Technology and Education: The Good and the Good

Sometimes good things happen in twos.
First, Co-hosted by MediaX and Pratham, we successfully launched the first in a series of vibrant conversations with industry change-makers and social pioneers on "Technology and Education: Creating Innovative Ways to Learn".

Second, my book chapter Digital Provide: Education Beyond Borders published in 2011 IGI Global title, “Streaming Media Delivery in Higher Education“, was recently chosen for indexing in the Thomson Reuters Book Citation Index - i.e somebody thinks its great research and worth reading!. Here is the abstract below:

In the last ten years, the world has witnessed immense advances in media and Internet technologies. Through examination of the use of social media, virtual collaboration platforms, and live streamed access to images, graphics, and video, this chapter offers a new approach to education which calls for leaders to use technology to inform and connect teachers, students, and the community. Similar to the changes in the entertainment industry, educational institutions can adopt an interactive, collaborative, and socially aware model of knowledge creation to engage more students and encourage innovation in issues of global scope. The value of making this change is examined through curricula that stress multidisciplinary projects and provide hands on experiential learning. Lacking the market forces of the entertainment industry, being primarily supported by public funds, education institutions face more legal, political and business model barriers. However, the benefits of digital media so far outweigh the risks that the next decade will see the emergence of learning environments that provide as much of a quantum leap in pedagogy as did the advent of the printing press more than five hundred years ago. Examples of the emotional appeal of digital media combined with the relatively low cost of scaling with the Internet are provided as impetus to overcome resistance to change in creating new institutions of learning.

TIE Women's Forum- May 18, 2013

Get your views heard! Do you think technology is helping or hurting education? TiE Silicon Valley is holding a Women's Forum on May 18 and my topic is Education and Technology: Bridging the Gap. I want to know what you think - email me, comment on this blog or take a poll. In my experience more women are interested in quality education than men, yet technology use in schools lags other industries. Whether it is personal or business women can make a huge impact in this field. - I will update this blog with the results of this survey- stay tuned!

How Many IITs are there in India?

I had the opportunity to attend 2010 PANIIT conclave as a IIT-Kharagpur spouse this year - i.e. as an impartial observer. One of the first things I noticed was the large number of new IITs - Its hard to miss the new banner; in places I had not even heard of. On the other hand, how many had heard of Kharagpur which houses one of the oldest IITs? I was not the only one noticing this. Alumnae discussions on the topic expressed concern of maintaining quality in the face of such aggressive expansion and the notoriously slow pace of government decision-making. At the same time Alumnae from different IITs vied with each other on how bad conditions were in IIT when they went there - from yellow water in Kharagpur to deplorable food in Delhi.
I believe that the expansion is a great thing and long overdue. And the risks of quality can be well managed for the following reasons:
1- Students: The older IIT capacity is so far below the number of brilliant available minds applying that even with the expansion- only the best will be able to get in. At alumnae meets I always hear that it is having brilliant students as companions made the IIT experience what it was. So this will not change.
2- Teachers: I personally know 2 brilliant deans who now have an opportunity to head a new IIT. Without growth they would not have the opportunity. I do not believe these teachers will compromise. As a daughter of parents (mother and father) who chose the teaching profession - I believe there is a lot more than money that attracts teachers - they will give it their best. With opportunity comes fresh ideas and new hope - it will trickle down from deans to the rest of the staff.
3- Curriculum: Nehru's vision for a free India included science and technology. And the great emphasis in IIT on that has paid a huge dividend for India. But times have changed - we are now in the knowledge economy where innovation is the name of the game. Improving the social sciences, medicine and arts curricula may be easier in the new IIT's and will certainly be a boost for students inclined towards disciplines beyond technology.
All in all, Its a great step forward for India.

