library 2.0 tools, coordinate NPTEL courses and conducted information literacy skill development programmes. Sarada library has implemented successful cost effective ICT methods and provided technological services to the end users

OPEN COURSEWARE: A NEW PARADIGM IN E-LEARNING

History has proved that education and discovery are best advanced when knowledge is shared openly. Open Courseware (OCW) is a part of a comparatively new educational movement in the line of Open access and also an opportunity in the field of distance/elearning that leading institutions and universities around the world can capitalize for the betterment of the society. Great Universities and institutions constantly expand their reach, working across traditional boundaries to grasp and meet the global community’s most critical needs. Already world famous institutes like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), all Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) are working along this way that will automatically inspire other institutions to openly share their course materials for open dissemination of knowledge and information that can open new doors to the benefits of education for humanity around the world. India is a vast country with different culture and languages. In this paper we studied different aspects of OCW and its impact on total learning proce

A Deep Dive into the Disparity of Word Error Rates Across Thousands of NPTEL MOOC Videos

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems are designed to transcribe spoken language into written text and find utility in a variety of applications including voice assistants and transcription services. However, it has been observed that state-of-the-art ASR systems which deliver impressive benchmark results, struggle with speakers of certain regions or demographics due to variation in their speech properties. In this work, we describe the curation of a massive speech dataset of 8740 hours consisting of $\sim9.8$K technical lectures in the English language along with their transcripts delivered by instructors representing various parts of Indian demography. The dataset is sourced from the very popular NPTEL MOOC platform. We use the curated dataset to measure the existing disparity in YouTube Automatic Captions and OpenAI Whisper model performance across the diverse demographic traits of speakers in India. While there exists disparity due to gender, native region, age and speech rate of speakers, disparity based on caste is non-existent. We also observe statistically significant disparity across the disciplines of the lectures. These results indicate the need of more inclusive and robust ASR systems and more representational datasets for disparity evaluation in them