Stop Motion Vedio by Punya Mishra

As part of the AYV Program, our coordinators are being trained in stop motion animation and a workshop was recently conducted towards this end. The vedio given below is a classic example of the same.

Happy 2011 from Punya Mishra on Vimeo.

INDIA IN UN SECURITY COUNCIL IMPORTANT FOR GLOBAL BALANCE : SARKOZY |

Reiterating his support for India's candidature for a permanent Security Council seat, the visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday said that India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council was important for the "equilibrium of the world".

"It is not just an important matter for India but for the equilibrium of the world," Sarkozy said in his opening remarks at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today.

"After its two-year term, are we going to ask India to simply to stand down," he asked, referring to India becoming a non-permanent member of the Security Council from Jan 1, 2011.

He reiterated that it was unfair that a country of one billion should be kept out of the UNSC high table.

Earlier in the day, India and France signed a multibillion agreement to build two nuclear power plants in India

Areva SA, one of France's main nuclear power companies, will build two European pressurized reactors of 1,650 megawatts each at Jaitapur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

The agreement, valued at about $9.3 billion, was signed in the presence of Sarkozy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The deal marked the first two of 20 nuclear reactors India wants to build to meet its soaring energy demand.

Sarkozy and Singh later met to discuss regional security, trade and investment.

Sarkozy, who arrived on Saturday, is accompanied by his defense, foreign and finance ministers and nearly 60 business leaders. No defense agreements are expected during the visit, but Sarkozy is likely to push for French companies to win contracts to supply military hardware.

French companies are negotiating to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 jet fighters in the Indian air force. India is also in the market to buy 126 fighter jets, a deal worth $11 billion, and about 200 helicopters worth another $4 billion.

By Vineeta Menon (Delhi Bureau/Jasodhara Global Media)

Copyright © Jasodhara Global Media

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http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1170.snc4/154220_10150096947459974_138227944973_7217261_7000251_n.jpg

Kala Jatha - Sainda High School

Last Sunday started on a leisurely note for me but as the day progressed it turned out to be pretty interesting as I decided to be part of the Kala Jatha program hosted by BGVS, in the sleepy yet lovely little village of Sainda, located off the National Highway (in between Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack)  in Telenga Pentha. The meeting was attended amongst others by the Secretary MHRD Govt. of India Anshu Vyas and Commissioner-cum-Secretary School and Mass Education Dept. Govt. of Orissa, Aparajita Sarangi and Vinod Raina. The thrust of RCFCE Act 2009, was highlighted through street plays very well presented by groups of BGVS volunteers from selected districts of Bolangir, Keonjhar, Cuttack etc.

BGVS organized a two day workshop on "School Development Plan" which is a requirement of the  RCFCE Act 2009. UNICEF also organized a one day consultation meet with all the civil society organizations with a view to come out with innovative ideas as far as a smooth implementation of the RCFCE 2009 in the state of Orissa is concerned.
Check the link below for the photograpphs.

http://picasaweb.google.com/subrat305/UntitledAlbum?feat=directlink

Global Bench Mark in Diaspora Philantropy

Read the complete report on global benchmarks in diaspora philanthropy - who are the global benchmarks in diaspora philanthropy and what are their high value add best practices. American India Foundation has been ranked second in this study by J-Intersect. Some of the highlights of the report (which is highly motivating and makes you feel proud to be part of the AIF family) are mentioned below:

• AIF earned its selection as a global benchmark in diaspora philanthropy due to its many scalable innovations and organizational efficiency. AIF has created high impact results through alignment with government objectives and advantageous partnerships with corporate sponsors, achieved high return on resources through volunteer commitments and organizational efficiency, and attained high value-add best practices with training programs that empower India’s poor and disadvantaged by expanding their skill and knowledge base. By directing a majority of its resources to five signature programs - Digital Equalizer (DE), Learning and Migration Program (LAMP), Market Aligned Skills Training Program (MAST), Rickshaw Sangh and William J Clinton Fellowship.
• Digital Equalizer (DE) and the Learning and Migration Program (LAMP) are two examples of AIF’s high impact, high value-add innovations scaled-up exponentially through partnerships with government authorities and corporate sponsors. DE introduces computers and digital media as tools of empowerment in public schools. With corporate funding and government support in six regions, the program has reached nearly 600,000 students and 17,000 teachers across 1,470 schools. LAMP was made possible by partnering with the existing government initiative to Universalize Elementary Education (UEE). Since AIF motivated the government to include the neglected populations of children of seasonal and migrant workers into its National Education Program, LAMP has reached 237,504 children across India. Overall, AIF leverages every US$1 raised in the United States with US$6-US$10 from the Indian Government, foundations and corporations, exponentially increasing the range and impact of its programs.
• AIF achieves high return on resources through volunteer commitments by highly accomplished professionals and passionate staffers, thereby maintaining low fundraising and overhead costs.
• Through its high value-add global best practice training programs, AIF makes long-lasting, generative impact on its grantees.

