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MySchool: Celebrating Childhood and Learning

By
Akash
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MySchool

MySchool is a premium preschool in Lucknow that redefines how parents, mentors, educators and practitioners look at early childhood learning. MySchool brings together the most comprehensive set of practices, values and experiences that have evolved in recent times.

Nikhil_Garg
Nikhil Garg, Director – MySchool, Lucknow

Our state-of-the-art infrastructure combined with innovative teaching methodologies makes us pioneers of new-age education in the city. We are an emerging brand in the city and with our progressive and enterprising approach we are looking forward to becoming trendsetters of the education sector. We endeavour to deliver education that is not just at par with metro cities, but also with the international standard.

In our attempt to bring together a multitude of experiences and best practices, MySchool is the only preschool in Lucknow to have collaborated with one of the most reputed names in the field of learning, Shri Educare Limited (SEL) of Shri Ram Schools.

Most parents don’t give preschool education the importance it deserves. They think it doesn’t really matter in the long-run and that the real learning starts with primary education. However, according to education experts, preschool is essential for a child’s education. It’s the time when brain development is at its fastest.

Many researches corroborate that the skills such as life skills, good habits, attitude towards life, etc learnt during preschool years remain helpful throughout one’s life. Children who have been to a good preschool perform better in life ahead. We consider it as our responsibility to give the right start from the very beginning to each of our student.

Our curriculum is an amalgamation of all the best techniques of the three methods of teaching: Montessori, Play Way and Reggio Emilia.

Education at MySchool is completely experiential. Our entire curriculum is activity based and we are strictly against rote learning. Students are given hands on learning of every concept. Values and etiquettes are taught through storytelling and role play. Our activities are designed to tickle the curiosity of the child and they are encouraged to ask questions. We inculcate decision-making capabilities among the students by exposing them to different situations. This makes the children independent and confident.

Our building is built on the BaLa concept that is Building as a learning aid. Its spaces have been decorated and furnished in a way to provide a wide-ranging stimulus to children to explore and learn through play. The School has been designed and developed in full conformity with the WHO norms for education spaces. The design complies with the best international standards, which is the first for Lucknow. We aim to be not only Lucknow’s, but Uttar Pradesh’s first green preschool, with closely monitored carbon footprints and sustainable design and processes.

Sanfort – Revolutionising Early Childhood Education

By
Akash
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Sanfort

Sanfort is a well-established name in the early learning space today. The brand has spread over to 200 locations in India and neighbouring countries in less than 9 years. The child-centric curriculum and approach towards early childhood learning have been widely appreciated by the industry and the parent community, says Sneha Rathor, CEO – Academics & innovations, Sanfort Group of Schools, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

What have been the key factors behind the success of your school’s brand?

Sneha Rathor, CEO – Academics & innovations, Sanfort Group of Schools
Sneha Rathor, CEO – Academics & innovations, Sanfort Group of Schools

We have a strong branding, demographic research, and child-centric curriculum that parents love. Our curriculum involves effective, time-tested elements of traditional learning infused with cutting-edge technology, which bridges the learning gap. Our curriculum is crafted in the hexagram of ‘Core Value Circle’ which helps children in the Refinement of their senses, Gross & Fine Motor Development, Creative Development, Social development, Psychological & Personality Development and Practical life care for Self, Others and for the Environment. Sanfort with their unremitting research system have created an innovative curriculum and interactive pedagogy for preschoolers and have revolutionised the Indian preschool learning system. Sanfort is pioneer partner of TRINITY College of London for The Trinity Stars Award to encourage the teaching and learning of English language through drama, music and performance for early learners. We are also an active member of “British Association of Early Childhood Education” – U.K. & “Preschool Learning Alliance- U. K.”

What kind of infrastructure & facilities are provided at Sanfort to make the learning delightful, yet keeping children safe?

