| Editorial | |
| Promoting Education for A Better India | |
| Cover Story | |
| Brats n Cuties Abode of Preschool Learning | |
| Special Interview | |
| More efficiency in Higher Education is need of the hour | |
| Special Schools | |
| Educating state of the art way | |
| Shaping Lives With positive bonds | |
| In Focus Schools | |
| Catering to Students’ future needs | |
| Interview | |
| TGWS preparing 21ST Century students | |
| Little Elly, Heaven of Fun Filled PreSchool Life | |
| Serosoft’s Academia ERP making education a joyful experience | |
| Schools in Focus | |
| Golden Bells Pre School Channelises KIDS’ nborn wisdom | |
| Conference Outcome | |
| Conference Outcome – Where Great Minds Discuss Grey Matter | |
| Startup World | |
| Campify connecting students to their world |
Promoting Education for A Better India :: September 2016
Campify connecting students to their world
Campify App connects students to their college community. Be it academic information or student clubs, it offers a bouquet of services on a single platform while engaging students socially via Q and A forums and instant messenger, shares Divya Goyal, Co-Founder, Campify, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)
Tell us about your company. What drove you to launch this Startup?
Ans. Tushar Goyal, my co-founder and husband, and I were jointly running NZT Solutions, a mobile app development company. We wanted to shift our operations from services to a product. We reviewed several ideas before finalising Campify.
Campify is a one-stop destination for students connecting them to their college community for information and interaction. The Campify App has everything on a single platform – academic information to student clubs and from job interviews to social activities. It engages students via forums, discussion groups and instant messenger.
In the age of WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, how does Campify offer a distinct experience to student fraternity?
We intend facilitating things for professional purpose, others seem primarily aiming social interaction.
They lack key features required for the students and presently the information is spread disproportionately via these media, thus raising many privacy and ethical issues. We don’t wish students miss out important information due to distraction caused by unrelated data.
It’s time to have something better, something easier, something smarter.
How is Beta version launched in 20 premier NITs different from the Alpha version launched in NIT-Kurukshetra on April 16?
In the Alpha version launched at NIT, Kurukshetra, the key features were notice board, academic information, events and campus news. We then received several suggestions and ideas for improvement from students. We brainstormed on these ideas and suggestions for over a month and built several wireframes for a/b testing. In the Beta version, we improved the app look, enhanced UX (User experience) and added some new features like Crowdsourcing, Q & A Forum, Buy & Sell, Instant Messenger and Alumni Connect.
Do you have any plans to take Campify to IITs, IIMs or other prominent universities?
Yes, we are planning to take Campify to IITs, IIMs, and other prominent universities. Our goal is to go live in over 100 colleges by August 2017.
With a huge annual influx of students from smaller cities, who don’t have much technical exposure, what relief Campify can offer to them?
Campify is a very intuitive mobile app.70% students in India use smartphones and these students have some knowledge of technology. Via user onboarding and tutorials, they can easily understand how the app will work. We also have a dedicated customer support team which is available 24 X7 to support them.
Serosoft’s Academia ERP making education a joyful experience
As the company fathom that the end-customers for any institution are the students ultimately, they need to be served with efficiency. Thus, our flagship product Academia comes with student/parent portals and Mobile Apps for information access anytime, anywhere, said Arpit Badjatya, CEO & MD, Serosoft Solutions Pvt Ltd., in conversation with Elets News Network
What was the idea behind making of the Academia ERP?
The genesis of Academia is linked to my own experience as a student at the US and Belgium universities. I was impressed by the use of technology in the classroom for learning, and at the institution for administration and activities. I used to wonder why Indian institutions were lagging in terms of educational technology, when we are indeed the world leaders in IT and softwares.
So, after my engineering from the US and MBA from IIM-Calcutta, and stints with JP Morgan London and Accenture India, I decided to embark upon entrepreneurship with Serosoft. At Serosoft, our raison-d’etre (reason to be) is to build and implement worldclass education management/student management software to ease learning, teaching, resource management, and administration at educational institutions globally, with our flagship product being Academia. We serve different segments of the education and learning market with various versions of Academia. Moreover, we started off with a focus on India, and we’ve been expanding internationally at a swift pace for three years.
