Indian present launches Amrita University e-learning upgrades

Indian president Pranab Mukherjee has rolled out the latest upgrades to the e-learning platform from Amrita University.

The software - entitled A-VIEW 3.0 (Amrita Virtual Interactive E-Learning World) - was launched in New Delhi and is designed for use via the Aakash 2 tablet.

An audience of more than 14,000 educators watched from 240 remote learning centres via their own models and were able to witness how online education works on the device, which reportedly comes with a higher processor speed and better battery life.

Any higher education facility is able to use the system, which is the product of a joint venture between Amrita University and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, which is using the platform as part of its Talk to a Teacher scheme.

The initiative aims to empower both students and teachers with digital tools that offer training to educators and live video transmissions and spoken tutorials to pupils.

It also promises to develop suitable pedagogical methods for certain online classes and research in digital learning, while making content available in various regional languages.

According to Kamal Bijlani, director of the Amrita E-learning Research Lab which developed the new A-VIEW product, the system has been created in line with the vision of bridging the gap between students in demand of education and experienced teachers in the sector.

This follows the recent news that the department was presented with a reward for Educational Excellence at the Indo-Global Educational Summit and Expo for its work on the e-learning platform, which currently functions in more than 350 Indian universities and 600 colleges nationwide.

Earlier this year, A-VIEW was also used by IIT Bombay to deliver online learning to around 10,000 teachers - all stationed at different geographical locations - for the biggest digital programme undertaken in the nation.