Sunday, September 5, 2021

Out of the WhatsApp, video-calling world


Out of the WhatsApp, video-calling world

Parth.Shastri@timesgroup.com

05.09.2021 

The time-table of Nathabhai Chavda, a school teacher from Bhavnagar district, is a bit different. Instead of classes, the timings show the ‘sheri’ (bylane) he will be conducting classes at. Chavda starts off from the lanes of Sipaiwada at Hathiyadhar village near Palitana and proceeds to nearby areas.

“I have about 45 students to teach. While colleagues elsewhere conducted classes through WhatsApp calls, my students didn’t have the facility – their fathers have just one phone and would take it to work. They also did not have TVs. Thus, I started conducting classes at their doorstep,” says Chavda, a teacher at Jhaverchand Meghani Primary School. “We also installed a few TVs in houses so students can catch classes through DD Girnar.” While many teachers toyed virtual classrooms, for many in the state, that was not possible due to the lack of phones or TVs. Thus, these teachers went the conventional way to take education to their students.

The In-Shodh platform of the Ravi J Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation (RJMC) at IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) documented several such practices over the past 18 months. In all, the online platform has 800-odd innovations, which are accessed by teachers from Gujarat and beyond.

Another innovation documented is by Gaurav Joshi, a teacher from Pahadbhai ni Muvadi primary school in Gandhinagar district. When Joshi goes to the village to teach, he carries a load worthy of a small carrier. The students get a mini library, a space to conduct science and mathematics experiments, and a ‘performance space’ for kids to sing and dance.

“We call it ‘Bal Melo’ or Children’s Fair, so students are attracted to the space and learn while having fun,” said Joshi.

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