We believe that learning initiates from the environment itself, hence we have a beautiful childfriendly infrastructure with colourful thematic classrooms, activity area with lots of role play models, puzzles, blocks, educational games, toys and play equipment, our infrastructure is so attractive that children are not willing to go back home. Dealing with little one’s safety and security is our prime concern; hence we have anti-skid flooring in all the classrooms & activity area and soft spongy flooring in the play area for the safety of the children. All the doors are fitted with finger-guards and the school premises remains under CCTV surveillance.

Sanfort uses “True Smart Learning System”, how it helps the students in their learning?

Our classrooms are set up with world-class technology-enabled teaching tools with the objective of making teaching more effective and funfilled. Children play on the large touch panels with specially designed software and simultaneously learn alphabet, numbers, shapes and various early learning concepts. Our software is in sync with our curriculum, which gives students an experience of joyful learning.

What is Sanfort’s approach for the Holistic Development of children?

As times change, so does our approach to teaching and learning. Though we are a technology-enabled preschool chain but we never forget about the basics. Our teachers are being encouraged to get back to the basics by focusing on the classic teaching methods with a holistic approach to support early childhood development. We strongly believe in the principle of exploring and discovering. Childhood should be about free play, where children are allowed to play with sand & mud, fall and dust themselves up and discover their natural self through play.

We strive to provide an enriching learning experience to early learners by creating a tranquil, curious and challenging environment that foster’s their social, physical, emotional and cognitive development. We create an engaging environment by using colourful and intriguing concepts, activity areas and space for creative and free play. Supporting children as they learn at their own pace is important for development in the early years and we always encourage and take every opportunity to explore their interests by valuing and nurturing their individuality.

We have circle times where we allow children to express themselves, and explore their own thoughts and understand themselves better. We believe in understanding every child individually, which helps us to guide children to discover their passion and turn it into a learning opportunity. By building a strong relationship with them we create a strong engaging and communicating environment.

At Sanfort we aim to imbibe social, moral and cultural values in early learners through various events and celebrations, which induces in them the feeling of respect and concern towards people, society and environment.

Moreover, we believe that to create an engaging learning environment you need skilled teachers. At Sanfort we empower our teachers by equipping them with in-service orientation, education and intensive training programs to help them become a skilled and powerful early year educators.

You are on Franchise Model and in a franchise model, a lot depends upon your franchise partner what are your criteria to choose the right franchise partner and how well you bond with them?

Franchising is a great way to expand as we have people to manage our schools without tapping much of our own capital because franchisee owns the cost to open and operate the branch and will work much harder than employees. But in a franchise model success or failure of a brand depends on the success or failure of the franchises. So, it is very important to choose the right partner. We look into their financial status, social reputation, their educational background and their passion towards this profession. Once we chose a partner we give them proper training and inputs to run the school and complete handholding to make the venture successful.

What is the vision and plans of Sanfort?

Today, we have more than 200 schools and adding 10-12 preschools every month. We are targeting to reach 500 schools by the end of the financial year 2020 and we also have strong plans to open company-owned primary and K-12 schools in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Technology driven evolutions in teaching

By
Akash
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Technology has helped teachers to evolve their methods of delivering knowledge and make students learn any concept easily, writes Ratnesh Jha, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press-South Asia, for Elets News Network (ENN).

Ratnesh Jha, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press-South Asia
Ratnesh Jha, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press-South Asia

The past decade has seen a sea change in education. Technology, coupled with easy access to the internet, has dramatically closed the gap between teaching and learning. Students are tech savvy – often at the cutting edge – and with knowledge available at their fingertips. As a result, teachers know they need to become facilitators rather than orators; organizers rather than mere mentors, and guides rather than knowledge owners.

It is no longer surprising to see video clips of Pearl Harbour in the middle of a history class or clips of scientific experiments in a chemistry laboratory. Such use of technology can be categorised as being at the augmentation stage of the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model. The technology is being used in place of traditional tools, with some functional improvement. Increasingly however, the adoption of more and better technology in and outside classrooms set to become transformational – allowing significant redesign of tasks and the creation of new ways of learning.

The effect of this change is to bring what is expected from a teacher, taking the profession away from the role of specialists in education they have been restricted to in recent years, and towards the more traditional model of the guru – providing their students with holistic learning.

