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.

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.

Experiences of a parent, teacher and tutor

I play the roles of a teacher, parent and at times a tutor as well. Multi-tasking is not a child’s play and a lot more hectic in my field of expertize. However I am delighted the fact that I am able to mentor children gives me great pride.

A few things that I have noticed with children (especially talking about those in elementary and high-schools) is that they have so much of energy. They can play an outdoor sport, go for their music classes, do their homework, use the computer and yet have the energy to sulk about the food they are served.

I have realized over time and also a few unsuccessful experiments, that children of today actually like to be quizzed on their interests, most prominent of them are computer games and their other learning skills. Make sure you talk to them about stuff they are interested in or really good at.

My 11 year old son likes gadgets & gizmos and is very ambitious as well. Only last week he was talking about wanting to develop computer games, and late yesterday evening he spoke to me about his interest in spaceships.

We parents sometimes take a casual approach towards our child’s aspirations. I have been guilty of it quite a few times. However, in our defense I’d say most of the kids are fickle and keep changing their mind that more or less depends on peer pressures.

However all said, recent developments in my son has surprised me. These days he shows real interest in Maths, reads snippets on space expeditions and has also asked a lot of questions.

I realized the reasons for the sudden change in his attitude, he is getting ready to go to NASA. Yes, I mean it. He has enrolled in this ‘Destination NASA Challenge’ conducted by an online self-assessment site www.24x7guru.com . It seems to have been the topic of discussion in most schools and children seem to have taken a very keen interest in it.

After this I have immediately decided to check out all details and share it with his other cousins and friends. All our children, rich, not so rich, studious, no so studious, etc. need to be given a chance. The contest has begun and these are multiple-choice questions based on Maths & Science syllabus from classes 3-10.

Concluding I must admit the prospect of going to NASA along with my child excites me as well. Would it not be an amazing experience? So parents and teachers, our tasks additional would include to regularly check for the latest in education and other opportunities.

Launch of interactive self-assessment tool of 24x7guru.com on Television in partnership with Tata Sky

Coming back to the story making headlines 'Destination NASA challenge 2008', here's a recent news clip that I had read in the Times of India. As Sekhar Gupta of the Indian Express once said, the future is what the Times group believes and does. Quoting from the Times:
"Forty-six year old Hyderabadi, Sanjeev Gupta, director Learnsmart India, announced a tie-up with Tata Sky to reach out to millions of students through the web with a self-assessment teaching -learning tool. 24/7 guru.com, the leading provider of this programme made the announcement in Hyderabad on Friday at the Taj Deccan.

Conceived as a quiz based service, the programme covers math, science, and general knowledge for students between classes 3 and 10 of CBSE and ICSE syllabi, giving them the opportunity to identify their strengths and areas of improvement through scientifically designed assessment tests. On subscribing, 50 questions are made available to the learner followed by instant feedback on scores as well as diagnostic reports giving adequate explanation. The students are given a fair understanding of where they have gone wrong and what needs to be corrected. So, what's new for the learner in this package? Sanjeev Gupta says, “The special feature of the package is that we are introducing the litmus test, a diagnostic and testing tool which assesses the student's ability. There has been no testing tool so far." Very importantly, he says,"This tool emphasises conceptual understanding and retention and not role learning where the emphasis is on memorising information which is easily forgotten.” He adds, “So far teaching has been in a physical form through tuition, tutorial, or parental guidance, but now we've made it available on the web so we have a larger customer base.” Tata Sky will beam the programme everyday. The content for the programme will be provided by 24/7 guru.com and Tata Sky will give them the market penetration reaching out to 1.2 million homes immediately and to 1.5 million by December through Direct to Home (DTH). “So it is a win-win situation not only for both of us and also for the students," adds Gupta on a note of conclusion."