The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Madras varsity to go paperless from mid-2010

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Monday, Dec 07, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Madras varsity to go paperless from mid-2010

Special Correspondent

Teachers urged to become e-literate in six months

CHENNAI: All communication from Madras University to any college from mid-2010 will be paperless, Madras University Vice-Chancellor G.Thiruvasagam has said.

Urging teachers to become e-literate in another six months, Dr. Thiruvasagam said the use of information communication technology could reduce cost and time and improve the productivity of teachers.

In a global village, where computer-mediated communication was becoming part of life, most academics prefer to leave digital communication to their assistants or secretaries, he added.

A study among 500 teachers in Tamil Nadu across various disciplines showed that 61.25 per cent favoured using ICT in teaching, with the remaining not favouring it. Even among those who were in favour of using the ICT, it was necessary to study the extent of their awareness. Some of the teachers were only using it for mailing and not for teaching.

There is a strong growing need to shift from traditional teaching tools to new ones – primarily those that involve the use of technology, Dr. Thiruvasagam stressed, at a meeting of college principals at Stella Maris College to discuss the role of ICT in teaching. However, the current system does not provide for sufficient training for teachers. This was set to change as the varsity, in association with the ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu, would be offering a series of training programmes for teachers in colleges. Helen Vincent, secretary, Stella Maris, said the college had a completely digitised library, which was refurbished after taking suggestions from students and staff. Jacintha Quadras, principal, spoke of the various facilities offered within the college for staff and students. P.Duraisamy, registrar (in charge), Madras University, said the new Vice-Chancellor had drawn up an agenda to provide complete fee waiver for poor students, publish results and issue certificates on time, while clearing the backlog and work on improving the employability of graduates.

Principals and secretaries of colleges affiliated to Madras University were present at the meeting.

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