RAFT: Resource Area for Teaching

Did you know? A bamboo pole and the stem of a papaya leaf are excellent  for teaching how waterfall-energy can be transformed into electrical-energy. I was about 8 years old when during heavy monsoon season, my father first taught us how to harness rainwater into a waterfall using a bamboo pole (its hollow). The water then falls onto a turbine made with papaya leaf stems (the texture is firm yet pliable enough to stick flat-panes into it) which would go whirring about whenever it rained. We could never get enough of it! And I did not even know this was a science lesson.
I was reminded of this story when I visited RAFT - a local bay area resource for teachers (I found out about them as they were there for National Lab Day along with HP) to support STEM education. They use materials discarded by industry to create the lessons. One activity I liked was a car made from retractable badges and discarded CDs - shown in pic. But I couldn't help comparing: bamboo and papaya vs discs and badges! How times have changed! But science education hasn't - its still about engaging young minds to make it fun and relevant.

Make a STEM Difference: Hands-on Learning

Education is opportunity. Science education is infrastructure innovation opportunity. USA faces aging roads, pipes, transportation; developed a while back with technologies that we now know to be unsustainable. In true Silicon Valley style, we want to turn the challenge into an opportunity to invent completely new methods of building roads, bridges, supply pipes, aeroplanes; not only create environmental benefit, but even build in the IT infrastructure (can't do without computers now can we?) right into it - adding tomorrow to yesterday for a better future for all.

The message was heard loud and clear by about 70 junior scientists (5th-7th graders) with the help of some 20 senior scientists (volunteers from HP, Google and others) at the bay area National Lab Day back to school event. The scientists sat on tables of 10 with the assignment of discovering "What is OOBLECK? Solid, Liquid or Gas?" by doing experiments collaboratively. Josh Becker of New Cycle Capital led the afternoon which included a fun speech from Chandrakant Patel of HP Labs exhorting the junior scientists to get back to tinkering and getting their hands dirty. Speaking from the the trenches (i.e. us senior scientists amidst  budding future inventors), the energy generated from the OOBLECK experiment exceeded our wildest expectations . In just a few hours I saw the following:
- some grasped the notion of doing an experiment to validate/invalidate a theory
- some saw the importance of writing their findings
- all were engaged: one child who had been sitting with his head down interacting with no one - started talking and sharing once the lab got started
- all had fun: simply because real life intervened - when OOBLECK was "poured" into plastic bags - many bags had tiny leaks - for some OOBLECK flowed out - for others it dripped. As junior scientists started stopping the dripping - they learned and they got their hands and lab coats messy - creating much mirth and merriment.
- many junior scientists came up with "tests" of their own to try
- the senior scientists didn't have any better clue about what oobleck was than the junior - emphasising the importance of gathering your own data (and documenting - in case you got into an argument).

I thought the experiment design was really good and I hope gets replicated in other forums. It all worked at so many levels.  I have been engaged with STEM education in various capacities for many many years now - I saw an excitement from the children in short 3 hours that I have not seen before.

Hands-on, challenge based learning works. It also brought the kids together and it is FUN!

National Lab day: Back to School launch event

On Sept. 15, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View I have the opportunity to spend an afternoon of interactive hands-on learning with 75 fifth and sixth graders. HP is hosting the National Lab Day (NLD) Back to School launch event here in the Bay Area and participating in events like this reminds me why I am still loyal to HP.  HP’s support for NLD is part of a new social innovation in education program to help build the future generations of innovators. When I was director , Imaging Systems Lab at HP Labs I became convinced of the power of digital in attracting the young to Science and Technology Education (we did studies with K-12 through a grass roots effort called EIEIO) and this newest initiative gladdens my heart no end.

