Information Quality

ACCURATE - The information must be true, verifiable, and not deceptive. Accurate career information is based on empirical data and can be validated by comparing sources or checking for internal consistency.


CURRENT - The information must be applicable to the present time. Keeping information current requires a process of eliminating the old and adding the new. While some types of information are more perishable than others, it is generally accepted that occupation and education information should be reviewed and updated at least annually to be current.

RELEVANT - Relevant information applies to the interests of the individuals who use it for the decisions they are facing. It should reduce a person's uncertainties about work and education while facilitating choice and planning. Since we live and work in local labor markets rather than in national ones, the better the description of local conditions, the more relevant it is to us. State and local information is usually more valuable than national.

SPECIFIC - For information to be specific, it must contain concrete facts. General observations are often interesting and can provide a background for further analysis, but specific facts are essential to realistic planning and decision making.

UNDERSTANDABLE - People using information must be able to comprehend it before they can use it. Data must be analyzed and converted into words. The content of the message should avoid ambiguities and be informative to the intended audiences.

COMPREHENSIVE - The information should include all the important categories within its scope of coverage. In CIS that includes the full range of occupational opportunities, their related educational programs of study and training, and the schools that offer them as the core. Related to that is information about money for school, looking for work, employers and industries, working for yourself, and so on.

UNBIASED - This characteristic is about the motivation or purpose for which the information is being produced and delivered. It is unbiased when the individual or organization delivering the information has no vested interest in the decisions or plans of the people who are receiving the information.

COMPARABLE - The information presented should be of uniform collection, analysis, content, and format so that you can compare and contrast the various occupations, programs of study, and schools.

Virtual classroom on your mobile

 
Service providers to stream content through 3G platform. 

Soon IIT aspirants will be able to access IIT JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) coaching material on their mobile phones. Six months hence, education service providers like Everonn Education and NIIT will be able to stream educational content through the third generation (3G) mobile telephony using the satellite-based Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Technology and Broadband. 

“3G is ahead of all the present services we use. Everonn, through its several studios, will deliver classes using presentations, video, audio and digital content just like it does with VSAT where a single instructor can teach students across the country without compromising on the quality of learning,” said Kishore, managing director, Everonn Education. 

Similar to a VSAT arrangement, 3G will have an instructor and students, in a virtual classroom environment using audio-video transmission. Interactions would be instant, as in a regular classroom not only enabling students to have interactive sessions with instructors but also peers across the country. 

A 3G-enabled learning platform would mean anywhere, anytime learning accessible on mobile phones. The 3G spectrum will not only allow stronger bandwidth in remote locations but also better video quality. 

“We are working on the per minute cost that would be charged to the users. We have already tied up with Airtel and may look at more tie-ups in the future,” said Kishore. Everonn would also use 3G for language training for students. 

Everonn, through Toppers Tutorial – which it acquired in February 2008 – imparts IIT-JEE and other engineering entrance examinations tutorials to students through VSAT technology. 

NIIT on the other hand said the organisation is looking at a similar arrangement in the future. “Definitely there is a thought on providing training to students on the 3G platform as the world moves to a point where one can access any information on one’s mobile phone. We would take to it in future,” a senior NIIT official told Business Standard. 

Last year, Delhi-based Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), an open university which offers distance learning courses signed an agreement with Swedish telecom giant Ericsson to provide educational content using 3G mobile telephony. The university with over 2.5 million students on its rolls, had launched the programme for 1,000 students pursuing the certificate course in information technology. 

According to a report by CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, the size of e-learning market in India is expected to grow to Rs 1,092 crore by 2012 from the present Rs 105 crore. 

Source | Business Standard | 1 November 2010