Posts Tagged ‘iso’
December 18, 2010
WEB 2.0 – A Boon for the Modern Teacher
By
VIKRAM KARVE
When we were students, in school in the 1960s and in college and university in the 1970s, the pedagogy process focussed on the teacher and was largely teacher-centric.
Yes, as far as learning was concerned, the teacher was supreme.
The teacher was considered the repository of all knowledge on the subject and students were required to just follow. Some smart teachers kept as a closely guarded secret the book they taught from and the reference material they had made their notes from. This made the teachers all the more important and the students totally dependent on the teachers. Knowledge was scarce and Information was not easily available and accessible to all and searching for it was a painstaking and laborious process.
With the advent of internet all this has changed and this old model of pedagogy is no longer relevant. Today, the moment they get the syllabus, the astute students just google the topcs and subjects and get all the information and knowledge they want and are updated on the subject before they enter the first class. Access to information is instantaneous and easy and unlike in the earlier days, the teacher is no longer the sole authority on the subject, and if the teacher is not smart enough he or she may lag behind the students who have a thirst for knowledge and have access to the internet which is an easy and effective means of fulfilling that thirst.
Thus today’s teacher is more of a facilitator who interacts and collaborates with the students in the learning process. The standardized one-size-fits-all education model is passé and the teacher must be flexible in his or her instructional style and customize and tailor pedagogy to suit each student’s individual way of learning. The teacher must help the students discover themselves. The archaic teacher-centric education paradigm, where the teacher delivers the lecture and the student takes notes, is obsolete and the new student-centric interactive learning educational model is in.
The internet can be used to great effect in enhancing the learning process and elevating it to a new higher plane. The internet affords immense opportunities for collaborative and interactive learning by use of Web 2.0 technologies, concepts and utilities like weblogs, wikis, social networking etc.
Web 2.0 is truly a revolutionary new platform for communication and interactive and collaborative exchange of information and knowledge and I am enjoying exploring and using Web 2.0 concepts in teaching. I have found them most effective and the students most responsive. So it is time for teachers to gear up, and optimally utilize the various aspects of web 2.0 like blogs, wikis, social, academic and professional network platforms etc, lest they be rendered obsolescent and become relics of yesteryear.
VIKRAM KARVE
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop’s School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book “Appetite for a Stroll”. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog – http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve – http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o
http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Posted in blog, communication, diat, education, karve, management, non-fiction, philosophy, pune, symbiosis, technology, vikram karve, weblog, writer, writing | Tags: 2.0, academic, aid, article, author, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs, business, collaborative, college, communication, computer, creative, deemed, development, diat, distant, education, engineering, ethics, facebook, faculty, girinagar, guide, HR, human, IIM, iipm, iit, india, indian, information, institute, instrucion, interative, iso, IT, karve, knowledge, learning, lecture, library, linkedin, management, mba, mentor, model, network, networking, online, paper, paradigm, pedagogy, poona, presentation, process, professor, pune, quality, recruitment, relationship, research, resource, school, science, skill, social, soft, software, student, style, symbiosis, teacher, teaching, technology, thinking, trainer, training, university, vikram, vikram karve, web, web 2.0, weblog, wiki, writer, writing |
November 8, 2010
BOOK SELLERS and BOOK LOVERS
SHOULD BOOK SELLERS BE BOOK LOVERS
Musings of a Book Lover
By
VIKRAM KARVE
There was a time when booksellers were booklovers.
Running a bookstore was more a labour of love rather than a business.
Yes, I am sure the enterprise had to be financially viable, and one could not ignore the bottom-line, but bookselling was not limited to trading and, surely, profit was not the only motive. Booksellers were passionate about books and fostered the love of reading in their customers, discussing, encouraging, advising, and suggesting good books.
If you have visited The Strand Book Stall at Fort in Mumbai, you will understand what I mean. Every visit was fruitful and their annual Strand Book Festival held for a fortnight in January every year at the Sunderbai Hall near Churchgate was a treat for booklovers and I have picked up some wonderful rare books at bargain prices. In fact, when I lived the most glorious years of my life at Churchgate in Mumbai, I used to visit the Strand Book Festival every evening after my walk on Marine Drive as they used to get fresh books every day.
Booksellers went out of their way to get books for you.