Mobile Phones for Literacy? Launch of Kontax

Mobile phones are the revolution in emerging economies. In the past year 128m new mobile subscriptions were signed up in India, 89m in China and 96m across Africa. Mobile Marvels, a special report on telecommunications from The Economist, is compelling in its detail about how handsets are helping even the poorest of the poor - through sustainable and scalable business models. Today. For the future the interesting possibility is mobile broadband Internet decoupled from the computer. What if educational content could be delivered over the phone, or a device held in the palm (like iPhone,) not the ear? Mobile affordability means, in parallel, we need research on how to use mobile phones for education. At Digital Vision program we had several projects exploring education using mobile phones. One of them just went live. Steve Vosloo (DVF 2007) of Shuttleworth Foundation writes:
Just wanted to let you know about the launch of the world's first m-novel written in English and isiXhosa (an indigenous South African language). It's a teen mystery story set in Cape Town about four graffiti writing friends. Read the press release for more info at http://tinyurl.com/kontax-pr2 Or read the first chapter of the story at http://kontax.mobi/ (on your PC or from your WAP-enabled phone). Every day for 21 days there'll be a new chapter. Enjoy. I think m-novels have the potential to be big in Africa and want to explore this space (from a practical and research perspective).
Literacy is directly coupled to creativity, innovation and hope. And education is a big market at the right price point. We already see innovation even in the computer space (there's a $10 computer just announced) and netbooks are overtaking computers in the emerging economies. Projects like Kontax are a beacon of hope.

Microfinance and Education: A win-win partnership

There is a Chinese proverb that goes something like this: if you want to plan for a year, plant a rice field, if you want to plan for ten years, plant a tree and if you want to plan for the future, educate your child. Microfinance is addressing the 1-10 year scenario which is pretty great. But last year, at the Tech Awards (http://www.techawards.org/) I heard of a business model innovation - a partnership - that addresses the future. It is a combination microfinance plus education model. In this model, women who receive loans are encouraged to send their children to a partner education NGO for "free" or at a subsidised rate. The partner institutions decide how the finances are shared (the interest payments) for optimal sustainability of both organisations. This is a win-win model where the women are encouraged to make a go of the business, (education is a social benefit - unquantifiable through standard metrics), microfinace institutions have to do less policing about the use of their funds and education NGO gets students who's parents care.
Countries with severe poverty are also plagued with prejudice against women, poor health among children and a growing opportunity gap between the rich and the poor. UNESCO proclaimed September 8 as International Literacy Day in 1965 to highlight the role of education in addressing these issues but while its importance is universally acknowledged, the deployment of quality education in developing economies has proved unsuccessful. This is also true for India where, in spite of a great rise in economic stature of the nation in recent years, the literacy divide is as great as it was prior to the IT boom. The success stories of opportunity inclusion come from the microfinance sector. So wouldn't it be nice if we could leverage the success of the microfinance model to do more? Like maybe provide quality education to those left behind bythe current system?

Education: Ultimate Empowerment

I came to the USA in 1970. When I landed in New York I knew no one and had just 8 dollars in my pocket- since that was the govt. of India regulation at that time. But I did not see any handicap in this. For I had my education. Education is empowerment.

Mahatma Gandhi: "The spread of literacy is the most effective method to advance freedom."
Yet in India, the literacy divide remains intact or worse than it was in 1970.

“Education in the new India has become a crucial marker of inequality. Among the poorest 20 percent of Indian men, half are illiterate, and barely 2 percent graduate from high school, according to government data. By contrast, among the richest 20 percent of Indian men, nearly half are high school graduates and only 2 percent are illiterate." (Education Push Yields Little for India’s Poor”, New York Times, January 17, 2008). Consider this - About 35 percent of India’s population is illiterate; there are 100 million illiterate children of ages 6-14 years.

In the course of my work we come across many organizations devoted to the cause of literacy and education for the underprivileged and they are all absolutely amazing. The fact is the education- especially at the K-12 level- is a huge challenge as it comes intermingled with issues of hunger, health, and hopelessness.

As the bay area Pratham fundraiser is coming up on Saturday, 26th I am reminded of why I support them. Pratham stands out in three ways.
1) Scale: Existing aid models for education make a huge impact but to change the world you need scale. For education, lacking a viable for-profit business model, a change is needed. Pratham is addressing this issue through partnerships. For example- they are a tripartite partnership between the government, citizens and corporates- plus they partner with other NGOs. People say the government is impossible to work with – and it is true – but they are the ones with infrastructure.
2) Metrics: Its good to have the end goal, mission and vision – but we also have to course correct. For that we need metrics and evaluations. Pratham is a learning organization that continuously monitors itself and the field.
3) Community: No service program can work if it not owned by the community, is for the community and run by the community it serves. Pratham’s many outreach programs, cadre of volunteers as well as paid staff – all have a mission of hope. This is the leadership style as well as the distinguishing strategy.

