With the surge of tablet usage in classrooms comes the challenge of managing a large number of devices, while ensuring that the teaching process is improved and learning goals are met.
When we look at how tablet technology has seeped into schools
over the last couple of years, we can’t help but be surprised by the sheer
number of applications for educators & students that have come to the fore.
Yet, it is surprisingly difficult to find apps that help educators improve ‘teaching
processes’. Many of the apps available look purely at how the administrative
tasks can be taken over, but do not go as far as integrating them into the
routine and create avenues for educators to improve and improvise.
The more student devices there are in a classroom, the more time teachers are going to spend on classroom management. Thankfully, the right classroom technologies can be deployed to teacher’s advantage; Divi’s ClassControl app provides a way for teachers to work on keeping their students engaged and their classrooms under control.
ClassControl app is
designed to help educators manage learning in classrooms with tablets for each
student. Teachers & Students can put their tablet devices to great use by
organizing them around their classes. It has been tested and improved with
hundreds of hours of work in real-world learning environments.
Features packed into the ClassControl App
Saving ‘Extra’ Time:
Teachers say that more than 50% of class time is spent
managing behavior rather than delivering instruction. In that case, addition of
any new technology should be designed to reduce that statistic and provide ‘extra’
time to teachers. Whether that time is spent on further instruction, recap, one-on-one
help or group work, any additional time is invaluable.
Instant Feedback:
With ClassControl,
instructors can evaluate student progress by creating and administering
quizzes/tests. The results of quizzes are fed back instantly giving the teacher
a complete picture of the students' level of understanding
In addition to providing instant feedback to teachers
and students, ClassControl ensures that parents have access to their child’s performance
right away, making it easy to keep regular tabs on their child's development
rather than anxiously awaiting a report card at the end of the term.
ClassControl helps teachers tackle behavioral issues
that can crop up due to tablet devices. Teachers can quickly and easily check
on each student and ensure attention.
Built for Android Tablets. Free for Everyone !
We have launched the teacher & student versions on Google Play for FREE download.
We are encouraging teachers from all over the world to try out the app in their classroom and provide feedback for us to improve your experience
Technology plays a vital role in every sphere of life and education is no exception. The advent of technology has deeply impacted the education scene. Projectors and Whiteboards have already made inroads into the classroom. We are now staring into the eye of the Tablet Revolution.
Let us get a glimpse of what it has in store..
Its 11:25 AM on a bright, sunny Wednesday morning. Separated from the bustle of a busy fruit market by a narrow lane & an array of tall trees, the building of Chigurupati Sri Krishnaveni School stands good in an outer confine of Hyderabad city. Lit abuzz with the trotting feet and an occasional gallop, the playground is filled with children making the most of a 10 minute recess break. The ringing bell brings a wave of bright smiles making a dash to their classrooms.
Many schools today use smart boards for teaching
Yes, we know; This seems like a scene from your own nostalgia. But a pleasant surprise awaits you if you are expecting the classrooms to be the same. They've changed quite a bit in the past decade: The black board has made space for a whiter cousin. The roof now supports an overhead projector that beams multimedia animations onto the white board half. Even the naughty kid on the last bench is listening attentively!
Perhaps, we are living in the times of techno-cultural revolution. The impact of technology on individuals and societies is resulting in a modified life-pattern in all areas of our living and education too is riding the wave.
Today’s classrooms come fitted with projectors and whiteboards, and students learn with the help of videos, animations & voice-overs. Andaccording to technology proponents, tablets will become the new “norm” and traditional textbooks will become more antiquated as time passes and students demand a more interactive educational experience.
Increase in both accessibility and reach is fueling the growth of tablets as a medium for education. The Indian Government is also promoting tablets as an effective medium for learning: the proof of this is the ambitious ‘Aakash’ project.
Tablets are making their way into school bags
Tablets can be the breakthrough that permits teachers to pursue individualized teaching through personal attention, helping the teacher produce a more effective learner experience for the class as a whole.
