Friday 29 April 2016

Getting Future Ready

Millions of years back the only driver of change and adaptation was evolution or the gene. Then around 70,000 years back, Homo Sapiens evolved to speak a complex language, with which they could communicate abstract ideas. The advent of language and writing allowed us to codify, exchange and preserve knowledge efficiently. Prof David Christian, the creator of Big History course, calls this ‘collective learning’ and it implied that we humans no longer had to rely on snail-paced ‘genes’ for change, instead ‘memes’ (ideas) became a potent tool for surviving and thriving on the planet. 

By using this collective knowledge we humans learnt to augment our muscle power. First, we invented stone and metal tools, then we domesticated animals, after that we harnessed steam, followed by electricity, and made machines do all our heavy lifting. Towards the end of the last century, we started augmenting our mental prowess too, by inventing computers or intelligent machines.

The next giant leap in this trajectory is Artificial Intelligence. As Sebastian Thrun, founder of Udacity, explains: if you learn some technique to improve your driving only your driving improves (and even if you share this knowledge on the internet, only a few other humans will learn it). However, when an autonomous vehicle (driverless car) learns a new manoeuvre that makes driving safer, this knowledge can be instantly transmitted to all autonomous vehicles.

From genes to memes, we are now taking the next leap, to technology-based knowledge acquisition and instant dissemination (temes?) – where the machine learns by itself (called deep learning) and can update that knowledge instantly to all other machines. You can extrapolate the autonomous vehicle example to all other areas where AI is augmenting or replacing humans, be it medicine or creative expression, and contemplate the social and economic consequences this will have.

The key question for us humans now is: what knowledge, skills, and dispositions learnt today, will help students flourish in such a future?

To put the problem in perspective, in India alone, it is estimated that for the next decade, every month, about a million young people will turn 18. They will all look for a job (or entrepreneurship opportunities). Whether they succeed will depend on whether they are in competition with the intelligent machines, or has the right education prepared them to make artificial intelligence their friend?

In the 1960s, economist Milton Friedman was at a worksite where a canal was being constructed. He observed that the workers were using shovels instead of bulldozers. He enquired why machines were not being used? A government bureaucrat explained that it was a ‘jobs’ programme and the objective was to employ more labour. Friedman has said to have quipped – ‘so why don't you give them spoons instead!’

Policy makers today seem to be keen on taking a similar Ostrich like approach, ignoring the fundamental issues and instead making an argument for low-skills jobs with minimum wage. While for those at the very bottom-of-the-pyramid some such government scheme is and will continue to be necessary, our education policy should take cognisance of the looming paradigmatic shift in the nature of the economy and focus on imparting an education that ensures meaningful employability or entrepreneurship for all; an education that equips students of all hues to be able to live a healthy and joyful life.

My own journey in imparting life skills essential for thriving in the 21st century has been a fascinating one. Four years back, when I first started conducting workshops on 21st-century life skills, I used to take a very direct approach. I would explain dispositions of a good learner, self-directed learning skills, learning to think, learning to be and other life skills with the help of examples, stories, and discussions.

With experimentation, I found that a learning activity or project-based approach worked much better and I started conducting field trips and doing projects like making newspapers where students first formulated insightful questions, then went on a quest to find answers and used these inputs to write articles and create a newspaper. I would also explain ways to make learning fun, like using stop-motion animation to demonstrate the understanding of a topic.

Lately, I have added another dimension to my learn design. The projects and tinkering activities students do are around cutting-edge themes like electronics, sensors, robotics, 3D and virtual reality. Life skills like curiosity, imagination, abstraction, critical thinking, observation, formulating insightful questions, creativity and problem-solving are embedded in the learning activities and projects. I have done so because these technology oriented themes, I believe, better equip students to be future ready by getting them familiar and comfortable with trends that will dominate their lives.

