As soon as Kareem Basha, a social science teacher, showed the picture of Adivasi leader Birsa Munda on the white digital board, the 41 students sitting in the class recalled his philosophy — vision of a golden age . This was one among many such instances where the students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya located in Gachibowli had learnt through the digital classroom programme introduced at the institute three years ago.
The school, which has a tech-enabled ‘smart classroom’, has been producing more active, attentive, and high-scoring children than the previous years where traditional learning methods were incorporated, the teachers say.
Developed by technology giant Samsung, the smart classroom has a digital board the size of a standard blackboard, a laptop for each of its 41 students, a WiFi connection, power backup, and printers. The children practice what they learn on their laptops, while the teacher writes on the touch-sensitive board using fingertips.
For the students of Class 8, who have been getting lessons on the digital board a period each week, it is a learning tool which sharpens their memory.
“The first video that I watched on the board back in 2013 was about the process of photosynthesis. I still remember it,” says Joshitha, a student.
The faculty say it is easier to explain academic concepts using the board. “A complicated concept like global warming was explained using a three-minute video,” says P. Vamseedhar, a science teacher who explains the effects of harmful emissions using an animated video.
While the digital content is provided by Samsung, teachers too have been downloading free teaching content online to suit the needs of the class.
The teachers say the students have picked up the concepts quickly. “Most of them are first generation literates who are now benefiting from the classroom,” says Mr. Vamseedhar. Even descriptive subjects like history and civics are taught using the same method.
“While teaching them a chapter on judiciary, all I have to do is play a real courtroom video or a movie clip. It is easier to know what prosecution and defence is this way,” Mr. Basha explains.
The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya is one among 373 such schools in the country that has the same smart classroom. “This initiative is closely tied with India’s development agenda and implemented in close partnership with government departments to ensure wider reach among the less-privileged children,” says Deepal Bharadwaj, head of corporate social responsibility at Samsung India.
Navodaya Vidyalayas are run by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for underprivileged students.
