Modernising and Enhancing Indian E-Learning Educational Strategies - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Modernising and Enhancing Indian E-Learning Educational Strategies MIELES Report on Pilot 1 work within WP3 lead by KTH 2019-04-15

• Prof. Dr. Carl Gustaf Jansson, KTH

The basis for this work is our belief that the utilization and acceptance of a limited set of MOOCs can enhance the flexibility of on-campus programs, in particular in the context of mobility phases within joint programs and in bachelor/master program collaboration schemes. A crucial issue is each university´s policy for credit transfer with reference to recognition of prior academic learning, other certificated learning or work experience.

• Most typically credit transfer is handled with a formal university course as the unit.
• An acceptance of an application for credit transfer for a specific course typically grants the full

credit amount for that course.

• So far MOOCs have typically not been considered in the university policies for credit transfer.

A related issue is the judgement of special requirements and university policies for that.

• Also for this case, MOOCs have typically not been considered in the university policies.

Mutual recognition of alternative examination procedures for content equivalent on-line courses in MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) form

The Bulk of the work in Pilot 1 is carried out in four sub-activities

Analysis of different scenarios for transfer of credits and judgement of special requirements relating to MOOCs in the context of program collaboration schemes. Development of two NPTEL courses with KTH faculty responsibility: Collaboration between KTH and IIT Madras Course in Computer Science: Machine Learning (Prof. Carl-Gustaf Jansson) Course in Electrical Engineering: Electromagnetic Compatibility (Prof. Rajeev Thottappillil). These courses are available in the NPTEL network for spring 2019. Case-study on how mobility in a program collaboration scheme can be facilitated by a selected set of MOOCs. Collaboration between KTH and AMRITA

Analysis of different scenarios for transfer of credits and judgement of special requirements relating to MOOCs in the context of program collaboration schemes We are NOT handling a totally open scenario where a student can come with arbitrary MOOC certificates and ask for acceptance. Rather we are looking primarily at two scenarios:

• acceptance of MOOC certificates as evidence for fulfilling special requirements

in the context of agreed on partnerships

• acceptance of MOOC certificates as evidence for applications for credit transfer

within a program which a student is already admitted to. We focus on programs in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Analysis of different scenarios for transfer of credits and judgement of special requirements relating to MOOCs in the context of program collaboration schemes For the considered courses we assume the existence of shared abstract descriptions

• f learning outcomes.

Furthermore, we assume platform and provider independence. MOOCs produced in EdX, Coursera, NPTEL etc. should be considered as long as they instantiate the shared learning outcomes of selected courses. We only consider NON self-paced MOOCs, where there is some control of students´ attendance.

Analysis of different scenarios for transfer of credits and judgement of special requirements relating to MOOCs in the context of program collaboration schemes In the first scenario, we can see two alternative situations:

• preferably a MOOC provider´s certificates can be accepted as evidence but this is

not currently the case

• the home university of a student within a mobility scheme or joint program need

to take responsibility for the quality of MOOCs that should be recognized as additional evidence for judging fulfilment of special requirements. In the second scenario:

• we assume that for the time being the certificates of MOOC providers will NOT

be enough evidence for the purpose of credit transfer.

• rather we assume that some alternative examination procedures will be required
• n top of the proven completion of the course through the certificates.
• how to minimize the time and resources for such alternative examination

procedures is obviously an important issue to consider.

Analysis of different scenarios for transfer of credits and judgement of special requirements relating to MOOCs in the context of program collaboration schemes Even if a student is allowed to get credit transfers for a limited set of courses within a program, today there is no reduction of the program fee in such a case. As was stated above we look at the possibilities to allow credit transfers for a small set of courses with a semester as the absolute maximum. It would make sense if the universities gave discounts on the study fee for a semester, in proportion to the subset of courses accepted for credit transfer.

