Claims:[0070] We claim:
1. A method for educating a set of students both, subject matter knowledge and industrial allied courses, the method comprises the steps of:
a) teaching a set of students attending the university basic subject matter knowledge through normal course study;
b) teaching a set of students attending the university industrial allied courses through a classroom delivery mode;
c) permitting the students to learn the industry allied course content online, read reference materials written by industry expert, and to participate in wikis, blogs, competitions and discussion forum through an online portal; and
d) scoring the students based on an evaluation criterion.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein scoring the students based on an evaluation criterion comprises the steps of:
a) allocating a first score to the student based on the student’s participation in Wikis, blogs, discussion forums and competitions;
b) allocating a second score to student based on the time the student spends on the industrial allied courses material, reference materials written by industry experts, submission of assignments, projects, participation in quizzes and webinars;
c) allocating a third score to the student based on the student’s interaction with the industry experts and participation in collaborative learning activities in online portal; and
d) awarding a final grade to the student at the end of every semester, based on the sum of the first score, second score and the third score obtained by the student at the end of each semester.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the method further comprises the steps of allocating a first score to the student based on the interesting facts shared by the student and active participation by the student in online activities.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method in which the universities and industry collaborates together further comprises the steps of:
a) receiving registrations for one or more industrial allied course by a collaborative entity;
b) identifying appropriate industry partners for the received registration by the collaborative entity;
c) initiating communications with the industry experts of said industry partners and different sections of the universities for designing a curriculum for the registered industrial allied course; and
d) designing a program by the collaborative entity to train the faculties in real-life industrial skills, where the industry experts visit the university to provide training to the faculties using real life industrial simulations.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the collaborative entity provides access credentials to both faculties and students to access the industrial allied content online.
6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the collaborative entity designs the evaluation criteria by taking inputs from both university personal and industry experts.
7. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the online portal is provided by the collaborative entity to permit the students to:
a) participate in wikis, blogs, discussion forums and competitions;
b) access the industrial allied course content, reference materials written by industry, submit projects, assignments and participate in quiz, webinar online; and
c) allow the students to interact with the industry experts and provides an environment for collaborative learning.
, Description:[001] Preamble of the invention
[002] The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:
[003] Technical field of the invention
[004] The present invention relates to a method to educate students, wherein the method allows industries and universities to collaborate together, in order to raise the standards of students graduating from the university.
[005] Background of the invention
[006] For over a century education has remained largely unchanged. Classroom full of students deferring to the wisdom of an all-knowing professor still continues to be an accepted mode of instructions. The world is changing; it is getting both smaller and bigger at the same time. Our world shrinks, as the technology now allows us to communicate both synchronously and asynchronously with peers around the world. Thus, changes in the industry today demand a need for training students attending colleges and universities to be updated on the latest industry trends.
[007] In the prior art teaching methods when a student graduates from a university and becomes an employee of that company, the company generally trains that person in-house. However, nowadays corporate training departments are becoming smaller and the managers of the operating units who are operating the assets are responsible for productivity. Similarly, it is difficult for the operation managers to send the key personnel away for an extensive period of training. Because of the above mentioned reasons, a graduated engineer from the university is expected to arrive equipped with a skill set that will make an early contribution to the team’s productivity.
[008] Despite of many technological advances and the introduction of new pedagogical concepts, the majority of classrooms even today rely on the wisdom of the professor to be the accepted mode of instruction. To overcome the above mentioned problems, computer based educational system was introduced. For instance, the US patent document US6149441A (referred herein as ‘441) discloses a computer based educational system that allows teachers to create customized lessons incorporating lesson material that includes text, audio, images, video and application programs into a lesson for delivery to the students. The lesson material thus created using the system of this invention may be presented to the students directly or as a web link. Students may access the web link during web execution of the class and may also collaborate with other students as well as teacher. However, the educational system as disclosed in ‘441 does not disclose any aspects of taking input from the universities in creating customized lessons.
[009] Thus, the trends in the modern industry today require the students attending the universities to graduate with skills and competence in addition to knowledge which will enable them to adapt more easily to the conditions which exist in industry today.
[0010] Summary of the invention
[0011] The present invention overcomes the drawbacks in the prior art and provides a method in which the universities and industry collaborate together for the purpose of teaching both industrial allied courses and basic subject matter knowledge to the students. For this purpose, the method of the present invention comprises the steps of teaching a set of prospective students attending the university basic subject matter knowledge through normal course study. The students attending the university are also taught industrial allied courses through a classroom delivery mode. The method further permits the students to learn the industrial allied course content online, read reference materials written by industry expert through an online portal, and the students are allowed to participate in wikis, blogs, competitions and discussion forum through an online portal. Finally, the students are scored based on an evaluation criterion.
