Children love going to Vidyashilp Academy because learning here is fun and they are immediately able to relate it to their everyday lives. Every child is encouraged to reach his/her potential and the evaluation process is such that it does not embarrass the child by finding fault.

This is a new age school where text books have been replaced with lesson plans on a computer monitor. Find out more about how technology helps teachers and children enjoy school!

Technology is not a status symbol but an evolutionary process, feels Mr Ravindra Vithani, Managing Director - Vidyashilp Academy.

Tell us about your background.

I am basically from the marketing field. I was always very ambitious and thrived in challenging situations. In whatever I did, I always tried to understand the whole issue; that is the product, the consumer, the competition etc. The most important factor to me was the human factor. To fully understand the human psychology was the essence behind every success.

How and when did Vidyashilp Academy take shape ?

We first started a nursery school called Vidya Sagar. It so happened that when the first batch of tiny tots were passing out; many of the satisfied and almost emotional parents wanted to continue with our institution and suggested we start the primary school too. This led to Vidya Niketan. I started taking an active part in Vidya Sagar from 1994.

As I watched from close quarters I was fascinated by the speed of evolution. Every year brought in a better and fitter set of children who seemed to want more and had the capacity to absorb more. This fired a spark in me which set me thinking. In spite of this progress in human evolution; the tools of learning had remained the same. I found malnutrition in our education system. The children were not being adequately challenged.

This led to the opening of Vidyashilp Academy where we started a new way of imparting knowledge.

What were the steps you took to achieve this?
My main mission in this school was to break the boundaries of the rigid text books and create awareness among parents. Initially I had no idea of what to use in lieu of text books. Also I found that with each passing year the intellectual level and physical fitness was increasing in the children. They wanted more and I felt that this thirst was not being satisfied. Around 1996-97, I got the idea to make our own lesson plan and slowly train teachers to do it. We try to make the lesson relevant, by linking it to what is happening around the child. This way I could keep the child's innate desire to learn intact.

I took the advice and help of a Professor of computer science from Hong Kong. After the initial hiccups this visualization became a concrete conviction. I was sure we were in the right direction. Every classroom is equipped with a computer monitor and all tables have individual dedicated remotes which the child uses to answer questions. We came up with lesson plans which were level specific, which seamlessly and gradually could be carried on to the next level with the necessary links to remind the child of the topic at hand.

What is a lesson plan and how does it work?

There is a huge amount of information available on every topic. The extraction of the relevant material conducive to a certain level/ class of students is a lesson plan. This entails a lot of research which enhances the teacher's knowledge and she also gets a sense of satisfaction and ownership from it. This enthusiasm is naturally sensed and picked up by the children as the lesson is being taught. While a text book is rigid, the lesson plan can be constantly changed as per the need.

We have some animators with digital art background for the illustrations to make the lesson lively. We also download from sites that create illustrations for specific topics. We are the only ones integrating it along with the content.

What is your inspiration?

I try to draw attributes from the software industry where I have observed that there is a lot more freedom and the lines of hierarchy are blurred. I feel putting teachers in this type of challenging environment has worked very well. There is also a healthy competition among them.

What about the tools for assessment?

The basic assessment would be that of the teacher. We also wanted to speed up the process with some technology and ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati' showed me the direction. Here was a system that could instantly show me how many had answered a question right and how many had it wrong. Also how many who did not know the answer. It was perfect for the classroom, though this technology was not easily available then.

We tried different ways until we settled on radio frequencies. I had no background in these matters but I could relate what I wanted and I had wonderful support from Seimens and oracle. The software is custom made for us.

Teachers in Vidyashilp Academy get constant feedback on how well the students have understood a concept during a class itself. Each student has a dedicated remote through which she answers multiple choice questions at regular intervals, this provides data which is captured in a database which supplements the teachers' own evaluations.

The teacher gets an immediate feedback from this and knows whether to reinforce a concept or continue... technology thus helps her conduct the class better and even eliminates the need for exams for assessing how well the child has learnt.

