Vodafone Foundation and Pratham Education Foundation introduce mobile learning platform in rural Maharashtra
India CSR News Network
ALIBAG: The Indian mobile services sector is actively contributing towards increasing India’s GDP by enabling access to information and education. These are the core building blocks of social and economic development. Education is an important pillar for the Digital India program and increased adoption of mobile phone correlates with direct access to the same.
The government has introduced initiatives like e-education that relies on connectivity, mobile technologies including smartphones, mobile apps and internet services in far-flung areas where it may not be possible for teachers to be present in person or other resources may be limited.
Also Read: Modi’s mantra of Scientific Social Responsibility and Science Labs at Schools
Aligned to this vision of strategic focus on education, Vodafone Foundation and Pratham Education Foundation have come together to launch a new programme ‘Learning with Vodafone’. This new platform builds on the advances in mobile technology and brings it to classrooms, enabling greater access to learning.
The ‘Learning with Vodafone’ programme was today launched across 20 schools in Alibag in presence of Prashant Naik, Honourable Mayor, Alibag, Chitralekha Patil, Corporator, Alibag & Secretary, PNP Education Society, Anil S Paraskar, Superintendent of Police, Raigad District and Shri Sunil Sood, MD & CEO, Vodafone India.
This programme will teach Maths and Science to students of classes 6th, 7th and 8th in Alibag and nearby areas in Raigad district. It will positively impact the learning levels of both teachers and students by introducing them to new ways of engagement and interaction.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Learning with Vodafone’ in Alibag, Sunil Sood, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone India, said, “At Vodafone, we are always keen to leverage mobile technology, our capabilities and resources to address social issues in India. Education is fundamental to driving social change. Mobile-learning has immense potential to extend access to education in our country and support government’s vision of Digital India that will help India reach 8.2 percent or Rs 14 lakh crore GDP by 2020. I believe ‘Learning with Vodafone’ solution not only enriches learning experiences for students and teachers but also helps them discover the benefits of using Internet. We look forward to partnering and working closely with the 20-schools where this programme is being introduced to begin with.”
The ‘Learning with Vodafone’ adopts a teacher-centric approach, wherein the teacher is empowered through access to technology and improved in-class experience with graphics and multimedia content combined with new and modern teaching methodologies. The mobile learning application has state-level curriculum aligned learning content and makes learning fun for students with productive class sessions.
Teachers can access the concept videos, in-class activities, projects, group discussions, games, practice questions, and quizzes for assessment through the tablet app and use it both in the classroom and during lesson planning. The integrated mobile app also enables teachers to access content even when they don’t have any internet connection.
