We are on a mission to bridge the digital divide. Join Us!

Computers are part of global business and education. So digital literacy has a direct effect on the country’s economy.  India as a country is facing several challenges in the implementation of initiatives like Digital India.  Moreover, digitally literate teachers appreciate the creative potential of technology rather than accepting it unwillingly as another training exercise mandated by the government. Digital literacy ensures that teachers use the digital tools that can unlock their deeper teaching potential and make learning exciting.

Many Municipal Schools in Mumbai have computer labs with working computers, but unfortunately, they do not have teachers who can impart necessary IT skills. Students and educators from the vernacular mediums also find it difficult to grasp the content as computers are programmed in English. To help the students and teachers of MCGM schools, 'The Computer Literacy Program' (CLP) was initiated by Citizens Association for Child Rights CACR in June 2013 with content partners IITB -The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

IIT had developed multi-lingual audio-video lessons called ‘Spoken tutorials’ which trained students to learn Libre Office suite- word, powerpoint and spreadsheet using easy to understand content.  From 2013-14 to 2014-15 the CLP project saw a 100% increase in the number of schools covered and drastic improvement in the students' computer skills as conveyed by the former CLP project head, Dr Richa Singh. "The newly acquired skills will increase with employment opportunities and self-confidence" she added.  

Our young minds engrossed in their Computers!

But in 2015 the teaching methodology of IIT Spoken tutorials underwent a change and required the computers in MCGM schools to be upgraded to a better Operating system (OS) and Antivirus. Since such major hardware changes were not possible to be implemented by the government's education department in a short period, the collaboration with IITB had to be called off until the hardware upgrade. Given the training momentum that was built in the last 2.5 years, CACR decided not to abandon the project but continued training students. Zinal Shah stepped in and continued the project for a year, teaching students basic IT skills using Microsoft Office.

The present project head Ar. Deyasini Choudhary tells me that volunteers provide one-on-one attention to each school student. A PowerPoint Presentation takes volunteers through each session so that they come prepared with the topic they will cover and with a proper understanding of how they should teach that subject. About 1250 children in 18 municipal schools have benefitted from CACR’s Computer Literacy Program. Team CACR is hoping numbers pick up substantially in the coming months. 

The incredible progress CACR has made with the Computer Literacy Project.

CACR has even gone a step further to train the teachers, who must take over once CACR volunteers complete their program with the school students. The 'Train The Teacher' program, is in its second year now and the volunteers also called  'Master Trainers' have already trained 325 teachers and conducting Refresher Courses in various schools currently. The aim of the project is not to adopt the Municipal School or its responsibilities but offer support and training. More than 100 student volunteers have participated in the CACR's 'Train The Teacher' initiative. These 100+ volunteers can proudly say they have gone on to educate thousands of students and teachers of numerous municipal schools around our city.

Teachers engaged in the program.

CACR has successfully lobbied with the MCGM departments to ensure each of the 200 School buildings get its very own full-time computer teacher. This will be a first major development in the history of computer education in MCGM education department.  CACR has been fostering Digital Literacy at the school level via these two programs that aid India's  National Digital Literacy Mission, which is working towards a bridging our country’s digital divide.

We are on a mission to bridge the digital divide. We Hope You Join Us!

-By Noella Pereira a volunteer with CACR an NGO working in MCGM schools to improve health and education.

Edited by +Richa Singh ichaSingh Projects Director CACR 

Why teaching isn't the best methodology for learning

As everyone celebrated Children's Day in India on November 14th, it took me back in time when I was in middle school. I distinctly recollect that mathematics wasn't exactly my strong suit. Pursuing the search for ‘X’ didn't appeal to me while I greatly enjoyed my time in the science lab and playing throwball on the school ground.

Fear of Mathematics

But surprisingly, all this changed in high school when Geometry and Algebra became my favourite subjects to the point that I scored full marks in two consecutive exams and loved solving tougher problems and puzzles even after school. The biggest factor contributing to this change was the new teacher- Motwyn Sir, the teacher who started teaching us math. The theorems and corollaries that earlier appeared dry and difficult were now fun to learn. Even today you will find a strong correlation between a student’s favourite teacher and subject; the contrary is true as well.

What did the teacher do to change things? Surprising, he didn't teach us much, I recollect. Yes, you read it right.

He did NOT believe in teaching students but rather helping them to understand, to communicate their findings, and to learn from each other. The impetus in the classroom was not to give us notes and solve the sum but to talk to us about the ways we thought the problem could be tackled and encourage all students to participate in the discussion. We never moved forward until every doubt was solved.

Unfortunately, in most schools, the focus is still on teaching, memorising, and rote-learning. Very few institutions appreciate the benefits of allowing the student to develop an original thinking, reasoning, and analysis. This problem is not only found in our Indian schools but also in higher academic institutes.

The question we need to ask is – Do we want to create crammers or innovators?

But if cramming gets you 90% marks on that school report card, parents and the school really don’t bother to reflect on this. This gains importance only in later life when young college students or graduates are compelled to debate, give their opinion, and solve real-life problems and those who can’t think critically suffer.

Today, I am on the other side of the classroom. Teaching students myself as a CACR volunteer and project head for computer literacy project that aims to bridge the technology divide in India. When I interact with students from municipal (inner city) schools in Mumbai, I keep the same principle in mind – not to merely teach students but listen to them and encourage them to ask questions and think.

Having taught students under this project for the past 2 years, I can say for sure that the students are more capable of learning new things on their own and from each other than we can imagine. For instance- Despite coming from low-income households that don’t have access to computers, these students picked up the content pretty quickly for children who were exposed to technology the first time. When we returned to take sessions after vacations, the quick learners had already taught a thing or two to their classmates and brought them up to speed.

Now with the advent of self-learning software, virtual education, and free e-learning materials widely available on the web, the teacher’s role in classrooms has changed from teaching the students to motivating them to learn new skills and encourage experimentation.

A teacher plays a pivotal role in a student’s life to lay a robust foundation for future tasks and challenges she/he will face. It is about time all the stakeholders -the education system, parents, students and teachers recognise this and pave the way to give society thought leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, risk-takers, artists, sportsmen and the like. Together let us create a system of innovative learning, not just teaching.

Education should mould minds

The article first appeared Here on LinkedIn Pulse and has been reproduced by author's permission. 
+Richa Singh is member of CACR a Non-profit working in areas of education and healthcare in government schools of Mumbai 

Image: http://www.mcny.edu/student_serv/lecblog/math-phobia