The unrivaled tool of the modern education system – the Internet – has facilitated the entire learning ecosystem, and helped disseminate knowledge and education holistically. This comprehensive technological paradigm has made a lasting impact on the provider as well as the seeker. In this context student-focused internet portals have come of age by providing a suitable replacement for the traditional tool. Let us consider these in detail.
Student Portal: In the era of digital learning environment, students have revealed significant inclination towards shifting their academic pursuits and interests online. In order to cater to this growing mass of online communities, every organisation is coming up with their own strategy to ensure excellence of service provision. Against this backdrop, student portals have emerged as the latest technological tool for institutions to ensure an engaging experience with the students.
Advantages of Student Portal
Student Portal is the common phrase used to describe a secure web based platform used by institutions which allows students to login to their respective websites to access the educational materials, services and resources. In other words, a student portal provides a secure online platform with a comprehensive access to a range of academic and administrative services. It includes the following features:
- Course Registration
- Grades
- Class Schedules
- Study Materials
- Information on Financial Aid
- Communication Tools etc.
Student portals are mainly designed to streamline the experience of the visitors. It makes it easier for students to gain an improved access to the information and resources they need.
Student portals serve as the centralised hub to facilitate interaction between students and the institution and their faculty. Course registration, communicating with peers, managing personal information and receiving study material are some of the related tasks. A student portal may also refer to the interface of the Learning Management System (LMS).
Some of the prominent examples of leading student portals are as under:
- Blackboard, which is a popular learning management system used by many educational institutions. It offers an interface where students can access course materials, submit assignments, participate in discussions, and engage with instructors and classmates.
- Canvas is another widely used learning management system that provides a student portal. It has similar features to Blackboard.
- Moodle provides an open-source learning management system offering an impressive interface rich with features such as course materials, assignments, quizzes, communication tools etc.
- Google Classroom is a free platform that allows teachers to create and manage classes online. It offers another impressive student portal interface enabled with features of accessing course materials, submission of assignments, and communicating with teachers and classmates.
- Microsoft Teams as it is popularly called, is a collaboration platform that offers a student portal as part of its education features with similar features as that of Google Classroom.
The list is not exhaustive and there are many other platforms available online offering similar features.
Governmental Intervention and Initiatives
An interesting case in point is the entrance exam preparation portal SATHEE (Self Assessment Test and Help for Entrance Exams). The online coaching platform has been launched by the MoE and IIT-Kanpur encouraging aspirants in all the states to utilise the newly launched portal for exam preparation. It is no secret that the private coaching centres and portals seek payment, SATHEE on the other hand is an open learning platform available to students at no cost. Such training programmes and platforms have bridged the barrier for those students who could not pay to access any online platform.
SATHEE platform in its pursuit of providing academic support launched a 45-day crash course for aspirants to test their level of preparation. It hosts live and recorded lectures, expertly designed curriculum, and doubt-clearing sessions for the aspirants to consolidate their knowledge and learning outcome. Reports revealed that over 5,000 students from the Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and schools under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) registered on the platform in the period after the launch while the goal as stated by the MoE officials is to reach 1,00,000 students and beyond. The portal uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to interact with students, and can be customised to the pace of learning of each student. The integrated AI chatbot of SATHEE helps students align their learning needs in line with the National Education Policy while providing inclusive, high quality education even to remote parts of India.
Digital learning material is already available on the SATHEE portal in five languages — English, Hindi, Odia, Telugu, and Bengali , and it is going to be extended to 13 languages.
Another e-learning portal developed by the Delhi government is LEAD that stands for Learning through E-Resources Made Accessible for Delhi. It contains 10,000 instructional materials and course content meant for Class I to XII. The portal provides students access to textbooks, study material and course content as per the syllabus of the CBSE, NCERT and Delhi government’s curriculum online. It includes digital QR coded textbooks, explanatory videos, practice questions and tests for evaluation. Besides regular upgradation of textbooks, the teachers of government schools also prepare fresh support material every year. During the COVID pandemic students and their parents displayed a greater interest in online learning. This raised the confidence in the fact that that children will utilise e-learning resources on LEAD portal.
