It’s true. Parents might actually encourage
their children to use cell phones now. The reason — mobiles are fast
becoming a powerful study-aid. Anand Kannan and Yogesh Lavanis,
founders of Valued Epistemics Private Limited (VEPL) have
developed the concept of m-learning (mobile learning) through their
programme, WIZDOM, which is a learning programme for GRE. Yogesh
Lavanis, IISc graduate and director (R&D) of the organisation says,
“The number of mobile subscribers is increasing everyday and they keep
upgrading their mobile phones. So we wanted to develop a product that
could be put to innovative use in the field of education. Our product
enables students to learn and prepare for exams with the help of a
mobile.”
Anand, an IISc graduate and managing director of the company adds,
“M-learning is similar to a student’s laptop i.e. it is mobile and can
be carried anywhere. Our programme is targeted at students preparing
for GRE. Thus the course content has verbal, quantitative and
analytical reasoning skill sessions which are developed under the
guidance of experts in coaching students for GRE, SAT, MAT and other
competitive exams. One can download the modules anytime and it makes
learning more interesting and enjoyable.”
Explaning more about the programme, Anand says, “Apart from the
learning sessions, it also interacts with you, analyses your strong and
weak points, gives feedback and helps in choosing a learning style that
suits you best.” The system is powered by Adaptive Learning
through Measurement of Interaction (ALMI) methodology, which makes it
interactive and personal. But it is at its nascent stage and the
founders plan to use m-learning in different fields of education, not
just restricting it to GRE.
Anand says, “Right now, we are facing a few hurdles and regulatory
challenges because many colleges and hostels don’t allow students to
use mobile phones. Apart from that, many people don’t have GPRS and
have an older phone which makes it difficult to download and continue
with the learning module. Once we overcome these initial hitches, we
will design our module to train students for campus interviews and
similar other preparations.”
How to download the software
* In order to use the mobile learning service you need to download
WIZDOM.in’s software inj your phone. So, first ensure that you have a
mobile phone that is Java capable and supports GPRS.
* To register log on to the website (www.wizdom.in).
Once registered you will be provided a link and given a key. This will
allow you to download and access the m-learning programme.
