There are two aspects which are to be looked at (a) Effective Pedagogy of ICT Models for Assessment and Accreditation system and (b) Pedagogy in Teaching and Learning. Here we present the role of ICT in designing pedagogy in general and specifically in developing a web based tool for Assessment and Accreditation system. The development of a generic model with the help of Technology is carried out. However, faculties do not usually follow linear instructional design models when they are planning for ICT integration. The development of generic model has carried out, which consists of three fundamental elements: pedagogy, social interaction and technology. Sound design of these components will help faculty to integrate ICT into their curricula in effective ways. Constructivist learning theories, the design of interactivity and the notion of usefulness provide the theoretical foundations for the construction of this model. Some examples of applying this model to the design of Web-based learning environments, facilitation of online discussions and comparison of ICT tools are presented.
1. Education is the basic requirement in every aspect of human life. Higher education has become one of the major drivers of economy of the country. To improve employment skills it is necessary that every student should get a good quality education. Every student has right to demand for valuable and quality teaching which ensures that their education will lead to jobs and will give them the skills required in today's society. Due to the growth in the fees every student is expecting a good quality of teaching.
2. Pedagogy, social interaction and technology are three key components of a technology enhanced earning environment. A sound design of these components will enable faculties to integrate ICT into teaching and learning in an effective way. Naturally, pedagogy and social interaction are the central focus of a learning environment, and technology provides essential support.
3. The generic model fits well with constructivist learning theories, interactivity design and the definition of the usefulness of a system. Consequently, the pedagogical design of a learning environment can follow the cognitive constructivist learning theory to include basic educational functionalities by focusing on interaction with content. The social design can follow the social constructivist learning theory to provide a comfortable learning space in which students can interact with peers or the faculty. The technological design must ensure the usability of the learning environment by focusing on interaction with the interface.
4. There is a need to monitor and evaluate ICT in education from its implementation to learning outcomes. There is also a concurrent demand to compare the expansion of ICT use in education and its impact on learning achievements across our country. Monitoring of the integration, use and impact of ICT in education will allow us to evaluate their progress towards our development goals.
5. Based on a review of the literature, the identified key concepts from assessments where ICT has a usage in education. The various conceptual frameworks in the existing assessments as a main source for establishing an operational framework that can be applied across country to Produce internationally standardized statistics on ICT use in education. The proposed framework also builds on the regular education methodology and mechanism with established and regularly trained national scenario.
6. In addition to the above logical process, a comprehensive review and mapping of the major policy issues of ICT use in education formed the basis for identifying the expanded list of ICT in education indicators to complement the current UIS core list. Detailed information has been provided on the definition, purpose, measurement, data source, interpretation and methodological limitations for these indicators. Some practical considerations were outlined to prioritize the final selection of the proposed indicators.
7. To fulfill the students demand for quality education it becomes very necessary to have assessment of quality of teaching on regular basis. A well designed assessment method should be implemented. Carefully designed assessment method can control the quality of the institution.
8. Computers can be very helpful in assessment process. Information Technology which came in to existence by computer networking can be used in handling information and processing it. IT can be used for website development which provides facilities like chatting, e-mail, surfing etc. It opens a new source of information. Information on the internet is not only in textual form, but it can be an audio, video or any other media. And this type of information on net is possible by a new technology called Information Communication Technology (ICT). Thus ICT is IT + other media. Being the latest technology in computers, ICT can be a very powerful tool in the assessment of quality in Higher Education. Thus a model can be developed and implemented by using this robust and new technology which can be used in assessment of quality in higher education.
9. Govt. of India had established two separate bodies namely National Board of Accreditation (NBA) through All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) through University Grants Commission (UGC) in the year 1994. Both the bodies provide accreditation to those institutions practicing prescribed Quality Assurance System and achieve certain level of Quality. While NBA focuses largely on the parameters that communicate the strength & weakness of a programme, NAAC concentrates on Institutional Accreditation. Other organizations that accredit programs in India include ABET. Govt. of India also conceived Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) to improve Quality of Technical Education suiting to current National & Global requirements.
10. The majority of research conducted on higher education quality management has been undertaken within single national contexts despite the fact that higher education is increasingly viewed as an international business. This study comprises a review of the literature on quality management in higher education, to identify international quality management practices. The review reveals that the most popular response is the testing or implementation of quality management models developed for industry. These models are also reported to encourage a culture of managerialism in higher education institutions. But the effectiveness of these models in managing quality of teaching and learning has been questioned.
11. The Design and Development of Web based Model has been carried out to support the NAAC Accreditation committee for easy and fast evaluation process. The tool provides various functions and features in the form of computation of Cumulative Grade point, Comparison of various colleges of same city and other cities can be done for comparative analysis and performance evaluation. The Software tool also presents the statistical data in the form of Graphs and reports. The user can opt for various criteria for performance evaluation of a particular college.
12. The assessment by NAAC takes a holistic view of all the inputs, processes and outcomes of an institution and thus the HEIs are expected to demonstrate how they achieve the objectives of the core values through the data and information detailed in the self study reports (SSR). The Assessment and Accreditation outcome includes a qualitative and quantitative component. The qualitative part of the outcome is the Peer Team Report (PTR) and the quantitative part includes a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), a letter grade and a performance descriptor. Taking cognizance of the diversity in institutional functioning, HEIs have been grouped under three major categories i.e. Universities, autonomous colleges and Affiliated colleges. The differential weightages are assigned for each of the seven criteria.