1. PROJECTS IN EDUCATION (In Progress & Planned) Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan Media Lab Asia Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai October – December 2004

2. ACTIVITIES VIGYAN ASHRAM Pabal Schools Vocational Education NOMADIC TRIBES Ambernath Camp Sholapur Precincts DISSEMINATION IHCI 2004, Bangalore AISECT2004, Bhopal

3. ACTIVITIES: Vigyan Ashram Vocational Training Trade Practices Scientific Concepts Management Skills Pabal Schools Courses & Current Practices IT-enabled Courseware

4. ACTIVITIES: Nomadic Tribes Medhangijoshi : Ambernath Visit I Dedicated Teacher Traditional Methods (Board, Charts) Ignorance of social awareness/hygiene Visit 2 Children divided into two groups (1 Multimedia & 2 Traditional) Finding Recall of Group 2 better than 1 Attraction of Group 1 better than 2 Suggestion Hybrid of multimedia & traditional teaching

5. ACTIVITIES: Nomadic Tribes Tuljapur Magar Sanghvi Robbing & Hunting as a profession Dedicated Teacher Students attend day school and camp school Camp children divided into three groups based on learning/retention abilities Awareness of alphabets, numbers, words from the local environment Use of flash cards for words, colours, alphabets, numbers Child marriage in evidence Popular sports (kho kho, kabaddi, cricket, soccer) Films (mostly Marathi)

6. ACTIVITIES: Nomadic Tribes Umarga Masand Jogi Magic, stunts & illusions road-show as a profession Dedicated Teacher 4-14 years age group Camp children divided into four groups based on knowledge levels in Maths, English & Hindi) Awareness of alphabets, numbers, words ; problems with recalling number sequence starting randomly; Hindi/Marathi details linited Irregular attendance Child marriage in evidence Health & Hygiene issues ( Skin diseases) Entertainment: singing, musical instruments, street shows Ladies also involved in business (buying & selling ladies’ goods)

7. ACTIVITIES: Nomadic Tribes Yemgarwadi Nomad School 300 students (~80 girls); age group 4-16 years; Classes I-Viii Children from all over; provided books, dresses, boarding & lodging Initial resistance to leave home only to find the school safer 10 girls go on to Pune for higher studies Awareness of alphabets, numbers, words from the local environment Problems Polygamy & Polyandry Family feuds Girl child marriages

8. DISSEMINATION IHCI 2004 Bangalore TEACHING OF GRAPHICAL INTERFACES: An Experience TCS Experience Natural Interfaces Case Study & Critique AISECT 2004 Bhopal ICT FOR THE “LESS PRIVELEGED”: Some Experiments TCS + MLA experiences Appropriate adaptation of IT to handle issues of the “less privileged” Avenues/opportunities for projects

9. NEW PROJECTS (Initiated) NOMADS Instructional Design & Courseware development Infrastructure & support Faculty Development Field Tests Follow-up & Monitoring Enrichment & Enhancement VIGYAN ASHRAM Course identification Instructional Design Courseware development Field tests Faculty Development

10. NEW PROJECTS (Planned) EVOLVING GUIDELINES FOR CULTURE-BASED INTERFACES Study of various cultures in India Identification of unique culture/tradition for a community/sect Identification of icons and metaphors specific to a culture Design & Development of an interface Identification of cultural factors common across interfaces Evolution of guidelines for an interface Application of guidelines to a new interface Documentation of issues and possible remedies

11. NEW PROJECTS: Planned Adaptation of aAQUA to Education Creating an education database (instead of agriculture as of now) Populating with knowledge, information, data etc on a couple of subjects (science, maths) Identifying subject experts Hosting for public access Testing for query rates and types Testing for capacity and response time Extension to related areas Analysis of data on user profiles, hits, query types, responses and delays Refinement or flexibility

12. DEVELOPMENT TEAM CORE Dr. M V Ananthakrishnan Mr. Yogesh Kulkarni Ms. Prajakta Patil Mr. Abhishek Thakkar Mr. Rahul Swami TWO to be recruited (Social Sciences background) PROJECT SPECIFIC Mr. Siddharth Nair Mr. Varun Chandrasekhar TWO to be recruited/hired ( content-specific)

13. DISCUSSIONS