Besides these science and technology themes, to help students learn different modes of thinking and thus enrich their perspective, I am also working on projects ideas like thinking like a historian and other liberal arts projects. Later I plan to focus on themes like entrepreneurship which will help students learn how to create 'value' and unlock the commercial potential of their knowledge and skills. Initiative and leadership is another theme I would like to include in my repertoire.

Most important, for the Learning to Be life skill, that helps students become deeply aware of their own self (physiology, psychology and energy), I am imagining projects and activities that lead to the creation of an Operating Manual of Me!

I believe, Learning to Learn, Learning to Think and Learning to Be, are the RGB of life skills. Like the three primary colours red, green and blue can be mixed to create any colour, these three skills, once mastered, can be used to cultivate any desired disposition, learn any life-worthy knowledge, and hone any timeless lifeskill.

Exhibition at The White Eagles School, April 2016

After the 3-day workshop on Tinkering with Electronics and Robotics, on the fourth day, an exhibition was organised at The White Eagles School, where not only the projects completed during the workshop were on display but students also showcased many other projects they had worked on in their school. These projects were on Science, Social Science, Maths, Hindi, and Art. Students from other rural schools in the vicinity were invited to attend the exhibition. The objective was to expose them to these projects and get them excited about learning so that in future an outreach programme can be started.

On the table, we have electronic components mounted on wooden blocks. The students used these to learn about circuits. The two excited students are holding what is called an 'Energy Stick' which lights up and makes sounds when its two ends are touched with a conductor. Here the kids are holding hands, thus completing the circuit and proving that human body is a conductor

Class-5 student explaining to the seniors how to make an Art Bot!

Last year I had done a workshop on how to make Stop-Motion Animations with The White Eagles School students.
Here they have made a car race animation using play-dough and are explaining how it is made to the onlookers.

Google Cardboard, the Virtual Reality viewer that uses any smartphone and a free app, was a big hit!
In the background, on the table, ToothBrush Bots are on display.

Electronic Cards made with LED, Copper Tape and Coin cells are on display here.

A fantastic model that uses motors and pneumatics (water-filled syringes) is on display here.
Raj, the student, made it at home, all by himself. Great tinkering spirit!

A simple projector! Made by students in the school.

A siphon-based water fountain. Another science project made at school.

A battery made from lemons

Social Science exhibits hall 
An electronic display of the cities associated with the French Revolution. A social-science project.

Art exhibits, all made by the students.

More art exhibits

Young students of the school got a guided tour of the exhibition

Children from other rural schools in the vicinity were also invited

Workshop at The White Eagles School, village Devpur, Kutch, Gujarat, April 2016

After conducting workshops in rural schools in the Himalayas, I reached The White Eagles School in Devpur village, 50 k.m. from Bhuj in the Kutch region of Gujarat. Conducting workshops with me I had Mehul, a 12th grader from Delhi and my son, Manan, who is studying in the 9th grade. We interacted with students from grades 5 to 12 and also with the teachers. The topic of our workshops was Tinkering with Electronics and Robotics, with life skills like creativity, collaboration and critical thinking embedded in the hands-on activities. I also conducted workshops on the same theme for the teachers.

Students learnt about electricity, conductors, insulators, circuits...
and used this knowledge to make electronic art, craft and robots!
Manan worked with students from classes 6 to 8 and build sensor-based robots that do not require a micro-controller
Mehul worked with students from classes 9 to 12 and they built Arduino-based robots
Class 5 students making a simple ScribblerBot
Senior students built more complex robots
Mehul had curated videos to explain future trends like sensors, robotics, Internet of Things
and the whole gamut of what is being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Manan and Mehul also conducted workshops to introduce Scratch,
MIT Media Lab's free tool to teach coding
A Scratch workshop in progress
I also conducted workshops on Tinkering with Electronics for teachers
Teachers also learnt how to make electronic greeting cards and toothbrush bots
Hard at work!
Ah, the LEDs light up!
And those are some really creative ToothBrush Bots!