If asked to highlight the forces reshaping education alongside information technology, educationalists might also highlight teacher accountability and the ability to unlock potential by taking teaching and learning beyond the classroom.

Gone are the days when students sat in a classroom and received information passively. Gone are the days when teachers stood before the class, using chalk and talk to address wards, confident in the knowledge that besides textbooks, they were the only repositories of information.

The role of teachers has become all-encompassing and arguably more important. Apart from educating, their goal has extended to help producing happy, healthy, productive citizens who contribute to society and display passion for life-long learning. Teachers can help pupils make informed, intelligent decisions and use their expertise and experience in making a huge difference in many lives.

Similarly, a traditional teacher would pay distinct attention to students, to their individual aptitudes and capabilities. Evidence of modern-day skills has been found deeply embedded in our ancient education system, such as critical analysis, introspection, storytelling, hands-on methodology and meetings.

With teaching going beyond classrooms, applying knowledge to real life is a pivotal factor. Higher-order thinking is the call of the day since contemporary students love being challenged. Teachers are playing the all-rounder’s role of friend, philosopher and guide, addressing a deeper sense of learning, nurturing students’ ambitions, clarifying their doubts, motivating them to surpass their best and more.

It is a big task, but the technology that has helped to drive the change is also there to support teachers in their new, old, expanded role. (Disclaimer: Views Expressed are a personal opinion)

Career Counselling: Importance and Need for Next Generation

By
Akash
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Career Counselling

In this age of disruption, only the right career counselling for the gen-next can bring about a positive and profitable change, writes Anurag Gupta, Head, Career Education Business (India), NIIT Limited, for Elets News Network (ENN).

Anurag Gupta
Anurag Gupta, Head, Career Education Business (India), NIIT Limited

Way back in 1992, Management Guru Peter Drucker termed the last two decades of the 20th century as a period of disruption and discontinuity. The exponential changes we experience even today are at break-neck speed and frequently disorienting. The explosion of new technologies has brought forth the need for newer industries and careers such as ethical hacking, data scientists, photonics, e-retailers, app development, and YouTube professionals, changing the careers landscape of the world.

According to a research done by Market researcher IDC, AI-powered CRM activities could increase global business revenues by $1.1 trillion and create 8,00,000 new jobs by 2021. Also, a NASSCOM study reveals that by 2022, nine percent of the workforce will be in jobs that don’t even exist today.

Driving the change

As our hunger for knowledge keeps increasing, the implications of it on work, leisure, and leadership can be experienced first-hand by all stakeholders. Gone are the days of regular jobs, permanent employment and working hard to move up the career ladder. These paradigms have changed, unconventional roles are on the rise, career graphs are changing and working smart is the new mantra – and the ladder could well be in a vertical context.

In 2016, FICCI and Rolland Berger along with member BRICS countries carried out a study on “Skill development for Industry 4.0”. The report highlighted job polarisation with a decline in the mid-level, repetitive and rule based jobs and a sharp increase in demand for creative and design oriented high order skills.

What’s ironic though is that even though the jobs seem to have increased; millions are still jobless and large companies are facing a huge talent crunch. It’s a grave situation to be in. According to World Bank report, every month, the working age increases by 1.3 million people and India must create 8.1 million jobs a year to maintain its employment rate, which has been declining based on employment data analysed from 2005 to 2015.

There is also fault in the design of our complicated education system where skilling and soft skills aren’t the focus. Only scores matter, giving rise to mental anxiety, stress and depression. The only way to make the future better is to understand the gaps and fill it through right career counselling.

Crack the code

The next generation is full of promises with their new-age talents, skills and strengths – a perfect recipe for a fulfilling career. The diverse opportunities and the number of jobs in business and entrepreneurship may have risen; but the questions to ask the Generation Z is – are you cut for it? Is it cut for you? Will you be able to make a long-term impact?

