Mumbai school students explore coding, ‘language of future’

Sharmila Ganesan Ram,TNN | Dec 5, 2015, 11.42 PM IST

MUMBAI: It's not that Nimesh Haldankar hates cats. It's just that he can't help smiling every time his hammer thwacks a feline head that dares to peek from a bin. "I prefer dogs," admits the shy 13-year-old who recently created this wicked computer game with a few other dog-loving boys from his school. "It's easy," says Haldankar, showing you how to train the Garfield-like orange cat waiting onscreen to draw a 100 circles as a start.

First, you drag the ready pink block that says "Repeat" into the instructions panel. Then you place the yellow block that says "Move forward" inside this pink block. Enter the relevant numbers--repeat 99 times and move forward 360 degrees, for instance--and press go. At the end of its assignment, the cat's smile is still intact and so is Haldankar's, even though he spent his Diwali vacation learning what grown-ups call "coding".

Seated in the computer lab at Juhu's Vidyanidhi High school, Haldankar and a few other students from grades six to eight are exploring a free playground called Scratch, a software that helps them learn the basics of coding through a drag-and-drop programming block approach. So far, students have created enough games and animations in this software to unwittingly offer their supervisor, Varsha Bhandari, an insight into gender. After front-bencher Divya Nair finishes showing off her onscreen Diwali greeting card that boasts a moving flame, Bhandari says, "The girls like dance games while the boys like to show things like plane crashes and skulls."

But this vacation batch would not have made it this far in Scratch had their school not signed up for something called 'Hour of Code' last year. Launched in 2013, 'Hour of Code' is a global campaign run by Code.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to demystifying computer science for students and underrepresented groups such as women. "Don't just buy a new video game—make one," Obama urges in a video on behalf of the campaign.

The idea here is that coding need not always look like a bunch of nerdy men in spectacles entering green semicolons on their screens. So, every December, during the Computer Science Education Week, which this year runs from December 7 to 13, students in over 180 countries learn how to code through Code.org's fun, hour-long tutorials created in collaboration with engineers from Microsoft, Google, Twitter and Facebook. Here, Angry Birds, Disney princesses, Star Wars characters and even Minecraft's Steve and Alex help break down things like 'repeat loops' for those between ages of four and 104. The graphical interface is similar to Scratch and the puzzles get more challenging as you progress.

Last December, as the only participant from Mumbai, Vidyanidhi school, saw a bunch of students ingesting code as they instructed Frozen's Anna to draw a snowflake or adjusted the speed at which an angry bird reaches a pig through a maze. "Since these tutorials were like games, kids were vying to finish first," recalls Nidhi Poddar, academic head at Vidyanidhi Info Tech Academy (Vita), who ran the workshops. Irrespective of their speed, though, the students received a certificate each at the end of the week.

There are benefits to introducing computer science early, says Savita Thakur, director of Vita. That is perhaps why, in its bid to help nurture budding app and game developers, Vidyanidhi school is conducting free week-long 'Hour of Code' workshops from December 7 to 12. Students from other schools and even adults who may be interested are free to register. After all, "coding," says Thakur, "is language of future".

https://csedweek.org/

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbai-school-students-explore-coding-language-of-future/articleshow/50059402.cms?

Computer Science Education Week - December 7 to 13

About

Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual program dedicated to inspiring K-12 students to take interest in computer science.

Originally conceived by the Computing in the Core coalition, Code.org® organizes CSEdWeek as a grassroots campaign supported by 350 partners and 100,000 educators worldwide.

CSEdWeek is held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).

Code.org®

Code.org is a non-profit dedicated to expanding computer science education. The Code.org vision is that computer science should be part of the core curriculum in every school, alongside other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, such as biology, physics, chemistry and algebra.

**********************************************************************************************************************************

Accelerated learning mooted for academically weak students

MUMBAI: From the next academic year, students who are academically weak may be able to opt for an accelerated learning programme, which will teach them three to four years’ curriculum within one year, and help them catch up with their peers.

The principal secretary of the state school education de partment, Nand Kumar, has put forth this proposal to reduce the number of students failing in Class 9 and to arrest the dropout rate in secondary sections.

Cur rently, t he state has the highest dropout rate in Class 9- it stands at 8.9% as per the latest U-DISE (Unified District Information System for Education) report. This is much higher than dropout rates for other classes, which range between 1% and 3%.

According to officials, schools fail a large number of students in class 9, and as a result the students drop out. This trend has been aggravated with the introduction of the no- f ail policy in 2010, which provides for automatic promotion from class 1 to class 8.