Analysis of different scenarios for transfer of credits and judgement of special requirements relating to MOOCs in the context of program collaboration schemes Finally, we want to explore how far we can build trust among partner universities within mobility schemes or joint programs, so that the partners as far as possible can trust each others alternative examination procedures as described above, minimizing the need for re-examinations. Ultimately trust between universities and MOOC providers should be aimed for, eliminating the need for the alternative examination procedures. It is our belief that the best way to establish trust, is to engage faculty in on-line course development across the national and organizational borders.

Development of two NPTEL courses with KTH faculty responsibility With the purpose to build up long term trust between an Indian and an European partner university it was decided that two European University (KTH) professors engaged in the MIELES project should be personally responsible for designing and implementing a course within the NPTEL network for offering on-line courses coordinated by IIT Madras. It was decided to develop the following two courses: Computer Science: Machine Learning (Prof. Carl Gustaf Jansson) Electrical Engineering: Electromagnetic Compatibility (Prof. Rajeev Thottappillil). These courses are available in the NPTEL network for spring 2019. Overview of all NPTEL courses in spring 2019: > https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/

The Education Landscape in India India is the world´s second most populous country with 1.4 Billion people. 56% of the population is below 30 years of age and in need for various forms of education. The unemployment ratio is very high in many sectors (10-20%) and the average employability after finalizing studies is low. It is conceived that there will be a shortage of 250 million skilled workers within a five-year timespan. The Indian school system can be characterized quantitatively as follows:

• Schools = 1 500 000
• Colleges = 37 000
• Stand Alone Institutions = 12000
• Universities = 800

The most highly ranked Indian Universities hold very high international standard but one of the challenges is to secure high quality in a larger share of set of universities, colleges and

• ther institutions where the bulk of the Indian students do study.

SWAYAM is the National Indian Framework for making MOOCs available between Indian Universities and Colleges SWAYAM is developed by MHRD (Ministry for Human Resource development), Govt. of

• India. It is a regulatory framework for this purpose but also a portal where MOOCs can be

uploaded and accessed. SWAYAM is aimed for making courses available in all subjects. It is the natural foundation for discussing agreements among Indian HEIs regarding the formal utilization of MOOCs within the normal curriculum. So far MOOCs have primarily been used for extra-curricular purposes. SWAYAM takes no responsibility for the development, pacing, examination and certificate provision of the MOOCs. This have to be handled by other actors and in a bilateral fashion. As an example NPTEL (see below) have the main responsibility for handling these processes in the field of engineering. SWAYAM can manage MOOCs developed in various fashions.

NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning) is a project run by the IITs (organized by IIT Madras) and IISc Bangalore under MHRD. NPTEL is a program for developing and running non-self-paced MOOCs in Engineering as well as for examination and certificate provision for these MOOCs. NPTEL stimulates and monitors course development in all Indian states (through local chapters). At present NPTEL runs in the order of 200 courses per semester with in the order of 0.5 million registrations and 40 000 certifications. NPTEL can be characterized as a nationally and governmentally well grounded non-profit cooperative variant of commercial actors like Coursera. The overall aim is to make IIT quality course material widely accessible among Indian HEIs. Any course developed in NPTEL can be uploaded in SWAYAM. This is actually the preferred model if a NPTEL course should be formally used with the normal curriculum. Technically the NPTEL course portal is based on a Google platform. NPTEL has organized an India wide system for on-site examination.

Course in Machine Learning (ML)

Availability: This course is available in the NPTEL network in spring 2019 in the NON paced mode, starting in end of February and with a final exam on April 27-28 (two versions). Link to the course on the NPTEL web-site: https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc19_cs35/preview Responsibility: Professor Carl Gustaf Jansson, KTH has had the full and sole responsibility for all aspects of the course design, course development and course execution within the rule-system and machinery monitored by the staff of the NPTEL network. Characterization of the course: This course is in Sweden a second (masters) level course, typically elective, conditionally elective and in a few cases mandatory for particular master level programs. The normal background is a three-year computer science education. The average age of a student on this education level in Sweden is 23-24. In India probably a few years younger. Format: Eight week course, with approximately 40 video lectures within 25 hours of video content and weekly assignments worth 25% of the final examination. Assignments and exams are auto-gradable. NPTEL team produced automatic text transcripts of all videos. Style of teaching: Monologue presentations based upon power point presentations. No labs.

