With Technology And Compassion, How Teachers Are India's Greatest Multiplier of Change

[View this email in your browser]( With The Positive Collective, The Better India’s COVID-19 coverage is available to regional language publications for free. Write to editorial@thebetterindia.com for more details. '[Aarambh]( is a pan-India 'PC for Education' initiative engineered to enhance learning using the power of technology. Across every school in India, even if you assumed only one student from each class was empowered by a teacher to bring change - you are already looking at millions of inspired changemakers! That is the power and impact of teachers. Broadly speaking, the millions of teachers in India are among the key pillars behind the country's growth. Their role becomes even more extraordinary when you consider that the distribution of teachers in government schools (where some 90% of our youth begin their schooling) is uneven. While some schools have the full complement, most have few teachers, who are expected to multi-task, in an invested effort to ensure education comes to those who need it. Today, their role is as challenging as ever. It is interesting to see how the pathbreakers among them have already set up the classrooms of the next generation - using technology to reach every single young mind, no matter where. Even as far back as 2014, various organisations had banded together to create 'digital classrooms' where teachers taught via webcams or used audio-visual aids from around the world. Other technologies include new systems of class participation - from students creating their own syllabus through group chats to remote-access interactions with students from other states, or even countries. Further, even newer tech used by teachers measures a student's understanding of the lesson via smartphones and QR code scans. At the same time, 'smart' exams help teachers judge far beyond the old-fashioned rote-learning. And don't imagine all of this is from elite classrooms in Tier One cities. These stories are from some of the most remote and rural districts of India. In the Indian hinterland, technology has become a multiplier to the efforts of teachers, making learning ever more inclusive, in ways that we do not consider at first glance. For example, multi-language translations shared via digital networks are cheap and fast. They make an extraordinary impact on students coming from smaller language groups - a critical barrier that the slow and expensive process of printing and delivering textbooks could never overcome. Physical barriers are also not the insurmountable hill they once were (sometimes literally). Can students not come to learning centres? No problem, the lesson can be beamed to them, taught by a city-dweller who is from a similar background. Are schools and classrooms changing avatars? Even Smartphones can become mobile classrooms. As the examples should make clear, teachers are using technology to clear the three significant barriers to education in India - cost, language and distance. Even such incredible efforts by teachers are, perhaps, just one more step in an exceptional legacy that is driving millions of students into a better future. Such efforts deserve recognition and celebration. The Better India collaborates with Dell '[Aarambh]( a social impact program developed to recognise teachers. 'Aarambh' is a pan-India 'PC for Education' initiative engineered to enhance learning using the power of technology. It helps teachers, parents and children find a firm footing in Digital India. According to Ritu Gupta, Director – Marketing, Dell Technologies India, “Dell Aarambh is a humble effort to recognize ‘human potential’. Teachers & educators have formed the core focus since the inception of this effort, built on foundations of digital literacy. An equipped teacher can translate to an enabled digital future of their students and that is something to recognize.” COVID-19 Update: India's COVID-19 count crossed the grim milestone of 70,000 today. The states continued to record over 3,500 fresh coronavirus cases even on Monday. The number of COVID-19 related deaths rose to 2,293 as 87 people passed away in the last 24 hours. On a brighter side, nearly 31% of coronavirus patients were recovered from the disease. So stay indoors, and be safe! [Chandigarh Woman Starts Skincare Brand From Home, Sells 10000+ Units/Month]( [Kolkata Single Mom Took on a Regressive System to Get Her Child An Education]( [Khasi Woman Left a Bank Job to Brew Up Empowerment For 300+ Coffee Farmers]( Today, thanks to all of you, we have raised over Rs 17 Lakh for #BetterTogether. The one thing we are being very careful about is that the funds you donate should reach the ground as soon as possible. The first set of these has been transferred to five of our initiatives, and from Maharashtra to Meghalaya, ration kits have been distributed to hundreds of families. Thanks to heroes like you, so many children, women and elderly across India can procure basic food essentials like rice, oil, milk, pulses, flour, sugar, salt and so on. However, this is not enough as thousands of needy are still suffering and in need of your immediate support. Our goal is to raise Rs 8,300,375. [Donate Here]( [Uttarakhand Fireman Turns ‘Medicine Man’; Delivers to 100+ People in 6+ Districts]( For patients of diabetes, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases living in Uttarakhand, there is one reliable source of medicines – Maneesh Pant. A fireman with the Uttarakhand police, living in the town Pauri, Maneesh has delivered emergency medicines to at least 100 patients in Dehradun, Almora, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi and other cities in the state, since 22 March. Performing his duty during the day and then arranging for medicines for patients at night, the first response officer has rightly earned the tag, ‘Medicine Man’. [Read More]( Our Best Of The Day - [TRAI Issues Guidelines For Online Conferencing: Check Details To Avoid Hefty Bills]( - [UGC Sets Up Helpline, Email Service To Address Student Grievances: Details Here]( - [IRTS Officers Across India Launch 24×7 Emergency Helpline SETU, Supply Meds, Farm Products & Food]( Do share this newsletter with all your friends and family on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( WhatsApp. And if you wish others to subscribe to The Better India's daily dose of positivity, do share [this URL]( with them. Thanks for reading! [Follow Us On: Facebook]( [Follow Us On: Twitter]( [Follow Us On: Instagram]( [Latest Updates: The Better India]( Copyright © 2020 The Better India, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted for it at our website. 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