“We are studying accelerated learning programmes that have managed to teach four-and-ahalf year’s curriculum to students in just one year,” said Kumar. “It was implemented for primary students by a private non-profit organisation.”

The department will rope in officials, educationists and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) working for education to provide their suggestions to the proposal. “The idea is at a nascent stage right now, we will finalise the details after consulting with experts,” said Kumar.

But educationists raise concerns over the benefits of an accelerated learning programme for secondary students. “Such programmes can be done easily for students in primary sections, as students are able to grasp concepts better at a young age, but it will be a little difficult for 14-15-year-olds to study at that pace,” said Farida Lambay, cofounder, Pratham, NGO.

City school principals welcomed the proposal. “Owing to the no-fail policy, children have lost the practice of writing and are hence unable to score in exams in higher classes,” said Father Francis Swamy, principal, St Mary’s School (ICSE), Mazgaon, and the joint secretary of the Archdiocesan Board of Education that runs 150-odd schools in the city.

Source: The Hindustan Times dated October 26,  2015

At IIT Bombay, decade-old mentorship plan bears fruit

HAND-HOLDING

It gives protection from ragging, stress and offers solace to newbies

MUMBAI: Akanksha Yadav, a first-year engineering student in Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), recalls a recent incident. “One of my batch-mates had fared poorly in the Chemistry paper. She was feeling very low. Fortunately, one of our seniors consoled her and talked her out of the phase,” she said.

The senior student is one of the ‘mentors’ appointed as part of IIT-B’s Student Mentor Programme (SMP). The decadeold programme, launched with the primary objective of protecting newcomers from ragging, has matured into a larger campus acclimatization initiative.

This year the institute has appointed 80 mentors to cater to more than 900 freshers. “This year, we had received around 350 applications from those aspiring to mentor,” said Yamini Bansal, one of the coordinators of SMP. The mentors were selected after a round of interviews. A website launched by the group a few months ago had received more than 70,000 page views, say the group members.

These mentors have been tasked with guiding the firstyear students in their academics, helping them cope with stress, and making them acquainted with the institute’s culture. “The students come from various backgrounds and different parts of the country. SMP helps them navigate through IIT’s culture and even helps them with their personal problems,” added Bansal.

The IITs are known for their exhaustive curriculum and vigorous training, which often takes a toll on newcomers. To help these students, the SMP coordinators sometimes organise special stress management sessions.

Most of the freshers find their mentors to be very helpful. “When we come to IIT, we are clueless about most things here. So, whenever we get stuck with some problem we reach out to our mentors, who are always willing to help,” said Ajay Kotwal, a first-year student. “The mentors make it a point to visit us once in a while. In any case, they are just a phone call away, if we need any help.”

According to Bansal, the mentor-mentee relationship often develops into a valuable friendship. “Many of the mentors continue guiding the juniors even after graduating from IIT. It’s their way of giving back to the institute,” she said.

Source: The Hindustan Times dated 26 October, 2015

Visitors to Vaachan Prerana Diwas on 15/10/2015 (Report on Reading Inspiration Day: 2015)

 

Vaachan Prerana Diwas (Reading Inspiration Day) was celebrated in St. Francis Institute of Technology (Borivali, Mumbai) to commemorate the birth anniversary (15 October) of Late dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - the Missile Man of India.

As part of the celebrations, the Learning and Information Resource Centre (Central Library) initiated a few activities as outlined below:

1) Take Away of Books

2) Sale of withdrawn books

3) Book Exhibition

4) Modification of the overdues

5) Extending Scholar's Card facility to students whose GPA is =/> 8.6.

The LIRC witnessed a huge response for the Take Away of books and the Sale of Withdrawn book bank books. More than 150 people visited the library and an odd 100 availed the same. Staff and students alike were happy and all smiles since almost everybody got something to carry with them.

Book Exhibition was well organized with a majority of the books on "Wireless Communications". Many faculty members glanced through the displayed books and a few selected them too.

The modification in the overdues structure came as a pleasant surprise for the student community and they were more than happy to take note of their reduced fines.

From the next semester onward, Scholar's Cards would be extended to students whose GPA is =/> 8.6 thereby maximizing the library's usage.

All in all, the library did mark the Vaachan Prerana Diwas by offering a tribute to the vision and knowledge of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Thank You all for making Vaachan Prerana Diwas a SUCCESS!

Happy to note that 100 people including staff and students of SFIT availed the "Take Way of books, CDs and magazines!