A friend of mine once wanted a rare book on numismatics. We happened to be strolling on DN Road near Mumbai CST in Fort so I took him to Sterling Book House (another favourite bookstore of mine, especially for technical, management and shippie books). Jimmy assured us he would get the book, and to our incredulous delight he indeed did – he located a copy in Kolkata and got it for us.
Such was the relationship between a bookseller and a booklover – it transcended beyond a mere buying-selling relationship. I have had rewarding experiences at so many bookstores – Manneys, Popular and International Book Service in Pune, Higginbotham’s at Chennai (Madras), Bangalore and Ooty, Mumbai’s Strand, Sterling, Smokers Corner and unique The New and Secondhand Book Store at Kalbadevi and even at the pavement bookstalls near Hutatma Chowk (Fountain) in Mumbai, and way back in the late 1960s at the quaint London Book Depot at BI Bazar in Bareilly who used to get for us any book we wanted. In fact, in many smaller mofussil towns, the main bookstore is an institution, a gateway to knowledge and learning.
However, these old-world bookstores did not offer much of a browsing experience. One had to stand uncomfortably cramped between bookshelves and it was quite uncomfortable to read.
Therefore, I was quite delighted when Crossword Bookstore opened near Mahalaxmi in Mumbai (above Motilal Banarsidass – the indology bookstore).
The new Crossword Book Store encouraged browsing and you could sit in relaxed comfort and browse to your heart’s content.
Then Oxford Book Store opened right next door to my home in Empress Court near Churchgate. It was the ultimate in browsing experience. Comfortable rocking chairs, a Cha Bar to refresh yourself with exquisite teas and wonderful ambience – I spent some of the best moments of my life browsing in Oxford, and attending literary events, book readings and launces too. The bookstore was open from ten to ten so you could browse books the entire day and enjoy a peaceful after-dinner browse too and wifey could keep an observant eye on you from the balcony in order to ensure you were strictly browsing books.
In Pune, I browse in Landmark in Camp and sometimes at Crossword, but I suspect they have decided to discourage browsing from the subtle seating changes they have made recently.
I love books. I love browsing books. I like to see a book, pick it up in my hands, read it a bit, feel it, before I decide to buy it. That’s why I don’t prefer to buy books online through flipkart, amazon or indiaplaza, which is very convenient, but still I like to physically go to a bookstore, because I must have the browsing experience before buying a book.
I love investing in good books and over the years the only “wealth” I have acquired is my substantial collection of books – books on diverse topics – fiction, philosophy, management, classics, self help, food, travel, technology, hobbies, creative writing – some of my books are quite rare. I have observed that many persons do not treat books as wealth, so they borrow books and do not bother to return them. I have lost quite a few good books this way and I do try to re-acquire some of my favourite ones whenever possible.
Therefore, when a friend of mine gifted me Crossword Bookstore Gift Vouchers I visited the Crossword Bookstore at ICC Trade Towers on Senapati Bapat Road in Pune to get three of my favourite books that once adorned my bookshelves and were borrowed and never returned.
I like Crossword Bookstores, and, as I said, I have spent many delightful hours browsing in Crossword at Kemps Corner Mumbai and attending Book Launches and literary events too, so I was truly shocked and disappointed at the shabby way in which I was treated at Crossword in Pune last Wednesday afternoon.
As I entered, I observed that the salespersons seemed disinterested, busy at doing something else like arranging books etc, there was no one at the counter, and it took me considerable time to attract the attention of a salesperson.
I asked for a book. It is a famous book – a Pulitzer Prize winner and a bestseller. The salesperson was clueless and had never heard of this book. After I spelt out the title and author’s name, he checked on his monitor and rudely told me the book was not available. “Could you please get it for me?” I asked politely. “No,” he said nonchalantly and started walking away. I called him, aksed for a second book, another classic. He reluctantly checked and told me it was not available. I wanted to ask about a third book, but seeing the expression on his face, clearly indicating he had more important things to do than attend to a customer, I decided to leave the bookstore.
I was stunned the way the staff at Crossword treated me. Forget about customer delight, the customer service was so pathetic that it seemed that the salespersons at Crossword were just not interested in getting me the book. They were clueless about the book and obviously had no knowledge of books, let alone considering bookselling as a labour of love. They were just doing a job, and not very effectively too.