How did you convert your idea into an implementable methodology?
Academia, our product has gone through a product lifecycle from introduction to growth to maturity. This expansion has happened in terms of constant evolution with regard to features, modules, technology, reporting, analytics and mobility, based on our constant internal R & D, and of course, the customer feedback.
What education segments that you majorly focus on and what solutions do you offer?
Owing to its flexible architecture and high configurability, we have built Academia to address three key segments — Academia ERP/SIS: For Universities, Colleges and Education Groups, Academia SMS: For Schools and Groups of Schools, and Academia TMS: For Training Centers and Coaching Organizations
All these versions are tailored for the specific segment, with modules spanning student lifecycle management and administration. What is also unique about Academia is the ability to work with multi-center and multi-campus operations of educational institutions, and its multi-currency and multi-language capabilities. All the solutions are offered on SaaS or License models.
With today’s student fraternity being quite tech-savvy how do you leverage their technology-friendliness?
As the company believes that the endcustomers of educational institutions are ultimately the students, they need to be served well. Thus, our flagship product – Academia comes with student/ parent portals and Mobile Apps for information access – anytime, anywhere. In addition, we have focussed on creating interactive and rich UI, so that it is a delight for students to use Academia and its self-service features as daily tools for communication, collaboration and feedback. Finally, we have included rich reporting and analytics capabilities to aid the progress of each stakeholder in the education ecosystem, of course, including the students.
What sort of challenges did making of Academia ERP pose?
From a product design perspective, we can classify challenges as functional and technical. On the functional side, it was important that we build a product which is completely in tune with the context and constraints of our target market. For this, we had senior educationists, teachers advising us in writing the specifi cations of the product. We also did multiple surveys to address this aspect.
We aim to emerge as the No.1 Student Information System/ ERP on a global stage with 2,000 delighted institution clients by 2020. These customers will ultimately be our most effective brand evangelists
On the technical side, it was imperative for us to build an architecture that was scalable, compliant with the latest tech trends and would help us work with clients across geographies. We hired senior technologists with a product background to help us achieve it.
Apart from this, we faced and addressed challenges on the software development process side, pertaining to project management, deadlines, right resourcing to ensure minimal investment etc.
Some of these challenges are still encountered as we continue to innovate and forge ahead on the growth curve.
How do you see the growth of your brand in fi ve years down the line?
Academia currently is on a tremendous growth path. And, we see exciting times ahead. Our team and partners are constantly striving toward our ambition of being the world leader in campus automation. We aim to emerge as the No.1 Student Information System/ ERP on a global stage with 2,000 delighted institution clients by 2020. These customers will ultimately be our most effective brand evangelists.
Apart from this as a company, we want to emerge as the fi nest recruiter brands in the country, as ultimately it is our people who will help us achieve this shared vision.
Little Elly, Heaven of Fun Filled Preschool Life
The school is focusing on expanding footprints in north India. Its brand Little Elly program plays a key role in encouraging entrepreneurs to have a rewarding and challenging career with association, shares Preeti Bhandary, Director, Little Elly with Elets News Network (ENN).
What challenges contemporary preschool education is confronted with?
Preschool education sector faces a raft of problems like low teaching salaries, high teacher absenteeism, understaffi ng, inadequate training, weak quality and inadequate government support. Unavailability of quality teachers has turned a major challenge for Preschools.
Increasing competition in education is prompting parents to plan their children’s future from early childhood. Parents have high expectations from preschools in terms of ensuring compliance to the standards of teaching methods.
| Little Elly’s years of excellence have won it many awards including | |
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What distinguishes your school from the rest?
We perceive students’ safety and health as top priority. Most of the times, the students are happily engaged in a variety of activities, working in pairs or small groups all over the room. Our curriculum encourages students’ overall smartness.
Our Early Learning Program is an adventure in learning that builds through storybook, film, song, game, activity and poster. It infl uences concept and skills. It feeds the child’s imagination, his senses and intellect.
How significant is positive parental involvement in a child’s learning?
Our Little Elly program enables parents to guide the child into a wonderful chapter of preschool. We ensure parental involvement through their presence at general meeting, teacher meetings or during school events. We invite parents with special skills to participate in parent or staff meetings.
We encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom, giving them first-hand opportunity to see, how teachers work with children.
How much technology is transforming the school education’s landscape?
Despite new technologies to learn, our teachers remain an important part of our curriculum. Our teachers use ICT mainly for word processing and developing lesson plans to address the content of syllabus. This also includes adapting our paedagogy to interact with students and sharing monthly plans with parents.
With changing dynamics of the education sector, how your teachers are trying to keep things aligned with modern times?
Our teachers know the importance of being a child’s first and most important teacher. We recognize the importance of keeping records of a teacher’s effectiveness. The records range in form from a teacher’s individual notes to internal records, reports and observation results.
Records help to see the teacher is learning satisfactorily, if teacher can identify children not making expected progress, the resources she uses are appropriate and if parents are being duly informed.
What priorities you have set for future?
We are focusing on expansions in the northern regions. Franchising is very profitable as it creates new opportunity and increases the area of interest for an aspirant businessman eager to launch his own business and expect quick returns.
Our brand Little Elly plays a huge role in encouraging entrepreneurship to have a rewarding and challenging career. For people who always want to be a part of something bigger, Little Elly provides complete support in starting their own business through our franchise opportunity.
Shaping Lives With positive bonds
Parents play an equal role in imparting quality education and shaping up their child’s personality to excel in this beautiful world and the school lays lot of emphasis on the concept of school-home partnership, says Dr. Rajesh Hassija, Director, Indraprastha International School, Dwarka in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
How would you describe the main challenges in school education in the current scenario?
Inspiring a student to be a learner rather than an examinee is the biggest challenge in today’s scenario.
Amidst cut-throat competition and hollow claims to appear better than others, what are the real qualities that defi ne the best school?
Most of the schools today believe in showmanship. They have artifi cial halo. The school which has perfect positive bond amongst the facilitator (teacher), learner and the parent, I believe, is the best school.
How would you describe distinctiveness of your school?
I focus on the positive bonds as I have just mentioned and my team puts all efforts to inspire every child under our care. With the motto “Teach Each Child, Develop Whole Child”, we are trying to make a difference in the grooming of every child.
Can parental involvement leave a signifi cant impact on children’s learning and education? If yes, how?
Parents are equal partners in providing quality education and shaping every child to excel in this lovely world. I, as Principal, lay lot of emphasis on this school-home partnership.
With technology turning integral to learning the concepts of education, how do you view technology transforming the school education landscape?
Technology is the only tool which amalgamates all media for learning that is Text, Sound and Picture. Thus, it’s the best tool for facilitating learning. It also allows every child to learn at his/ her own pace of learning and at own level of learning. As an exponent of Integrating Technology, I strongly advocate mindscaping through integration of technology.
With ever changing dynamics of the education sector, how are your teachers changing their instruction & way of imparting education and how you keep the curriculum up-to-date to meet the changing demands?
Today’s child is hyperactive and has a great quest for learning newer things. There was a time, when students learned the way teacher taught but with the changing time, teacher must evolve a method by which students learn. Today, a teacher must focus on discovering the syllabus instead of covering the syllabus. If a teacher focuses on discovering the syllabus, the need for the change will be automatically taken care.
Today children are hyperactive and have a great quest for learning new things. With the changing time, teacher must evolve a method by which students can learn with joy.
What has been your biggest professional achievement so far? What priorities have you set for future?
I take pride in being a teacher, as I’m very passionate about teaching. I still remember while joining teaching profession in 1981, I promised to myself to be different. In the last 35 years, the smile on the faces of my students and their success in all domains is the biggest professional achievement for me. However, being advisor to number of schools on Integrating Technology, doing orientation programmes for newly appointed principals of CBSE schools, guiding schools on quality as member of QCI and getting the President of India Award, 2003 have been some of my professional achievements.
Golden Bells Pre School Channelises KIDS’ inborn wisdom
A fine balance between diversified aspirations of parents and their wards amidst a realistic set of constraints is established at Golden Bells Pre School, tells the school’s Director Dr.Rajeev Gupta in a tete-a-tete with Elets News Network (ENN).
What have been the key facets of evolution of the learning eco-system at your school?
