My pool of Whatsapp delivered courses :
The NEP 2020 at para 4.4 has emphasised the criticality of “ learning to learn”, in the following words: 4.4. The key overall thrust of curriculum and pedagogy reform across all stages will be to move the education system towards real understanding and towards learning how to learn – and away from the culture of rote learning as is largely present today.
It has also mentioned “ scientific temper” in perhaps 5 places.
Once learners have become aware of the techniques of self-learning, and have acquired the habits and dispositions of successful learners, they need not pursue any further courses, but can construct their own personalised learning strategies, curricula and learning pathways from the vast amount of free and paid knowledge resources available from a variety of sources.
Thomas Frey of the Da Vinci Institute emphasises the criticality of self-learning in the following words “Over the coming decades, if we continue to insert a teacher between us and everything we need to learn, we cannot possibly learn fast enough to meet the demands of the future.”
Towards this goal, of ‘future readiness’ I have developed and offer five monthlong courses, and four weeklong courses that are in a “ Guided Self-Learning” mode.
The Covid 19 pandemic had established remote learning as a means of learning. While some may quibble about its effectiveness in imparting traditional ( read obsolete and irrelevant) knowledge, there is no doubt that it is the only method to be future ready and abreast of emerging technologies and skills. A very valuable feature of these courses is the provision of a curated list of a number of very useful resources on the subject.
Monthlong Courses:
1:“L2SL: Learning to Self-Learn” is a monthlong course for all learners and it’s purpose is to help everyone become a better self-learner.
This course begins with drawing attention to the significance of self-learning, describes the attributes of successful self-learners, and explains the techniques for becoming a successful self-learner. It concludes with sharing how technology in general, and AI in particular can help in making anyone a better self-learner.
For more: https://mmpant.com/l2sl/
2:“ AIFSE: AI fluent SmartEducator: “ is for all educators from School to higher education, to help them transform themselves from the present role of a teacher who transacts a prescribed syllabus to prepare its learners for specific examinations ( a role that will disappear soon) to become a cognitive scientist, over a reasonable period by self-learning AI, Data Science and Cognitive Science. For more: https://mmpant.com/aifse/
3: QT4FR: Quantum Technologies for future readiness
Quantum computing has evolved from science fiction to foreseeable reality within our lifetime. From Google to IBM, China to the U.S. — everyone everywhere seems fixated on realizing the power of quantum computing which is the number one technology today:see the video : https://youtu.be/wKN8wBl4X1M
As preparation for the future, an awareness of the importance and significance of Quantum Technologies will be essential. I have created what I call a “ Learning Ramp” for Quantum Technologies.
Quantum physics is also a gateway to a lifelong love of science!
For more : https://mmpant.com/qt4fr/
4: BINU: Becoming Invaluable , not Useless
There are several reports that suggest widespread job losses for educated workers and professionals. CGP Grey had created a 15 minute video, about 6 years ago ( over 14 million views) with the title “ Humans need not apply”, https://youtu.be/7Pq-S557XQU. In the year 2017 Yuval Noah Harari in a 4 minute video announced the arrival of the “useless class”. https://youtu.be/OMDlfNWM1fA by the year 2050. People who are not just unemployed, but unemployable.
The WEF in its January 2020 meeting estimated that about a billion people have to be reskilled by the year 2030. The Davos agenda 2021 is explained in a 30 minute video https://youtu.be/MK3TsnVaSEk.
The key to prospering, flourishing and thriving in the future will be to continuously enhance your value and become the most ‘invaluable’ person in your niche. A perfect mix of charm and grace is not what makes people invaluable. Empathy, proactivity, self-learning and an attitude of gratitude is what will make you the person no one can let go.
For more: https://mmpant.com/binu/
5: TFOB: The Foundations of Biology
Biology is the science of life. Its name is derived from the Greek words “bios” (life) and “logos” (study). Biologists study the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution and distribution of living organisms. The customary introduction of fundamental biological entities such as individual organisms, cells, genes, catalysts and motors remains largely descriptive; constructive approaches involving deductive reasoning appear, in comparison , almost absent. As a consequence, both the logical content and principles of biology need to be reconsidered. This new monthlong introductory course attempts to describe the foundations of biology. The foundations of biology are built in terms of elements, logic and principles, using both the language and the general methods employed in other disciplines. This approach assumes the existence of a certain unity of human knowledge that transcends discipline boundaries.
