Just the other day, I came across someone posting about ideas to kill time at home on Facebook. The monotony is real. The entire country is locked down inside their homes and people are resorting to whatever they can to entertain themselves. Literally everyone is trying so hard to be anything but productive during this once in a lifetime opportunity to stay at home and do nothing. However, last I checked, the government did not impose a lockdown on self-development.
It is easy to get lured into the Bermuda triangle of the bed, smartphone, and charger. However, there is a lot more that we can do to utilize this time. This is the time to convince your mother that the smartphone she nags about all day, can actually help you be productive. Wait! The schools are closed down. Who wants to study right? Even if you might want, there is no way to step outside. But what if I say that you can use that smartphone of yours to get the best of the current online education system in the country?
The Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched multiple innovative e-learning platforms amidst the Covid-19 pandemic that India is facing. It comes as a tremendous breakthrough as the academic scene has almost come to a halt in the pursuit of containing a killer virus. Along with the aids of the Inter-University Centres (IUCs) viz. Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) and Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC), UGC and MHRD has launched 10 digital solutions to promote online learning in these hard times; and they are free of cost.
Online Learning During Covid-19 Lockdown
MHRD has come introduced digital learning solutions for higher education in the form of SWAYAM and SWAYAM prabha. For school education, android applications like Diksha and e-Pathshala are already featuring 4+ ratings on Google PlayStore. Even if you are an academic scholar pursuing your doctorate, learning resources are available free of cost at digital repositories like Shodhganga and Vidwan.
The options are diverse and the time is plenty. Just grab that phone (or laptop), connect to the internet and start learning right away. Considering it might be a little confusing in choosing the best solution for you, here we have sorted them under different target user communities.
Study Tools for School Students
#1 Diksha
Featuring more than 80,000 e-books in different languages, the Diksha application is currently featuring 5M downloads and 4.4 ratings on Google Playstore. Moreover, this online repository features resources developed by CBSE, NCERT and State boards. Diksha offers these solutions free of cost for students of class I to XII. The application is available for both Android and iOS users.
#2 e-Pathshala
It is a joint initiative between the MHRD, Government of India and the NCERT. The application comes with a digital library offering free learning materials in audio, video and e-book formats. There are more than 1886 audios, 2000 videos, 696 e-books and 504 flipbooks for class I to XII. The application is available for both Android and iOS users.
#3 National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER)
The online portal hosts more than 14000 learning resources including videos, audios, documents, images and other formats. Moreover, these are available in diferent languages. Besides, an android application of NROER also exists to access the video resources of the portal.
#4 IIT PAL
Reputed professors from IITs came together to develop study material for JEE Mains and NEET exam aspirants. They are video lectures hosted on Youtube, and promoted by NTA and other bodies. These free video lectures for physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology are most useful for 11th and 12th students.
Study Tools for Higher Education
#5 SWAYAM
This initiative of the MHRD offers online courses for secondary/higher secondary students as well as for higher education. The options are endless and include engineering, humanities, social sciences, law and management courses in both undergraduate and graduate disciplines. Besides, one can also avail credit transfer for SWAYAM courses and it is completely integrated with conventional education.
It is a broadcasting media featuring 32 DTH channels dedicated on the transmission of educational content around the nation. SWAYAM Prabha television channels are available over DD Free Dish Set Top Box and Antenna. It covers secondary/higher secondary, graduate and postgraduate education.
The Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) is offering 87 e-Content courseware in different undergraduate courses. It is available at the website of the CEC online. The courseware features more than 24000 e-content modules to help students learn online.
A dedicated Youtube broadcasting channel is operated by the Consortium for Educational Communication. It offers regular educational content for the entire academic community including students and teachers. The lectures broadcasted are available free of cost.
Study Tools for Scholars
#9 Shodhganga
Shodhganga has served scholars and researchers in the country for a long time. It is essentially digital library of scholarly publications. There are more than 2,60,000 theses and dissertations available from Indian researchers. Being an open access resource, the content can be accessed by anyone free of cost.
It is an online repository hosting academic content. The educational content is useful for researchers and educators. NDL library offers academic content for audience of different academic levels and disciplines.
#11 Vidwan
It is hosted in the form an expert database. Faculties from all over India collaborate and share knowledge over the online platform. Besides, various research scholars, funding agency policymakers and peers register on the portal to expand the database.
Bonus! Use Aglasem Study Materials For e-Learning
Aglasem is offering a range of useful study resources for students, which are easily usable online.
Bonus #1 Mock tests
Take mock test for JEE, NEET, CLAT, UGC NET, and a plethora of other exams today, to get familiar with the online testing environment. Also, you can do a swot analysis of your skills and chart your preparation strategy accordingly.
Bonus #2 Previous Year Question Papers
Students are recommended to solve past year question papers of any and all exams they are appearing in. This gives them an exact idea of what to expect in exam, and also build required speed and accuracy.