[0012] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the method for scoring the students based on the evaluation criterion comprises the steps of allocating a first score to a student based on the student’s participation in Wikis, blogs, discussion forums and competitions. A second score is allocated to student based on the time the student spends on the industrial allied course materials, reference materials, submission of assignments and projects, participation in quizzes and webinars. Based upon the student’s interaction with the industry experts and collaborative learning activities, a third score is allocated to the student. Based upon the sum of the first score, second core and third score obtained by the student, a final grade is awarded to the student at the end of every semester.
[0013] Thus, using the above method of the present invention, a student who graduates from the university is well equipped with latest industry trends so as to make an early contribution to the team’s productivity.
[0014] Brief description of the drawings
[0015] The foregoing and other features of embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.
[0016] FIG 1, FIG 1a and FIG 1b illustrates a method in which the universities and industries collaborate together, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG 2 illustrates an evaluation criterion in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG 3 and FIG 3a illustrates a process of creating and sharing blogs, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG 4 and FIG 4a illustrates a process of creating and sharing wikis, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG 5 and FIG 5a illustrates a process of participation in discussion forums, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG 6 illustrates a process of participation in competitions, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG 7 is a screenshot illustrating the online industrial course content, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG 8, 8a and 8b illustrates the process of submitting projects online, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG 9 is a screenshot allowing the students to participate in quiz, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] FIG 10 is a screenshot illustrating the process of submitting assignments, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] Detailed description of the invention
[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to the description of the present subject matter, one or more examples of which are shown in figures. Each embodiment is provided to explain the subject matter and not a limitation. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, physical, and other changes may be made within the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is, therefore, not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, but instead the invention is to be defined by the appended claims.
[0028] The term ‘user’ used herein refers to students, faculties/instructors or industry experts.
[0029] The term ‘wiki’ used herein refers to an online platform that allows users to create and share content on a particular topic in a collaborative environment.
[0030] The term ‘collaborative entity’ used herein refers to third parties who work together with industry experts and different sections of the universities for designing industrial allied course content and implementing the same in real time.
[0031] The term ‘student’ used herein refers to any student having an engineering, scientific or technical background.
[0032] The present invention overcomes the drawbacks in the prior art and provides a method in which the universities and industry collaborate together for the purpose of teaching both latest industry skills and basic subject matter knowledge. The method of the present invention also allows academics and universities to collaborate together for the purpose of constructing courses to be presented at the university campus.
[0033] FIG 1, FIG 1a and FIG 1b illustrates a method in which the universities and industries collaborate together, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] The method of educating a set of graduates both subject matter knowledge and industrial allied courses comprises the steps of teaching a set of students attending the university basic subject matter knowledge through normal course study at step 101. At step 102, the students attending the university are taught suitable industrial allied courses through a classroom delivery mode and an online delivery mode also. At step 103, the students are allowed to view the industry allied course content online, read reference materials written by industry experts, post questions to be answered by the industry experts and to participate in wikis, blogs and discussion forum through the online delivery mode. The method further scores the student based on an evaluation criterion.
[0035] In accordance to one embodiment of the present invention, the method scores the student based on an evaluation criterion. Here the evaluation criteria may include a participation component so as to score the students based on the student’s participation in Wikis, blogs, discussion forums and competitions. The method also scores the students based on the time the student spends while going through the industrial allied courses material, reference material written by industry experts, submission of assignments and participation in quizzes. The evaluation criteria also include an explore concept to score the students based on their mentoring and collaborative learning activities.
[0036] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the method provides a platform wherein students are allowed to interact with the industry experts for mentoring purpose.
[0037] Thus, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the method may allocate a first score to the student based on the student’s participation in Wikis, blogs, discussion forums and competitions at step 104a. At step 104b, a second score is allocated to student based on the time the student spends on the industrial allied courses material, reference materials, on submission of assignments, projects, based upon the student’s participation in quizzes and webinars. Based upon the students mentoring and collaborative learning activities, a third score is allocated to the student at step 104c and a final grade is awarded to the student at the end of every semester based on the sum of the first score, second core and third score obtained by the student at the end of each semester.
[0038] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, each student enrolled for the industry allied course is provided with access credentials to access the online platform, where the students are allowed to learn industry allied course material, subject matter content, participate in quiz, wikis, discussion forums etc.
[0039] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the instructor teaching said industrial allied course at the university is well trained in suitable real-life industrial skills by the industry experts.
