Rural teacher designs 16 apps for students
If one thought that formal education in IT was the mandate to become an app developer, a teacher from rural Maharashtra has proved them wrong. Balaji Jadhav has developed 16 Android applications for students and teachers from classes I to IV .
Jadhav , who is a graduate in history , currently teaches at a zilla parishad school in Shindevasti village in Satara district.The apps, 11of which are in Marathi, give students ways to do constructive learning using images, question banks and trial tests. The apps were launched by school education minister Vinod Tawde in Mumbai on January 1.
“I first began writing a blog on education. In no time, I realized that lakhs of students had used the blog for preparing for their class IV scholarship examination. Over 1.5 lakh teachers also used it to understand how they can use technology ,“ said Jadhav . “I then began started making apps. The first app I made in 2014 had only a question bank but even that was downloaded by teachers and students across the state. So I have tried to make it more interactive,“ he added. Last year, Jadhav was awarded the best techno-teacher by Google on Teacher's day .
The apps have incorporated all subjects taught in schools from classes I to IV . It includes information about fruits, vegetables, festivals, animals, music, occupations, current, parts of the body etc. The apps will have images which students can zoom in and a multiple-choice question pops up.
“When students learn in such interactive ways, it helps them recall it better in the future,“ said Jadhav . Using an emulator, the apps can also work on a laptop or computer.
To ensure they can reach out to the rural population as well, Jadhav has ensured his apps can be used offline as well.“When I analysed who was using my blog, I realized that most of the 4 lakh students were from urban areas. This was because students from rural areas have poor internet connectivity so I have developed the apps such that they can be used offline,“ said Jadhav . Students can download the apps from his website, http:www.balajijadhav.in.
Source | Times of India | 3 January 2016
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