Making the Most of Whats App!

I have been conducting workshops at rural schools in India for the last 5 years. 85 teachers and students are in regular touch with me on a Whats Group we have formed. Among other things I take them on 'virtual' tours wherever I go. This time was no different. I took this group with me to Delhi, the Himalayas and to Gujarat, the three places where I conducted workshops in March and April 2016.

Virtual tour of the Kumaon region of the Himalayas.
I took my Whats App group from Kathgodam to Kausani to Almora region.

I would stop to click photos of famous spots, or beautiful scenery and share them on the Whats App group.
This is Kakri Ghat where Swami Vivekananda attained enlightenment.

This is the Chitai temple just outside main Almora town, famous for its bells.
If you don't get justice in a court of law, you can lodge an appeal here with higher powers!

I also try to introduce group members to each other.
This is Vimla, a young and enthusiastic KG teacher at Aarohi, in her well-decorated classroom.

This is Kamla, also from Aarohi, she is also an innovative teacher.
She has just won the Mahatama Gandhi Fellowship for teachers and will be going for teacher training.

This is Anand, who is my transport manager and driver. I include him in my workshops as not only is he charged-up he is also a great role model. At 28 he owns the car he drives and does fruit, vegetable and poultry farming!

Workshops at schools in Maram, Chanoli and Satoli villages in the Himalayas, April 2016

After Hiteshi, in the Indian Himalayas I also visited Jeevashala in village Maram, Government Junior High School in village Chanoli and Aarohi Bal Sansaar in village Chanoli. The theme was the same 'Tinkering with Electronics' and the objective was to explain to students how to think like a scientist and ignite their interest in science.

Jeevanshala, a tiny school in village Maram, that I have been visiting for last four years

Children made ToothBrush bots and then used their imagination to convert them into fantastic creatures!

Enjoying 3D Virtual Reality with Google Cardboard, an inexpensive virtual reality viewer

Government Junior High School in village Chanoli

The school had organised a march under the government's 'School Chalo Abhiyaan'

I liked their students' suggestion box 'Mann ki Baat' (what your heart desires)
- same name as that of the monthly programme hosted by Indian Prime Minister

I too enjoyed the mid-day meal provided free at all government-run schools

Aaron Bal Sansaar, a K-8 school in village Satoli, run by the NGO, Aarohi

Workshop at Hiteshi, a rural school in village Dyunai in the Himalayas, April 2016

At Dyaunai, a village around 15 k.m. from Kausani in the Himalayas, I stayed overnight with my host Kishan Rana, who, along with his wife, Pushpa, founded a primary school here called Hiteshi.

The couple started Hiteshi 20 years back and have been supporting the school from the meagre income from their farm. They are very hard working, mornings in the school and afternoons in their field. Almost all that we ate for dinner and lunch was from their fields! Meeting them was inspiring.

I conducted workshops for their 4th and 5th-grade students and interacted with some of the teachers.

View of the valley from Hiteshi

Hiteshi Vidya Niketan

Kishan Rana, co-founded Hiteshi with his wife, Pushpa

Class 4 & 5 students at the morning assembly

I didn't get a chance to take photos during the workshop but the grand finale was
demonstration of an obstacle avoiding robot to all the students

Workshop at Neev, a charitable school in Gurgaon near New Delhi, March 2016

In March and April 2016 I was in India for three weeks conducting life skills workshops in the Himalayas. I started with a two-day workshop on Tinkering with Electronics at Neev, a charitable K-10 school in Gurgaon near New Delhi. Few photos...

Campus of Neev school, Gurgaon

Tinkering with circuits

The two-day workshop was attended by students of classes 5 to 9

Making a Tooth-Brush bot

ToothbrushBot, made with a vibrator motor and coin cell

Students learnt to make electronic greeting cards using paper circuits

Next Valentine sorted!

With students and teachers of Neev