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MONDAY | OCTOBER 10, 2011

The Free Press Journal Knowledge

TOWARDS AN EDUCATED INDIA:

Using Social Media in Education
Higher Education Forum

Feedback
Stocks, yet again
Apart from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), there is one more institute - Indian Institute of Capital Markets (formerly UTI Institute of Capital Markets), Sector 17, Vashi, Navi Mumbai. It was set up in 1989 with the objective of supporting the need of the investments community for professional education, training and research. In 1990, the institute started a professional development programme known as, 'Fund Manager's Course'. It also offers a Post-Graduate Diploma in Securities Market. It also offers Executive Education Programme and International Programme. The URL of the Indian Institute of Capital Markets is www.utiicm.com. One can also earn in the stock market if one picks up the nuances of stock trading, without any formal qualification and training. If the government brings in reforms, and gives an option to investors to trade in shares without the need of a broker, then it will be like liberalising the stock markets. At present, one cannot buy and sell shares directly, and the shares have to be routed through a broker. DEENDAYAL M LULLA Goregaon

ocial media is changing the way institutions think, respond and act. Often there has been discussion as to what exactly is social media and how it can be used effectively within the educational system.Social media in this context are online tools and platform which can be effectively used by institutions to network, connect, share, teach and inform. This includes blogs, podcasts, wiki, newsfeeds, social networking platforms like facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, among others.

Usage of social media

Social media can interestingly be used by any institution be it government aided, private or autonomous as an academic as well as non-academic tool. Some examples include creating an impression (branding and marketing), information dissemination to the industry and students, instant communication with students, peers and the industry, learning and teaching resource within a classroom or even a remote environment, networking within peer groups, effective content sharing and storage, faculty recruitment, sponsorships, fund raising, etc.

Changing with the times

Our young generation is a set of

quick minds and deft fingers. They can learn new things within no time and can use newer applications almost instantly. In fact, many a times, there is a situation of role reversal wherein the students introduce or 'teach' the professors and educators how to effectively use social media. 'Speaking' their language engages the students and ensures that educators are kept up with the times in this fast changing environment. Very often educators look down upon social networking sites like face book, twitter, orkut etc. As educators, we need to understand that hiding our youth away from such mediums or shunning them will not help us in strengthening their moral fiber, but giving them the freedom to explore and having faith in them would help us in strengthening not only their knowledge but their value base as well. Both educators and students must be lifelong learners to meet the challenges of ever changing mindscape of the gen next. School and college students rule the roost in social media - facebook, twitter and blogging. With handheld devices connected to social media it gives students and teachers an anytime, anywhere communication and learning platform.

Examples of usage
Institutions today can effectively communicate to students / colleagues via social media and email. Notifications, notices, meetings are called through the same. Twitter is a 140 character based social media platform that anyone can subscribe to. An institution can effectively communicate to 'subscribers' (who could be teachers and students of the institution or even a particular class) that the some topical lecture has been cancelled through Twitter YouTube has recently launched an online 'channel' or site dedicated to the teaching fraternity with engaging clips and short educational videos which can be used within a classroom environment. The 'channel' christened 'YouTube Teachers'learn, teach-share can be used as a resource as well as a sharing tool wherein students or teachers can upload videos created by them on this platform.

Flickr is effectively used to share still images and could be a great visual resource within the classroom.

Why use social media?

Social media is a great tool for research, project and assignment creation, case studies, connecting with the industry and showcasing milestones a student or teacher has achieved within the learning-teaching processes. Moreover, most social media platforms are free, contain engaging content, help cuts down on isolation as one is always connected to a

fellow student, teacher or institution, provide uniformity and encourage innovation and sharing and amplify lifelong passion for learning. My father who is now 76 (and had never operated a computer in his life rather was averse to it) , was keen to know the basics of email - now within a period of 3 months he is adept and might I say an expert in e- mail and logs onto Facebook daily !. Educational institutions, educators and students need to move with the times and adapt technology and social media as being a part of their lives. Though social media has its disadvantages, if used efficiently in a controlled environment and an informed manner, it can be a great boon to an institution and its students. Social media is being extensively used in some other parts of the world like US towards teaching and communication processes within an institution. The use in India is till today limited as a teaching learning tool. It is high time we catch up with the rest of the world!! Authored by Sameer Malkani, an educational consultant and member of Higher Education Forum (HEF)