The key facets of evolution of the learning eco system at Golden Bells Pre School can be definitely classified as Multiple Intelligence (MI) based curriculum and the teaching pedagogy adopted through experiential learning.
Students are taught in the most adaptable and unorganised way through the implementation of the MI profiling and thence worked upon on their individual innate strengths and learning and acquiring style keeping in mind the brain dominance and at the same time focussing on the different quotients – Intelligence; Emotional; Adversity and Creative.
Major emphasis is given on the inborn intelligences accompanied by the three learning styles – Auditory; Visual and Kinaesthetic.
Our scientific analysis through this unique concept guides an individual in assessing his / her inborn abilities and interest, the preferred learning style, the acquiring style, the distribution of all the multiple intelligences, the brain mapping, the reflex angle, the personality profiling and provides information regarding career options.
Children are provided the right ambience and a very stimulating and creative environment for their best, all round development in all requisite fields.
A curriculum anchored around innovation and reinvention, incorporating latest technology trends, facilitates in bringing about an inner change in every student, besides the dexterity and the aptitude to achieve success in an emerging global environment. It empowers the student to ‘think out of the box’.
What systems and processes have you deployed to accommodate the same?
Teaching pedagogies adopted at Golden Bells are innovative. In each student, we encourage self-confidence, curiosity, problem solving, use of different languages in groups, stimulate questioning and discussion, provide opportunities for conversation and self-expression in English. Certain unique features in our curriculum distinguish us from the rest.
Each child is endowed with a specific talent. To dig up this very distinctive talent in every student, we have incorporated this unique concept of MI. It is the scanning of the fingerprints and brain mapping that is the base of this technology.
Innovation is the epicenter of our School. We firmly believe in unleashing the genius in every child.
What has been the definitive purview about the incorporation of technology in the teaching learning processes at your school?
Golden Bells Pre School happens to be the first School in India to have incorporated MIA. Multiple Intelligence Assessment involves analyzing the potential of a child, learning styles, acquiring styles, brain dominance, and distribution of intelligences through the fingerprints. It identifies the various hidden intelligences, giving vital information about strengths and weaknesses of a child including emotional, creative, adversity, spiritual and intelligent quotients. The child is then introduced in his/her strong areas; enough care is taken to improve weak areas.
We lay emphasis on hands on learning wherein students learn and express the same in simple activities. We help the children connect their learning to real life and encourage them to innovate.
How do you maintain the fine balance between the diversified aspirations of parents and their wards amidst a realistic set of constraints which an educational environment poses?
A fine balance between the diversified aspirations of parents and their wards amidst a realistic set of constraints is established at Golden Bells Pre School.
Experiential learning helps them relate classroom theory to the world of work. Engaging in experiential learning opportunities helps them gain valuable work experience before they graduate and experience new work environments.
TGWS preparing 21st Century Students
Education at The Geekay World School, Vellore, TN aims at the overall development of body, mind and soul, through constant evolution in curriculum and pedagogical practices, say Vinod Gandhi, Managing Director, and Dr. Praseedha Sreekumar, Head of School of TGWS in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
What are the main challenges in school education today?
Nowadays a school’s vision not only focuses on students’ holistic development but also of the parents as an institutional strategy. Taking along parents turns the way forward full of bumpy rides. The parents’ alignment with the system and strategies for the institutional target is a bit challenging but attainable.
What features define the best school in modern times?
We strongly feel the best school is defined with how they execute things than what those things are. The main competent feature for today’s generation is about equipping them with leadership qualities defined by a few attributes — mastering communication skills, team building capabilities, methodologies nd strategies and, most importantly enabling students to have a passion to do pursue their dream. Best schools integrate these attributes in the curriculum for betterment of young minds. The best schools focus more on a long term future, than just today or tomorrow.
What sets your school apart from others?
We dream to offer flavours of international education, affordable even to the general public. Our evaluation strategies are mainly teacher centered and student friendly and encouraging, with friendly observation tools and corrective and constructive feedback. We are constantly on the track of new, innovative and emerging evaluation programmes. A fine and perfect amalgamation of Leadership Curriculum and Community Service Programme concentrating on the emotional quotient of each student is one of the striking and unique features of our school. We train students to become competent to face the 21st century challenges since our integrated curriculum at Pre-Primary, Primary and Middle School has been coined to inculcate various skills in students such as interpersonal skills, higher thinking skills, creative and critical thinking. These enable them to face the world confidently.