On the other hand, an interesting study conducted by NIIT recently, suggested that millennials, graduates and under-graduate students aspire for a certain lifestyle. However, they fall under a category called ‘drifters’ who are not fully aware of what needs to be done to pursue that lifestyle. One may think that the Gen Z with all its information and access to technology and Internet and mobile addiction is ready for whatever the next boom is. Not true! This new “gig” economy with its changing dynamics of businesses and bewildering variety of jobs has created new opportunities for some, but not all job-seekers. Most often than not, both – parents and students – remain unaware of all the available career choices. The lack of credible information lands them in further confusion about their choice. Therefore, the need of the hour is to offer them the right information, understand their aptitude and strengths and guide them to the right career path.

Creating an impact

The learning and skilling industry has been involved in an in-depth understanding of the emerging future of work, while focusing on being ‘Inspiring Mentors’ for Gen Z to make a true impact. Technology is leveraged to help them take an informed decision. The career counselling techniques are based on scientific theories that gauge the aptitude and career interestto come up with an assessment. This is followed by mentoring to offer guidance and counselling through innovative means. Students could connect with these counsellors online to find out more information about prospective career options, including those that are oriented towards the hobbies and interests of students that are becoming best career choices with great sources of income.

It’s a known fact that career counselling brings about an attitudinal shift. Therefore, the key to shaping a successful future of the next gen lies in offering the right counselling to them, at the right time. The earlier they start, the better it is for the economy.

RANGOLI Preschools: Developing Foundation for Life-long Learning

By
Akash
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RANGOLI is an initiative of Pratham Educare Pvt Ltd (PEPL), a company promoted by eminent educationists, successful management professionals and personalities committed to the cause of bringing about much-needed changes in the prevalent system of education. This journey started with the opening of our first centre at Vadodara. Currently, the company operates over 75 preschools across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Prahar Anjaria,Chairman, Rangoli Group of Institutes
Prahar Anjaria,Chairman, Rangoli Group of Institutes

At RANGOLI, we try to provide the environment which helps a child to learn effectively and make learning a matter of sheer joy. We provide personalised treatment as every child is different. The academic programme at RANGOLI focuses on activity based pragmatic learning. Our curriculum is designed by keeping balance between playing and learning, providing holistic development.

E4 Pedagogy:

With the inputs of teachers and eminent educationists, RANGOLI has developed and designed a courseware that focuses on various areas like socio-emotional, creativity, language, physical, cognitive, intellectual, moral and aesthetical development.

RANGOLI follows E4 pedagogy which uses innovative methods to create a learning environment which helps a child to effectively utilise the pedagogy and achieve each and every milestone of learning and development.

Teaching-Learning Process:

Teaching-learning process at RANGOLI is innovative and focuses more on activity based pragmatic learning methodology. Teaching aids and toys used during the classroom sessions help child to develop fine motor-skills. Games and activities are conducted on regular basis to develop gross-motor skills. Audio-visual classrooms cater to different needs of every learner in a classroom.

Children explore and manipulate real objects and events through monthly educational themes implemented at preschools. Through different methodologies, children experience and explore concepts of different subjects such as: Mathematics, English, Hindi, EVS, Drawing, Craft, Physical Education, Value Education, Storytelling, Drama, Role play, Fancy dress, Visits, Work experience, dance, instrumental and vocal music, prayers and rhymes etc.

RANGOLI group also organises training sessions for teachers on regular intervals in a year. These training programmes include sessions on child development, behaviour, teaching techniques and many more. Teachers are given theoretical and practical exposure to different methods of teaching.

Activities at RANGOLI:

At RANGOLI, apart from academics, children are also exposed to values and being empathetic towards others with “PROJECT SAMVEDNARANGOLI – Joy of Giving”. Students also celebrate various festivals to respect the religious beliefs of people across nation.

RANGOLI also believes in partnering with the parents for laying foundation of future-ready citizen among students. Various activities like Fathers’ Day, Mothers’ Day, and Grandparents’ Day etc. are organised at RANGOLI preschools to increase parents’ involvement.