Reciprocal mentoring
This is with reference to the article ' The other way round' by Neha Shah (October 3). The idea of young students who belong to an entirely new generation making presentations to their own teachers is good even though one may not like to call it 'mentoring' since it is too exalted a term, a 'mentor' being defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "an experienced person who advises you over a period of time". What has been discussed in the article is in fact a reciprocal learning with the students who are exposed to a whole lot of new techniques and ideas in the everexpanding vista of knowledge, passing these on to their older teachers who have not had such opportunities to get to know them in their student-days. It has been seen even in doctoral research that the present-day students who want to do a PhD thesis have a thing or two up their sleeves to supplement what their Supervisors tell them and the latter do not mind this trespassing of the Lakshman rekha because this ultimately helps them to produce a good dissertation besides enabling the guides to catch up with new approaches. PROF (DR) V SUBRAMANYAN Dombivli

ACADEMIC CORNER

EuroSchool celebrates World Animal Day

City girl shines at national competition

Moment of glory

F
EuroSchool Airoli celebrated World Animal day on October 4, 2011 as a mark of love and respect towards animals. It was a two week long activity for the children where in they had an intense study of the diverse forms of animals. The children discovered the world of forests and oceans right in their school premises. Different clubs of the school organised various activities to understand every aspect of the animal world.

ourteen-year-old Rudhdi Walawalkar from Mumbai, who represented Maharashtra at the recently held National Science Elocution Competition in New Delhi, stood second in the contest. Rudhdi received Rs12,000 in cash and a certificate of merit. She will now be visiting Madam Curie's house, her laboratory and museum as a youth delegate from India, for 10 days. For the competition based on the chemistry, Rudhdi researched and prepared a sixminute speech. The theme for

this year's competition was based on Madam Curie's contribution to science. Rudhdi found this fascinating. "I learnt various new aspects of chemistry and also got exposure at the national level. Such competitions always help us understand subjects better," said an elated Rudhdi, who is studying in Standard IX at Children's Academy in Ashok Nagar, Kandivli. The intention of the competition was to inculcate values of basic science. "It helps students a lot. We always encourage them to take part in this competition as it requires tremendous research skills as well as craft to fit in a lot in just six minutes. Stu-

dents also have to focus on their routine studies. Rudhdi has always been hardworking and the school is proud of her," said K P Padmavathy, guide and Rudhdi's teacher. The National Council of Science and Museum (department of culture) conducts the sciencebased competition at the national level every year. The competition begins from the ward level and moves on to the district and state level. Eventually, only one student is selected to represent the state at the national level. Accordingly, Rudhdi was selected from 645 candidates at the district level, 70 at the zonal level and 16 at the state level.

Flexibility is a boon
In your article 'An elastic affair,' last week in Knowledge, I really appreciate you outlining the main feature of a flexible system as opposed to a rigid one. I do know that many students take advantage of the situation and try to twist the system to their advantage, but the authorities should not let all the students suffer for that. I am working full time, and also taking take of domestic responsibility and really appreciate the flexibility offered to me by some of my faculty. They allow a certain delay in submission of assignments for the class as a whole, if there is a unanimous decision, on the condition that the performance will be really above all standards. And sure, students deliver. After all the purpose of education is to acquire knowledge and understanding, not being thrust upon with unnecessary deadlines. SHRINA THAKKAR Babulnath

HRM conference at N L Dalmia Institute

National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology JEE (NCHMCT JEE)
What

N L Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research organised its annual HR seminar 'Manusandhan' 2011 with the theme 'Leadership Development in an organisation HR Challenges and Possibilities'. The panelists were Dr (Col) Rajeev Kumar - Regional Manager-Media, Tata GroupCorporate Affairs; P Narsimha Rao - HR Head, Larsen & Toubro Ltd; Swastik Rath - Director-HR, Rediff Group; and Mrudul Nile - Director, Department of Student Welfare, Mumbai University. Srinath J, Fellow IIMA, and a faculty at NLDIMSR hosted the panel discussion where issues of whistleblowing, learning cultures and organisational diversity were discussed.