A big thank you for making the "Vaachan Prerana Diwas" (Reading Inspiration Day)" a success!!

Photos will soon follow this post!

Change in the Overdues Structure for Books

GOOD NEWS!!GOOD NEWS!!GOOD NEWS!!

Fine Structure has been changed with effect from October 15, 2015 to mark the Celebrations of Vaachan Prerana Diwas.

Rupees 2/- per day for the first five days

Rupees 5/- per day for the next ten days

Rupees 10/- per day subsequently

An online platform that makes education more personalized

 Vedantu enables students in remote areas to receive tuition from highly qualified teachers

The platform has now completed providing 21,000 hours of live learning to more than 17,000 students through 180 listed teachers.

Bengaluru: Its almost 4 pm on a Tuesday afternoon and Vasavi gets ready to take her daily physics lessons for 9th and 10th graders. An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras graduate, Vasavi, on maternity leave from her corporate job, dedicates three hours daily to tutoring students from Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai and remote towns such as Rudrapur in Uttarakhand.

In Wani taluk, Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, 9th grader Tanusha M. gets ready for her physics and mathematics class. She takes two classes from highly qualified teachers whose location Tanusha does not know. She only knows them through their qualifications and names.

Vasavi and many others like her are teachers by choice and Tanusha is one of the thousands of students they teach daily via Vedantu, an online tutorial service run by Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd. The journey of Vedantu began almost a decade ago when Vamsi Krishna from IIT Mumbai), Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena and Anand Prakash (from IIT Roorkee) got together in 2005 to start something that their parents did not encourage.

Giving into their parents’ demands, they joined corporate jobs, but lasted for only about six months. On 16 December 2005, Anand resigned. The others followed. With a bit of teaching experience gained during their summer breaks at the IITs, they decided to teach. They wanted to challenge conventional teaching methods.

They started by teaching the children of the workers at Trident Group Ltd’s yarn plant at Barnala, Punjab. “That was the pivotal step,” Vamsi says.

This led to more students and their first venture, Lakshya, a test prep establishment where they helped students crack engineering entrance exams. Among the four, they claim to have taught over 10,000 students from 2006-12 in places such as Patiala and Chandigarh.

At Barnala they swept floors, set up classes and even slept at the same place where tuitions were held. “The energy we used to get from these sessions... we could really see the spark that really motivated us to take up the profession of teaching,” Vamsi says.

In 2012, Mumbai-based education coaching service provider MT Educare Ltd acquired Lakshya Forum for Competition Pvt. Ltd. The model had its limitations. “Being there as teachers ourselves, we felt the challenges with the offline set-up... no matter what, there were challenges of scalability.”

Determined, and now equipped with Lakshya’s experience, they challenged institutionalism and generalisation in education to make it more personalised and democratic. But the disparity in learning would remain, which called for a technological intervention.

In April 2014 they started developing a product and six months later Vedantu was live. Vedantu was the so-called anti-model of its predecessor. It developed WAVE (whiteboard, audio and video environment) technology and the teachers marketplace model. In order to get access to more good teachers, Vedantu started developing technologies like whiteboard and audio and is currently developing facial expression reading algorithms for better engagement and greater efficiency from each session.

“We are coming out with engagement metrics. For every session the algorithm analyses the session and goes back to the teacher,” Vamsi says.

Vedantu says, “Innovation has come to facilitate the why.”

Initiatives like Digital India and fast growing Internet infrastructure provide platforms like Vedantu with tools to connect more students and teachers facilitating effective learning.

Though the motivation was not money, the company did not want to be an NGO. The priority was to make a difference; money would follow. The platform has now completed providing 21,000 hours of live learning to more than 17,000 students through 180 listed teachers.

The platform, which charges around 30% of the teachers’ fees, says average tutor earns around `40,000 (depending on the number of hours) and the top earner raked in `98,000 (August 2015). Vendantu has a mix of professional teachers, corporate entities and college students. Vamsi says the presence of teachers working only on Vedantu (10-15%) is where the real disruption is happening.

Vedantu is aware of its limitations. This venture cannot be run as a mainstream institution due to regulatory requirements. “So we can at least be a parallel education system,” Vamsi says.

Vamsi says that there are around 250 million students in India and around 33% of them go to private schools. This hasn’t deterred its global ambitions. “Global expansion can be tempting,” he says about moving to other markets like in South Korea, Singapore and other East Asia markets.

