Bolstering E-Learning for Government School Children

Vedanth from Grade 10 has been involved with providing online learning for Government school children during the pandemic through the LifeBeyondSchool foundation. The Foundation was created last year with a goal to build lasting habits of hard work among Government school children. With underprivileged children lacking technology, there was an urgency to find low-cost, child-safe, digital learning solutions for the continuity of education during the pandemic. 

I am looking for support from other students who want to develop leadership skills and contribute further – Vedanth, Grade 10

Vedanth conducted a survey with over 180 children across Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh; through which he found that over 60% expressed interest and ability to learn on their own using devices. With help from his parents, he distributed Lenovo M7 tablets with an inbuilt 4G connection that can be shared by 3 to 5 students, bringing cost of tablets down to under 3000 INR per child. “I am delighted to report that thanks to the support of partners, parents, volunteers and donors, I was able to make digital learning possible for 250+ disadvantaged children in Bangalore”, says Vedanth who has been involved in making sure that over 20,000 hours of online learning with 10,000-unit tests has been completed so far. 

Using Google Applications, tablets are monitored for child-safety and daily study habits are tracked with consent from students and parents. Open-source apps such as ‘Khan Academy’, ‘iDream’, ‘DoubtNut’ and ‘Vocabulary Builder’ are used so that students can learn online at their own pace and without teacher intervention. “I built a website for LifeBeyondSchool foundation and raised 500,000 INR”, says Vedanth who during the pandemic scaled up the program to support over 250 children across over 20 schools between Grades 7 and 10. “Through the program, children have logged over 20,000 hours of online learning and completed over 10,000-unit tests through this low-cost, child-safe, self-learning digital solution, explains Vedanth, who has managed the implementation with the collaboration and effort of several NGOs, student monitors and teachers.

To scale the effort and improve the effectiveness of learning Vedanth and LifeBeyoondSchool are now looking for student leaders as volunteers. Vedanth explains: “Opportunities for student leadership include improving language skills in the children, motivating children to keep working hard, improving general knowledge and life skills, fundraising, helping in scaling this model and any other ways to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young children. The working hours are flexible and, due to the current pandemic situation, it is possible to work from the comfort and safety of your home any time during the week”, and  encourages interested TISB students to sign up through the form (https://lifebeyondschool.in/index.php/get-involved).  

For more information, visit the LifeBeyondSchool’s website.