Towards the promotion of education remotely, SNDT Women's University, Tata Tele Services Ltd., Atom Tech (Any Transaction on Mobile), Mumbai, & Indian PCO Teleservices Ltd have entered into a strategic alliance to develop and disseminate mobile education, an additional vehicle in distance learning, to reach the masses for remote teaching and learning in rural communities and physically challenged. This alliance sees the content developed & managed by SNDT University, Tata Indicom on its service channels becoming the carrier, Atom Technologies, providing the intermediary Interfaces and IPTL (through Pay Phones' Welfare Association and 500,000 constituent members) providing the service distribution and dissemination system. This alliance has put together a new paradigm in providing M-Education and thereby covering far flung and remote areas in the country as also assist to bridge the physical distances using CDMA technology.

The M-Education offered will have contemporary content and provides the much needed value addition to the student. Under this model, the mobile phone undergoes a metamorphosis-from a device that allows you access to voice and text messaging, it transforms into one that helps you access accredited educational content, take mock tests on the move, regardless of geographies or physical constraints.

Announcing the launch of the service, S M Krishna, Governor of Maharashtra, said "I am delighted and privileged to be a part of this great moment to examine a new paradigm in education. We are at a very interesting time where the digital revolution has suddenly and silently arrived with its many opportunities. This is a novel idea to create the application and undertaking it to propagate it across the country."

TTSL together with SNDT recognized the challenges in the propagation of education because of the constraints of printed but dated content and infrastructure bound but not easily accessible schools and colleges. The M-Education offered will have the contemporary content and do away with the need to visit physical schools and colleges.

Commenting on the initiative Mr. C N Nagakumar, CHRO, Tata Teleservices Ltd, said "We embarked upon the journey couple of months ago for the larger education and population. We at Tata Teleservices develop this service with SNDT university as our chosen partners because it caters to the education of women only as over hundred thousand women students from different streams getting educated so the twin objectives we could achieve with this service that proclaims a paradigm shift from the paper format to mobile format and impact both women and education."   

Such a strategic alliance between Tata Teleservices, SNDT University, ATOM Tech, HP labs, ADC Krone and IPTL hamesses the technology through a unique model. Under this model, a mobile phone under goes a metamorphosis- from a device that allows access to voice and text messaging, accredited educational content, take mock tests on the move, regardless of geographies or physical constraints.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Chandra Krishna Moorthy, Vice Chancellor, SNDT University said "Our intent has been to provoke the educational fraternity to look at alternate means of reaching and every nook and corner of the country through the medium of developing this novel application. This service will enable the education beyond the four walls of a school or institution."  

Initially this service will be available in Hindi and English language but will be expanded in other regional languages as well.  

Sourced From: Vaishnavi Corporate Communications Pvt Ltd