RANGOLI also provides platforms to polish the inherent talents of young ones in the form of Creative Marathon which include: Sparsh – Colouring competition; Jhankar – Solo Dance competition; Kilkariyan – Rhyme singing competition; Abhivyakti – Story telling competition; Udaan – Spell Bee competition and Aakar – Drawing Competition.

Awards and Recognitions:

RANGOLI Preschool has been awarded as “Best Preschool 2016 and Best Preschool Chain 2017” on various platforms for its outstanding contribution to improve quality of education.

Nearly 10,000 visitors rock InfoComm India 2018!

By
Akash
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Infocomm

The 6th edition of InfoComm India recently concluded on a high note, creating new records in terms of show visitor participation. It also broke new ground in scale and depth of innovations displayed and topics discussed.

“We are delighted to note that InfoComm India continued to grow in participation numbers, breadth and depth of innovations and technological solutions displayed and explored,” said Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoCommAsia, the organiser of the show organised earlier this month between 18 – 20 September.

“We are even more gratified to note that an increasing number of key industry and public sector leaders have recognized the value that InfoComm India is contributing to India’s road to digital revolution. We are confident that with the continued support of industry and government, the show will grow in tandem with India’s progress.”

ON THE SHOW FLOOR

The number of unique visitors came close to breaking the 10,000 mark, with 9,902 thronging the exhibition halls, representing an impressive 21% increase over 2017. It was visibly continuing with the upward trend since the 1st Edition in 2013.

On the other end of the spectrum, more than 200 exhibiting companies from over 20 countries were on hand to unveil and display the latest innovations and solutions in Professional AudioVisual (Pro-AV) and Integrated Experience.

Increasingly, more exhibitors are capitalising on the visibility and wide media exposure of the InfoComm India to launch new technologies and solutions.

This year, 84 new innovations made their debut in the Indian market via the show. One of the favorite displays among visitors was undoubtedly the world’s first commercially-available DLP® laser 8K projector and videowall with the smallest pixel pitch at 0.7mm.

The educational component of the show, InfoComm India Summit registered 2,970 participants.

The expansive programme offered sessions across AVIXA Seminars, Industry and Technology Forums, AVIXA FlashTracks and Platinum Partners’ Presentations, supported by industry associations.

Leading experts and speakers engaged delegates with insightful presentations and passionate exchange of ideas.

Issues on smart cities, urban transportation, education, e-government and healthcare, among others, were extensively explored and discussed, bringing to the fore the complexity and diversity of the impact of digital technology on people and business, and the defining role that Pro-AV and Integrated Experience technologies play in facilitating the digital revolution.

Giving InfoComm India the cutting edge as the premier show in Pro-AV and Integrated Experience solutions is partnership with trade and industry associations.

This year, InfoComm India partnered with All India Institute of Local Self Government, Computer Society of India (Mumbai Chapter), Digital Signage Multimedia Alliance, ICT Academy, and Institute of Indian Interior Designers, Mumbai Regional Chapter. These associations brought to the show the latest in technologies that drive their industries and cross fertilization of ideas at the Summit greatly enriched the experiences of delegates.

Speaking on the occasion, Amardeep Behl, Director, Design Habit, said:  “I have been coming to InfoComm India for many years, and the show is even more thrilling this time, getting more active and dynamic with an even denser participation.

“To me as an Indian practitioner, India needs more exposure and I am glad that InfoComm is doing that in a correct way. The more exposure we give India, the better. We are the masters; we just need to harness technology and understand how to deliver technology with quality. This platform is a great step towards that,” he added.

“We have been frequent visitors to InfoComm India and this time I have found some outstanding products that have great relevance to the immersive experiences that we do. The whole place has a festive atmosphere, and it is always a pleasure to visit the Show,” said Vamshi Krishna, Regional Business Head, Brightstar

“It was a fantastic show. There were many local and international players this time, representing the industry. We got an opportunity to see many new visitors and innovative technologies. The exhibitors made very good presentations of their products with a business focus, and we were able to build many new contacts,” said S V Phani Kumar, SPM Enterprise Communications

INFOCOMM INDIA 2019

InfoComm India will return next year from 18 – 20 September 2019 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.

