Outcome of a novel initiative

Outcome of a novel initiative in Destination NASA 2008 challenge:
* Son and his friends have started discussing their textbooks, Science and Maths discussions are now a common affair among children.
* They spend their time on the Internet more productively, learning additionally from the internet.
* Knowing how they fared in Maths & Science by taking self-assessment tests online through www.24x7guru.com.
* They are now a highly motivated and confident set of individuals.
* Parents and Teachers are also keen and constantly involved in guiding the children to achieve their cherished goals.
* Finally, all (children, parents & teachers) have got themselves equipped to face the NASA stars.

When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.

I was going through the latest BillionBeats ePaper, the fortnightly ePaper brought out by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. I really like it for it is some positive fortnightly news that we can do with and not just that, it's also a source of several interesting quotes.
One such quote from the Dec 26, 2007 issue says 'When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come true'. While the line may not always hold good but its implication are a plenty and definitely a thought-provoking quote.
When it comes to wishing for the stars most of us are pretty good decision-makers, however though most of those decisions end up in the negative. How often do we put down innovative ideas, instead a small re-work on such thoughts could have made it a success.
It's fine to be realistic but its best to be realistically optimistic. I wouldn't like to sound preachy in this post but instead would like to cite examples to illustrate the quote in a better context.
Here, lets take the instance of the Destination NASA Challenge 2008, where 10 lucky students get to visit NASA along with a parent/guardian/sibling and a teacher.
Something special for children to look upto, enabling them to work towards their desires. Besides motivation (which the contest truly has) they also need your support and encouragement.
It might give them a competitive edge if they're brilliant in Science & Maths at school but sometimes the best minds in Science & Maths aren't always the toppers, so every child stands a good chance. This coupled with inspiration and positive thoughts can go a long way in giving the child the impetus to do well.
As a guiding force, parents & teachers can also help children in planning and organizing their lessons. But avoid forcing them into your decisions, instead you could include them in the discussions. This way children not only feel important but also responsible for the decisions taken.
Therefore, it every sense anyone of us could wish for the stars. To turn this wish into reality we need to challenge ourselves more often.

Destiny Destination NASA

At 8 - We grew up in a neighborhood where most elders weren't too fond of children. Cliched isn't it. But behold, we children weren't all that nice as well - Brats were what we were call then.
We hit tennis ball on-the-fly and into the soup (or should I say sambar) and then even before someone yelled or came out, we were off.
Then there were occasions where threw wet tissues from the terrace ensuring that it had a safe landing on one's head.
Yes, besides being pranksters, most children also have ambitions of reaching for the sky and making it big.

At 16 - Here came the celebrations, a long and hard cricket match finally won. With the tennis ball as a match souvenir we strolled around the park splashing Cola & water on each other (couldn't get sambar this time around).
This was after all the Blue-Star tournament finals, one of the biggest tennis ball tournaments in Chennai. The winners here take it all and no tissue boxes could savage the sweat and tears that downed during the matches.
We felt we had truly reached for the stars.

At 24 - The News includes:
BCCI bowls out Cricket Australia (not much of champagne or sambar)
Ponting and team Australia shed no tears (no need of tissues as well)
But what's contest is our desire to reach for the sky or stars. Now I realize that children have an opportunity to experience the sky, stars, etc. at the best possible site - NASA
Parents and teachers this time under the supervision of Children also get to visit NASA and experience the hub of Rocket Science. The challenge is organized by an e-learning portal 24x7guru.com, and was launch by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.

More information on the challenge can be found here.

Destination NASA videos & sound bytes

I was doing my bit of browsing when inadvertently stumbled across Destination NASA 2008 Challenge videos and sound bites. Besides the homepage www.24x7guru.com, here are a few other sites where one can find videos of Destination NASA –

• http://news.pressmart.net – here you have 3 videos labeled ‘Destination NASA’, ‘Aamir Khan’s Destination NASA’ and ‘24x7Guru.com’
• http://www.epaper.timesofindia.com – here you find the DN video as well as a Site Capture banner that speaks about the DN challenge.
• http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=destination+NASA&search=Search – it has half a dozen relevant videos.