I came home and opened the Crossword Bookstore website, tried to search for the books, I was taken to Shoppers Stop website, where I sent an email query and I am still waiting for the reply. Considering the vast chain of Crossword Book Stores and their networked database, I am sure, if they want to, Crossword Pune can easily get me the books I want. I wish they treated a customer like a king…?
Looks like I will have to return the Crossword Gift Vouchers to my friend and scout some old world book stores for the books I want, or maybe I’ll try my luck with the pavement booksellers, or maybe I’ll eat my words and order the books online via Flipkart or Amazon or Indiaplaza.
Dear Reader, please tell me your views – should booksellers be booklovers…?
Or has bookselling become a plain and simple trading business like selling groceries…?
VIKRAM KARVE
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop’s School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book “Appetite for a Stroll”. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog – http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve – http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Foodie Book APPETITE FOR A STROLL – http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Posted in blog, book, business, education, fiction, guide, happiness, hobby, india, indian, karve, literary, literature, management, mumbai, technology, vikram, vikram karve, vikram waman karve, weblog, website, writer, writing | Tags: amazon, anthology, appa balwant, author, ballard, bangalore, bareilly, biblio, bibliophile, blog, book, books, bookshop, browse, business, chennai, chowk, churchgate, college, corner, crossword, customer, delhi, depot, distribution, ebook, education, electronic, estate, ethics, fair, festival, flipkart, food, fort, higginbotham, house, india, indian, indiaplaza, indology, international, internet, iso, kalaghoda, karve, landmark, learning, literature, loer, london, love, magazine, mall, management, manager, manneys, market, marketing, mlbd, motilal banarsidass, mumbai, music, online, ooty, oxford, pavement, popular, press, print, profit, publish, publisher, publishing, pune, purchase, quality, read, relationship, review, sales, school, selling, service, shop, shoppers stop, shopping, smoker, stall, sterling, store, strand, trade, travel, university, vikram, vikram karve, web, website, writer, writing |
July 11, 2009
SOFT SYSTEMS APPROACH TO HIGHER EDUCATION
ROOT DEFINITION & CATWOE MODEL
By
VIKRAM KARVE
ROOT DEFINITION
The first step in Soft Systems Methodology ( SSM ) is to formulate the Root Definition of the System you are studying, analysing or designing.
A Root Definition is a structured description of a system. It is a clear statement of activities which take place (or might take place) in the organisation being studied.
A properly structured root definition comprises three elements [what, how, why] and is of the form: A System to do X, by (means of) Y, in order to achieve Z.
X – What the System does
Y – How it does it
Z – Why it is being done
The ‘what’ is the immediate aim of the system,
The ‘how’ is the means of achieving that aim,
The ‘why’ is the longer term aim of the purposeful activity.
CATWOE analysis helps in proper formulation of a Root Definition. CATWOE is a mnemonic which helps identify and categorize all stakeholders [people, processes, environment, entities] of the System being analysed for formulating the Root Definition.
CATWOE MODEL
C = CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS
A = ACTORS OR AGENTS
T = TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
W =WELTANSCHAUUNG or WORLD VIEW
O = OWNERS
E = ENVIRONMENT
To elaborate a bit:
C: The ‘customers of the system’ , clients or System Beneficiaries. In this context ‘customers’ means those who are on the receiving end of whatever it is that the system does. Is it clear from your definition of “C” as to who are the beneficiaries of the system?
A: The ‘actors’, meaning those who would actually carry out the activities envisaged in the notional system being defined. Actors transform inputs into outputs.
T: The ‘transformation process’. What does the system do to the inputs to convert them into the outputs?
W: Weltanschauung – The ‘world view’ that lies behind the Root Definition; the perspective from which the Root Definition if formulated. Putting the system into its wider context can highlight the consequences of the overall system. For example the system may be in place to assist in making the world environmentally safer, and the consequences of system failure could be significant pollution.
O: The ‘owner(s)’ – The person(s) who has commissioned the system and who has sufficient formal power over the system to stop it existing if they so wished (though they won’t usually want to do this).
E: The ‘environmental constraints’. These include things such as ethical limits, regulations, financial constraints, resource limitations, limits set by terms of reference, and so on.