Many schools across the world are well on their way to integrating tablet technology into their daily routines. Some schools in Europe are choosing to scrap textbooks all together in a pioneering pledge to remain at the forefront of technology. The trend is catching on in India as well..
That is what we at Divi Learning Solutions are up to. Built for android-run devices, our tablet based learning solution 'Divi' (website link) is essentially a study-platform that can be used within and outside classrooms by both students & teachers. It makes learning fun and engaging for students, all the time!
We believe that to bring about a 'richer' learning experience, it is essential to have a personalized & collaborative approach to digital learning; One where each student can access rich digital content, videos & animations, quizzes & interactive exercises and learn at their own pace. Our solution comes pre-loaded with rich content that is closely linked to syllabus. It also has built in a variety of interactive exercises to test understanding. The importance of personalized, timely & insightful feedback cannot be overstated. That is why our solution brings with it a repertoire of info-graphics and analysis reports that help teachers & parents understand each student better.
We also help teachers transform the classroom chaos into a collaborative learning environment. Special privileges on teacher’s tabs allow them to control & coordinate with student’s tablets using Wi-Fi. Teachers can also start an instant quiz for all students and track each student with the live dashboard.
Our journey into the Indian market has just begun and it has been an exciting one so far! We (Divi Learning Solutions) have recently tied up with Chigurupati Sri Krishnaveni School (Hyderabad) to provide tablets equipped with Divi's solution to all its students and teachers (Standard IV to X) by the beginning of this academic year (2013).
Students learn and take tests on Divi's solution
For more than 6 months now, we have been running a 'pilot' at the school - conducting ‘tab-labs’ in various campuses to identify best ways to use them for learning and also familiarize the students and teachers with the device & platform. In all, Sri Krishnaveni Schools have more than 6,000 high school students across 10 campuses in Andhra Pradesh.With the live trial phase now complete, the implementation process is underway.
“..this solution allows students to learn at their own pace, in effect democratizes the education system and puts the child at the centre of learning..”, said Mr. Kiran (who leads the group of K-12 educational institutions), when we asked for his opinion on the primary benefit of our platform. He believes that tablets will change the way children learn and educators teach. Tablet technology brings limitless possibilities and we are excited thinking about the fact that what we are creating, what we are a part of today, can change education forever.
The Future:
Many industry experts believe that we are only at the cusp of an impending education revolution & the role of teachers in this journey cannot be overstated. At Divi, we lay a lot of emphasis on the teachers as we believe that educators are key to the success of using technology in learning. Infact, we feel that the future of the Ed-Tech sector lies in the hope that teachers will continue to welcome the changes digital technology is bringing to schools. Such technological advances should not intend to replace their skills, but rather, to assist them in the best way possible.
Watch Video: Divi Pilot & Implementation - At a school in Hyderabad.
Welcome to Divi. In our first post I'd like to share some of the developments that form the inspiration for Divi.
1. Digital books, on tablets
Tablets are a great medium to create engaging and interactive digital books. We are just beginning to see the incredible potential they have in education. The TEDTalks video below was one of the first to showcase the potential of tablets for creating rich books.
2. Videos and real-time feedback
Another great TEDTalks video by Salman Khan demonstrated how classrooms can be flipped using videos and analytics to create a better learning environment.
3. Free educational content
The internet has democratized creation of educational content and some great content is already available free. This is only going to get better and we can no longer depend only on a few textbooks. A quote from a blog post here describes it perfectly:
... the best content is not going to be created by some institution (although they may contribute some bits that go into the best content category.) The best content is going to be the aggregation of small bits of work from a lot of self-directed authors that we will come to find out about only after they have done the work and made it available on the web.
Divi is about bringing all these ideas together: to create a platform that supports rich interactive multimedia content in tablets; offers supervision and assessment tools for running the classrooms of future; and enables customization of courseware by educators to make use of the best content available.