Course in Machine Learning (ML) continued

General statistics: 38480 students expressed interest initially. For the first 5 weeks, in average for each week, 5300 students did the assignments with average score of 70%. 2200 students registered for the exam. Balance between groups: age of interested: 39% below 20, 46% between 20 and 30, 15% above 30%, 41%

• women. Among interested: 75% enrolled students. 25% others including 14% faculty, Among examined:

61% enrolled students, 39% others including 25% faculty. Most likely most of the interested in the age group below 20 are part of the drop-off group. Relation to classroom version: The classroom version of the courses at KTH has around 100 students for the ML course. For students that expressed interest, the scaling factor becomes 500. For examination, the scaling factor becomes 200. One should be humble in the presence of this challenge. Implementation: all of the videos are recorded using the lap top tool Camtasia. Local support: NPTEL organizes a small group TAs that handles the student contacts but also helps with sanity checks of lecture and assignments material. Student contacts is handled through a web-forum system. Final exam: Mix of recall and problem solving questions. In the order of 40-50 auto-graded multiple choice

• problems. The final exam is worth 75% of the total examination.

Course in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)

Availability: This course is available in the NPTEL network in spring 2019 in the NON paced mode, starting in end of February and with a final exam on April 27-28 (two versions). Link to the course on the NPTEL web-site: https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc19_ee17/preview Responsibility: Professor Rajeev Thottappillil, KTH has had the full and sole responsibility for all aspects of the course design, course development and course execution within the rule-system and machinery monitored by the staff of the NPTEL network. Characterization of the course: This course is in Sweden a second (masters) level course, typically elective, conditionally elective and in a few cases mandatory for particular master level programs. The normal background is a three-year electrical engineering education. The average age of a student on this education level in Sweden is 23-24. In India probably a few years younger. Format: Eight week course, with approximately 40 video lectures within 25 hours of video content and weekly assignments worth 25% of the final examination. Assignments and exams are auto-gradable. NPTEL team produced automatic text transcripts of all videos. Style of teaching: Monologue presentations based upon power point presentations. No labs.

Course in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) continued

General statistics: 2148 students expressed interest initially. For the first 5 weeks, in average for each week, 161 students did the assignments with an average score of 55%. 147 students registered for the exam. Balance between groups: age of interested: 25% below 20, 50% between 20 and 30, 25% above 30%, 25% women, among interested: 55% enrolled students. 45% others incl. 18% faculty, among examined: 21% enrolled students. 79% others incl. 41% faculty. Most likely most of the interested in the age group below 20 are part of the drop-off group. Relation to classroom version: The classroom version of the course at KTH has around 15-20 students per year for the EMC course. For the students that expressed interest, the scaling factor of scaling up becomes 100. For examination, the scaling factor becomes 10. One should be humble in the presence of this challenge. Implementation: half of the video for the course is recorded at IIT Madras, half is recorded using the lap top tool Camtasia. Local support: NPTEL organizes a small group TAs that handles the student contacts but also helps with sanity checks of lecture and assignments material. Student contacts is handled through a web-forum system. Final exam: Mix of recall and problem solving questions. In the order of 30 auto-graded multiple choice

• problems. The final exam is worth 75% of the total examination.

Faculty member comments on the two courses

The Electromagnetic Compatibility course is probably unique within the NPTEL course

• ffering. On the other hand, there are many Machine Learning courses these days both

at NPTEL and on other sites, but hopefully the design choices regarding scope and character has made also this course reasonably unique. It was the first attempt at an online course for both faculty members. None had any experience before. They didn’t know exactly which different tasks were involved in creating an online course and gravely underestimated grossly the effort and time required for the complete design and implementation. Both faculty are senior tenured professors that have extensive experience of teaching in their earlier careers in EE and CS respectively However, the current generation of students were not even born when that happened. More recently they have been teaching small groups on well limited topics. To take on this kind of broad tasks now, was a challenge and contributed to the large workload for them both.