http://www.jintersect.com/PDF/Global%20Benchmarks%20in%20Diaspora%20Philanthropy%20JIS%20Highlights.pdf

DE Orissa Picnic

The DE Orissa Team recently had a day out and visited Konark, Ram Chandi on the Marine Drive and there on via Puri to Satpada where we went inside the Chilika Lake and spent quite some time watching the playful Irrawady Dolphins. Check out the link below for the photographs.
http://picasaweb.google.com/subrat305/DEOrissaPicnic?feat=directlink

Sapna to Apna Rickshaw

After years of pulling in the face of poverty, rickshaw drivers are joining hands to form a collective that helps them access loans and own a vehicle..
Check out the link below to read an interesting article on AIF's "Rickshaw Sangh" by Usha Rai.

AIF has been promoting the Rickshaw Sangh programme since 2008 in Assam, Bihar, UP, Delhi and the NCR. Some 14,000 rickshaw pullers have been given vehicles. The ultimate goal is to financially assist one lakh rickshaw pullers to own a vehicle. Each rickshaw costs Rs 11,000 and the weekly repayment instalment is Rs 225. On joining the Rickshaw Sangh, members are entitled to a package of benefits that include two sets of uniforms, driving licence and municipal permit to ply their vehicle, life and vehicle insurance, a bank account, a solar lantern with battery backup, and a mobile phone with lifetime connection.

While the bank provides loans for buying the rickshaws, AIF provides the first loan default guarantee (FLDG) on behalf of its NGO partners. 

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2010/12/10/stories/2010121050050100.htm

Baseline - Upper Primary and Secondary Schools

As part of the " Digital Equalizer Program - Resource Centre Training Model" being implemented in 52 Upper Primary and 52 Secondary Schools in Orissa, spread over six districts - Bargarh, Sambalpur, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Berahmpur and Gajapati, a comprehensive baseline study on techno-pedagogy was administered to all the 715 teachers, who are to undergo training as part of the program. The results are interesting and to some extent shocking. Check out the links below:

http://rapidshare.com/files/435405720/Baseline_Study_Overall_UP_Overall.pdf

http://rapidshare.com/files/435405926/Baseline_Study_Overall_Secondary_Overall.pdf

Design for Change Contest

Govt. Girls High School, Kazibazar, is the only school from Orissa, to win a prize in this year's "Design for Change Contest," conducted by Design for Change, Ahmedabad. This schools happens to be a graduated DE School. As part of the contest which was organized to coincide with the "joy of giving week" the students took up the task to address the sensitive issue of leprosy.

Diagnostic Labels - A Boon or a Bane

I was recently going through an interesting article "A rose is a rose is a flower," by Aruna Sankaranarayanan, in the Hindu Magazine, Sunday, Nov 14, 2010. The article focuses on the pros and cons of diagnostic labels such as "Dyslexia with features of ADHD," "Intellectually Deficient," "Severely Autistic," "Learning Disabled," which more or less serves the purpose of imposing a medical certainty on intractable behavior.While on the positive side diagnostic labels attunes the parents, teachers, school management and society at large to the special needs of the child from a child's stand point labels are more like a cross which a child has to bear with. Check the link below to the interesting article:

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article881892.ece

AYV Lite Training Program

A one day training program for 6 teachers from the three selected schools of Berahmpur, Cuttack and Bhubaneshwar were the AYV Lite program will be implemented from November onwards, was held in the DE State Resource Centre in SCERT Bhubaneshwar. Roopak conducted the training and the workshop was attended by three of the DE team members.

