Mumbai: Civic-run school adopts technology to engage students in the classroom

The Urdu school number 6 of M East Ward in Shivaji Nagar, Govandi, is the first municipal school to install a digital classroom thanks to the efforts of school teachers.

A bunch of Class VI students of Shivaji Nagar Municipal School were seen running towards it Wednesday. The reason — they could not wait to reach their new ‘digital classroom’, inaugurated on Monday.

The Urdu school number 6 of M East Ward in Shivaji Nagar, Govandi, is the first municipal school to install a digital classroom thanks to the efforts of school teachers. More than 50 students in Class VI are now taught through PowerPoint presentations and audio-visual clips prepared by the teachers.

“The digital version of the new syllabus is not available yet so we prepared a few presentations and produced videos to teach the children,” said Mohammed Zeeshan, a teacher who started the project.

The classroom has a projector, a screen and an audio system. Paintings of concepts from the curriculum and posters explaining chapters from subjects like science, history and geography adorn the walls. The ceiling is painted to replicate the stars in the galaxy. “All subjects are taught in the digital classroom,” said Zeeshan. The project runs on public-private partnership.

Foreseeing the need for a digital classroom, Zeeshan approached the BMC to install a projector in one classroom.

“The idea was innovative and it would be useful to children, so the BMC provided the projector,” said Ajay Vani, BMC administrative officer for schools of M East ward. The project also received sponsorship from an NGO run by local corporator Rais Sheikh.

The students were more than excited. “Unlike textbooks, the videos make it easier to understand difficult concepts, especially science,” said 11-year-old Esha Mohammed. “It is a welcome change for students from the regular chalk-and-duster model of teaching,” said Vani.

The school now plans to extend it to other classes also. “The classroom has become popular with the children. We are now working towards making the service available to students of all classes,” said Zeeshan. Vani and the school teachers are planning to make a presentation to the Municipal Commissioner to explain the advantages of the model and how it can be replicated in other schools.

BMC Education Committee Chairperson Hemangi Worlikar said, “If the project is a success, we will try to implement it in all our schools.” Meanwhile, the BMC is planning to start virtual classrooms for skill development of students, said Additional Municipal Commissioner Idzes Kundan.

Source | Indian Express | 11 August 2016

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