SYSTEM CHARACTERISATION
CATWOE Analysis yields a more elaborate all encompassing Root Definition of the form:
A System owned by O to do W by A by means of T given the constraints of E in order to achieve X for C.
[A briefer version of Root definition is of the form – ” a T system in which A do W for C “]
Here is a CATWOE Model of a hypothetical Higher Education System [a University or a College]:
C – Students
A – Teachers
T – School Pass Outs are transformed into Graduates [Degree Holders]
W – Graduation [a Degree] is a means of assurance to potential employers that the Graduate [Degree Holder] possesses a specified standard of proficiency and skills in the domain of qualification.
O – The University or College Governing Body or Top Management
E – The Prescribed Educational, Academic Quality, Assessment and Accreditation Standards and Requirements.
Now this CATWOE Analysis may yield a Root Definition that this particular Higher Education Institution is a university owned system to award degrees to students (X) who successfully qualify assessment (Y) in accordance with prescribed standards in order to certify assurance (Z) to potential employers that the students possess the requisite proficiency, capabilities and skills.
Is this Root Definition okay or is there something amiss?
Suppose we define Potential Employers [or Industry] as CUSTOMERS [C] and include students as ACTORS [A] along with teachers – won’t we then get a more apt Root Definition and consequently realise a better Educational System in keeping with current needs and ground reality?
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
At a recent alumni meet of a prestigious Engineering College I asked a few recently passed out alumni [who were working for a leading IT company for just over a year] as to how much of what was taught in his four year Engineering Degree Course in his college was useful in his work. They said: “Less than 5% (five percent)” – which means that his employer had to invest heavily [almost 95%] in his training and the rest he had to learn on the job.
Maybe the educational institution needs to introspect and have a relook at its CATWOE Model and reformulate its ROOT DEFINITION and restructure its curriculum and revitalize its pedagogic methodology to meet the challenges of current needs and envisage seamless integration of fresh BE and B. Tech. Engineering Graduates into the industry.
VIKRAM KARVE
http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
vikramkarve@sify.com
Posted in anthology, author, blog, blogcamp, blogger, blogging, book, business, career, communication, creative, deemed, diat, education, ethical, ethics, Food for Thought, guide, heritage, history, ideology, iit, india, indian, institute, interests, internet, itbhu, jee, karve, life, literary, literature, lovedale, management, marathi, memoir, money, mumbai, musing, nlp, non-fiction, oxford, paradigm, philosophy, poona, pune, recipe, review, skills, story, symbiosis, technology, university, values, vikram, vikram karve, vikram waman karve, weblog, website, women, work, writer, writing | Tags: academic, accreditation, actor, adult, aicte, aiu, alumni, art, article, assessment, association, author, b tech, bachelor, blog, board, book, bpo, business, career, catwoe, client, college, communication, council, course, curriculum, customer, deemed, definition, degree, design, diat, distance, education, electronic, employer, employment, engineering, environment, ethics, examination, faculty, ftii, girinagar, graduate, hardware, higher, iit, india, indian, industry, information, institute, instructional, international, iso, IT, job, karve, law, learning, literacy, m tech, maharashtra, management, master, mba, mci, medical, methodology, model, modeling, mumbai, naac, national, nlp, nsd, online, outsourcing, owner, paper, paradigm, pedagogy, placement, post, process, professor, program, pune, qualification, quality, recession, recognised, recognition, recognized, research, root, school, science, service, skill, soft, software, standard, student, study, style, syllabus, symbiosis, system, systems, teacher, teaching, technical, technology, trainer, training, transformation, ugc, university, v w karve, vikram, vikram karve, vikram waman karve, website, weltanschauung, women, writer, writing |
November 20, 2007
MY BLOG IS MY BEST RESUME By
VIKRAM KARVE
This morning, while on my walk with my pet Doberman Sherry, I realized that it is a great misfortune to be stuck in a job that you don’t like. So I’ve decided to find my dream job. And for personal reasons I’d love to find my dream job in Pune.
I’m looking for work which will optimize my talents and skills, enable me to realize my full potential, and most importantly add value to the organization.
I’m an M.Tech. from an IIT, a Post Graduate in HR Management, an NLP Practitioner, a Quality and Safety Lead Auditor… I’ve taught, I’ve trained, published papers, organized academic events, and been a Manager, edited and produced journals and magazines…but all that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I love to teach, I love to train and mentor, I love to communicate, I love to write.
