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"Some of the (commercial software producers) are offering syllabus-based learning," says Jayaram. Much of the 'educational software' available is in English, and better suited to foreign students rather than Indian needs. Other firms have simply taken textbooks and dumped them onto a CD. Some of the other problems the Azim Premji Foundation has to struggle with include finding sufficiently motivated teachers in the area, poor infrastructure (high and ultra low-voltage power) and reluctance of school authorities to open access to villagers outside school hours, etc. But the foundation is already reporting that putting computers in rural schools have boosted attendance and that admission to otherwise-ignored government schools has also improved. The APF has been able to make use of two specific pieces of software - one a Karnataka-based treasure hunt, giving information on the state's various districts and other a programme called 'Brainstorm' that helps students practice simple arithmetic concepts. Tia Sircar of the Bangalore-based TeLC (the e-learning consortium) also stresses the need to look at the 'content needs' of the Indian rural masses. She points to the success of some experiments like the Pratham initiative of computer training in Mumbai, which Sircar says has been a "vast success". Sircar concedes that students across the country feel the need to study English. But without regional language software, the aim of making India a computer-literate nation would simply not happen, as educationists agree. Others wanting to promote computers in schools have also faced similar problems. From the West coast, the Goa Computers-in-Schools Project (GCSP) is an Internet-based alliance between overseas and local Goans to help spur on attempts to give schools in the state access to more computers. Recently, the GCSP finally managed to get the Central Government to allow customs-free import of once-used computers from abroad to non-elitist, non-commercial privately run schools. This is particularly relevant in Goa, a state where much of school education is privately managed. Such measures could allow overseas expatriates to send in donated and once-used computer by the container-full, by just paying the freight charges. But software question remain. In the past too, some linked to this network have raised questions about the ethics of using pirated proprietrial software in schools, where students are supposed to be taught to follow a principled approach to life. Other approaches are being tried out. Aware of this acute lack of educational software, the small but active network across India that promotes open source and 'free' software is also beginning to pay some attention to the issue. Prof Nagarjuna G of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai has set up an Internet based mailing-list called 'Life' to study the potential in school education of GNU-Linux, the Open Source and 'free' software. Life can be contracted via life admin@hbcse.tifr.res.in while the Website is http:hbcse.tifr.res.in/mailman/listinfo/life There are other global Websites like linuxforkids.com that offer megabytes for education software on a CD for price ranges between three to six dollars. Programs offered include First_math (a math quiz game), Anton (a challenging maths game), Cindrella (commercial interactive geometry software), Linux Letters (learning game for children from 2-up for letters and numbers), Tuxtype (typing tutor), Gnerudite (a Scrabble-clone), Across (to generate your own crossword puzzles), Qvocab (to increase your foreign language vocabulary), Lingoteach (to learn foreign languages), Atomix (a molecule-creation game) and LOGO (tool for children to learn programming). Dr Pavanaja, a scientist who was earlier with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai and now devotes his time to promoting computer usage in Kannada through the Kannada Ganaka Parishad (see vishwakannaa.com), agrees that relevant software is sorely lacking in regional languages. "The only field IT has failed to change dramatically is education. Computers can remake education. It is indeed time to begin," he says. He points to his own initiatives. 'Kannada-Kali' is software that generates a jigsaw puzzle from Kannada alphabets. One has to fit the pieces in the right place, thus enabling youngsters or those not knowing the Kannada language to practise its alphabet. "I don't claim you can learn Kannada using this. But it is an entry point," says Dr Pavanaja. He has also put together a Kannada version of LOGO, the logic-oriented, graphic-oriented software that is used as a tool to teach young children the basic concepts needed for programming. It is still under development. So far, only a few keywords required for the LOGO program have been completed. Some 300 more keywords are yet to be done. Of course, at the end of the day, much of the Indian educational software scarcity simply boils down to a question of economics. In spite of their millions-strong numbers, rural Indians simply do not have the purchasing power. So why should anyone bother with writing software specifically for them? Even though this is country that is increasingly claiming the status of being the world's software super-power. —TWNF |
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