Quiz based educational service on TV, first time in India

Television is watched by kids continuously through out the day when they are left alone at home or when they are restricted to play out door with friends or on their leisure time. Many of the parents are worried about this issue as they think TV is the source where child learns beyond his age, for instance he watches movies, reality shows or serials which includes criminal and adult programs. Children generally learn the things which they observe and try to do it practically resulting increase in child crime.

Children watch shows which are not suitable & unnecessary for their age, they loose their innocence and act more mature which is very harmful for their personality and social development.

TV is the reason students getting low grades as it takes time away from reading and homework. Generally parents allow kids to watch TV in holidays and try to stop them watching in school days, which is really a big headache as TV is very addictive and kids continue to watch TV on school days which effect on their Academic performance.

Taking this as point TataSky which has over 1 million of subscribers has partnered with 24x7guru.com which is an online assessment tool provider for school children to introduce interactive self-assessment tool for the children of age group 7-11 yrs. Its Quiz based educational service which covers GK, Maths and Science. This quiz can be easily taken as it can be accessed with the help of remote, after the quiz individual score cards and correct answers are also given to them by which they can learn the correct answers for the questions which they were wrong.


Television is a powerful medium for children to learn apart from the entertainment. Through TataSky’s tool every day child can learn around 50 different questions which will help them to enhance their knowledge, it can be GK or academic subjects like Mathematics & science. Indians are tending more towards Online facilities like banking, business developing and now lately on online Education. That’s the reason for programs like TataSky and 24x7guru have been coming up.

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.

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.

Give your children the best of opportunities

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF, FC Barcelona and its foundation Fundacio Futbol Club Barcelona last year had announced a public alliance and kicked off a five year global partnership to extend the work of the club and benefit orphans and vulnerable children in the developing would.

“Barcelona shows us that sports can be a powerful, positive force for children,” Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF’s Executive Director, said, describing the landmark alliance with the Club as a “priceless” donation.

Sports can be a great equalizer and motivating factor for thousand kids. Sports can both teach and ready numerous children. Such initiatives from International organizations and also the corporate community that gives back to the society, go a long way in helping causes.

Children are the future, developing and molding them is the best way for the World to go forward. Children and youngsters must be kept busy and given opportunities to do well.

An initiative which all of us can relate to is a recent ‘Destination NASA 2008’ challenge that encourages children to do well in Maths & Science. 10 winners will have an opportunity to go NASA along with a teacher or parent.

We are the World; we are also its Children

Children, Children we are a lot better. Let us put recent incidents of the Gurgaon shootout behind and use our energy to be the best.

Here are my short-term goals -

• Learn to communicate effectively in English
• Score well in my upcoming tests
• Play football for an hour everyday
• Take part in Destination NASA challenge*
• Read books and watch a movie* in the weekend
• Learn something new from the Internet
• Plant a seed everyday

* Destination NASA challenge is a contest where we have to take a few online tests based on our Maths and Science school books. 10 winners will go to NASA along with their parent and teacher. This test is based on merit and conducted by www.24x7guru.com

* The movie I plan to watch is ‘Taare Zameen Par’ which talks about pursuing your dreams. Its motto is that every child in this world is special and must be encouraged. Aamir Khan's acting in the movie, which is also produced and directed by him.

Candid thoughts from a Science teacher

I grew up from a little child being totally awed by the Television and its transmission. Little did I know in the years to come there would be an equally or even stronger media of learning via the Internet. Learning never ceased in me, even with the years of experience I have in the field of education. I had often sought inspiration in Science and keenly follow latest technological developments.

Being a teacher one has to an independent mind and bring in newer ideas that will keep students thinking. A teacher’s job (I can speak for science teachers) should be to teach students fundamentals through concept learning thereby laying a strong foundation for the student. This can be realistically done when children are able to relate to what they learn.

For example when I was teaching my students on rocket propellants I had to talk to them about the world of space voyages and NASA. Expectedly I had many enthusiastic students and it was one of my most interesting classes, with a record student participation in the discussion. However I should say we hardly covered much syllabus that day and I happened to be quizzed by our proactive Principal on the day’s lessons. He was not impressed when I told him about the long conversations we had and the student participation. Being the principal behind many successful students and national ranks, he had his own agenda for success and wasn’t in a mood to give in to newer ideas. I had also forecasted on how such discussions would inspire children and take them deeper into Science and there were several long-term benefits associated with it. Quite obviously his defense was that a huge chunk of children already loved Science, referring to the many engineering courses and colleges we had in the country.

Now I didn’t feel the need to convince him more and therefore in class keep my conversations limited to the syllabus and once in a while answer a few inquisitive non-subjective queries from students. Students do come up with topics with the potential of deviating from the syllabus but I promptly tell them to keep those discussions for the break or ones to discuss at home. I feel sad for them as now I don’t discuss but only talk to them about good Science programmes on television and other internet sites which they would find useful.

For example, the other day I came across this article from Times of India that spoke about a ‘Destination NASA Challenge 2008’. It’s conducted by an online self-assessment website called www.24x7guru.com where a series of tests are conducted across the country. The challenge is for students from classes 3 to 10 (based on their existing CBSE or ICSE boards) and 10 lucky students get to visit NASA along with a teacher and parent. This challenge has sure caught up with me and my students. There days we quietly discuss in breaks and post-classes on the preparations for the challenge.

I should say such initiatives are motivation for all - parents, teachers and students most importantly to perform. Honestly speaking nothing else will give our Principal, Management or me more joy that having our students to visit NASA.

Education service through Television

Tata Sky along with 24x7guru.com has started an educational service on the DTH platform, adding another value add service to their earlier 'Active Wizkids'. As not all households have access to computers and Internet, this collaboration will help 24x7guru penetrate a larger mass thereby making learning interactive to more number of children.

With the same format as on the website www.24x7guru.com, children can have access to 50 new questions with answers each day on their Tata Sky television set. Children can go through the question set and assess their knowledge by comparing with the answer sheet. 24x7guru occupied with the Destination NASA Challenge 2008 will also provide the content for Tata Sky education service.

Taare Zameen Par - Every child is special

Taare Zameer Par is a story of an eight year-old who lives in a creative world filled with wonders. His interests include colors, kites, fishes, dogs, etc. things that most aren't able to appreciate in him. It's a journey where Ishaan (the eight year old) doesn't get anything in class, sent to a boarding school to get disciplined and there he meets his teacher Ram Shankar, the guru who transforms lives.

24x7guru.com and its Destination NASA Challenge 2008 is similarly going to transform especially by bringing learning Maths and Science into vogue among Children.

24x7guru and Radio Mirchi, Supported by Aamir's "Taare Zameen Par" are all set to inspire the next Generation of explorers through Destination NASA.

Dr. Kalam - Scienitst, Statesman & an inspiration

Over the last few years, I must say Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (Ex-President, India) has made a big impression on not just our youth but also our humongous teenage population. For a nation, whose last children lover & hero was Jawaharlal Nehru , it was refreshing to have someone in today's times that so many children admire.
Dr. APJ a scientist as a recent President of India, is now devoting more time to Nation-building and knowledge sharing. His website includes Vision 2020 missions, messages to the Youth as well as an EPaper. His message for all of us is 'Knowledge is the most powerful resource for the Nation building.'
You can find more on the website www.abdulkalam.com
For now let's just say 'Salaam Kalam'