Challenge-Based Learning- New Report

In the largest study to date of the practice anywhere, new findings from the New Media Consortium's K12 think tank confirm that challenge-based learning is extremely effective with 9th grade students, including those most at risk of dropping out. The report, entitled Challenge-Based Learning: An Approach for Our Time, followed six schools across the US as they implemented the practice in high school classes.Challenge-based learning is not a curriculum. It is a strategy to engage kids in any class by giving them significant that have real-world implications. More than 320 students and nearly 30 teachers in the schools, all of which had implemented a policy of providing full-featured notebook computers to every student, worked together to research, formulate strategies, and ultimately implement local solutions to problems of global significance. Students used their laptops for just-in-time research, to document their rationales, and to present the outcomes of their strategies. The outcomes of the three-week experiment, conducted last fall, were overwhelmingly positive.The study revealed that both teachers and students found challenge-based learning significantly effective and engaging, even with the students most at risk of dropping out. Teachers noted that students learned more, and produced more than expected. Students reported learning skills that overlapped almost completely with the critical competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.The project was organized by and built on work by NMC Platinum Partner, Apple Education, where the concept was initially developed. (For more on the approach, see Apple's site at http://www.challengebasedlearning.org.) The NMC's role was to assess and evaluate the outcomes of the work.The teachers, students, and staff that participated agreed to allow their experiences to be exhaustively chronicled and researched. The students, primarily 9th and 10th graders, were chosen based on the desire to represent not only a variety of urban, suburban, and rural settings, but also private, public, and magnet schools, richly diverse schools and relatively homogeneous schools, and both affluent and low socio-economic status schools.The report traces the development of challenged-based learning over the last several decades, and makes a strong case for why it is needed in schools, especially in programs serving ninth graders. (Studies from the National Center for Education Statistics show that more than 30% of students will drop out before the end of their first year of high school. Challenge-based learning is offered as a strategy to reverse that growing trend.) In addition to reporting on the outcomes of the experiment, the report extensively details teacher and student experiences throughout the project. Recommendations are provided for schools that wish to try the approach themselves. The 38-page research report is available free of charge and has been released with a Creative Commons license to facilitate its widespread use, easy duplication, and broad distribution. The report is online at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Challenge-Based-Learning.pdf [PDF, 38 pp, 672 kb].
From - Larry Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, NMC

How to change our education system: From Scarcity Mentality to Abundance Mentality

When asked what he thought was wrong with the education system, Ravi Gulati answered with a story. "It is well known that Gandhi ji, was always smiling, cheerful, always full of hope. When pushed one day to say one thing, just one thing that depressed him Gandhi said - the heartlessness of the educated." This year (Jan 15,16 2009 at Stanford) the annual King Holiday celebration theme was Education for Global Liberation. Among other events, there was a panel discussion with three educators/activists from India. These educators have developed educational curricula different from traditional models in that social awareness and justice is built into the classroom experience starting grade 1. From Riverside School in Ahemdabad, for children from relatively affluent backgrounds, to Manzil for urban lower middle class children to Manav Sadhana for the poorest of kids, each school is a product of inspired leadership. Ravi Gulati says his MBA education, with its focus on increasing consumption to increase market, as having been the catalyst in seeking alternative economic models which led to an examination of the education system. What happened to the values he learned as a child in an average middle class family, where frugality was the ethic of choice? Encouraging consumption as a market driver, leads to a scarcity mentality where no matter how much you have , you never feel you have enough, he says. He wants to create an education system based on an "abundance mentality". Viren Joshi spoke about a child from his slum school who returned a large sum of cash he found in the street simply because "it was not his" a natural behavior of the values learned in school.
So how does one instill ethics and social justice into young minds? How does one get away from the "don't know = don't care" syndrome? I got some answers from these educators who talk about the values they instill "To whom much is given much is expected"; They ask their students to ask themselves "what am I doing to "preserve" my rights?" "What am I doing to "deserve" my rights". Speakers’ Bios are:
Kiran Sethi is the Founder/Director of Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India, which focuses on social justice curriculum and experiential learning. She was elected a 2008 fellow by Ashoka, the world’s leading authority on social entrepreneurship for her innovative “aProCh – A Protagonist in every Child.” (http://www.aproch.org/)
Ravi Gulati is the founder of Manzil, (http://www.manzil.in/) a youth empowerment and learning center in New Delhi. Operating out of Gulati's home, Manzil is a unique resource designed for local low-income youth. It offers classes in traditional subjects such as English and Math, but also fosters the creative arts and leadership capacity building to provide a more holistic approach to critical thinking and learning.
Viren Joshi is co-founder of Manav Sadhna http://www.manavsadhna.org/ in the Gandhi ashram, Ahmedabad. Inspired by Gandhian ideals of truth, non-violence, uplifting the oppressed, and promoting health, sanitation, and education, Manav Sadhna strives to adapt these ideals to the complex issues facing India and the world.