Through the learning portal LEAD, the Delhi government will be sharing its teaching-learning material on the digital platform- DIKSHA ensuring an effective way to connect and share programmes and experiences with the entire country. This online portal has facilitated learning from the teaching-learning experiments and experiences of other States and thus providing a mutual sharing and enlightening experience for all.
Features of a Student Portal
Institutions offer variable features which cater to its own style and needs. Using an online username or ID and a passcode, a student can login to these portals. From here on a student can observe, interact and utilise some commonly observed features of the portal in order to reap the benefits offered. They are as follows:
- Overview
- Profile Management
- Enrollments
- Notices and Updates
- Academic Records
- Resources
- Communications tools
Advantages of a Student Portal
A student portal in the process of enhancing overall academic experience offers the following advantages:
- Convenient Access: Students can access essential information on class schedules, syllabus, lectures, course study materials, announcements and events etc. just with few clicks on the interface.
- Enhanced Communication: Student Portals facilitate effective and seamless interaction. It helps students, teachers, faculty members and administrative staff through message systems, discussion forums and email integration. Students can enquire for clarifications, participate in collaborative projects, and receive regular updates from the respective advisors.
- Resource Accessibility: Various forms of educational resources such as libraries, digital textbooks, research papers and so on can be made available anywhere at any time of the day through online student portals.
- Individualised Learning: These portals are able to provide a personalised experience by assessing the learning style of a student, their preferences and performance. Educational material can now be tailored to achieve focused learning and improvement.
- Integrated Administration: Student portals make it possible to complete all kinds of administrative processes through online interfaces – admission, registration, fee payment, grading, and certifications. This kind of automation reduces error and time for both the student and administrative staff which allows them to focus more on studies and extracurricular activities.
- Integrated Learning System: Portals are capable of integrating with different online learning systems thus permitting students to access study materials such as lectures, quizzes and assignments remotely.
- Convenient Procedures: The enervating process of admission, registration and enrollment can be made easier online which eliminates the time lost standing in queues and filling forms. Browsing courses, reviewing programmes and registering for classes – students can now do all those in one single and smooth transition.
- Sustainability: Making the transition to online platforms, student portals minimise the paperwork and other physical assets which are otherwise resourceful and valuable. It saves schools and universities printing and paper costs which are otherwise spent on books, booklets and forms.
Conclusion
In the conclusion part, this can be effectively mentioned that the student portals are invaluable tools for streamlining the academic processes. Students can participate in their academic journey regardless of the geographic and socio-economic status. It not only fosters communication but also enhances the overall experience of the students in their educational pursuit. They work as a centralised platform for the students seeking academic resources, managing their academic journey, while remaining engaged with their peers and instructors. With the continuous evolution of technology, student portals are expected to become more tech savvy and sophisticated, offering personalised learning solutions. It continues to transform the way we learn and teach while enriching it with cutting age technology.
FAQs
What is a student portal?
A: A student portal is an online portal that serves as a gateway between students and institutions while providing access to courses, submitting assignments, solving queries and more. It simplifies by eliminating social and geographical barriers while facilitating effective and efficient communication between the participants and the stakeholders.
What are the key benefits of a student portal?
A: The portal provides a secured platform with centralised information. It reduces the time spent in finding them. They also streamline administrative processes, improving the overall efficiency, communication and empowering the students.
What is the advantage of getting registered/admitted online?
A: Getting admitted or registered online saves valuable time. It also prevents students from hassles such as waiting in queues, lengthy paperwork, finding the right personnels or office, etc.
What are the prominent examples of leading student portals?
A: Some of the prominent examples of leading student portals are as under:
- Blackboard
- MST
- Google Classroom
- Moodle
- Canvas
What are the major governmental initiatives in providing free online academic support?
A: There are several major governmental initiatives in providing free online academic support.
Some of these include the following:
- The entrance exam preparation portal SATHEE, that stands for Self Assessment Test and Help for Entrance Exams)
- E-learning portal developed by the Delhi government, LEAD that stands for Learning through E-Resources Made Accessible for Delhi.
What are some of the commonly observed features of a student portal?
A: Some commonly observed features of a student portal are the following:
- Landing page
- Notices and Announcements
- Student Profile Management
- Academic Resources and Information
- Communication Tools