A special thanks to Aamir khan for promoting child education.

The long wait of Aamir Khans debut as a director-cum-actor is finally over. He is back with a new film ‘Taare Zameen Par’, in which Aamir himself plays the role of a teacher helps a student who hates studying. Also produced by Aamir Khan, The film is a very sensitive story about childcare and Aamir says that the film is dedicated to all children.

Taare Zameen Par is Aamir Khan’s gift to every child with a powerful message for parents and teachers on their attitude towards the mentally disable children with time, patience and care.

‘’Almost every member of the cast and crew of this film has been a part of ‘Taare Zameen Par’, due to the emotion of having been moved by the script and wanting to be a part of the telling of this very important story. All of us together have made a film that has enhanced our sensitivity towards children and we hope the same for everyone who sees it. ‘’ Says Aamir.

It has been never easy for a children oriented movie to get a big hit in the box office and not all producers will be interested in such script. I wish with all my heart that Taare Zameen Par becomes a big hit in the box office. If it becomes a big hit then many directors will become eager to make more movies on children.

Inspired by the Aamir’s initiative of promoting children education in his film, 24x7guru.com – a leading provider of self assessment test to Class3 to Class10 students in association with Radio Mirchi has announced the launch of ‘Destination NASA Knowledge Challenge’ contest (http://www.24x7guru.com/frmDestinationNASA.aspx).

The contest will hunt for 10 smart kids, who will win a chance to visit NASA, America along with their parent / teacher. The Knowledge Challenge program will be conducted in schools across the nation and will be spread over a period of 2 months starting November 27, 2007 and culminating on February 8, 2008.

Good Luck!

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.

Popular NASA websites for children

• An interactive website NASA Kids' Club
• Online Learning centre for young astronomers StarChild
• Children's Museum NASA & Space science exhibits museum4kids
• Fun facts about Earth, Space & technology The Space Place
• Education Multimedia Adventure for Children Adventures of Amelie Pigeon project
• And now there is Destination NASA Challenge 2008 by 24x7guru

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.

Aamir khan at Destination NASA Challenge 2008 launch

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.

Feedback on online tests received

One of the main contributions that IT has brought into Education is the Online tests. These tests have students to a great extent by providing course ware, practice tests and well as student backs. All this making the ultimate aim of doing well in tests.
Among the many features, ones such as competitive adaptiveness to competency of the student is intuitive and help in understanding the level of study. Another aspect of online tests is its powerful reporting, instant test results with strength & weaknesses and improvement tips all add to the challenge.
Following up with the posts on the 'Destination NASA', the www.24x7guru.com website is one such concept of an Online self-assessment tests for Maths & Science.

Aamir Khan launches Destination NASA challenge

Check this space for more...

Destination NASA

Dear Mathew,
Nice to hear from you, even more as I am early into Blogging activities.
Thanks for the information, I had just enough time to go through the site and know more on its NASA Knowledge Challenge 2008.
A minor correction, the 135 participants mentioned in your message will be selected for the final round of tests and 10 of these children will be adjudicated as National Winners. They will be eligible for a trip to the NASA facilities in USA. Each winning student can be accompanied by a parent and a school representative, all this at the expense of 24x7Guru.
The other 120 students will receive exciting prizes as below:
Desktop PC (20)
iPod Nano (30)
Digital Camera (30)
G-Shock Watches (40)

Now for the information of other Parents and Teachers here is more on the contest:

Destination NASA Knowledge Challenge 2008 is a nationwide knowledge assessment program that will discover meritorious students based on set of multiple choice tests. The Knowledge Challenge program will be conducted in schools across the nation and will be spread over a period of 2 months starting November 27, 2007 and culminating on February 8, 2008.

A few questions you may ask:

Who are eligible for the tests and prizes?
Children from classes 6-10 and have subscribed to 24x7guru.com are eligible. Those who haven't subscribed to 24x7guru.com or Destination NASA are also eligible for prizes provided they register for free.

What would the tests be on?
Ideally your Children wouldn't need any additional brushing up, as the syllabus would be based on their respective class syllabus but still I'd suggest children read more and also take some practice tests to have an edge over today's competition.

Other contest details and test information can be gathered at the following URL http://www.24x7guru.com/frmDestinationNASA.aspx

Friends, Let me know your thoughts.