education « Amritha Alladi

At The Hindu: SMARTer classrooms

April 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm | Posted in At work | Leave a comment
Tags: Chennai. The Hindu, classroom technology, education, Education Plus, internship diary, math, schools, teaching

Who says toys have no place in the classroom? Today’s students could benefit from educational electronics, according to one math teacher who has seen the results for himself.

Vamsi Krishna, a mathematics teacher at the Kendriya Vidyalayas Sangathan (KVS) in Sulur, says technologies used to promote project-based learning can enhance the student’s ability to apply classroom concepts to the real world.

Mr. Krishna has returned to Sulur following a Fulbright Fellowship exchange in the U.S. at New Tech High School in Durham, N.C. Now, he is persuading his school administrators at KVS to purchase similar gizmos, the cost of which he says his school can easily shoulder.

“The classroom tools support an environment that accommodates interactive learning rather than one-way instruction,” he says. “The Indian student can tell you everything about the quadratic equation and can solve it perfectly, but he does not actually know about its practical application.”

Classrooms in India are already equipped with LCD screens, overhead projectors, and Power Point facilities, but technology can be used to cultivate interest and classroom discussions too.

Mr. Krishna says, with the Geometer’s Sketchpad and remote-controlled SMART board software, teachers can manipulate graphs, equations, and data sets while casually sitting among their students, stimulating collaborative learning and analytical thinking.

The Sketchpad, priced at about $1000 and licensed for use by 50 students, is convenient for teaching coordinate geometry and allows students to build and study mathematical models, diagrams, and graphs. Teachers save time drawing similar examples because Sketchpad allows them to change shapes and positions simply by dragging a mouse, while keeping in tact all mathematical relationships.

Meanwhile, Mr. Krishna says the SMART board (roughly $5000) provides interactive animated word problems, among other things. For example, students visualize calculating the coverage area on Earth (a sector) provided by a certain satellite from space. Teachers can simultaneously access related reference tools — all at the click of a button (or wave of a hand).

Additionally, devices such as Texas Instruments graphing calculators (the most common TI-84 Plus costs $119) can plot graphs, solve simultaneous equations, store commonly-used formulas and functions, etc. This is especially handy for students pursuing science or engineering, he says. Thus, Indian students, too, could visually relate abstract concepts to concrete applications. But trendy technology is not enough to further academics.

Mr. Krishna says schools should, at the very least, gear themselves with interactive computer software that allow students to learn more on their own, with teachers as facilitators.

This article appeared in The Hindu’s Education Plus supplement on April 13, 2009.

At The Hindu: Leading them from darkness to light

March 18, 2009 at 6:06 pm | Posted in At work | Leave a comment
Tags: Chennai, education, IIDA, internship diary, slums, The Hindu, unemployment

CHENNAI: For 35 years, the Inter-Mission Industrial Development Association (IIDA) has cast light on the futures of those whose past has been shrouded in shadows.

At its anniversary celebration here on Tuesday, founder and president of IIDA Jochen Tewes said the Association has worked to transform the lives of those below the poverty line by equipping them with the skills necessary to obtain jobs.

A mechanical engineer, Mr. Tewes recognised the prevalence of unemployment when he came to India in 1974. “The immense poverty in slums touched my heart,” he said. He wanted to provide them with the tools to secure self-sustaining jobs.

What began as a “one-man army,” with Mr. Tewes training seven boys in fitter skills, has now become a full-fledged set of community colleges, industrial schools and day care centres, which have given degrees to over 4,000 students in Chennai.

Former IIDA student, A. Shanker, says he had a life filled with troubles, because his mother had died when he was five years old and his father was an alcoholic.

“My life was like a wilderness, but my friends now see it has become a garden,” said Mr. Shanker, who works for Youth With a Mission, Ooty.

German Consul General in Chennai Roland F. Hermann said India should be proud of its advances, as it has developed into a strong nuclear power and has provided a large market of consumers and IT companies. Still, he said, “that is half the story of India,” and millions of people are still without clean drinking water or proper sanitation. For those people who cannot see a ray of light in their futures, he said providing them an education is the best way to make them self-sufficient.

“Give them the basics,” Mr. Hermann said, “it is the key for the country.”

The most rewarding experience for Mr. Tewes has been seeing former students at well-paid jobs now, and he said many have even started their own businesses. “The teachers are often envious when they see the students now make more than they do,” he added.

This article appeared in The Hindu on March 18, 2009.

At The Hindu: At Bala Mandir, happiness is the right of every child

March 15, 2009 at 6:02 pm | Posted in At work | Leave a comment
Tags: anniversary, Bala Mandir, Chennai, education, India, internship, orphans, school, service, The Hindu

CHENNAI: A sea of smiling children sang out in unison, “Happy Birthday to you!”

It was their wish to sing at their alma mater’s 60th anniversary celebration scheduled for Saturday, and because happiness is the right of every child at Bala Mandir, Maya Amma granted them permission.

“As adults, we often forget what children want,” said honorary secretary of Bala Mandhir, Maya Gaitonde, ‘Maya Amma’ to the children. But, from the looks of it, she’s been doing her part to secure not only the happiness but also the success of her children.

Since 1949, the Bala Mandir Kamaraj Trust has provided children with holistic care. Established by the former Chief Minister, K. Kamaraj, and S. Manjubhashini, Bala Mandir has kept its doors open to children below the age of 5 and, in some cases, the staff have nursed infants back to health.

The medical unit provides paediatric, homeopathic, allopathic and Ayurvedic services, and there are several 24-hour counsellors on the staff to cater to the children’s emotional and mental well-being.

“If you see a child smile, that’s the greatest thing,” says Chitra, a Bala Mandir social worker.

Now Bala Mandir, described as a “banyan tree” by Ms. Gaitonde, may open branches in other districts of Tamil Nadu.

Children are usually admitted from poor or dysfunctional families, and in many other cases, they have been abandoned altogether. Chitra says initially they are emotionally disturbed, but, through unconditional love given by the staff, they learn to trust adults again. It’s the job of the staff to provide children with that missing piece of their lives — family — as many of them come back to visit ‘ammas’, ‘akkas’ and ‘annas’” they grew up with.

“They all have a sibling relationship with each other,” says Chitra. After school and marriage, some girls even return during pregnancy, as per Indian family tradition. The staff conduct ‘Valagappu’ and ‘Seemandham’ ceremonies on request.

The day begins with prayer. Lakshmi Krishnamurti, employed at Bala Mandir for more than 30 years, says they recite a sarva dharma prayer, acknowledging all faiths. Then the children proceed to school.

Bala Mandir recently started targeting two special groups — girls who have dropped out of school to babysit younger siblings, and working mothers who have not wanted to institutionalise their children.

In the evenings, they take part in playtime and extracurricular activities — music and dance lessons, vocational training and chores.

Ms. Krishnamurti says all of the children have to shoulder responsibility, from cleaning to cutting vegetables and cooking. “Though there is a cook, if the girls do not know how to cook, they will not be prepared for their life after marriage.”

Bala Mandir also offers vocational training in computers, carpentry, tailoring and laundering, so the students can land jobs after leaving school.

The trustees hope to implement foster care and vocational training for the empowerment of women. Indian society has warmed up to female children and adoption, but Ms. Gaitonde says there’s more to be done.

On its 60th birthday, staff and students celebrated ‘Service to man, service to God,’ but Bala Mandir seems to have provided much more than service to its children; it has provided them with family and a future.

This article appeared in The Hindu on March 15, 2009.