Need to nurture global citizens through education: Vice President

By
Akash
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“Education is not only for employment, but also meant to empower students and help them become global citizens,” Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday.

Addressing the fourth convocation ceremony of the National Institute of Technology Goa (NIT Goa), the vice-president said that the country faces numerous challenges and they have to be combated in a concerted manner to build a ‘New and Resurgent India’.

Emphasising on the urgent need to revamp Indian higher education in tune with contemporary requirements, he said: “We simply cannot continue to have lakhs of engineering students graduating without basic employable skills every year. This undesirable trend has to be stopped.”

Suggesting that the educational courses must be designed to meet the needs of industries, he said: “Our universities need to overhaul the syllabi and the teaching methodologies to make the courses relevant to the needs of the industries. I also feel that engineering students should be made to work as interns for some weeks every year to enable them gain firsthand experience.”

He said that the country can be proud of accomplishments made in the past seven decades in various fields, including agriculture, industry, information technology and atomic energy, but a lot still remains to be done.

“Although our achievements have been quite impressive during the past seven decades in various fields, including agriculture, industry, health, atomic energy, defence research and information technology, among others, we have miles to go. We need to improve the quality of life of the millions of Indians, and the role of scientists and engineers is very important in overcoming various challenges,” he said.

Referring climate change and global warming as two of the biggest challenges the world is facing today, he said that all nations have to step up their efforts to protect the environment and reduce carbon footprint. He said, “I have always maintained that man should not tamper with nature, but co-exist in harmony with nature for a greener, life-enhancing future.”

“Please remember that from times immemorial, Indians believed in worshipping nature and its bounty. Therefore, always uphold our culture and protect nature for a better future,” he said while addressing students.

The vice-president also shared his thoughts on various social atrocities among the students adding, “Poverty, illiteracy, diseases, farmers’ distress and social evils like atrocities on women and weaker sections, child labour, terrorism, communalism and corruption have to be eradicated to build a New and Resurgent India. I expect the youth of the country to be in the forefront of this noble mission.”

He asked the students to come up with innovative and cost-effective solutions, especially in areas such as healthcare and education. “As engineers, it is important for you to take a closer look at the collective needs of the populace and come up with innovative, cost-effective solutions, especially in areas such as healthcare and education. I would also like the engineering professionals to assume greater responsibility in creating safe, secure, healthy, productive and sustainable life for the countrymen,” Naidu added.

The vice president said “for India to become the third largest and a 10 trillion dollar economy by 2030, we have to surmount many barriers and achieve faster growth”.

Naidu said India is the fastest-growing economy and its Gross Domestic Product is expected to grow at 7.3 per cent next year. “With improvement in the ease of doing business rankings, India has become an attractive destination for FDIs, while the World Bank had stated that private investments are expected to grow by 8.8 per cent in FY 2018-19,” he said. Naidu praised the infotech industry and also the Government’s “Skill India” programme.

“The IT sector continues to be a leading employer even as India remained the third largest hub for technology startups,” he said. “With India poised to become a high middle-income country by 2030, there will be lot of opportunities for the youth in different sectors,” he added.

“The need of the hour is to impart skills to the youngsters to enable them find gainful employment or become self-employed. The government’s ‘Skill India’ programme is a step in that direction,” the vice president stated.

Birla Open Minds Preschool: Nurturing India’s Tomorrow

By
Akash
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Freedom, intelligence, skills and care according to me are the essential key words for appreciative growth and as J.D Krishnamurti had rightly said “Education is not merely the pouring of information into a mind, but also the bringing about of the total well being of a child.”

Pratima Sinha, CEO, DSR Educational Society
Pratima Sinha, CEO, DSR Educational Society

The vision of our schools is very closely related to this thought process, to provide a happy, caring and stimulating environment where children and teachers will recognize and achieve their fullest potential, so that they can make their best contribution to the society.