Best Diaspora Philanthropic Organizations Worldwide Selected

A note from Dr. Sanjay Sinho, Chief Executive Officer, AIF, which is highly motivating and calls for celebration:

Dear friends,

Please join me in celebrating an AIF milestone on the eve of our tenth anniversary. Over the past six months, a ten-person team from J-Intersect, a global performance improvement company, conducted an intensive, rigorous research study to benchmark diaspora philanthropic organizations and high value-add best practices worldwide. More than 125 sector professionals from a global network contributed to the study. This independent, third-party study found that AIF achieves ten times more positive social impact from donor contributions than the average peer (also known as a “10x NPB multiplier”). The findings of the J-Intersect Project Report also concluded that AIF has developed a consistent track record of:

· Creating global benchmarks and high value-add best practices

· Innovating and using key performance indicators to continuously improve performance

· Achieving high value-add, high return on resources, and high impact – the “three highs”

As a result of these accomplishments, AIF has been named one of the two best diaspora philanthropy organizations worldwide (alongside its peer Philippine Development Foundation/Ayala Foundation).

If this news wasn't good enough, the Charles & Agnes Kazarian Foundation announced a new worldwide Knowledge Partnership initiative, and announced an investment of $1.8 million for a Knowledge Partnership with AIF. Founder and Chairman Paul Kazarian remarked, “AIF shares our passion for improving performance at the nexus of the commercial and social sectors, and they also share our passion for the ‘three highs’: high value add, high return on resources, and high impact.”

AIF has consistently demonstrated effective stewardship of donations, which has been recognized alongside its fiscal and financial efficiency through the prestigious – and highest possible – 4-star rating for AIF from Charity Navigator for three consecutive years.

The press release is available on Business Wire at

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101117006837/en/Diaspora-Philanthropic-Organizations-Worldwide-Selected

Highlights from the Project Report are available at www.jintersect.com , under Project Reports.

Please join me in congratulating the AIF family of supporters, partners and staff in its excellent work, and help spread the good word widely within and across your networks!

Sishu Mahotsav

AIF participated in the recently concluded "Sishu Mahostav" which proved to be a grand success. Around 850 students participated from all over the state. They had been selected as part of competitions, which started all the way from village to block to district level from the last week of October 2010, culminating in a state wide mega event, showcasing the best of the talent available. Apart from the students from outside Bhubaneshwar many of whom were visiting the capital city, for the first time about 1000 students from local schools participated every day. Food arrangements were made for 1600 students every day and that too in a meticulous manner. The quality of food was good and even the residential arrangements for the visiting students,the stall details including the layout plan, the cultural events etc. were worked out to the last details, with the personal intervention of the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, which ensured that the event was an all out success.

The Sishu Mahotsav started on the 12th and concluded on the 14th with a mega cultural program and a prize distribution ceremony, with the Chief Minister as the Chief Guest. AIF apart from other activities organized a "Digital Story Telling Competition" which proved to be a grand success. The topic selected for the purpose was "The Spirit of Sishu Mahotsav." 3 teams of four students each, participated over a period of two and a half days in creating their "Digital Photo Essay." Have a look at the photographs of the winning teams by clicking on the slide show below:

Photographs by Roopak and me capturing the spirit of Sishu Mahotsav. It also contains the photographs of the Hon'ble Speaker, Hon'ble Minister School and Mass Education and the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Schoola and Mass Education visiting the AIF stall and an interesting photograph of the Secretary interacting with the kids as part of an open question and answer session.

Second International Conference on Excellence in School Education - 26th - 28th October, IIT Delhi

I recently presented a paper titled "Digital Equalizer Program in Orissa - Retrospect and Prospect," as part of the Second International Conference on Excellence in School Education - 26th - 28th October, held in IIT Delhi. To read the abstract and the complete paper click on the links below:

http://www.box.net/shared/pbvi1ueqrc
http://www.box.net/shared/08cjp4g4tc

Richie Davidson, Ph.D.

Linda Lantieri, M.A.

ML Education Research Network I

The Mind and Life Education Research Network (MLERN I) was formed in 2006 to create a multidisciplinary intellectual forum dedicated to exploring issues at the intersection of mind, brain, education and contemplative practice. This intersection was very novel; there was little in the way of systematic developmental-educational thinking in the Buddhist traditions despite interesting sets of practices such as debate in the training of young monks. 

