India's first 'virtual school' provider

By K.Satyamurty

BANGALORE, OCT. 2. It just had to happen -- the "Virtual School" is here. Classteacher.com is India's first virtual school provider which works jointly with the real school.

It is a comprehensive communication and learning platform for schools where the parent, teacher and students of member schools are connected online thus increasing the interaction between them. Using the Internet, it complements and contributes to the existing education system. The physical sachool is still there but its human components are better connected to each other.

Mr. Rohit Pande, CEO, told The Hindu that Classteacher.com had set up a network of online "communities" from the nursery to class 12, providing them access to customised content, lesson plans and a range of other tools for online education. Started with schools in Delhi and the north, the online calssroom was spreading to the south and discussions were on with seveal leading school in Bangalore, he said.

MindShaper Technologies, the parent company of Classteacher.com, was set up to connect people into learning "communities," transcending barriers of time and space. Along with Mr. Pande, Mr. Sameer Buti and Mr. Apporv Misra, are the co-founders, all three of them IIT alumni.

The online services are for all sections of the learning "community." School principals and administrators can effortlessly monitor the entire school with a few clicks of the mouse. Progress charts of classes and individual sections can be checked and analysed and resources better utilised. Lessons and homework can be standardised and qualitative assessment of teachers made. Parents, teachers and students can be reached without waste of time and other resources. Pro-active one-to-one interaction between principal and parents or teachers will be possible. Alumni of the school can be kept in touch with.

The advantages are many for teachers. Even in classes with 35 or more students, the teacher can assess individual learning requirements and provide personalised teaching. Children can be provided personalised home assignments. When necessary, there can be contact with parents to give encouragement to the student at home too. On the teaching side, students can be given the best reference material available and access to the vast information on the Internet on relevant subjects.

Classteacher.com can be used to help students build a team spirit with projects they can jointly carry out in consulation with teachers. The panel of educational experts can be asked for tips and the teachers can themselves become a part of the Teachers' Panel, which pool the best brains in education across the country. It will also be easy to keep track of students attendance and individual progress reports.

For the parents, there will be information available, which will be beyond the child's progress in school. They can learn what experts have to say on better parenting and education-related subjects. They can interact with the child's teachers with a password-protected access and keep track of the student's progress report. Sending leave letters online and staying in touch with all school activities will also be possible.

There are many benefits for students too. No more need to miss out on lessons if a boy or girl is sick . All that goes on in the class rooms can be accessed online. The school can provide an indiviual home page for students to indicate likes, hobbies and achievements. They can use "My Class," the classroom on the Net, with the syllabus, lessons, exam tips and other resources. All these in an interesting interactive manner.

There is an Activity Centre where the child can contribute to an online magazine and an online Class Chart and recieve updates on all school events. There is My Diary, to remind the child of homework and projects due. A student can get personalised attention from Classteacher.com if he or she is "weak" in a particular subject. The technology enables personalised study content which teachers or even home tutors find difficult to attend to. There is also a Digital Library providing a link to the best study and reference material on the Internet.

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