To keep the Vision intact we have been focusing on various aspects of school community growth:

  • Freedom of Choice
  • Imbibing Soft Skills
  • Empowering Individuals
  • Encourage Independent Thinking
  • Health Care and Safety
  • Increased Global Presence
  • Building Digital Environment
  • Compliances on Statutory requirements
  • Future Ready with five year developmental plan
  • Direct and Seamless Information
  • Parent Network Contribution
  • Outreach Programmes(Community Service)
  • Continual Improvement of Academic Quality Management System
  • Curriculum and Pedagogy

Under the aegis of DSR Educational Society we have Birla Open Minds International K12 School affiliated to CBSE and CAIE (Middle School) and six Birla Preschools. As the name suggests, we are in partnership with Birla Edutech Ltd, an education initiative of Yash Birla group to cater to the Preschool and K -12 school requirements in the city of Hyderabad.

Our state of the art infrastructure facilitates a seamless integration of learning between concepts and real life environment. Having an integrated curriculum gives an edge to our students with the new age methodologies.

Our staff are trained and equipped to mentor the students to prepare them for the 21st Century challenges. The simple values that we like to imbibe in our students to make them future ready by elaborating on their skills are Adaptability, Aesthetics, Communication, Courage, Criticism, Creativity, Efficiency, Logical Thinking, Thriftiness, Love of life and many more.

Celebration of success for us would be when our students create a flutter in the society for their humane work and services, their smart decisions and positive thinking. The next step or I would say challenge is not to sit on our laurels but always keep up the pace with the new researches, skills and insights to be adapted for sustainability. This will give us lifelong satisfaction to have achieved what had been our Vision when we started the journey of Education.

Importance of Assessment to Impart Quality Education to Young Learners

By
Akash
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Assessment is a key component of learning because it helps students to know about their learning levels. But, how do assessments help young learners in their holistic development, explores Elets News Network (ENN).

Priya Krishnan, CEO and Founder, KLAY Prep Schools and Daycare
Priya Krishnan, CEO and Founder, KLAY Prep Schools and Daycare

Early childhood education, which emerged only in the last few decades, comes with a horde of benefits ranging from better socialising skills, exposure to diversity, greater coordination skills, and increased level of confidence and creativity.

However, we must never underestimate the power of early learning systems and programmes and we also need to understand how critical assessments are when it comes to evaluating and improving these very programmes so as to suit the different developmental needs of children. This is where the concept of regular assessments comes into picture. Why are assessments important when it comes to early childhood education? Can these assessments be used to ensure that a child gains the most when it comes to their journey of learning?

Unlike standardised tests, that all our little ones may be exposed to as they grow older, preschool assessments do not come with right or wrong answers. They are in fact means of evaluating a child’s social, emotional and cognitive skills so that the programmes can be fine-tuned to meet their development needs. Regular assessments, therefore, help an educator plan individualised instructions for a child as well as for a group of children who are in the same developmental stage.

Methods of assessments are widespread from observing a child interacting in their different learning zones to the maintenance of regular records for every child and to assessment tools that are useful in evaluating a child’s social, emotional and cognitive abilities. The assessment methods range from formal methods to those that guide decisions around a child’s performance in a particular programme.

According to Priya Krishnan, CEO and Founder, KLAY Prep Schools and Daycare, “It is important for us to understand that no child learns at the same pace and what may work for one child may not for another. However, it is only through observing and documenting a child’s performance over the course of a year or over a few months, that an educator can gather details on a child’s development. Incorporating changes post-these assessments can go a long way when it comes to making programmes richer and more beneficial for our little ones.”

It is important to stress on early learning systems and educational assessments but at the same time it is equally important to keep in mind that a programme can have maximum impact on a child’s life only when parents and teachers will be in coordination with each other for kids’ education. They have to work together towards supporting a child intellectually and socially in their crucial formative years.

Assessments, if correctly and carefully conducted, are a valuable aid when it comes to discovering and nurturing children to reach their maximum potential. However, in the process, we as parents and educators must not forget that at the end of the day, learning is also about having lots of fun. The moment we eliminate fun from a child’s life, an entire educational programme will be meaningless.