Yes, I love to write, and My Blog is my Best Resume.
Dear Reader, please help me find my dream job.
VIKRAM KARVE
My Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
vikramkarve@sify.com
vikramkarve@hotmail.com
My Profile : http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
http://www.ryze.com/go/karve
Posted in 2007, art, arts, blog, business, career, copyright, creative, cuisine, dialogue, doberman, dog, education, ego, ethical, fiction, flash fiction, food, fun, good food, happiness, health, heritage, hindu, hinjewadi, history, hobby, humor, ideology, iit, india, indian, insecurity, institute, interests, internet, itbhu, jee, joy, karve, leisure, life, literary, literature, love, lovedale, maharshi, management, marathi, married, memoir, money, mumbai, musing, nlp, non-fiction, novel, novella, ooty, opera, oxford, oxymoron, paradigm, parenting, passion, Personality, pet blog, poona, pune, recipe, response, romance, sangvi, screenplay, script, short, short story, skills, stimulus, stories, story, storyteller, storytelling, sufi, sulekha, symbiosis, technology, television, tourism, train, travel, trencherman, tv, university, values, varanasi, vikram, vikram karve, vikram waman karve, vivekananda, weblog, website, women, work, writer, writing | Tags: auditor, author, biodata, blog, business, career, college, communication, corporate, counsellor, counselor, creative, cv, directory, dream, editor, engineer, english, fiction, food, HR, iit, india, institute, iso, IT, itbhu, job, journal, karve, lawrence, lead, literature, lovedale, magazine, manager, nlp, pune, qualification, quality, resume, school, search, skill, soft, talent, teacher, technical, trainer, training, vikram karve, wordpress, work, writer, writing |
November 20, 2007
MY BLOG IS MY BEST RESUME By VIKRAM KARVE This morning, while on my walk with my pet Doberman Sherry, I realized that it is a great misfortune to be stuck in a job that you don’t like. So I’ve decided to find my dream job. And for personal reasons I’d love to find my dream job in Pune. I’m looking for work which will optimize my talents and skills, enable me to realize my full potential, and most importantly add value to the organization. I’m an M.Tech. from an IIT, a Post Graduate in HR Management, an NLP Practitioner, a Quality and Safety Lead Auditor… I’ve taught, I’ve trained, published papers, organized academic events, and been a Manager, edited and produced journals and magazines…but all that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I love to teach, I love to train and mentor, I love to communicate, I love to write. Yes, I love to write, and My Blog is my Best Resume. Dear Reader, please help me find my dream job. VIKRAM KARVE My Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com vikramkarve@sify.com vikramkarve@hotmail.com My Profile : http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve http://www.ryze.com/go/karve
Posted in 2007, anchor, anthology, art, art of eating, art of living, arts, aundh, author, biography, blog, blogcamp, blogger, blogging, Blogroll, book, business, career, communication, copyright, creative, critic, cuisine, dialogue, doberman, dog, drinking, eating, education, ego, ethical, ethics, fiction, food, fun, guide, happiness, health, heritage, hindu, hinjewadi, history, hobby, humor, ideology, iit, india, indian, insecurity, institute, interests, internet, itbhu, jee, joy, karve, leisure, life, literary, literature, love, lovedale, maharshi, management, marathi, marriage, married, meditation, memoir, money, mother, motivation, mumbai, musing, nasrudin, nlp, non-fiction, novel, novella, ooty, oxford, oxymoron, paradigm, passion, poona, pune, response, review, romance, sangvi, screenplay, script, short, short story, skills, stimulus, stories, story, storyteller, storytelling, sulekha, symbiosis, technology, television, train, travel, trencherman, tv, university, values, varanasi, vikram, vikram karve, vikram waman karve, weblog, website, women, work, writer, writing | Tags: auditor, author, biodata, blog, business, career, college, communication, corporate, counsellor, counselor, creative, cv, directory, dream, editor, engineer, english, fiction, food, HR, iit, india, institute, iso, IT, itbhu, job, journal, karve, lawrence, lead, literature, lovedale, magazine, manager, nlp, pune, qualification, quality, resume, school, search, skill, soft, talent, teacher, technical, trainer, training, vikram karve, wordpress, work, writer, writing |
Vikram Karve 