What were the reactions from parents?

To be honest, not all were satisfied. They feel the need to compare and measure how much a child has learnt. We had to emancipate and educate them out of these rigid outlines. Why should the child be constantly tested? But it is difficult for society to accept change. Parents feel they are not actively involved. But there is a strong support and belief from other parents who motivate us to do more in this untrodden path.

How is the learning different from the ‘Traditional' system?

I believe that every human entity is born with a certain set of characteristics. There is no limit to his growth when this is acknowledged. The ‘traditional' system tries to stuff facts into the child's mind, which leads to emphasis on memorization rather than an understanding of the concepts. Repetition is boring and does not inspire the child.

My concern was how to develop and nurture concepts into the child's mind and then cultivate parallel application of theselearned concepts. We basically do that by splitting the class into 2 distinct parts. The first half of the class is for concept formation. This is achieved through an introduction based on real life relevance. Then the child naturally recognizes the concept and feels the need to learn more about the topic. This is followed by the actual explanation of the topic at hand and related sub topics followed by a Q & A session. The child answers with the help of their individual remote. This helps in immediacy of correction; the teacher knows exactly how many have understood the concept. She can also explain the right answer for the benefit of students who could not get the right answer. There is no taunt and no need to put a cross mark with a red pen on the child's entire learning. The child's creativity and curiosity remain intact.

In the second half of the class the students have to do activities based on the topic in groups of 3. This is collaborative learning. This helps them to supplement and complement their ideas with each other. This also develops their team spirit and leadership qualities which are very important attributes for the corporate world today. They are more open to new ideas and accept other view points.

How do you feel this has progressed?

I have the total conviction that this will work. There are no parallels elsewhere but a personal sense of achievement and satisfaction occurred when the CBSE Board, in 1996 came up with the proposition of no home work and no exams till class 5. We had started this almost 6 years earlier and we had all the systems in place.

What is the kind of advice given to the teachers?

At the outset we believe that a child should not be given negative feedback. He should not be looked down upon, because I believe ‘generation gap' is not the gap in the age but of experiences. No one can accept anything unless he has passed through it himself.

Under no circumstances is the child told that he is wrong. Concepts have to be configured and assimilated by the child. This does not happen overnight. Parents want to see instant results nowadays but it takes years to attain wisdom.

How has the internet been tapped to further help your mission?

The teachers are also trained and empowered to make the lesson plans. They are encouraged to download the relevant resource material from the internet. Each department has weekly meetings where the best website for a particular topic is picked after debate and discussion. This helps in expanding the teachers' horizons and makes the best use of all available resources. Also if the teachers are not challenged or empowered enough; there is danger to the collective knowledge of the student. The child is then given access to that site in the relevant class.

It was worth the 25 lakhs that we spent on setting up the computer lab as I find there is an explosion of knowledge on the internet and it is creating a quest for learning among both teachers and students. Taking this a step further we also do a role reversal in the higher classes where groups of students are given the task of getting the lesson plan ready. They are free to use the internet, research the topic and make the presentation. The best one is uploaded onto the main server with the group getting the full credit for it.

What do you see for the future?

I have a good team of dedicated teachers and am ably assisted by the Principal Ms. Kalpana Mohan and Mr. Gautam Patnaik, Director Acedemics.  All of us share a common goal.

Our aim is to develop a global individual. Today there is value only for a person standing upright with multiple intelligences. He has to know how to apply the technique and not what he got a degree for. We are working towards a ‘project based education system'.

In India today theoretically we are very strong, software is developing in leaps and bounds but not the hardware. Only hands on work will develop an operative mind and pave the way for new and creative ideas. 

Only recommendations are not enough, people should be made aware of how to use that information and change the system. To do anything new needs a lot of commitment and total involvement of all concerned.

Reconfirmation happens when alumni come and share their experiences about how much this type of learning process is helping them in their search for a better future. 

Issue BG66 Sept06

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