5th National Conference on E-Learning and E-Learning Technologies (ELELTECH) 2017 held in Hyderabad

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) jointly organized the 5^th National Conference on E-Learning and E-Learning Technologies (ELELTECH) 2017 during August 3-4, 2017 in Hyderabad. This is the fifth in the series and previous ELELTECH conferences were organized in the years – 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013 respectively. The event was technically co-sponsored by IEEE Hyderabad Section and supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India.

The Conference was inaugurated by Dr.A.Venugopal Reddy, Vice-Chancellor, JNTU Hyderabad in the presence of Dr.B.K.Murthy, Senior Director (Scientist-G), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Dr. Lakshminarayana Merugu, Chairman, IEEE Hyderabad Section, Dr.N.Sarat Chandra Babu, Executive Director, C-DAC Bangalore, Mr. E. Magesh, Director, C-DAC Hyderabad and other dignitaries.

This Conference was organized with an objective to provide a common platform for sharing knowledge and experience of Indian e-Learning community including researchers, developers, faculty members and implementers. Various topics including e-Learning, Learning Management Systems (LMS), e-Content Quality Assessment, Accessibility Standards & Guidelines, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Mobile Learning, Internet of Things(IoT) & Ubiquitous Learning, Remote Classrooms, Virtual Labs, Big Data, Cloud Computing and Learning Analytics for Education, Online Assessment etc were deliberated in the 2-Day conference.

Total 15 technical papers, 1 Key Note address and 8 Invited Talks were presented in the conference. A total of 150 members from Postal Training Centre(PTC) Mysuru, Telangana State Police Academy(TSPA), Dr.Reddy’s Lab, JNTU Hyderabad, Maharashtra Police Academy (MPA), Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Avantel Ltd, Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (IIOR), C-DAC, Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Enfold Proactive Health Trust and various engineering colleges participated in the conference.

Invited speakers namely Dr. Kamal Bijlani, Amrita University, Dr. M. Sasi Kumar, C-DAC, Dr. Madhuri Dubey, National Skills Network – NSN, Mr. Ramesh, AP Skill Development Corporation, Ms.VRP. Sheilaja Rao, former HOD of Special Education, National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Divyangjan), Dr. Angel Ratnabai, NCERT, Mr. Tirupati Kakade, Addl SP & Deputy Director, Maharashtra Police Academy made presentations and shared their experiences.

During the plenary the technical sessions, the participants interacted with the experts and showed enthusiasm in emerging technologies like Augmented Reality (AI) and Internet of Things (IOT) and how it could benefit the e-learning ecosystem. Some educational institutions presented their current e-learning initiatives and shared the benefits they are getting from mobile learning and blended learning. Researchers shared their current projects and interacted with the audience to seek their feedback and inputs, besides demonstration of new products in technology enabled learning. A session was dedicated to the application of e-learning and MOOCs in the area of vocational training and skill development and the audience was inquisitive to know more about the opportunities.