With technology becoming integral component of modern education, how is it transforming the school education landscape?
Technology is at the heart of learning at The Geekay World School (TGWS). The school activities which include-curriculum, co-scholastics and extracurricular activities centre on computer literacy and competency. Keeping this in mind, the unique curriculum framed and designed in Primary –GIPP (Geekay Integrated Primary Programme) and in Middle School-IMSP-(Integrated Middle School Programme) carry Technology as one of the core components of learning. This integration helps our students to emerge as technically competent global citizens.
What contemporary methodologies are being used by your school in teaching and how much aligned is your school’s curriculum with the modern times?
Our curriculum and the pedagogical strategies undergo metamorphosis with a fine blend of 21st century skill integration. The Geekay Unique curriculum modules and associated activities at school are well framed to explore the maximized potential of the students. We strongly believe in creating a transformed leader who has discovered his/ her self in the true sense through experiencing the real experience of adventure , facing challenges and overcoming obstacles through a fine blend of risk taking and virtue management based on a set goal. Likewise, the education at TGWS aims at the overall development of body, mind and soul through leadership programmes. Adventure/ Leadership Camps are organized every year. The Community Service programme and initiatives further heighten the leadership training at school, instilling the required skills required to face 21st century.
Catering to Students’ future needs
It’s a school where teachers keep themselves updated by attending workshops outside, helping themselves to keep teaching methodologies more students oriented. Classes are well-equipped with smart tech is used by teachers to ensure classes feel more interesting, says Chandan Aggarwal, Chairman, GD Goenka School, Kanpur in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
Imparting education is certainly not a child’s game today, how would you share some of the main challenges of school education?
There is no shortage of challenges in school education today. Some of them include raising the professional status of teaching, designing a 21st century curriculum, promoting flexible learning arrangements focused on growth, identifying and meeting the needs of children.
How would you define the best school in present times?
For a school to exist as a real learning space for a child, it has to be a good match with the child’s needs as well as personality. Some of the features which best define a good school include an ideal school environment, safe learning space, attractive for knowledgeable teachers, a school that cares for students learning, works hard to keep the curriculum relevant for students’ career sake, and most importantly, where school environment is led by those people who value others.
Why should anyone view your school distinct from others?
In today’s competitive academic environment, it is more important than ever for an educational institution to stand apart from the rest. Some of the factors distinguishing GDGPS apart from others schools include relieving the burden of administrative duties so that teachers can focus on students, broad collaborative relationship among faculty, parents and students. We communicate updates about students to the parents, share students’ information securely to allow faculty to easily communicate with parents, and use of most modern technology in the classrooms (Educomp / Extramarks). Our teachers are well-trained and highly qualified and undergo various workshops, which helps them with their methodology. Using all these technique and technology we aim at providing the best education in the state and eventually in the country.
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Do you think technology is transforming the school education scenario?
In many ways, the technology has profoundly changed education, for one technology has greatly expanded access to education. Today massive account of information (Books, audio, images, videos) are available for everyone through internet. Technology is a powerful tool that can support and transform education in many ways from making it easier for teachers to create instructional materials to enabling new ways for people to learn and work together.
With ever changing dynamics of the education sector, how your teachers are changing their instruction & way of imparting education?
Our teachers are provided opportunities to attend workshops outside which help them to make their teaching methodology more students-oriented.
Classes are well-equipped with smart tech (Educomp / Extramarks) and these resources are regularly used by teachers to make their classes more interesting. It is particularly helpful in cases of students who are audio visual learners.
The institution also has well equipped Math Lab, Computer lab, Robotics Lab. Teachers are also provided frequent workshops to be able to use these labs as part of their curriculum today.
What are your biggest professional achievements and what priorities have you set for future?
“Respect for the Individual” is the attitude the G D Goenka Public School carried throughout, which hence made us ranked No. 3 in Kanpur and No. 10 in UP.