Because of this, a primary agenda of MLERN became scientific and intellectual dialogue and discovery. A primary goal of the network for the entire three years was to explore, from various scientific, applied and contemplative perspectives, with various assembled groups of individuals, questions such as:

• Do any contemplative resources regarding mental training for children and adolescents in the Sanskritic traditions of India exist?
• What does science tell us about the prospects for the cultivation of self-regulatory skills such as impulse control, and interpersonal skills such as empathic listening in children, adolescents, and emerging adults through various kinds of mental and physical training?
• What are the social-emotional, attentional and interpersonal skills young people need today, in addition to their academic skills and knowledge, to be successful, happy and socially-responsible members of school first, and society and the global community later? How can we cultivate these same social-emotional, attentional, and interpersonal skills in educators and parents so they can serve as positive role models for young people in these regards?
• Might contemplative practices have anything to offer with respect to the mental training of “21st century skills” in young people and educators and parents alike – those that foster calming and centering, concentration, clarity, compassion, and interpersonal and intercultural ease of presence?
• How can we design age-appropriate measures of these kinds of 21st century skills so we can measure their development all across the lifespan and in the context of interventions that employ contemplative practices?
• What are promising extant programs for children, adolescents, emerging adults and educations that could serve as “testbeds” for the development of measures and preliminary studies of the efficacy and effectiveness of such programs?
• What are the risks and cautionary tales of history we should be aware of as we explore the idea of introducing mindfulness and compassion practices in secular cultural settings like public schools?

Three Pilot Studies Were Funded as part of MLERN I:

1. Amishi Jha, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
   Developing age-appropriate attention and working memory measures for use in mindfulness-based training with children and adolescents
2. Mark Greenberg, Ph.D., Penn State and Tamar Mendelson, Ph.D., M.A., Johns Hopkins University
   Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a school-based mindfulness intervention for urban youth
3. Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D., Portland State University and Kim Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D., University of British Columbia
   Testing the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness-based professional development program for public school teacher

Interesting work. To know more read on as this is extremely relevant to our times in that it will revolutionize the current system of education, that is being imparted in our schools.

ML Education Research Network I

The Mind and Life Education Research Network (MLERN I) was formed in 2006 to create a multidisciplinary intellectual forum dedicated to exploring issues at the intersection of mind, brain, education and contemplative practice. This intersection was very novel; there was little in the way of systematic developmental-educational thinking in the Buddhist traditions despite interesting sets of practices such as debate in the training of young monks. Because of this, a primary agenda of MLERN became scientific and intellectual dialogue and discovery. A primary goal of the network for the entire three years was to explore, from various scientific, applied and contemplative perspectives, with various assembled groups of individuals, questions such as:

• Do any contemplative resources regarding mental training for children and adolescents in the Sanskritic traditions of India exist?
• What does science tell us about the prospects for the cultivation of self-regulatory skills such as impulse control, and interpersonal skills such as empathic listening in children, adolescents, and emerging adults through various kinds of mental and physical training?
• What are the social-emotional, attentional and interpersonal skills young people need today, in addition to their academic skills and knowledge, to be successful, happy and socially-responsible members of school first, and society and the global community later? How can we cultivate these same social-emotional, attentional, and interpersonal skills in educators and parents so they can serve as positive role models for young people in these regards?
• Might contemplative practices have anything to offer with respect to the mental training of “21st century skills” in young people and educators and parents alike – those that foster calming and centering, concentration, clarity, compassion, and interpersonal and intercultural ease of presence?
• How can we design age-appropriate measures of these kinds of 21st century skills so we can measure their development all across the lifespan and in the context of interventions that employ contemplative practices?
• What are promising extant programs for children, adolescents, emerging adults and educations that could serve as “testbeds” for the development of measures and preliminary studies of the efficacy and effectiveness of such programs?
• What are the risks and cautionary tales of history we should be aware of as we explore the idea of introducing mindfulness and compassion practices in secular cultural settings like public schools?

Three Pilot Studies Were Funded as part of MLERN I:

1. Amishi Jha, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
   Developing age-appropriate attention and working memory measures for use in mindfulness-based training with children and adolescents
2. Mark Greenberg, Ph.D., Penn State and Tamar Mendelson, Ph.D., M.A., Johns Hopkins University
   Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a school-based mindfulness intervention for urban youth
3. Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D., Portland State University and Kim Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D., University of British Columbia
   Testing the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness-based professional development program for public school teacher

Interesting work. To know more read on as this is extremely relevant to our times in that it it revolutionize the current system of education, that is being imparted in our schools.

There are plenty of dire predictions about what will happen to our cities if the worst predictions about global warming were to come true: flooding, droughts, famine, chaos and massive death. But Matthew Kahn, an economist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, sees a different future. He tells that story in his new book Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter Future.

