Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC)

The Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) is an autonomous Inter-University Centre of University Grants Commission (UGC) on Electronic Media.

About CEC

Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) has been established with the goal of addressing the needs of higher education through the powerful medium of television along with the appropriate use of emerging Information Communication Technology (ICT). Realizing the potential and power of television to act as a means of educational knowledge dissemination, University Grants Commission (UGC) started the Countrywide Classroom Programmes in the year 1984. For the production of such programmes, Media Centres were set up at 6 universities. Subsequently, CEC emerged in 1993 as a nodal agency to coordinate, guide and facilitate such educational production at the national level. Today 21 Media Centres work towards achieving this goal under the umbrella of CEC.

Objectives

• Close coordination, facilitation, overall guidance and direction towards the activities of the Media Centres set up by the UGC in various universities throughout the country
• Dissemination of educational programmes through broadcast as well as non-broadcast modes
• Production of educational programmes (Audio/Visual and Web-Based) and related support material further setting up of appropriate facilities for such production
• Research activities related to optimizing the effectiveness of such programmes
• Providing a forum for the active involvement of academic and other scholars in the creation of appropriate educational programmes
• Studying, promoting and experimenting with new technology that will increase the reach and/or effectiveness of educational communication

Educational Multimedia Research Centres (EMRC)

The UGC has set up Educational Multimedia Research Centres (EMRC) in various universities and institutions in the country with the objectives to produce in-house quality educational programmes for electronic media. The centres are engaged in the production of video and multimedia-based programmes. CEC and the Media Centres have more than 500 trained manpower and state of the art equipment. CEC has perhaps the largest repository of educational video programmes being produced by its Media Centres, numbering more than 20000. At present, about 2000 video-based programmes and almost the same number of e-contents based on UGC model curriculum are being produced annually by the Media Centres. These programmes are telecast on VYAS Higher Education Channel. CEC in its media centre circuit is having 21 centres across the country.

National Mission on Education through ICT (NME-ICT)

The National Mission on Education through ICT (NME-ICT) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, aims to tap the potential of ICT, in pedagogy and learning at the higher education level. The mission has an ambitious plan of creating an entire e-learning ecosystem by embedding technology in the teaching and learning process, providing the facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, providing multimedia e-content and learning platforms. Special teachers’ training programmes have also been envisaged in the mission. Development of e-content in higher education has been an important part of the mission of which Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) is a lead partner. Under the NME-ICT project of MHRD, CEC has developed e-content on 87 undergraduate subjects.

CEC’s approach has been to develop the highest quality content for learners. Each subject has coordinators, experts in their own subjects, who have mapped the entire 3/4 year UG syllabus and further identified and utilized the services of the domain experts to deliver the best content possible. To make learning an engaging process, each e-content module is divided into four quadrants comprising of Text Resources, Visual Resources, Web Resources and Self-Assessment Resources. The transcription (text) of the video presented by an instructor is also available for download in e-book form. The content has also undergone a comprehensive two-step peer review process to make it free of any errors.

SWAYAM

CEC MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), offered on Government of India’s SWAYAM platform, is a mode of learning where a student can virtually attend digital higher education courses, which are developed and taught by eminent subject experts. Through SWAYAM, students can access quality enriched educational resources, participate in discussion forums, and earn academic grades by taking tests.

CEC MOOCs are based on UGC Model Curriculum and Choice Based Credit System (CBCS). Each CEC MOOC spans a duration of 8-12 weeks approximately engaging students through video lectures, reading material, assessment components, discussion forums, e-mails and video conferencing. CEC MOOCs enrich the learning experience by using audio-video and multi-media, peer learning and state of the art pedagogy/technology. These structured and credit-bearing courses for higher education are available online for anyone, anytime and anywhere.

SWAYAM PRABHA DTH Channels

CEC is the national coordinator for non-technology undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programs for 11 SWAYAM PRABHA

DTH Channels that use (2) GSAT-15 transponders to telecast high-quality educational programmes round the clock. Each channel telecasts 6 to 8 hours of fresh programmes every day which are repeated 3 times a day, allowing learners to view them at their convenience. The channels are free-to-air and can be viewed on DD Free Dish and DishTV. CEC runs an exclusive 24x7 CEC-UGC Higher Education DTH channel - Vyas. Round-the-clock transmission is based on curriculum as well as enrichment programmes where 3 hours live lectures and 9 hours of recorded content is broadcasted from Monday to Friday and 12 hours of recorded content is broadcasted on Saturday and Sunday. The educational content is broadcasted on various subjects to supplement classroom teaching. The channels are uplinked from BISAG, Gandhinagar. The contents are provided by NPTEL, IITs, UGC, CEC, IGNOU, NCERT and NIOS. The INFLIBNET Centre maintains the web portal. The channel is also webcast on CEC’s website. It is also available on www.sakshat.ac.in and www.webcast.gov.in web portals of Government of India. Recently, Vyas Channel has also been made part of SWAYAM Prabha DTH Channels bouquet.

