Computer - A Blessing or Curse

Computer has become a part of luxury for one and all, from kids to old people all have some or the other need from computer. Couple of years back personal computers was found very rarely in houses where as today you can find PC in about 2 out of 5 homes, the ratio has increased drastically. Internet was unknown to common people, now without internet our lives will halt as we need internet for almost in all arenas it might be banking, paying bills, emails, online booking for trains, or booking tickets for movie. Earlier if we wanted to have pizza/burger we had to compulsory need to go to bakery, now it's just a few clicks away you can order online and enjoy it at your home in no time.

PC is proven to be best buddy for youngsters and teenagers; they spend all their leisure time on computer. They love browsing, chatting, and playing games, in fact cricket scores, news, weather, latest gossips and more all are available on internet that's the reason they spend most of their time on system.

Computer knowledge is must for all, as children enter into elementary school they are taught computer basics, as they grow their knowledge is broaden. Parents also teach them to use computer for each and every work as they feel it's the best source to develop knowledge. In our childish days we use to play with friends but now kids are completely dependent on PC, instead of playing games like hide-n-seek they prefer playing computer games.

"Computer - A Blessing or curse" this is the argument which will never end, It has got its advantages and disadvantages in different perspective.

Your Thoughts Are Welcome!

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.

Parents, Teachers and wellwishers - here is the reason

During my times education and the entire learning process were simple. You needed to write what Exam paper asked, and yes marks for were deducted for anything out of sync with the book's content. The child's performance was evaluated based on how much he/she remembered. As a Teacher you had the role of imparting the right kind of education pertaining to their prescriber syllabus and as a parent it was simpler to get the children to learn from their notes.
Today there may not be a sea-change in the way our children are learning but imparting education has become broader and more technology savvy. Its cited that most of the children today learn not just from their school & friends but also learn a lot from the Internet & Television.
Now this might scare most of us, considering it was always felt the internet as well as television has a lot of explicit content not good for the child. But fear not, these medias are a lot more useful and if used optimally can give your children an edge in their learning.
Parents, Teachers and Well-wishers, it's time we join hands and learn the latest & the best ways of imparting education to our Children. Schools needn't worry as an the age-old concept has worked in past and will always be the biggest contribution to the knowledge industry.
This Blog is the baby of such a dream and will try help us (Parents, Teachers and well-wishers) share such information on education.