National Udyog Ratna Award

Sanjeev Gupta was honoured with National Udyog Ratna Award by the National Education and Human Resource Development Organisation. Guta received the honour for incorporating new technologies, reaching out to neverbefore addressed social causes, bringing futuristic trends to the outdoor advertising industry, for his organisation, Global Advertisers. In his absence, Amit Gupta received the trophy. National Education and Human Resource Development Organisation (NEHRDO) is a non profit organisation that works for making planning implement strategies to develop India as global trade centre and to develop Indian economy. Send your institutes/ colleges academic information and pictures to Sachin Tikare Email: sachin@fpj.co.in

he National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology Joint Entrance Examination (NCHMCT JEE) is conducted for admission to BSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration. The Council conducts this entrance test for its various affiliated colleges including the Institutes of Hotel Management (IHMs) located across India. The competitive entrance test is conducted in various test centers all over India. Some of the test centres are Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Dehradun, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bangalore. For the final selection, merit list is prepared on the basis of candidates' marks in the entrance test. National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology is an autonomous body that functions under Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. It affiliates institutes of hotel management in the country.

questions within three hours duration. The question paper is divided into five parts:
1. Reasoning and Logical Deduction 2. Numerical Ability and Scientific Aptitude 3. Service and Hospitality Aptitude 4. General Knowledge and Current Affairs 5. English Language

Management, Bangalore Institute of Hotel Management, New Delhi Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management, Chandigarh

Who
National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology has regularised many eligibility criteria for the

or its equivalent examination, from any recognised state/ national Board. The qualifying examination must have passed by the candidates in any stream but English as one of the main subjects. The candidates, who are appearing in 10+2 level examination, are also eligible to apply for the JEE exam.

Test Prep
candidates, who are appearing in the JEE exam. The eligibility prerequisites for the entrance exam are given in the following lines. The candidates must not be above 22 years of age while applying for the exam. For the SC/ ST candidates, the upper age limit is 25 years. The candidates need to have passed Higher Secondary Certificate Examination (10+2)

How?
National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology conducts JEE entrance test to prepare students in the field of hospitality. As a result, the questions in the exam are purposefully prepared to examine students' skill in the field. The examination pattern of NCHMCT - JEE is given below: NCHMCT - JEE is a written test in which the candidates have to answer all the

Where
The entrance exam is for admission to Bachelor of Science BSc - Hospitality and Hotel Administration programme at over 50 affiliated institutes, both government and private. Some of these institutes are: Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai (Dadar Catering College) Institute of Hotel

Each part of the question paper carries 30 marks. There is a provision of negative marking in the exam. All the questions and the instructions are both in English and Hindi medium, in which the students have to choose one medium according to their convenience. Although the council has not prescribed any particular syllabus for the test, students should follow the exam pattern of JEE. To prepare for the competitive entrance test, one can practice English language and reasoning, knowledge skills in hospitality service and excellent command of general awareness. Apart from that, the students can study previous years JEE sample papers to prepare for the test.
When
The exam is held in April every year, for which the sale of application forms begins in December. The admission closes in February. The results are announced in May, after which the counselling begins. For further details, log on to http://www.nchmct.org/

Prior research helps

I agree completely with your article 'Do your homework,' since I have been through the experience myself. I had made the exact mistake you described in the initial part where I was well prepared with my subject matter but was weak on my knowledge about the company. I failed to answer questions about being part of the specific team I was interviewing for, since I had no clue of the team or its projects. In fact, to my dismay, I hadn't even prepared any questions to ask the interviewer in case I got the job. It was a grave mistake and cost me the job. Of course, I bettered my act after that, and made sure that I wsa well prepared for the interview from all aspects. I have secured a job long ago and am placed quite well in my professional life, but the initial experience will always remain in my memory. ASWATHI PADMAKUMAR Andheri

The Free Press Journal Knowledge

Write to: Shraddha Kamdar, Editor - Knowledge. Free Press Journal, Free Press House, 215, Free Press Journal Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 21. Telephone: 022-22874566. E-mail: shraddhakamdar@gmail.com