Dr Prem Das Maheshwari, Business Director, South Asia, D2L in a recent interaction with Janifha Evangeline, Editor, Higher Education Review magazine shared his views on how learning management systems be designed to align with the core objectives of the National Education Policy, 2020, What measures can LMS providers take for ensuring that their platforms are accessible in rural areas with internet connectivity and digital infrastructure and more.

Dr Prem Das Maheshwari brings over 30+ years of professional experience in higher education with expertise in business development and channel management in the national and international markets. Before joining D2L in 2019, he held leadership positions with renowned universities and Higher Education groups, including IMI Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, Universitas 21 Global, Singapore, Laureate Higher Education group USA, Walden, and Liverpool University. He has also worked with India`s largest private education group, Amity University Online, where he was VP of Partnerships and Tata Infotech (TCS) Education Services.

How can learning management systems be designed to align with the core objectives of the National Education Policy, 2020?

The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is built around the principles of competency-enabled and competency-enhanced education. It emphasizes outcome-based education (OBE), requiring educational institutions across all levels which include higher education and K-12, to identify and define the intended outcomes of their courses and programs. Institutions must then map these outcomes to the course content, assignments, and assessments, ensuring alignment between program outcomes (POs) and course outcomes (COs) for each student.

This mandate necessitates a fundamental shift in teaching and learning approaches to align with the NEP's requirements. Leveraging robust Learning Management Systems (LMS) allows institutions to implement competency-based education (CBE) effectively and ensures the delivery of outcome-based education, as stipulated by the policy. LMS platforms enable the identification of specific competencies that individual students acquire as they progress through the learning ecosystem and their personalized learning journeys.

One of the major challenges for educational institutions in India is the scale. With a vast number of students across schools, colleges, and universities, tracking the competency attainment of each individual student becomes a complex task. To address this, institutions must adopt technology-enabled education. LMS platforms equipped with advanced tools can help identify competency attainment for individual learners. These platforms generate comprehensive reports and analyses for institutions, mapping student outcomes in line with the NEP’s requirements.

Another critical consideration is the diversity of learners. Every student has a unique learning pace, some are fast learners, while others may learn at a moderate or slower pace. The NEP's objective is to ensure equitable access to learning resources tailored to the needs of each learner. This approach accommodates variations in learning speed and competency attainment to achieve the desired course outcomes (COs) and program outcomes (POs).

Manually tracking and managing individual POs and COs is highly impractical. Therefore, technology-driven solutions like LMS platforms, such as D2L by Brightspace, play a crucial role. These platforms feature inbuilt functionalities that allow institutions to track CO - PO attainment. They offer dashboards to monitor individual student performance and identify students at risk or those requiring additional support. These tools enable institutions to allocate targeted resources effectively, ensuring that all students achieve the desired competencies.

In summary, the NEP 2020 requires educational institutions to adopt innovative and technology-driven strategies to implement competency-based and outcome-based education. Platforms like D2L by Brightspace provide the necessary infrastructure to meet these mandates, ensuring equitable learning opportunities and comprehensive tracking of student performance in alignment with the NEP’s goals.

How can LMS platforms support continuous professional development for teachers as enriched in NEP?

One of the critical aspects of implementing the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is recognizing that while the policy primarily focuses on learners and students, teachers play an equally crucial role. Teachers are the pivotal element in ensuring the successful adoption of technology-enabled education in educational institutions. A key factor in this transition is change management, which begins with the faculties.

To effectively empower and enable faculty members, it is essential to provide continuous, uninterrupted, and ongoing training. This shift represents a significant transformation in modern teaching and learning practices. Currently, many institutions predominantly follow traditional talk-and-board teaching methods, where teachers deliver content in a classroom setting, and students simply take notes.

However, with the advent of digitally-enabled learning models, teaching now involves leveraging Learning Management Platforms (LMPs) that not only facilitate content creation but also support examinations, assignments, assessments, project work, grading, result publishing, performance analysis, and personalized learning. These platforms integrate advanced artificial intelligence tools to curate and enhance content, making it more engaging and impactful. Adopting these features requires comprehensive training for teachers, underscoring their importance in this educational transformation.

The NEP 2020 explicitly emphasizes empowering and enabling teachers. Learning management platforms are instrumental in this process. These platforms can host extensive training modules to familiarize educators with the nuances of technology-enabled education and equip them with the skills needed to teach effectively using digital tools. Importantly, such training modules can be made accessible to teachers regardless of their location, time constraints, or other commitments.

The challenge, however, lies in the fact that teachers are often occupied with their regular classroom responsibilities. Asking them to set aside dedicated time for training sessions outside their busy schedules can be difficult, as they have competing priorities.

To address this, learning management platforms offer flexibility. They can host courses in various formats, including digital and video-based modules, that teachers can access at their convenience. These modules allow educators to undertake training during pockets of free time, ensuring they are equipped to adopt the new teaching methodologies without disrupting their schedules.

This approach aligns seamlessly with the NEP 2020's objectives, fostering a holistic learning ecosystem that supports both students and teachers. By leveraging learning management platforms, institutions can empower teachers to embrace technology-enabled education, ensuring its successful implementation across the country.

What measures can LMS providers take for ensuring that their platforms are accessible in rural areas with internet connectivity and digital infrastructure? Also, how can LMS tools be tailored for addressing the diverse needs of students, including differently abled learners in line with NEP's focus on inclusivity?

Today, discussions often center on the digital divide, highlighting the disparity between students and faculty in urban areas with access to advanced internet and devices, and those in rural areas or smaller towns. However, learning management platforms offer a promising solution. These platforms are web and mobile-responsive, enabling even students in remote areas with smartphones and internet access to engage in effective teaching and learning. With smartphones now widespread and internet connectivity improving nationwide, students and teachers can access classrooms, content, examinations, and results seamlessly, addressing the challenge of reaching underserved regions.

Additionally, these platforms support differently-abled students, an often-overlooked group in education. Platforms compliant with global accessibility standards, such as WCAG, provide tools that cater to visually or hearing-impaired learners. This ensures equitable access to education, fulfilling the objectives of NEP 2020 and socio-cultural policies promoting inclusive learning opportunities for all.

These platforms also facilitate experiential learning, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving as emphasized by NEP 2020. Powered by advanced artificial intelligence (AI), they enable multidisciplinary and personalized learning pathways tailored to individual skill development and career goals. AI-driven tools curate engaging, job-oriented content using gamification and interactive features, enhancing the learning experience.

These platforms also promote collaborative learning through cohort-based tools, group discussions, and interactive posts, fostering academic engagement. Students can participate in diverse learning opportunities, accessible from mobile devices, enabling them to acquire not just knowledge but life skills as well.

In summary, learning management platforms bridge the digital divide, provide accessible education for differently-abled students, and support flexible, multidisciplinary, and engaging learning pathways. By leveraging AI and innovative tools, they empower students across all demographics, fulfilling NEP 2020's vision of equitable, inclusive, and future-ready education.