________________
The and expensive. Whereas, the postal computer service costs Rs.3 per packet and lesson takes about 5-10 days and has no brings the best of acknowledgment, the e-mail costs teachers only one local call (Rs. 1.25) and takes to every less than 2 minutes to reach anywhere student in the world. If not delivered, intimation comes within 20 minutes. Very soon, this will be accompanied by Internet Telephony. For such a vast improvement in service, the cost of a telephone and a computer for the school is the price we shall have to pay. More on this later. The e-mail and the Internet will be used not only to replace postal mail, but also for on-line accounts checking, feedback, and approval of funds etc. Obviously, hardware alone cannot improve matters, unless the people in the school and the government bodies change their methods too. The Internet will also be used for group interactions between schools, not for occasional conferences, but almost continuous audio-visual exchanges and chats. Training/Lessons If the communication use of IT will expedite interaction several fold and at a lower cost, the use of the multi-media features of a computer, coupled with Internet or Compact Discs (CDs) can expedite training at a lower cost and with better quality and will be faster in replication. The multi-media for the first time makes possible a new pedagogy to be used for classroom training. The ideal training sessions have a small student to teacher ratio, personal attention to every student's progress, and they allow a student to learn at his own pace. The computer CD lessons make economically feasible a ratio of between Rural Development Through Education System 89