The DTH Channels shall cover the following:

• Higher Education: Curriculum-based course contents at postgraduate and undergraduate levels covering diverse disciplines such as arts, science, commerce, performing arts, social sciences and humanities, engineering, technology, law, medicine, agriculture, etc. All courses would be certification-ready in their detailed offering through SWAYAM, the platform being developed for offering MOOCs courses.
• School Education (IX-XII Levels): Modules for teacher's training as well as teaching and learning aids for children of India to help them understand the subjects better and also help them in preparing for competitive examinations for admissions to professional degree programmes.
• Curriculum-based courses that can meet the needs of life-long learners of Indian citizens in India and abroad.
• Assist students (Class XI & XII) to prepare for competitive exams.

VYAS Channel

The Vyas Higher Education Channel is dedicated to the students studying their degree courses in universities and colleges. The curriculum which is being followed is based on UGC model curricula and CBCS compliance.

Open Education Resources

Skill Initiative Classes

Through Skill Initiative Classes, CEC is making efforts to help GoI achieve the goal of developing a skilled nation. Various short duration vocational courses have been developed for empowering the youth of India for sustainable livelihoods.

Flipped Learning

The teaching methodology using the instructional design strategy of blended learning is the need of the day. Concepts like Flipped Learning employ a pedagogical approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted, such that students are introduced to learning material before class. Classroom time is then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers and problem-solving activities provides an altogether different environment of imparting education.

Curriculum Classes

Curriculum Classes are being designed in tune with the contemporary approach of learning behaviour to ensure maximum learning outcome. The taxonomy which is being used for suitable placement of the content is a fine blend of digital educational material in four quadrants. The segregation is based on the nature of the content i.e. text resources, visual resources etc. A unique initiative of Blended Learning by CEC will certainly facilitate the learner to attain knowledge.

Concept Classes

Concept Classes are designed to provide conceptual clarity and to ensure a better and deep understanding of the subject. The rich repository consists of concepts ranging from a wide variety of subjects Chemistry to Communication, Social Science to Natural Science, Education to Vocational, etc.

Beyond Classroom

Beyond Classroom - CEC has a vast repository of DigiCult content produced by various Media Centres spread across the length and breadth of the country. These infotainment and enrichment programmes are meant to “upgrade”, “update” and “enrich the knowledge” of students, “broaden their mental horizons” and “stimulate their urge” to know more.

Today in History

The series Today in History is a detailed account of the events from January 1 to December 31 running throughout the year. It showcases the salient happenings of each day of the year. The sections include Politics and Governance, Science and Technology, Sports and Entertainment, Art, Culture and People. It is an interesting way to present our past and be prepared for the future.

CEC Journal on Digital Education

The CEC Journal on Digital Education provides a platform to national and international writers/authors/researchers to contribute their work broadly in the field of digital education. It comprises of mass communication, digital literacy, technology-enabled learning, information communication technologies etc. The focus would be on educational communication and research including educational technology, experimental e-learning, exploring e-learning platforms etc. It also includes content development, various digital dissemination platforms, massive open online courses etc. The CEC Journal welcomes the papers covering critical thinking and has to be empirical, policy-oriented and theoretical in nature. The CEC Journal would be bi-annual with its two issues namely spring issue and autumn issue. The Journal aims to create a true digital environment in the education system and would be promoting technology practices in educational communication.

Events

Prakriti

A prestigious Documentary Film Festival, Prakriti is being organized by CEC since 1997. It was a non-competitive event organized every year at a different location for Indian filmmakers. The documentary(ies) received will be screened by a panel of eminent jury which will go through all the entries and select the documentaries in each category for screening during the Festival. The jury will also select one best documentary, in each category, which will be awarded a cash prize during the festival. The Prakriti Film Festival has expanded its wings to provide a larger canvas to paint the footprints on the educational aspects of equity, ethics and ecology. In the year 2018, the Prakriti Festival was made competitive and its jurisdiction was expanded beyond India to South East Asia Region for wider publicity and spreading awareness on the issues.

Educational Video Competition

Consortium for Educational Communication annually organizes Educational Video Competition to nurture, encourage and recognize the excellence in educational video program production in its Media Centres, other educational institutions, individual producers/directors and media houses in the country. The journey started in the year 1988 and since then the journey continues. The competition for the best e-content program of the year will be global wherein Universities/Academic/Educational Institution and Private Institutions within and outside the country can send their entries.

Academic and Others

CEC regularly organizes various capacity building programmes, technical and production-related training, workshops on the issue concerning media, web-enabled learning like MOOCs, production strategies. CEC also organizes national and international conventions, webinars and conferences in the field of education and communication. Various short term capacity building programmes are conducted for staff of CEC and its Media Centres to keep them abreast with the latest technologies and developments in their area of work. Apart from updating the skills of its staff, CEC also time to time organizes Teacher Orientation Workshops to acquaint them with web-enabled teaching methodologies. CEC also provides a one-month internship program for the students of Mass Communication.

Related Link

• CEC YouTube Channel

Source: Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC)