Common online tech platform to be developed for TN govt colleges

CHENNAI: In a first of its kind, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to develop a common online technology platform aimed at facilitating project-based learning for students of Government Arts and Science colleges.

Accordingly, the platform will include a Learning Management System (LMS), assessments and grading facilities, dashboards, and preinstalled common applications for developing apps and databases.

ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu (ICTACT), under the Department of Information Technology and Digital Services Department of Tamil Nadu, has been entrusted to accomplish the project by appointing an Information Technology (IT) firm.

At present, a total of 163 government Arts and Science colleges are functioning across the State, which cater education to more than 1.30 lakh students.

“The experts would develop comprehensive learning content for IT, non-IT, and business education streams, tailored for students of government Arts and Science Colleges”, a senior official from the Higher Education Department told DT Next.

Pointing out that the online technology platform could be accessed by the ICTACT, faculty members of the colleges, and students with restrictions, the official said Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and methodologies to ensure the education content and data collection are comprehensive, relevant, and dynamically updated to reflect current industry standards and challenges.

“The system would offer AI-powered mentoring and guidance module with a conversational interface to students, assisting them in project development, troubleshooting, and testing,” he said. “Implementing anti-plagiarism tools in the system will maintain the integrity of assessments and ensure the authenticity of students’ work,” he added.

Claiming that the new system is expected to be implemented from the coming academic year, he said “We will also develop comprehensive dashboards for administrators, faculty, and students to monitor progress, track achievements, and analyse learning outcomes in this online platform”.

HED official says the system will offer AI-powered mentoring and guidance module with a conversational interface for students