[0040] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the collaborative entity may receive registrations for one or more industrial allied course by the university personal. Here, the university personal may register directly using the collaborative entity’s website. Alternatively, the collaborative entity may personally approach universities for receiving registrations for the industrial allied courses.
[0041] The collaborative entity upon receiving a registration for the industrial allied course, may identify the appropriate industry partners for collaboration purpose. The collaborative entity upon identifying the appropriate industry partner initiates communication between the industry experts and different sections of the university for designing a curriculum for the industrial allied course. The collaborative entity also develops a program to train the faculties in the respective industrial allied course. For the purpose, the industry experts visit university campus and provides training to the faculties using real life industrial simulations.
[0042] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the collaborative entity provides the industrial allied course content online, using an online portal. Further, the collaborative entity develops an evaluation criterion by taking inputs from both university personal and industry experts.
[0043] Thus, in accordance to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the method in which the universities and industry will collaborate together further comprises the steps of receiving registrations for one or more industrial allied course by a collaborative entity at step 105. At step 106, the collaborative entity identifies appropriate industry partners for the received registration. The collaborative entity then initiates communications with the industry experts of said industry partners and different sections of the universities for designing a curriculum for the registered industrial allied course at step 107. A program is designed by the collaborative entity to train the faculties in real-life industrial skills, where the industry experts visit the university to provide training to the faculties using real life industrial simulations at step 108. The method provides access to the industrial allied content to both faculties and students online through the online portal at step 109 and providing a scoring model to access the students at the end of every semester, by taking inputs from both university personal and industry experts.
[0044] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the online portal that allows students to participate in wikis, blogs, discussion forums, submit assignments, projects are provided by the collaborative entity. Further, the online portal of the present invention also allows the faculties to write lecture notes while going through the industrial allied course online. Further, the online portal may also allow faculty to upload lectures, wherein the uploaded lecturer notes may be visible the students.
[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates an evaluation criteria scoring model, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. In accordance to one embodiment of the present invention, the evaluation criterion is divided into three segments namely participate, learn and explore. The evaluation criterion is associated with scoring metrics, wherein the scoring metrics determine the manner in which points are allocated to a student at the end of each semester. Such scoring metrics are created by the collaboration entity.
[0046] In accordance to one embodiment of the present invention the scoring metrics may allocate ‘30%’ of the overall scores to the participation component, where the students have to actively participate in wikis, blogs, competitions, shares interesting facts and have to actively participate in all online activities, to get the scores for this component. Further, an equal weightage of ‘5%’ may be allocated to each participation components. This means that if the student never participates in any of the competition then he may score ‘0%’ out of total ‘5%’ allocated for that particular competition component.
[0047] The scoring metrics may allocate ‘60%’ of the overall scores to the learning component. Among ‘60%’ of the overall scores, a weightage of ‘15%’ may be allocated for going through the basic subject matter in online portal and ‘10%’ may be allocated when the student goes through the reference material in the online portal. Further an equal weightage of ‘10%’ may be allocated to students for submission of projects, assignments, participation in quizzes, and webinars delivered by industry experts.
[0048] Further based on the quality of assignment submitted, this score will be assigned to the student. If the assignment quality is moderate, then the instructor/faculty may assign ‘5%’ out of the total ‘10%’ assignment score to the student. Here quiz, webinars, assignments and projects act as a good learning tool to access the technical knowledge acquired by the student and how they apply this acquired knowledge in a practical environment.
[0049] Finally, a ‘5%’ score may be allocated for student’s direct interaction with industrial experts through the online portal, which is termed as mentoring, and the remaining ‘5%’ score may be allocated for collaborative learning. The online portal of the present invention allows students, industry experts and faculties to interact with each other and express their opinion on a topic, thereby providing a collaborative learning environment.
[0050] The above scoring metrics is given for illustrative purpose only and the scoring metrics may be modified from time to time by the collaboration entity upon approval from the industry experts and the university personal.
[0051] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the method may allocate a first score based on the student’s participation in Wikis, blogs, discussion forums and competitions based on the evaluation scoring metrics. Similarly, a second score is allocated to student based on the time the student spends while going through the industrial allied courses material, reference materials written by industry experts, submission of assignments and participation in quizzes. Finally, a third score is allocated to the student based on mentoring and collaborative learning activities in the online portal. A sum of first, second and third scores is derived and a final grade/score is allocated to the student at the end of each semester.
[0052] FIG 3 and FIG 3a illustrates a process of creating and sharing blogs, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. The online portal (301) of the present invention allows users such as students, instructors and industry experts to create blogs as shown in FIG 3. Here the users are allowed to keep a suitable blog title (302) and content (303) for the blog, and create a blog. By clicking on the publish icon (304), the online created blogs are made visible to other users also. However, the created blogs are visible to the other users, only upon approval by the online portal administrator.