Education- the gift that keeps on giving- isn't that called investment?

The following 2008 update letter is part of a package sent to investors. As financials are tough, I wish you all the best in making giving (investment) choices right for you.

Dear Friends,
“The greatest doer must also be a great dreamer.” -- Theodore Roosevelt
In December 2007, I stood on the grounds of the Rural Women’s College in the village of Gangapur, Varanasi and as I looked into the eyes of so many eager young faces, it felt like a dream come true. The aura of hope, excitement and vitality was so strong that all I have to do is close my eyes and I can still feel it today. In the students’ young faces, I see an India that is vibrant, compassionate and wise. I see an India that retains what is best in our ancient culture without the shackles of poverty and desperation.

Our story starts many years ago when my husband and I got a letter from Salt Lake City, in the mail, outlining a dream and also a plan which included the establishment of the “Foundation for Women’s Education in the Rural World” for a school for young women in rural India. We were so moved by the vision as well as the well thought out plan that we decided to give what little financial support we could provide, to keep in touch with Dr. N.P Singh but mostly to be cheerleaders for his grand vision and a most worthy cause. We had never heard of Dr. Singh but we figured when someone takes up such a major challenge, being cheerleaders was the least we could do.

Today, the school is very real and it is making a vast difference. The buildings are functional, grounds neat and kept clean by an assiduous staff. The environment feels safe and supportive. But what is most impressive is the attitude the students and staff bring to the picture – they are enthusiastic, hard working and energized.

Their individual stories are inspirational. During my visit, I noticed several young girls with “sindoor” in their hair and so when I asked I found that many of the students had already done a full days worth of house-work taking care of families even before taking the long ride to the school. And yet they projected no hint if tiredness or hardship. In fact they were proud of themselves, their school and their family for supporting their dreams.
They say that “a dream is just a dream until you write it down….then it becomes a plan”. We feel honored to be included in the planning of this dream and look forward to seeing it grow. There still remains much to be done, but believe me to share in this dream gives rewards far greater than any investment one makes. Please do plan to join in making dreams come true for a most deserving group – young rural women of India.

Sustainability through Business Model Innovation in Education

Marvin Hall, from Kingston, Jamaica, Founder, Halls of Learning, Stanford Digital Vision Fellow, 2006-2007 has a passion for igniting the creativity in children, especially at-risk inner-city youth. His project at Stanford was Stimul-I about engaging kids through hands-on Robotics. After leaving Stanford, Marvin has continued his work in Jamaica and recently he writes about a program he has created "Lego Your Minds Jrs". He has created a model, I think, educators should seriously consider. Marvin writes:

"Being back in Jamaica the past year, I had to focus on rebuilding finances after the fellowship at Stanford but still explored the possibilities of how to expand our Lego programmes here. To that end, we were not able to get funding to take the team to the World Robotics Olympiad and I was forced to rethink my strategy....or better yet, come up with a business strategy for going forward. In March, I started a 3-month programme in the mornings at my son's school using the Motorized Simple Machines Set. The boys and girls responded very well to the activities and were excited to come to school earlier for those mornings. At the end of the term, the programme was mentioned at the school's closing ceremony and the class surprised me with an award for working with them.

