In the 21st century the luminous technological wave has become the DNA of the world we inhabit. Owing to this wave the way of doing business has evolved and so have education, academics, learning and development. All these have undergone a paradigm shift and have become tremendously technologically driven given the need of the times we have become a part of.
What is expected of students and what they expect out of academia has also evolved and adapted to this paradigm shift. We have entered an age where just knowing what the text books tell you is not enough. The triumphant are those who explore, learn and grow beyond.
Supplementary
IT Quizzes have in a way become the supplement to the education system and in their own way have intertwined with the school calendar itself. Though the system does dwell into teaching computer science but the on ground reality is that it’s done in a primeval sense, they teach the students how to use the computer and some advanced schools even teach basic C++. But what it doesn’t dwell into is the world of technology per se. Thus the gap created between the course curriculum and the business criteria could be bridged with constant updating of one’s knowledge base in an agile, intelligent way which is also aligned with the fourth industrial revolution.
The students themselves not only want to enhance their current affairs, but they want to gain knowledge, seek opportunities to excel beyond academics and secure their future themselves.
With reinvention and re-imagination of education, the perception about quizzing is also evolving along with the phenomena itself. Quizzing today is not only about enhancing general knowledge, but also about connecting the dots, logical reasoning and understanding the scenario to come to a concrete conclusion. Quizzes play an important role to prepare students for the real world and to satiate the knowledge hunger within them.
In many ways the quizzes that started as a contest grew to become a knowledge movement with schools. For the schools, the quiz was an important window to the changes that were happening in the IT environment. Programmes such as these, over time start helping in building a better nation and the quiz becomes the mere trigger. Subjects like IT in schools are trying to catch up with their students as they adapt to newer trends and tech platforms with agility.
Quizzes like the TCS IT wiz stand out in this space as they challenge these “savvy students” and force them to think beyond. It therefore becomes a very important component as it serves as a motivator and caters to the aspiration of a fast paced generation.
Growth
The technological wave has also touched the format and presentation of quizzes. If one looks back to 1999 when it all began, quizzing was just progressing from 33mm slides that were run on carousels to power-point based quizzes — which was then a happening trend. In two decades it has moved so forward that we now power our shows with animations and gaming platforms which also help keep the quiz relevant to the generation we cater to.
Social networking sites also play a crucial role, as we cater to the ‘Digital Natives’. Social networks formed around the event and the coming together of sharp young minds from across the nation onto these platforms actually triggered not just discussions on technologies or the quizzes, but far broader aspects such as career, higher education and so on.
The digital natives are adept in nature owing to the resources they are exposed to and the zeal they have garnered owing to this exposure. They have incorporated the paradigm shift and have realised that the ‘X’ factor lies beyond the set curriculum and this is where ‘Quizzing’ comes in and facilitates that. It becomes the platform to titillate the young and brilliant minds and provide the acumen driven challenge they want.
The writer is a Quizmaster for TCS IT Wiz.