Promoting Education for A Better India
With Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s budgetary allocation of Rs 72,394 crore this year for education sector, particularly Rs 43,554 crore for school education (3 per cent rise) and Rs 28,840 crore (7.3 per cent rise) for higher education, it reflected how much big is the room for improvement in Indian education sector.
As the government of India spends thousands of crores over this sector every year, it looked vital to engage top experts from various parts of the world for discussing what exactly does our education sector needs in the modern times.
To deliberate upon the policies, methodologies, latest innovations and, of course, the actual requirements of the present generation, the Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd. organised the 7th World Education Summit in the national capital in August, bringing together who’s who in the world of schools and higher education.
It turned a historic event with an overwhelming participation of representatives from over 10 countries, seven ambassadors, over 100 vice chancellors, 200 plus schools, more than 250 industry representatives along with 50 plus government officials including top leaders.
With the presence of experts not just from India but countries like the US, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait, and UAE the global meet turned into a sea of knowledge where every reaction carried decades of experience transmitting the hard-earned wisdom, paving way for the future course of action the decision makers should take.
The overwhelming response has inspired Elets to emulate the highly informative experience and exchange of knowledge also in Bahrain in March 2017 in collaboration with Ministry of Education, Bahrain.
We are also planning to organise various education forums across different states of India to promote the culture of innovations in classrooms. Looking forward to feedback from all of you on our endeavours.
Educating State of the Art Way
Be it digitalized classrooms, flipped teaching, digital library or other facilities, the CHIREC International School offers state of the art education system for students, says Ratna D. Reddy, Founder Director, CHIREC International School, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN)
What have been the key facets of evolution of the learning eco-system at your institution? What all systems & processes have you deployed to accommodate the same?
Digitalized Classroom: Our state-ofthe- art, technology-enabled classrooms offer plenty of natural ventilation, thereby providing the right atmosphere to make teaching and learning an enjoyable experience.
The Kondapur campus, which is the main campus is spread across 5.5 acres land and has spacious fully wired classrooms. It is provided with multimedia projection equipment. They are all digitalized classrooms.
Tablets are used by students of classes 6 to 10. Teachers are able to add on videos and power point presentations to supplement the educational needs of the students.
Flipped Teaching: Tablets are also a good tool to provide online lectures, carry out research at home and engage in concepts in the classroom with the help of a mentor. The fl ipped classroom intentionally shifts the instruction to learner centered model and the class time is then used for a host of active learning activities in the form of integrated projects, lab activities, case studies, debates, presentations, discussions, peer reviewing etc. Teachers are able to deliver highly differentiated instruction through fl ipped teaching.
Setting up of a Digital library, Class websites and Today@CHIREC: Teachers have developed resources which they use in class, all are pooled into a CHIREC Digital Library, available to all teachers.
What has been the definitive purview about the incorporation of technology in the teaching learning processes at your school?
The impact that technology has had on today’s schools has been quite significant. Teachers are learning how to teach with emerging technologies (mobiles, tablets, iPads, Smart Boards, digital cameras, computers), while students are using advanced technology to shape how they learn. By embracing and integrating technology in the classroom, we are setting our students up for a successful life outside of school.
Technology in the classroom makes learning more fun. Subjects that students deem challenging or boring can become more interesting with virtual lessons, through a video, or when using a tablet.
Technology prepares students for the future: Ed-tech in the classroom prepares students for their future and sets them up for this increasing digital economy.
Technology helps students learn at their own pace: Students can learn according to their abilities and needs. It gives him/her the time to work individually with students who may be struggling.
How do you maintain fine balance between the diversified aspirations of parents and their wards amidst constraints of educational environment?
If parents are truly their children’s first and most important teachers, education entrepreneurs and policymakers need to start by understanding parents’ aspirations for their children.
Independent schools are expected to have a transparent method of working and must be communicable at all times. CHIREC has an open communication system with parents through Emails, SMS, correspondence through the Diary, fortnightly Newsletters. CHIREC mobile App also helps in dispensing information quickly and to the parent directly.
We maintain records that document dates, times, notes and decisions about students if problems arise. A track of communication which the school had with parents throughout the school year is maintained.
The school invites parents for several events like Reading sessions, volunteering, Assembly presentations, Bond for Better, Career Days, Internships etc.