DN sound bytes:

I want to go to NASA too. Why is it just children, it’s so unfair.

That is precisely why the DN contest not only entitles the winning student to explore NASA but also gives them an opportunity to take both a teacher and a parent or older sibling along.

Why NASA?

It’s all about aspiration, for every 10 children who want to be a doctor, engineer of a lawyer, today, there is one who wants to be an aero-space engineer, resources like a visit to NASA is a boon for these children.

On demand, shall try and search for a few more.

En route Destionation NASA

One never ceases to learn, for all education is in essence a journey to wisdom. It all begins in one’s childhood, the time when the brain’s is supposedly most active having higher grasping powers. The children of today are further complimented by guiding peers and exposure to pursue their specific interests. An added advantage here is that newer methods have suddenly found their way in learning as well.

Taking the example of the ‘Destination NASA Knowledge Challenge’, a pan India contest launched by a popular self-assessment portal www.24x7guru.com, which has decided to take deserving students to the experts and help them experience learning at NASA – a monumental feat considering NASA has often been labeled the epitome of science and technology.

The Destination NASA contest had been launched by Aamir Khan, the Bollywood actor of Taare Zameen Par fame. Through this Knowledge Challenge 10 meritorious students will be selected from a series of multiple-choice questions based on their respective class syllabus to visit NASA.

The challenge has been extended over 975 schools across 12 cities with participation of over 1 million students. The initiative has been taken with the objective of encouraging kids to polish their fundamentals and rewarding them for excellence. The tests are being carried out with optimum usage of software and technology spread across all examinations centers with computers.

Of the 130 contestants selected for the grand finals, based on their scores -

The Top 10 winners would be eligible for a trip to NASA accompanied by a parent/ guardian and a school representative. They would also have the opportunity for a one to one meet with the revered Bollywood actor, Aamir Khan. The remaining 120 would receive gifts as below:

20 LG Desktop

30 Apple IPod Nano

30 Cannon Digi Camera (each)

40 Casio G shock watches (each)

If you want to know more – ask school authorities about it or simply click here Destination NASA.

Indian way of learning a big hit in Japan

Here’s an interesting article I read in the ToI (dated 3^rd Jan 08). We have all along believed the Japanese to being the pioneers of intellectual brilliance and rapid learning. The Japanese have had a huge technological lead among its neighbors, so much so that there was hardly any competition from the developed world as well.
Infact till recently, its visionary management concepts and diligent workforce help steer the Japanese economy beyond comparison. A few notable sectors that still dominate the World markets include its Automobile and Electronic goods industry.
Historians and Experts have always considered Japan to be the region’s most advanced nation. But over the last few years the Japanese have been gripped by the fear of being taken over by the ever-growing Indian and Chinese economies.
A red alert has been sounded in the Japanese academic circles last Month after the announcement by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, whose survey placed Japan in the 10^th place in Maths skills (a drop from the first place in 2000) and 6^th place in Science skills ( a drop from the second spot).
To counter the drop in standards many parents have started to prefer Indian schools in Japan, as they believed in the Indian way of learning that focused on Maths and Science basics. It was bitter pill, especially when it was the Japanese education that was once praised and popular for their emphasis on learning at an early age.
With tremendous growth in Indian education standards and its technology-aided tools (e.g. www.24x7guru.com) for youngsters, Indian way of learning is here to stay for long time.

Learning is fun

As the quote goes ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. But what if work was play and hence fun for Jack. We ought to this give this a thought.
I remember during my school days, there were occasions when the entire class was excited about the subject and deeply engrossed in its activities. Those activities included field trips where one found rare genre of flowers, fruits – differentiating then on the color, edibility and region of prevalence. These were rare moment and the class wanted more such activity learning.
Interactive learning gives a child room to understand concepts better. It’s essential that both teachers and parents include this in their child’s learning process and adding the many self-assessment aided tools that have come up. They may include CDs and web portals such as www.24x7guru.com that help children with self-assessment tests and further briefing them on the solutions.
Therefore, interactive classroom aid and regular assessment are most rewarding and should be made the academic backbone of every growth. These methods also help us customize teaching according to each child’s potential.