Accel and Tiger Global led a $5 million funding in Vedantu in May this year. Anand Daniel, an early stage investor with Accel Partners, says Vedantu has huge potential. The tutoring market size in India is around $11 billion (2014). “Very few teams in India have a great sense for the education sector as well as how technology can be used for effective scaling Vedantu is one such team,” he says

Mint has a strategic partnership with Digital Empowerment Foundation, which hosts the mBillionth and Manthan awards.

 

Source: Livemint 

Poetry takes musical route to score high with students

MUMBAI: In an effort to garner interest for poetry among students, the state education department will put the poems in textbooks to music in the voice of popular artists with background scores.

Sur Kavitanche, as the initiative is called, is a brain child of deputy director, Mumbai, B B Chavan. It is slated to kickstart with the launch of an album of poems from the Class V Balbharti textbook in Marathi.

"Children learn movie songs so quickly because they are catchy and interesting. We wanted to do something similar for the poems as well. If the poems have a tune to it, students will be able to sing them and teachers too will be able to teach them better," said Chavan.

The album will be launched at the B N Vaidya Auditorium, Dadar, on October 20. To ensure easy and free access to these recordings, the education department will host them on their website. "We want maximum number of teachers and students to benefit from this. We will also be creating a mobile application to enable students and teachers to download it. We will also create ringtones of these songs," said Chavan.

Various musicians and singers have lent their voice for this album without a fee. "Students need to be given the best opportunities to learn and this is a way we can do our bit for them," said music composer, Sambhaji Bhagat. Sachin Khedekar, Sadhna Sargam, Urmila Dhangar and Rahul Ranade are among the musicians and singers who are part of the initiative.

The curriculum for class V was changed starting the 2015-2016 academic year and is expected to remain the same for the next five years. "We thought it was worth putting in the effort because the same recordings can be used for students in the future batches. We are also planning to do the same thing for other mediums like Hindi, Urdu, English etc," said Chavan. It is also expected to be extended to classes VI, VII and VIII when the syllabus changes.

Source: The Times of India dated 14 October 2015

Visitors to Vaachan Prerana Diwas: Day 1 - Sale of Withdrawn books

CELEBRATION OF “WACHAN PRERANA DIWAS” (READING INSPIRATION DAY) IN THE LIRC

CELEBRATION OF “VAACHAN PRERANA DIWAS” (READING INSPIRATION DAY) IN THE LIRC

To mark the birth anniversary (October 15) of our ex-President, Late

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, WACHAN PRERANA DIWAS (READING INSPIRATION DAY) would be celebrated in the Learning and Information Centre from October 13 to 16, 2015.

Following activities would be organized as a part of the 4- day long celebrations; mark your calendars accordingly:

1) Sale of withdrawn book bank books on 13 October, 2015

2) Take Away of books on 15 October, 2015

3) Book Exhibition on 15 – 16 October, 2015

`No school bag' day on Oct 15 as tribute to Prez Kalam

Instead, schools to line up reading activities that day

As a tribute to our former president APJ Abdul Kalam, the state government has decided to observe October 15, his birth anniversary , as Vaachan Prerna Diwas or `Reading Day'. City schools will celebrate this day as `No School Bag Day'.

The mandate recommends all students, from class three to eight, to take to reading non-academic books on that day . Schools have also been directed to conduct events and activities that inspire students to read such books. The state government has set a budget of about `6 lakhs for the day . Let's take a look at the activities that will be conducted as a part of the celebrations.

CONDUCT A BOOK EXHIBITION

Students can plan and organise a book exhibition; it can include all their favourite books.While organising the same, students can interact with each other about their reading habits and also learn about some of the most popular books in the world.

GIFT-A-BOOK ACTIVITY

It can be any book, other than a textbook. Be it story books, comics, classics, fiction or non-fiction, students are being encouraged to gift each other a book of their choice, which initiate discussions and enhance their understanding.

INVITE AUTHORS

Some schools are also planning to invite famous authors to meet the children and share their expertise and experience. It will be an enriching experience as children will get to know in detail about writing as a profession, understand the nuances of publishing and the steps that go into being a successful author.

LECTURES BY LITERATURE EXPERTS

The intention of conducting lectures by literature and other subject experts is to broaden the perspectives of students, who spend most of their time in studies and other extra curricular activities. These experts will share knowledge that's not usually a part of the syllabus.

