Diary of Teacher

Making it clear that he was opposed to kindergarten students being subjected to pressures of education, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal Wednesday said the Centre could frame a concrete policy on the issue if Parliament was prepared to pass a resolution. Sibal, responding to queries in Lok Sabha, said a resolution would ensure the states did not protest against the Centre’s move. “You pass a resolution and I will move ahead,” he said. Sibal said he was against small children carrying bulky school bags, learning the alphabets and tables at a time when they should be playing. Formal education, in his view, should begin from six, while preparatory process could begin from five. Prior to that, there should be only nursery classes. However, he said many state governments were allowing formal education from five years of age. Responding to questions from Congress’s N S V Chitthan and Manicka Tagore about deemed universities, Sibal said the matter was before the Supreme Court, but the gove...

With the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) about to implement its new accreditation system, private agencies are approaching schools affiliated to the board offering their services to train staff on the new accreditation system. But the CBSE board has cautioned schools not to entertain such consultants, as they might misguide them. The board has sent a warning letter to all affiliated institutes about private consultants and accreditation agencies that are approaching schools to offer their services. The board has announced that it will soon upload online manuals guiding schools about the accreditation and which agencies to take help from. “Since proper guidelines were not yet laid down about the accreditation, schools were worried and confused. We want to inform all schools not to take such help. The board will soon make the process clear,’’ assured a senior CBSE official. The CBSE, in its letter, stated, “Schools are advised to refrain from falling prey to un...

Moving with the changing times, we must realise that education too needs to be reformed. We cannot ignore the role technology plays in the current education scenario,” said Jairaj Kataria, the resource person at a seminar on the role of technology in education on Friday. Talking about the dominance of technology in the field of education, Kataria said that if progress is to be made, schools should adopt IT and multimedia ways of learning. “Virtual schools are the future of education. With more and more schools adopting the smart way of teaching, the face of classroom teaching is changing. Apart from making academics interesting for students, smart classes have various advantages to it,” he stated. He, however, maintained that smart classes were not a replacement for teachers; but just a tool to assist in teaching. “Nothing can replace the utility of teachers. IT aids empower them with lots of resources within the classroom. Following the footsteps of digital learning will also impr...

Sabeer Bhatia, serial entrepreneur believes he's on to the next big idea after Hotmail. Critics say none of his ideas have been hot after Hotmail, which he sold to Bill Gates Microsoft for $ 400 million dollars back in 1998. The new idea, Jaxtr SMS is an advertisement supported multi-platform mobile application that he claims will make SMS as we know it redundant as it lets users with data connection send messages to any other mobile phone - domestic and international - free. Bhatia who spends most of his time in silicon valley, deflects all questions pertaining to his other ventures, such as Live Documents and Arzoo, which are yet to taste success. Jaxtr is growing "virally" claims Bhatia, an effusive marketer offering free android based Micromax phones to journalists to "enable" them check out the Jaxtr app. He also shares a few ideas about how he would have run Hotmail differently, in an interview with ET . Excerpts:

I had the pleasure of meeting Travis Allen at this year’s International Society of Technology Educator’s conference. Travis explained that as a high school student he felt rather bound and trapped by the prison of school that enforced outdated restrictions that did not allow him the freedom to learn. It began with his parents getting him an iPhone for Christmas. He immediately found he enjoyed the endless list of applications on it and shortly after, began looking into educational apps to help in school. It wasn’t long before he realized the amazing capabilities this device would have in education. He was so inspired by the unlocked potential of these devices that he made the following video, called the iSchool Initiative.

no one needs how to see dreams. younger generation is already dreamy dreams are not easily achievable. it is hard to get it. get frustrated and loses hopes what to do where to go, not understands anything. true mentor is not meet at any path. ................... above situation is observed in our life, in some what difference, but what is the way to achieve, with different means. think ...........................................

Arvind Gupta: Turning trash into toys for learning | Video on TED.com