ood news for parents.
It's out with the blackboard and the white chalk in many classrooms across the country.
Geography, history and physics lessons will now be enhanced with DVDs and Wireless Local Area Networks.
Your kids will find that learning can be fun!
"Computers is not just another subject, it has become a tool in turning education into a learning experience. Ours is the first school in India to implement enhanced wireless mobility," says Prashant Jain, director, Pathways World School, Delhi.
Check out these scenarios:
~Students and teachers will have individual laptops with links to the school library and online encyclopaedias. Students can now search for books in the school library and book them online from their laptops.
~51-inch television sets, DVD players and Pentium IV computers will illustrate complex concepts that cannot be adequately explained on paper by using 2-D animation and visual impact.
Jharna De, who is in charge of the audio-visual laboratory of Delhi's Dev Samaj Modern School, says, "Creating a visual impact is very important if you want to increase the concentration levels and retention power of students. We are trying to enhance classroom teaching by using technology as an aid."
Corporates are not far behind in this quest to make learning fun.
"We have designed a special software called 'Discovery Class' for subjects like mathematics, sciences and social sciences. It helps explain complicated concepts like the volume of a cuboid and cylinder with the help of 3-D animation," says Ajay Chikersal, a computer expert at Micro Computer Services.
Nasscom, IBM and Intel plan to educate teachers and children on how to use the Internet, web page design and productivity-linked software to encourage higher-order thinking and creativity.
Apart from grants and schemes, they also have regular awards to felicitate schools and educational institutions which revolutionise teaching and learning by adapting technology to the learning process.
A word of caution
Though the Internet is on 24 x 7, "our school monitors children to ensure that young minds do not misuse technology," says Jain.
Schools with lesser financial support are also joining the race to synthesise education with technology.
With inputs from PTI.
Illustration: Dominic Xavier