[0053] FIG 3a illustrates exemplary list of blogs created and shared by students, instructors and industry experts. By clicking on ‘All Blogs’ (305) options, a list of blogs created by all the other users are made visible to the user.
[0054] FIG 4 and FIG 4a illustrates a process of creating and sharing wikis, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. The online portal (301) of the present invention allows users to create wikis and share it to other users. The user may select a suitable wiki title (401) and content (402) and share it with other users using a ‘Publish’ (403) option. However, the wikis created by a user is visible to other users only upon approval by the online portal administrator.
[0055] FIG 4a illustrates exemplary list of wikis created and shared by students, instructors and industry experts. By clicking on ‘All wikis” (404) options, a list of wikis created by all the other users are made visible to the user.
[0056] FIG 5 and FIG 5a illustrates a process of participation in discussion forums, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG 5, the online portal (301) of the present invention allows the students to participate in an ongoing discussion. The online portal (301) also allows the students to start a new discussion by clicking on ‘start a new discussion’ (501) tab.
[0057] By clicking on ‘start a new discussion’ (501) tab, the online portal (301) allows the student to create a suitable topic (502) and content (503) for discussion. The discussion topics created by the user are shared to other users by clicking on a ‘Publish’ (504) option. However, the discussion topics created by one user are visible to other users only upon approval from the portal administrator. The online portal (301) also allows the students to clarify their doubts through discussions with the mentors and their peers.
[0058] FIG 6 illustrates a process of participation in competitions in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. The online portal (301) of the present invention allows the students to select a topic, form a group and submit a technical paper online.
[0059] Thus in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, the student is scored based on his/her participation in blogs, wikis, discussion forums, competitions and for active participation in the online portal (301) for the above activities. Further, the topics published in blogs, wikis and discussion forums may be related to the industrial allied course content and/or basic subject matter (normal university curriculum) content. However, the competition topics are provided based on the specific industrial allied course content.
[0060] In accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention, students are automatically scored based on their participation in blogs, wikis, discussion forums and other online activities. The technical paper or poster submitted by the student is evaluated by the industry expert and the results are published in the online portal (301). Further, the online portal (301) allows the students to share interesting facts on a certain topic related to a normal curriculum or industry allied course content. The online portal enhances the learning experience of the students by providing face to face interactions with the industry experts.
[0061] FIG 7 is a screenshot illustrating the online industrial course content, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG 7, the online portal (301) allows the students to read industrial allied course material by clicking each section of a course. Further, the online portal (301) scores the student based on the chapter covered by the students in the online portal (301).
[0062] FIG 8, 8a and 8b illustrates the process of submitting projects online, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. The online portal (301) as shown in FIG 8 allows the students to create a team by inviting team members to join the team using the invite (801) option. Upon creating a team, the online portal (301) allows the students to select a topic (802) from a list of topic (as shown in FIG 8a) and select a guide (as shown in FIG 8b).
[0063] In accordance to one embodiment of the present invention, the online portal (301) may allow the students to submit projects as a part of university curriculum. Further, the online portal (301) also allows the students to submit projects based on their corresponding industrial allied course taught online. In this case, the projects so submitted may be evaluated by the instructor or industry experts and the results are published in the online portal (301).
[0064] FIG 9 is a screenshot allowing the students to participate in quiz, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. The online portal (301) of the present invention allows the student to participate in quiz. The quiz is a credit based quiz with a time out feature.
[0065] FIG 10 is a screenshot illustrating the process of submitting assignments, in accordance to one or more embodiment of the present invention. The online portal (301) of the present invention allows the students to download assignment topic uploaded by the faculty. The students may also write the assignment using the rich text editor (901) or may optionally upload the assignment using ‘Upload’ option.
[0066] The students are automatically scored based on the time the student spends on the industrial allied courses material, reference materials, participation in quizzes and webinars. The students are also scored based on their mentoring and collaboration activities. The online portal enhances the learning experience of the students by providing face to face interactions with the industry experts.
[0067] Thus using the above method of the present invention, a student who graduates from the university is well equipped with latest industry trends so as to make an early contribution to the organization’s productivity. Further, the graduate gets familiarized with the latest industry updates and various industry vertical domains. The method of the present invention also provides certificates to the students based on the particular industrial allied course studied by them. Here, the certificate is provided by the corresponding industry partner.
[0068] It is to be understood, however, that even though several characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.