Let us, as educators and parents, make learning a joyful experience and proudly watch our children turning into confident and sensitive human beings ready to take on the world!

Mobile First Kids

By
Akash
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The growing use of technology in education is helping kids to improve their learning outcomes in lesser time, writes Lina Ashar, Founder, Kangaroo Kids Preschool and Billabong High International, for Elets News Network (ENN).

In his famous article “Software eats the world” which turned out to be quite prophetic, Marc Andreesesen, creator of Netscape browser, predicted that more and more physical world services and goods will turn digital as the technology will progress.

Lina Ashar, Founder, Kangaroo Kids Preschool and Billabong High International
Lina Ashar, Founder, Kangaroo Kids Preschool and Billabong High International

Think of anything that you do daily; a tremendous amount of digital technology is involved with it. Some of them are tangible like Google Maps, Email, WhatsApp, smartphones, computers, TVs and pictures that you use daily.

Some are not tangible but, the food you buy at super market, the flight you take, the news you read and full body health check-ups are only possible because of the advent progress of digital technology behind them.

The integration of technology in every field is accelerating with aggressive adoption of machine learning, artificial intelligence and smart and IoT enabled devices.

A vast majority of Indian parents and educators started their life in pre-computer, preinternet era. Their education was based on text books, hearsay and parents’ wisdom. They saw the arrival of TV, cable TV, computers, internet, and smart phones.

Remember the hue and cry when TVs first made it to homes and Doordarshan introduced Chitrahaar and Sunday movies? A lot of parents thought that was going to spoil their kids and it would affect their young minds.

Then came the cable TV with different channels related to news, entertainment and music etc, TV became a 24X7 phenomenon and once again parents and educators struggled how to live with this phenomenon to regulate the TV time for children. Today, almost every household has television as an essential appliance. It has become a part of our lives.

Computers were lucky. Initially they were tools for coding and were revered. Then they were connected to the Internet. Internet opened a world of unlimited online gaming to comics to music and to movies. Once again, there was a huge resistance in allowing kids to browse Internet. Today, a laptop or a desktop connected to Internet is essential in any household and nobody can imagine not letting children use a computer.

When we look back, on introduction of new technology, the generation comfortable with the technology’s previous versions was always apprehensive of the modern technology. But the new generation figured out a way to harness it and to invent the new set of tools for using new versions of technology.

The current generation of kids is going to start learning, communication, creative expression, and media consumption on a smart mobile device. They are our “Mobile First Kids.

Today, we are living in a smart phone era. Almost everything that we used to do on computers 10 years ago is now on smart phones. The current generation of kids is going to start learning, communication, creative expression, and media consumption on a smart mobile device. They are our “Mobile First Kids”. Just like every technology wave that came in the past, mobile comes with a good side and a bad side.

The bad side is – addiction, lack of tactile experiences, being exposed to bad content, less playtime and missing on interpersonal skills. The upside is that the best of the best educators around the world are curating and creating educational content for kids to learn and explore on their own.

There are thousands of amazing learning tools, millions of how to do videos and hundreds of millions of kids are online around the world to form groups, develop interests and create amazing stuff that was not possible just a decade ago.

Once again, parents, educators and society in general have widely diverse views on whether kids should allow to use an iPad or a Smartphone. Irrespective of our views and apprehensions, the kids have already embraced these devices. It is their tool to build their future and the future is only getting more digital and more technologically advanced.

The good news is, there are several best practices that can be easily implemented both at school and at home. Government agencies, NGOs and peer funded focus groups all over the world are studying the impact of mobile in a child’s life and are coming with simple guidelines to mitigate the negative effects and to make the best use of it.

As guardians, it’s our job to educate ourselves and to educate our children about how to use these devices with discipline and structure. One day, which is not too far, they will, in turn, educate us about the new wonderful possibilities. (Disclaimer: Views expressed by the author are a personal opinion.)

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