Faculty member comments on the two courses continued

A lot of time was spent in producing teaching presentations fulfilling all kinds of quality criteria. To achieve the needed level of correctness and precision of the material is very demanding. The precision needed for in class material is much lower, where one can correct minor errors and explain non-clarities on the spot. A big challenge was making up auto-gradable assignments and exam questions for assessment. In the beginning it was tough, but became easier towards the end for both faculty members. This learning process was useful but took them very long time. NPTEL allocates TAs to each course that answers the student´s questions via a web forum and also helps out to make sanity checks of assignments and study material. In principle this system works very well. The task for TAs becomes more or less challenging depending on their prior familiarity with the course material. If students so to say have ´to take the course themselves´ in parallel the system deteriorates.

Faculty member comments on the two courses continued

The support from the NPTEL team was excellent. The two course developments where experiments that did not satisfy the normal NPTEL routines. Generally, the impression is that if the NPTEL routines are followed tightly and all NPTEL criteria are honoured, the course development journey would be problem free. But even under these conditions with initially rather ignorant course developers many times also too late with deliveries, the NPTEL team was always very patient, friendly and understanding. The faculty members were given very generous offers many times from IIT Madras for technical

• support. We are very grateful for this, even if it this time mostly become more feasible to do the

implementation using the on-line tool Camtasia. One disadvantage noticed is that the hands-on experience in the lab could not be offered in the on- line version of the course. This is true in particular for the EE/EMC course. For the CS/ML course, it should be possible to develop also on-line lab parts given enough preparation time (but we talk of the order of 100 rather than 10 hours). Overall this was a great experience for both faculty members and it has provided them with a good base for follow it up both locally at KTH and in our external collaborations.

Case-study on how mobility in a program collaboration scheme can be facilitated by a selected set of MOOCs.

This sub-activity is a collaboration between KTH and Amrita University KTH and Amrita has an agreement on a collaborative academic program (CAP) in which qualified students enrolled at Amrita can be admitted into selected fields of study at KTH (a specific set of selected master level programs). The students must satisfy all applicable KTH policies and procedures regarding admission. The agreement mainly makes an exception from the demand of having a finalized BSc Degree. Students that has not completed all courses for the three years may be admitted conditionally but need to exhibit complete transcripts of all courses before starting their KTH studies. The long term ambition is to simplify the mobility of students according to this agreement in a variety of ways by use of MOOCs, but the initial pilot is focused on the handling of the few specific courses that constitutes the special requirements for each program. The idea is that a student that lacks one of these prerequisite courses can be offered a MOOC with the desired content. In the short term, we consider already available NPTEL courses but in a longer perspective new tailor-made MOOCs can be introduced. We could also consider course offers by

• ther on-line course providers, but that is not our first option.

Case-study on how mobility in a program collaboration scheme can be facilitated by a selected set of MOOCs.

Examples of KTH master level programs included in the KTH /Amrita agreement are: Embedded Systems Special requirements Digital Design basics Computer hardware organization basics Electric Circuits Theory Wireless Systems Special requirements Signals and systems, including material about time-continuous and time-discrete systems, sampling, linear filters and systems, and transform methods. Systems Control & Robotics Special requirements Signals and systems including material about time-continuous and time-discrete systems, sampling, linear filters and systems and transform methods Control engineering.

Case-study on how mobility in a program collaboration scheme can be facilitated by a selected set of MOOCs.

The following running NPTEL courses are currently considered for the above purpose:

• Control Engineering
• Fundamentals of electronic materials and devices
• Dynamical systems and control
• Antennas
• Digital Electronic Systems
• Modern Digital Communication Techniques

The final choice of MOOCs to be included for this purpose as an amendment to the existing KTH/Amrita agreement will be based on:

• The content match between the KTH master program requisites as exemplified above and the

content of the NPTEL MOOCs

• An agreement on the equivalence and trust of examination criteria and procedures.