Kahn looks to the past for clues to how cities adapt to changing circumstances. Chicago recovered strongly from the devastating Chicago Fire of 1871. He argues that Japanese and German cities recovered rapidly after World War II and experienced sharp population growth.  So how will cities adapt in the future? Kahn expects that cities will continue to compete for desirable residents, and that residents will make their own locational decisions based on risk preferences. For example, while the risk-averse may choose to locate to “safe” cities like Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Minneapolis or Detroit (Kahn’s top 5 picks), cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York will continue to attract people. Especially if these cities prepare for a warmer future.
Looks interesting. I will definitely like to lay my hands on this at the earliest.

DE Vs Non-DE - A Comparative Study

5 DE vs 5 Non-DE schools were chosen from Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Sambalpur, Bargarh and Ganjam districts. Data on average pass percentage in Maths, Science and English, in the annual examination (HSC for class 10 and school internal examination for class 8), for the academic year 09-10, was collected and compared. The Non-DE schools were selected from amongst those not having computers.

The study was an exercise in primary data collection in order to explore a correlation (positive or negative), if any between effective and appropriate use of technology in education and academic performance – in terms of overall pass percentage in Mathematics, Science and English.

There was a structured intervention, over a period of three years, in 30 DE schools (with computers) as part of the Digital Equalizer Program in techno-pedagogy. The 30 Non DE schools were selected from amongst those without computers. 

The results of the study are pretty interesting.
Summary of findings:

Class 10

• Overall pass percentage in Mathematics in DE schools is 89.06% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 66.27
• Overall pass percentage in Science in DE schools is 88.49% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 65.50
• Overall pass percentage in English in DE schools is 85.78% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 64.97

Class 8

• Overall pass percentage in Mathematics in DE schools is 59.80% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 36.60
• Overall pass percentage in Science in DE schools is 65.69% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 40.42
• Overall pass percentage in English in DE schools is 56.18% while in case of Non-DE schools it is 36.84

Zonal Centre - Western Zone

Two of the zonal centre's for the western zone - PMIASE Sambalpur and DIET Sambalpur were inaugurated by the Hon'ble Minister, School and Mass Education, Pratap Jena on the 27th of September 2010.

 Dr. Parsuram Mishra Institute of Advance Studies in Education, Sambalpur and DIET Sambalpur- the two centers in western zone, will serve as training centers for 30 Schools of  Sambalpur and Bargarh districts. 90 teachers from 8 secondary schools of Sambalpur & Bargarh districts and 6 Upper Primary schools of Sambalpur district will undergo training in zonal centre in PMIASE. 98 teachers from 16 Upper Primary schools of Sambalpur & Bargarh districts will undergo training in DIET, Sambalpur. The teachers will undergo extensive training on techno-pedagogy, as part of a 18 day training module.

The Hon'ble Minister was upbeat as regards the training on techno-pedagogy to be conducted by AIFT for the teachers of the selected schools and its critical role in furthering the cause of effective use of technology in teaching. Both the events were attended by the local cognoscenti and received extensive media coverage. The training in both the centre's are scheduled to start from the 25th of October 10. 

the secret

When you experience Planet Earth, the positive vibration of your energy will emanate out like a stone thrown into water, touching our planet and every living thing on it. As you rise higher, you take the world with you. From The Secret to you, here is Planet Earth - our home.

The magnificent music was composed and graciously gifted for this clip by composer Jo Blankenburg.

Share with your friends and family by sending them this link:http://thesecret.tv/planet-earth/

Sensitization Workshops

Sensitization workshops were held in Sambalpur (Parshuram Mishrs Institute of Advance Studies in Education) and Cuttack (Radha Nath Institute of Advance Studies in Education), respectively as part of the DE Resource Centre Training Model, on the 21st and 22nd of September respectively. Apart from the headmaster's all the important district level functionaries, attended the workshops. The workshops were in line with the proposed three workshops, planned to be held as part of the unfolding of the new model, to sensitize the participants on what the new model is all about, their roles and responsibilities as part of the changed model and last but not the least understanding the importance of effective and appropriate integration of technology in teaching.

ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate

ICT in Education Assessments are Biased and Inaccurate « Educational Technology Debate

State Resource Centre - SCERT

The first phase of the Digital Equalizer Program "Resource Centre Training Model" was launched with the formal inauguration of the State Level Resource Centre in SCERT by Shri Pratap Jena, Hon'ble Minister, School and Mass Education, Govt. of Orissa. The meeting was attended amongst others by Smt. Aparajita Sarangi, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Govt, School and Mass Education Department, Prof. Dr. Sebak Tripathy, Director TE and SCERT, Director Elementary Education and other senior officials from the Education Department. 