READING A BOOK, NOT TEXTBOOK

Since students come across only textbooks and worksheets while schooling, the day will be dedicated to taking them beyond that and reading all kinds of books. This will enhance their academic knowledge and get them grades. An interactive activity , it will introduce children to well-known authors from around the world and enhance their experience. Reading books can help them expand their horizons and learn things beyond textbooks.

READ OUT LOUD

Although reading might be practised by students on a regular basis, not many know the benefits of reading out loud. One of the activities lined up for this day is to read out loud, so that you understand each and every word you read, their pronunciations, meaning, the tone in which they are used and the context it is used. Reading out loud also boosts our confidence and generates valuable feedback.

Source: The Times of India dated 13 October, 2015

Why your Facebook account needs to be included in your Will

The Internet has changed the way we live. Technology has taken over our lives in many ways and most of us are a tangled mess of emails, smartphones, iPads and laptops. We use technology for almost everything we do—our morning alarm, daily calendar, correspondence through WhatsApp, emails and SMS, bank accounts and social network accounts. This dependence on the Internet has given us something new to think about—dgital assets. During our lifetimes, they afford us the luxury of being able to do almost everything on-the-go and immediately. But what happens to these assets when we pass away?

Justin Ellsworth died while serving in the US armed forces. His father, appointed personal representative of his estate, sought access to his Yahoo account to make a memorial for him. Yahoo has a policy of not sharing passwords and refused to co-operate.

When Helen and Jay Stassen’s 21-year-old son, Benjamin, committed suicide, the Stassens went searching for answers. They found themselves engaged in a conflict with Facebook and Google. Both companies refused to give them access to their son’s account.

In both these cases, the families had to resort to getting a court order for access to information. These cases highlight the uncertainty about privacy of people’s digital lives in the event of their death.

What are digital assets?

Historically, a person’s estate consisted of a Will, trusts, life insurance policies, and any property that a person owned, including financial accounts. While many people manage their finances, business, and personal lives online, only a few have organised or centralised their online accounts. This can make managing and distributing these assets difficult after the person has died, and can lead to confusion for family members, denial of access, and even an inability to locate the accounts or information in the first place.

What happens to the many posts you made on social networking sites if you die or become incapacitated? What about the emails you stored with various service providers? What happens to the thousands of images you have stored on your Flickr or Instagram accounts? Maybe you run a website or a blog or an online business. What about registered domain names and libraries of movies, digital music and e-books that can be of significant value? Even closely held companies have information that is digital: banking records, documents, spreadsheets, personnel records, domain names.

For the majority of us, these accounts and digital assets are likely to outlive us. And when we die, it is left up to family members and executors of the Will to sort through them all. A digital estate plan is a plan for the succession of your digital assets. It can help your family locate and access any accounts you have online. With the launch of the Digital India campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our daily involvement with the digital world is only going to rise.

What happens to digital assets without any plan?

It’s almost always in the terms of service of every digital company to not share your account information with anyone other than you. Most companies are aware of the trust placed in them, and take their responsibility to protect the privacy of people who use these services seriously. Companies like Google, Twitter and Outlook may provide content from the account on the receipt of relevant documentation but will not provide passwords or other mechanisms that would enable anyone to log in to a user’s account. Google also goes a step further with “Inactive Account Manager,” which is a way to either share or delete the account after a set period of inactivity. Others like LinkedIn will remove the account without transferring data to related family members. Facebook gives you two options—you can either delete your late family member’s account or to memorialise it. It will not transfer the account to anyone.

Making a plan for digital assets

Many states in the US have enacted laws incorporating certain online accounts or information into the probate process and are taking steps to enact specific laws relating to digital assets. In India, however, this seems some time away. A number of online companies have also started which allow you to indicate who can access your online accounts when you are no longer alive.

Given the lack of legal clarity in this area, it just makes practical sense to get organised now and to take care of your digital assets, to the extent possible. So, here is how you can do it:

1. Make a plan for your digital assets; you may wish to back up data in an external hard-drive to store photos, e-mails, documents, and other work product.

2. Take inventory of your digital accounts and assets, assemble a list of passwords.

3.Store details in an easy to reach location.

4.Give trusted family members information, instructions and authority so that they know what you have, where it is located, and how you want to dispose of it.

The truth is that today more and more of our lives are online and this will only increase. It is imperative to understand what you keep online and what will happen to it once you are no longer there. Careful planning and organisation increases the likelihood that digital assets are handled in a manner consistent with your wishes.

Gautami Gavankar, principal advisor-estate planning, Kotak Mahindra Trusteeship Services Ltd

Source: LiveMint dated 13/10/2015