When government school students in Maharashtra found navigating potholes on their way to school daily problematic, they decided to find a solution. Using Google Maps, they shared the coordinates of each pothole along with other data with their respective Municipal bodies for action. They found the hands-on experience of identifying a problem in the vicinity and using technology to come up with solutions both challenging and fun.
For Shoaib Dar, it was a step closer to his dream: to make every child learn to use computers and ensure that technology enhanced their ability, attitude and approach to real-world problems. In 2017, Dar set up his non-profit Pi Jam Foundation to equip children and educators with affordable low-cost computers and improve the quality of Computer Science education across lower-income schools. In the last five years, his team has made inroads into 74 such institutions in Pune, Mumbai, rural Maharashtra, Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh covering 100,000 students. Maharashtra has 75 lakh children studying in government schools and Dar aims to reach out to 10 lakh by the end of the year.
At 22, as a young Teach For India Fellow, Dar found government schools lagging behind in virtual teaching and learning and felt the urge to bridge the gap. “Most schools don’t have computer labs nor quality instructors. But e-learning classrooms are promoted as the stepping stone to jobs,” Dar said.
Low-cost tools
As COVID-19 shifted the focus to online education, the need to reinforce digital skills and improve computer literacy became starker. Pi Jam stepped in to introduce affordable hardware and encourage students to become creators or consumers of technology. From potholes and air pollution to deforestation, young students were motivated to think out-of-the-box, identify problems that affected them and use technology to find solutions.
Dar’s pilot project started with installing Raspberry Pis (costs around ₹4,000 to ₹5,000). The mathematical pie was combined with the processor for several free tools and courses that could aid in learning Science and Arts to Maths and Computers.
The goal, he said, was to look at different ways to solve a problem. According to him, e-learning has acquired a vague understanding in today’s educational sphere, as the majority do not know what’s behind the hoods. So PiJF infused bits of electronics, programming, and physical computing in the early stages of education to pave the way to shape a child’s thought processes, cognitive abilities and reasoning skills. “We take them through processes that help them see technology in its barest state so that it can be used as a tool to solve multiple small problems.”
The current Computer Science curriculum for high-school students, Dar pointed out, is mostly limited to word processors, spreadsheets and basic programming with no emphasis on computer interactions and applications. “The current teaching models also lack flexibility and fail to provide opportunity for students to harness their creativity or be involved in any kind of experimentation,” he said, “whereas learning has to be experiential with the right set of tools.”
With its focus on an integrated approach to learning with affordable open-source technology, collaboration, creativity and physical computing, PiJF ensured kids didn’t stop learning during the lockdown. For instance, they developed ‘Game of Corona’, an interactive game in the form of snakes and ladders that informs children about the dangers of Coronavirus.
“Unless they understand that computers are much more than the ‘boxed’ devices in schools, children will never learn to use their skills to express their ideas or solve a problem,” says Dar.
