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Mr. President takes a class!
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For the 2,000 school students from Karnataka who attended a class taken by the President of India, it was an experience to cherish.
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OVER 2,000 Indian school students recently participated in an event, the like of which has never been seen in this country. It was an experience shared by Roshna, Rohini, and 45 other Class 12 students from Bangalore's National Public School. And by Maruti, a student of the rural Morarji Desai Residential School -- and 140 of his school mates. And by many more from across the length and breadth of Karnataka. They all had a joint computer class. The teacher? A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India.
The Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bangalore was converted into an interactive classroom, with 600 select students from all over the State — two to a PC — and many more watching from the galleries, being guided by the President through a crash one hour session to introduce them to the Internet.
"What do you want me to talk about?" Dr. Kalam asked the kids whenhe arrived, after inaugurating Bangalore IT.com, the city's annual computer mela, "About Internet or about Life?" About half the audience shouted that they preferred to know more about him. "No, first Internet, then Life," Dr. Kalam decided, flashing the opening slide of his Power Point presentation.
In no time, Dr. Kalam was firing away questions: "What is a browser? What is a portal... what are search engines...?" Not comfortable, lecturing from the podium, he plunged amidst the ranks of the children, and thanks to a wireless microphone, continued teaching as he moved from one student to another, helping each to answer the interactive questions. Soon the students were exploring websites about Indian technology, biotechnology, space science and defence research. They were guided by the President to use web sites like howstuffworks.com to find out about everyday devices and instruments. It was time to wind up the session. The President flashed his final message on the huge screen: "Dream, dream, dream...Dreams turn into thoughts and thoughts translate into action."
The Students Internet World continued for another four days, albeit with other teachers. But for the lucky few who took that first class, it was an experience they will cherish all their lives. And those watching from the wings won't forget it in a hurry either.
A. VISHNU
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
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