Linways: an E-Learning Enabler for Indian Colleges
Large amounts of data need management solutions. Before the advent of technology, the management solutions existed in the form of registers and forms which were clunky, took up space, were difficult to archive, and had a negative environmental impact. With the widespread use of computers, these registers have been transferred to the computers and enhanced in a great way by leveraging communication channels, namely the internet.
An educational institute generates a large amount of data. Every year, the administration of a college has to maintain the records of new students, old students, marks, assessments and a lot more. While many colleges in more developed countries use online management systems, a vast majority of colleges in developing countries like India still enter data into registers.
One of the reasons for this lack of penetration is a dearth of affordable data management solutions which is customized for India and Linways, an educational community based ERP, incubated by Startup Village, endeavors to provide just that.
A College Ecosystem
Linways founder, Bastin Thomas, believes that there is a learning ecosystem that consists of Management, Parents, Students and Faculty. Linways aims to cater to all of these people by providing an online platform for students. The platform will provide easy access for this ecosystem as content is easier to distribute online. He adds that having multiple access points into the system keeps everyone in the loop and it makes communication within the environment and within the system more efficient.
No Content Approach
Linways aims to be an e-learning enabler and does not have plans for distributing its own content. Bastin feels that accommodating others’ content on the system will appeal to a lot more people in the current educational system. The system also has a facility for a college to have an online e-book repository, which can be accessed by the members of the ecosystem. Furthermore, they have plans for having a third party e-book store where students and colleges can buy e-books from.
A Good Start
In a somewhat medieval Indian college education system, e-learning solutions have faced stiff resistance. However, Linways’ approach of providing an administration enabler coupled with a platform for learning has been received well and has already been accepted in engineering colleges in Kerala. With plans of expansion all over India, and this acceptance in mainstream education, Linways seems to be scripted for success.
For all educational institutions, look up Linways