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| BMC schools equipped with modern teaching tools |
| Announcement / Economy Jul 13, 2009, 19:37 IST |
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Technology has catalysed every aspect of modern life, and in its newest initiative, Landmark International Foundation for Empowerment (LIFE Trust), a registered charitable trust, has tapped technology to make education in BMC schools more interesting and informative.
LIFE Trust has created specially designed audio-visual DVDs on key subjects of the class 10 syllabus. These DVDs are used across eight BMC schools, with the objective of bettering academic results. LIFE Trust is confident of meeting this goal and introducing this exceptional teaching methodology across all BMC schools in the coming years.
Mrs. Poonam Lalvani, Managing Trustee, LIFE Trust says, “Class 10 is the most important academic year for students in India as it plays a pivotal role in distinguishing a school drop out from a student embarking on a successful career path. LIFE Trust has already developed Digital Classrooms in BMC schools, which have been very successful. We found that the students’ response and enthusiasm to education through audio-visual aids was far greater when compared with the traditional methods of education, positively impacting results. The idea of creating these specialised DVDs for 10th standard students stemmed from this observation, and we are confident that next year’s results will endorse our belief and substantiate our efforts.”
“Initially we started with DVDs in Marathi and the encouraging response we got from the students prompted us to create a version in Hindi as well, which we have successfully introduced” added Mrs Lalvani.
The basic requirements of Digital Classrooms are LCD players, DVDs and speakers, amongst other equipment. LIFE Trust has provided for this in the schools where this initiative has been introduced. The students in these classrooms will be tutored with the assistance of 2D animation DVD content produced by LIFE Trust’s in-house team.
LIFE Trust conducted an extensive survey on the material available in the market to enable visual and fun ways of educating Standard 10 students. The survey revealed that while there is a wealth of English content on the Internet and other vehicles of communication, there is not enough information available for Marathi medium students. So another important aspect that this initiative aims to achieve is to create a level playing field for students from private and government schools.
Benefits of the Digital Classroom:
- Visual digital content and audio repetition helps students remember faster
- Chapters have been made more interesting in the DVD format
- Teachers can rewind, pause, play the chapters as per requirement
- Raises enthusiasm levels among students as this is a first-of-its-kind exposure to digital learning
- DVDs can be viewed on television as well as a computer, thus making them versatile and easy to use
The initiative is also aimed at increasing the levels of efficiency in teaching in BMC schools by inspiring its faculty to teach with more enthusiasm. This form of studying has hitherto been available only to students from high-end private schools like Ambani, Ecole Mondial and Maneckji Cooper.
The DVDs presently have audio-visual content for three subjects – namely English, Geometry and Social Studies, and cover every chapter in the syllabus of these subjects. These subjects have been selected because they prove most difficult for a significant proportion of class 10 students.
“As per our research an estimated 1,150 students have gained from this initiative. We will also be talking to the S.S.C board to allow the use of these DVDs across all Marathi medium S.S.C schools in Maharashtra. In the near future, LIFE Trust also plans to develop animation-based content for Science practicals and pictorial aids to conduct experiments. LIFE Trust has already spent a sizeable amount rolling out this initiative, and we look forward to the support of other corporates and like-minded groups to deliver this form of education to a larger target audience,” comments Mrs Lalvani.
LIFE Trust has a MoU with the eight BMC Secondary Schools in the GN/GS/FN/FS Ward of Mumbai for a period of three years, starting June 2008. The MoU is aimed at developing these schools with various academic and technological changes to reduce the drop-out rates, improve examination results, to boost the aspiration of students, and finally, to empower change through advocacy.
The 8 BMC schools where this initiative is set to be rolled out are -
- Dr. Ambedkar School, Worli
- Prabhadevi School, Prabhadevi
- Abhyudaya Nagar School, M. H. B. Colony, Abhyudaya Nagar
- G.K Marg School, Elphinston
- Globe Mill School, Elphinston
- Dadar Woolen Mill School, Dadar
- Shindewadi School, Dadar
- New Sion School, Sion
About LIFE Trust:
Established in the year 2000 in Chennai, Landmark International Foundation for Empowerment (LIFE) is a registered Public Charitable Trust. With a vision to make ‘school chalo’ the mantra of each child in India, LIFE undertakes several activities for the betterment of the public school education system in India. LIFE has also introduced path breaking initiatives for students with learning disabilities and mentally challenged students. LIFE currently has its presence in Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore and plans to have a pan India presence in the coming years.
LIFE’s mission is collaborating and supporting the Public School System along with other agencies and like-minded individuals in improving the quality of education through creative and effective programmes, involving all its stakeholders and the society.
For Further Information log on to www.lifetrustindia.org
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