The State Resource Centre will serve as a feeder centre to the six zonal level Resource-Cum-Training centres to be set up by SCERT in all the three Institute of Advanced Studies in Education located in Sambalpur, Cuttack and Berahmpur (PMIASE, RNIASE and DPIASE) and three corresponding DIET’s (Sambalpur, Dolipur and Khalikote) spread over three revenue divisions. 

The SCERT Resource-Cum-Training Centre will work for the capacity building of teacher educators of six centres, SCERT staff, other teacher educators and administrators of the State Education department. 
A total of 322 people comprising of 119 district level functionaries of the education department, 136 teacher educators and 67  education department personnel from the state level, comprising of Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and Junior Level Staff .

Resource Centre Training Model

American India Foundation (AIF) in association with the School and Mass Education Department, Govt. of Orissa, is piloting a integrated Digital Equalizer (DE) "Resource Centre Training Model" in 104 schools in Orissa, spread over 6 districts, for the academic year 2010-2012.

AIF started with the DE Program in Orissa with 10 Secondary Schools in 2004 and has covered 160 schools, as of now as part of the classic model, where teacher training is conducted at the school level, by AIF trainers who also double up as monitoring experts. Each of the trainers typically visited a school once a week which was a mandatory requirement. Student training in each of the school was conducted by a facilitator, who happened to be a school resource. 

The typical problems faced as part of the classic model, was that a lot of training time got wasted and the sequencing of the training modules disturbed, because of the day to day contingencies at the school level such as - leave, exams, other work which are treated as urgent justifying the teachers absence from training, sports, annual functions, holidays and simple lackadaisical attitude on the part of the headmasters and the teachers, which was further compounded by teacher shortage, which has become endemic in nature. Over and above this the District Education Authorities had little understanding of the program due to their absence of knowledge on computer fundamentals and consequently failing to appreciate, the subtle issues surrounding the effective integration of technology in teaching. 

The current "Resource Centre Training Model" addresses these issues through a centralized training of teachers, as part of a carefully planned out module, integrating techno-pedagogy, which will be conducted at selected "Resource-cum-Training Centre's" and an apex level "Resource-cum-Training Centre" set up in SCERT, to train the administrators of the School and Mass Education Department, District Education Functionaries and Teacher Educators. A joint monitoring strategy has been worked out to prevent transmission loss.

The current model thus not only addresses the earlier shortcomings as far as teacher training at the school level is concerned but also builds up the capacity within the system, by training the critical functionaries and teacher educators. This combined with a rigorous monitoring structure from the Department down to the school level, will go a long way in embedding the program within the existing system thereby making it sustainable. 
To read more on the new model try out the link below:
http://rapidshare.com/files/409158662/Resource_Centre_Model.pdf 
Subrat
26th July 2010  

Deploying ICTs in Schools: A framework for identifying and assessing technology options, their benefits, feasibility and total cost of ownership

I was recently going through this report by GeSCI  published in June 2009 and found some of the portions extremely relevant and precisely the reasons/rationale behind the new "DE Resource Centre Training Model" being implemented in Orissa. Time and again we face these problems and seem to deliberately forget them or unable to internalize them (more often than not I feel we seem to suffer from some selective amnesia on this count) and as a result keep on repeating the same old blunders. We seem to be blundering along as far as ICT policies are concerned. I have extracted some of the relevant portions from the report as mentioned below:

ICTs in schools today

Planning and deployment of ICTs in schools today suffers from several major

problems:

• Planning officials, school principals and other decision makers do not emphasize

or in some cases even consider the educational objectives at all. ICTs are

acquired without any due consideration for what purpose they will actually

serve.

• Decision makers often focus purchase decisions on the ICT hardware and

software. There is often no consideration given to acquiring the appropriate

Assessing Technology options for schools

A Report by the Global E-Schools and Communities Initiative

Page 5 of 65

content, training of teachers, support and maintenance, which together form the

“system-wide” approach discussed in detail later in this chapter.

• Budgets only consider the immediate costs and seldom, if ever, consider the

long term costs of purchasing, deploying and maintaining ICTs. For example,

costs for replacements, disposal or even operating costs for refresher training,

maintenance and technical support are often ignored. The sum of all this costs is

called the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

• ICTs are equated with personal computers usually in computer laboratories.

