Knowledge
Gurgaon gets smart classrooms but in different avatar
A team at Shiksha Diksha has unveiled 2 devices at the UNESCO Mobile Learning Week in Paris in March. These devices only need smartphones preloaded with AV files, thus doing away with problems of power failure.
‘Smart classroom’ were launched amidst huge fanfare by the Haryana Education department 4 years ago but have been languishing since then because of inadequate and erratic power supply. However, all that is soon going to change as 2 hand-held devices created by a group of 150 government school teachers may soon kick start the screen revolution.
Both these devices cost approximately Rs 500 each. While the first is 1 ft long and throws a 40in image on a wall much akin a projector. The second is a box containing a set of focal lenses and mirrors and a slot for placing a smartphone inside the box. The box has a screen that displays videos played on the smartphone, and comes in three sizes — 8in (for 16 students), 10in (24 students) and 12in (34 students).
The devices, built by the team Shiksha Diksha, were unveiled at the UNESCO Mobile Learning Week in Paris in March. These devices were built without government support in private labs in Ambala, even raising the funds themselves.
The best thing about these devices is that they are independent of conventional power as these devices need only a smartphone in which AV files have been stored in advance to turning classrooms smart. "We've been working on this for some time. All tests have now been completed," said an elated Pramod Kumar of Shiksha Diksha.
The original smart classroom programme as envisioned by the government saw the installation of 40in LCD screens coupled with DTH connections in government schools to be used as AV aids. So, for instance, if a biology teacher wanted to explain how the heart functions, (s)he could simply browse and select the appropriate video on the smartphone, which would be broadcasted by the device. But the screens have been lying unused in most schools for want of maintenance and power supply.
Since their debut in Paris, the devices have been vigorously promoted by United States International Development Agency (USIDA) as a means to bring smart classrooms in Africa. All this has got due attention at home too and the state education department has now set its sight on this project. In fact, the team has also approached NCERT for collaboration.
Teachers and principals of government schools are excited that the technology will finally allow them to successfully implement government's Edusat programme. "We've equipment for smart classrooms, but couldn't use them due to inadequate power supply. With the new devices, that won't stop us anymore," said GSSS Kadipur principal Munniram.
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