All the branches of biology can be unified within a framework of five basic understandings about living things. Studying the details of these five ideas provides the endless fascination of biological research:
For more : https://mmpant.com/tfob/
Weeklong Courses:
6: AI4English : Using AI to learn/improve your English
For many people, not only in India, but in other parts of the world, English is a second language. But it is a very important and useful language.
While computer languages have changed in their popularity over the last 55 years : https://youtu.be/YqxeLodyyqA, in human languages the usage of English continues to increase.
Until the advent and proliferation of Artificial Intelligence and mobile Apps powered with Artificial Intelligence, the learning of English as a second language was not only quite expensive, but not readily accessible, and took a lot of time.
But in the last few years, this has changed rapidly and it is much more feasible not only to acquire a working knowledge of English, but continually improve it. Regular use of a language is important in acquiring fluency in it. Athletes do regular training. Musicians train. Performers train. To be proficient in a language ( human or computer) one must practice the skills regularly. ‘Use it or lose it’ is the law of nature.
To spread awareness of these new tools and techniques, I have created a special Weeklong WhatsApp delivered course that covers : Why English? Challenges in learning English; AI powered tools to learn English; Strategies and techniques for better English and Benchmarking your English. For more : https://mmpant.com/ai4english/
7: THYL: The Hundred Year Life
The life-spans and life expectancy at birth have been continuously increasing over the last decades, creating new unforeseen and important changes in the social and economic fabric of society as well as personal challenges for those with the blessings of a ‘long life’.
But during the last 3 years, in the US there has been a slight drop in this trend. It can be dismissed as insignificant or interpreted to suggest that leading a long life is not enough. Humans want to lead a meaningful life as well.
Japan on the other hand has a large number of happy persons who have found their Ikigai and are living to be 100 and beyond ( many in Okinawa).
The psychologist Karl Jung was perhaps the first one to suggest that one cannot lead the second half of life on the principles applicable to its first half and lamented the lack of a ‘ School for the second half of life’.
This program attempts to fill that need in part, and shares the tasks that Jung recommended for the 2nd half of life.
For more : https://mmpant.com/thyl/
8: EHC: Exploring human consciousness
Consciousness is often described as the mind’s subjective experience. Even in the 1970s and 1980s, as cognitive science became established, consciousness remained a controversial topic among scientists, who openly questioned whether it was a valid area of scientific investigation. Early in his career, molecular biologist and Nobel laureate Francis Crick wanted to study consciousness, but instead chose to work on the more tangible mysteries of DNA.
Scientists have also started to test ways of detecting consciousness without the need to give people verbal instructions. As scientists have become more adept at detecting consciousness, they have begun to determine which brain regions and circuits are most important. But there is still much debate about what constitutes consciousness in neural terms, with particular disagreement over which brain processes and regions matter most.
Since at least the nineteenth century, scientists have known that the cerebral cortex is important for consciousness. Fresh evidence has highlighted a posterior-cortical ‘hot zone’ that is responsible for sensory experiences. It has become increasingly clear, however, that consciousness is not confined to only one region of the brain. Plenty of unknowns remain. For more : https://mmpant.com/ehc/
9: TMIA: The meaning of it all
The name of this weeklong course has been taken from the title of a book by Richard Feynman “ The meaning of it all” which comprises the texts of three lectures by him.
Socrates had said that the unexamined life is not worth living. Steven Weinberg’s statement on the second-to-last page of his first popular book, “The First Three Minutes”, he concludes after sharing the story of how our universe came into being with the big bang some 13.8 billion years ago, and how it may end untold billions of years in the future, he concludes that whatever the universe is about, it sure as heck isn’t about us. “The more the universe seems comprehensible,” he wrote, “the more it also seems pointless.”
Religion has been very successful in creating a meaning for this pointless universe. But Nietzsche proclaimed in 1882 that ‘ God is Dead’. Richard Dawkins referred to religion as delusion. Dawkins argued that religious faith is “persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence”, and thus delusional. Steven Pinker commented on the dangers of evangelical religious belief in the coronavirus era. Writing on Facebook, he said: “Belief in an afterlife is a malignant delusion, since it devalues actual lives and discourages action that would make them longer, safer, and happier.” We begin with Socrates exhortation that an unexamined life is not worth living. Then deliberate upon Steven Weinberg’s view of a comprehensible but pointless universe. We explore how religions have offered guidance on how to live. We also consider Julian Huxley’s Religion without Revelation, Nietzsche’s ‘God is dead’ and Richard Dawkins ‘God delusion’. We end with exploring the way ahead with a rationalist approach.
For more : https://mmpant.com/tmia/
To know more about any of these courses, feel free to send a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724 after going through the information provided at the link given here.