There is no consideration given to other alternative technologies. Even where

there is some awareness, decision makers are still faced with a myriad of

questions and complex decisions on almost a daily basis: adopt laptops or

desktops? Are thin-client computers better than networked desktops? Open

Source or proprietary software? Whether to have the computers networked or

connected to the Internet?

• Even when there are computers available for students, there are few or no

incentives to use the computer in class. Sometimes the equipment has been

installed but it is seldom used outside of specific “ICT classes”. This might be

due to the teachers not being adequately trained or not having enough time to

dedicate to preparing the classes to incorporate the use of these new resources.

Also, school calendaring issues (teacher timetables and exam schedules)

complicate the adequate use of the devices even more.

• Inattention to monitoring and evaluation, that do not allow the benefits being

obtained and the mistakes incurred in when introducing ICTs in schools.

Common Disconnects

The five major issues hindering effective deployment of ICTs in schools today are

1. Lack of focus on educational objectives

2. Considering ICTs a 'solution' for which the problem is not clearly defined.

3. Failure to consider all the elements of the system-wide approach

4. Failure to consider short term as well as long term costs - Total Cost of ownership

5. Failure to consider the human factors related to teachers, headmasters and

    students.

These problems manifest themselves in many ways but the classic and often seen

cases include:

• The computers sent to the school never leave their boxes because school

   personnel are afraid to break them!

• A school equipped with computers does not use the computers because the

   teachers have not been trained. While a few miles away, another school has

   had all their teachers attend an ICT training program but the school lacks any

   computers.

• Computer labs seem to have most of their computers broken all the time.

• The ministry of education draws up plans to equip every school with

   computer labs connected to the Internet and shelves the plan because it is too

   expensive.

The System-wide approach

The effective deployment of ICTs in schools and indeed in any setting is a complex

affair that goes beyond purchasing hardware and software. GeSCI has identified

several key elements that must be considered if the deployment of

ICTs is to have meaningful impact. These components must all co-exist; none is

optional and together form a system. This system should be comprehensive, demand

driven, capable and efficient and well coordinated. To read the entire report try out the link below:

http://www.gesci.org/old/files/docman/TCO-deploying-framework.pdf
Subrat
25th July 2010

Kasauli

As part of my recent visit to Chandigarh I took time off on the 15th of July, with my team members, to visit Kasauli, the picturesque hill station nestled on the foothills of the himalayas. It is located at a distance of about 70 Km from Chandigarh and one needs to take the road to Shimla and with a diversion somewhere midway. The elevation is 6500m above sea level. The route runs through  Pinjore, Kalka and Parwano and the journey after Parwano is breathtaking as one starts the ascent into the hills. We experienced a heavy downpour as we were leaving Chandigarh and were a bit apprehensive as to whether we will be able to enjoy the breathtaking  views on the way up but as luck would have it the weather cleared, and we were able to breath in the crisp air and enjoy the pristine surroundings of Kausauli. We were fortunate to capture a  number of nature shots of cloud covered hills, up the misty road to Kasauli. The journey was throughly refreshing and relaxing. We came back to Chandigarh, a little late because of a traffic jam in Parwano - and of course we didn't mind it.

ILTM Refresher - Chandigarh

A two day ILTM refresher workshop was recently conducted (15th and 16th of July 10) by Ez Vidya, for DE field staff from Orissa and Punjab, in Hotel Park View, Chandigarh. The workshop had the following objectives:

1. Identifying DE Coordinators/Trainers, who have the right mix and potential, to be part of the ILTM resource group.

2. Doubt clearing and facilitation by Ez Vidya experts as far as delivery of the ILTM is concerned.

The methodology adopted was working in groups and presenting topics, rather parts of the topic, alloted to each group, by each of their respective members as internally decided by the members themselves.

This was the first of the three workshops, which will be held for the North and East region, while the ones for the South are being planned shortly. All the three workshops for both the regions will be completed by the 31st of March 2010.  

DE Core Group Meeting - New Delhi

The Second "DE Core Group Meeting" was held in ICSSR Board Room, New Delhi on the 13th and 14th of July 2010. The meeting basically focused on strategic issues related to the rolling out of ILTM, in all the states. A role pay on selected modules was conducted as part of the two day meeting, which proved to be very interesting. Apart from this all strategic implementation issues were shared as part of presentations by each of the state heads as well as one on one discussions with the Director DE.

