Sunday, February 20, 2011

Web modules for educational institutes

The websites of educational institutes in India, generally include typical information like history, departments, faculty, admission procedures and a picture gallery. However, these websites can neither serve the student community as regards their day to day functioning nor can provide effective control for the management over teaching-learning process.

If we see the websites of foreign educational institutes, we find that they have following special features.

. Strong presence on the internet.
. Websites highly informative and interactive.
. Sites are Student centric rather than acting as mere institute brouchers as the case in India.
. Teachers play a major role in addressing students through internet.
. Distance education is a major functional component
. Online library is available

The brochure type websites of institutes in India give cursory information to students and are not visited by faculty or students. This situation should be changed. New students aspiring to take admission visit the site to get information about institute. They can be highly impressed by if the web site is equipped with modern web service tools and high interactivity.

Following web modules are being developed by Dnyandeep Infotech Pvt. Ltd. will greatly enhance the utility of website and make the web site truly interactive.

1.Site Plan linked Information (SPI) :
Students aspiring for taking admission to engineering college generally refer to the website or printed brochure to select the college. However, very often these do not include map-linked information about the institute. Such facility is generally provided in websites of foreign universities. The location map along with the index plan is necessary for indicating the access route and transport facilities. Infrastructural facilities like main office building, classrooms, hostels, playground and other amenities also should be shown on map with context sensitive information. Inclusion of these features would be very useful in educating the students about the institute infrastructure in an effective manner.

2. Open Access Library :
The search for required book or reference material is the most time consuming and difficult job for the students or teachers. Accessibility of entire database of college library on the net will help students and research workers to get the required material in less time. Moreover, they can reserve the book by submitting the requisition request. The librarian can display new books and ask for suggestions about purchase of books. The library may have textbooks, reference books, magazines, journals, CDs, VCD, DVDs, etc. The facility can be extended by putting abstract, index or content pages for correct choice.

Librarian can monitor the issue of books and can send messages for early return if there are queries by other readers. The college can use this facility for resource generation through supply of photocopied (Xerox) text material from the requested book with annual subscription charges.

3. e-Circular :
The display notice boards do not serve the required function due to various reasons. The vast campus may require many notices at different locations. The target audience may not read them and there is no confirmation that the notice has reached the desired person.

e-Circulars eliminate all these difficulties and provide a very systematic way of storing, categorizing notices and collecting feedback information. It will have login security and multi department feature.

4. Institute Level Private Network Communication (ILPNC) :

ILPNC is a special module envisaged by Dnyandeep after reviewing difficulties and bottlenecks in traditional practices in implementing effective college administration. The conventional communication systems fail to provide effective and timely responses in educational institutes because of large no. of students, numerous departments, various laboratories, different cadres of teachers and administration requirements. The problems further get complicated due to the time targets of admission, examination and evaluation. Communication Network if properly designed can effectively solve all these difficulties and provide total control on information flow and compilation of data for correct decision making.

The ILPNC system is designed such that the data entry shall be easy and fast by multi user facility, whereas the retrieval of information and summary reports is restricted by access permissions which can be administered centrally by management.
There is a provision to implement data entry part of the system through intranet if necessary and convenient for any institute but total control is essentially kept through remote web server. In metropolitan cities where students residence and college are distant apart or the students taking admission are from remote areas, this facility shall be very helpful for the students to communicate with the college.

5. Proctor System :
Proctor system is essential for all institutes where students from different places take admissions. In this system, teachers are allotted a group of students for whom they will act as local guardians from the time student gets admitted to the time the student passes the final examination in the institute.

Proctor system gives all information about the students e.g. local and permanent address, performance record and bio-data, social and financial conditions, personal problems and difficulties. Proctor acts as a counselor to student in all matters like local guardian and serves as a link between student and institute. Student shall feel free and relieved to interact with proctor through secured web service and will get assistance to problems like ragging, mishaps, family problems, illness etc. Provision of such module will enhance confidence of parents in the well being of students in the institute. Module is designed in a way such that, information of student will not be accessible to any other person other than proctor and there is bilateral communication facility between the two. The system also provides facility with password protection for the parents to view the attendance and performance of student and have communication with the proctor.

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