In July, Halls of Learning launched "Lego Yuh Mind Jrs", a summer camp for children aged 4-11 years old. While most of our marketing was done through personal emails and spread virally, Jamaica's leading newspaper, The Gleaner, sponsored us with a series of print advertisements. We rented a large classroom and hosted the camp there. In one section of the room, we had the 4-5 year olds working with the Early Simple Machines Set III and in the other section, we had the older kids working with the Motorized Mechanisms Set. Over the 4 weeks of the camp, we had 114 participants. The cost to each participant was about US$100.

In August, I packed the summer camp materials into my car and we took it on tour to 5 at-risk communities. With that, the Lego Yuh Mind Jrs experience was delivered to another 65 children at no cost, as a part of our outreach. It made me realize that there is also a great opportunity to act as a service provider to the corporate and church foundations who have funded community centres in these neighbourhoods. They have the spaces, but there is a shortage of programmes.

There is good momentum to launch a "Lego Yuh Mind Jrs Club" that would be offered as an after-school activity. This will be our next move in the short term.

One of my biggest challenges is to find new activities for the Mechanisms and Early Simple Machines Sets and hence attract repeat customers from the summer camp who feel like they have built all the models already. I will also be ordering the Pneumatics Add-on set. I would eventually like to have my own headquarters to launch these programmes, but renting space will keep my overheads low in the short term.

Lego Yuh Mind Jrs was profitable, portable, mobile, and is scalable.
[Note: "Lego Yuh Mind Jrs" is derived from Jamaican dialect. "Lego" means 'let go' and "Yuh" means 'your'. So Lego Yuh Mind can mean 'let go your mind', 'free your mind' and to many of the children 'build your mind'. Our first robotics workshop in 2004 was called "Lego Yuh Mind", used Mindstorms with Robolab and was for older students. So Lego Yuh Mind Jrs distinguishes this brand for a younger audience and as the stage before robotics programming. The connection with LEGO goes without saying :) ]

Lego Yuh Mind Jrs inspired at least 100 happy parents and made another 100 curious. It is a great opportunity to build on and I can see our sustainability on the horizon."

Congratulations Marvin - great work.

Brand IIT: Quota Controversy and My Opinion

"Ending uncertainty over the controversial law providing for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in central educational institutions including IITs and IIMs, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld its validity but ruled that the “creamy layer” among the backwards would not get reservation" reports the Hindustan Times on April 11 2008.

I agree its a risky move. I agree with everything that everybody- academics, students, administrators - is saying about why the move is flawed and won't work. Lets also take it as a given that same facilities, same resources (teachers, funds) and more students, some less qualified as measured by the tests will put a huge strain on the system.

What is at Stake? - Brand IIT
What is to be gained? - Brand India (wealth creation through social/education inclusion)

Taking the long term view: What choice does India have? Home to the world's richest AND the poorest, the most educated AND least literate, the best health care AND the worst, what is next?

Why it will work: It all really depends on IITians (students and alum) and they are a smart bunch. They have an opportunity to make lemonade from lemons - prove that they can not only create new wealth but they can create it in areas where it has not been done through normal capital channels.

Additionally - I offer two arguments:
1 - resource issue is a red herring - average spend per IIT student is a pittance compared, to lets say, an MIT student and IItians claim they are the best. Since adding 50% more students changes this ratio not a whit. - why should it matter?
2 - student quality degradation is a red herring - It has been proven in business that employee diversity is a business asset for the different kinds of thinking and viewpoints it brings. The superhuman IIT exam barrier has self selected a narrow slice of intelligentsia into IIT's - the new student pool will bring, at a minimum, - new market knowledge. Hopefully that translates into local markets and technology innovation, like alternative energy, for local consumption.

BTW - I am a proponent of a high tech version of a Peace Corp type program for India to bridge the urban rural divide. This could a stop-gap measure. After all the ruling will be under review in 5 years.

I post this knowing full well the battle that awaits at home ...