Dead Shark

Was in Gopalpur a couple of days back and found a dead shark washed ashore. It measured 47 feet from end to end. People from the "Museum of Natural History"  were working overtime to preserve the skeleton to be displayed in the "Museum of Natural History", in Bhubaneshwar.

Sensitization Workshop - Southern Zone

The first zonal level sensitization workshop, as part of the "DE Decentralized Resource Centre Training Model" to be implemented in 104 Secondary and Upper Primary Schools, was held in Dibakar Pattnaik Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (DPIASE) Berahmpur, on the 2nd of July 2010. This was attended by all the respective Headmasters, District Inspectors of Ganjam and Gajapati, District Project Coordinator, SSA, Ganjam, and representatives from the SSA Gajapati office and the Principal and Staff of DPIASE. 

The main objective of the workshop was to sensitize the participants about the new model and the same time making them understand through examples, what effective integration of technology in teaching learning is all about.  

Technology in School Education: To Outsource ICT or Not « Educational Technology Debate

Technology in School Education: To Outsource ICT or Not « Educational Technology Debate

A very interesting piece of write up on Outsourced versus Integrated Apparoach in Computer Aided Learning, which brings out in stark contrast the advantages of an Integrated Model like the ICT @ Schools Program in Kerala, over and above a Vendor Driven Model like the Mahiti Sindhu Program in Karnataka. The advantaged of a Integrated Model needs to be seriously considered by Policy Makers and Practioners alike while planning to implement a Computer Aided Learning Program in large scale mode. The model has clearly discernable benefits as mentioned below:

1. Higher level of teacher engagement

2. Integration of Computer Learning with regular learning processes

3. Greater per-learner availability of computers

4. Significant cost efficiencies and development of teacher networks

5. Collaborative content creation processes, which support teacher professional development

Right to Education Act- Challenges of access and use of ICT to accelerate goals - Advice, Examples

Solution Exchange for the Information Communication Technology for Development Community

The notification of the Right To Education (RTE) has generated much debate and discussions on the promises given in the RTE. State Governments, NGOs, CBOs and multilateral agencies such as UNICEF and other UN agencies are having to consider and address the new dynamics of education in India.

The Right To Education act needs to be converted into a realistic implementation strategy to be able to reach the last child at the last mile. Moreover, any implementation of the RTE will take years to make any impact taking into consideration, the sheer numbers, shortage of teachers and the challenges of access.

Given that, ICTs have the potential to accelerate development goals and hold the promise to reach large numbers of stakeholders simultaneously.

India’s new age development has been built on innovative IT solutions through which the world has become more efficient and productive. From Nandan Nilikeni to Naryana Murthy to Bill Gates everybody has talked of how IT can be used to meet the education challenge. At the conceptual level, IT is supposed to be that Magic Mantra which can help leapfrog national development in a shorter period of time. The mobile phone penetration offers another opportunity for India to bridge the development divide.

Can all these be meaningfully used for Right To Education for all children in India. I request members of the Solution Exchange community to discuss and offer possible solutions so that implementing agencies can consider them for their current projects and if possible, incubate pilots, which Sate Governments could scale up.

In this regard:

• How could ICTS be used to implementation the RTE to enable access to the target age of six to fourteen years. Are there any examples that can be studied?
• There are many technologies ranging from computers to mobiles today, which offer possible solutions. Could members provide solutions of the most appropriate technology to reduce the cost of implementing the RTE by State Governments?
• Are there any examples of use of ICT in education, which would enable quality learning at a large scale and at an affordable cost.

Check out the link below for the consolidated reply

ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/edu/cr/cr-se-ictd-ed-08061011.pdf

I found the entire discussion extremely interesting as AIF is setting up an apex level resource-cum-training centre, for training teacher educators and administrators, of the School and Mass Education Department (SME), (Govt. of Orissa) in SCERT, Bhubaneshwar while six other resource-cum-training centres will be set up by the SME Dept, in three Revenue Divisions and I am exploring how best to use the resource centres as sensitization-cum-dissemination centres for RTE apart from their techno-pedagogy training part. 

Secondly the training provided for the selected teachers in the six resource centres is a pilot  in the sense that the eighteen days training module on techno-pedagogy focuses on capacity building through skills up gradation, in line with the requirements of RTE. This is urgently required in view of the fresh appointments which has become necessary, in the light of the teacher-pupil ratio which needs to be maintained as part of the RTE requirements.