Maharaj Vijayaram Gajapathi Raj College of Engineering: Bala Swecha – Virtual Lab Operating System

The UBA team at Maharaj Vijayaram Gajapathi Raj College of Engineering came up with the Bala Swecha project aimed at introducing computer-based learning at the school level. This project is meant for empowering the students studying in government schools. It will bridge the growing digital divide in education between privileged and underprivileged schools by utilizing open hardware and free software (Bala Swecha). The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan volunteers for this project were divided into two teams, Training Team (TT) and Application Development Team (ADT) to execute the plan effectively. The project has been completed and extended by designing, deployment of low-cost computers for the schools.

Achievements

1. Students were exposed to the practical mode of learning by exploring various applications in the Balaswecha OS.
2. They experienced the digital classroom environment.
3. After exposing Bala Swecha to students, we found growth from 35% to 84%  in their test performance.

Project Outcomes

• Students and teachers at the village(s) were empowered to use technology for learning purposes.
• The training sessions conducted by the volunteers helped in inculcating self-learning methodologies in students and teachers in villages.
• Along with empowering practical ways of learning, the project helped in increasing the literacy rate in villages.

As a part of Phase I, a Superhero Game was conducted at Raghumanda school, where students were asked to design their own superhero who can solve their existing problems. This is one of the practices we followed to understand their environment and methodologies of teaching-learning. As a part of Phase II, a pre-assessment through traditional teaching practice by their teachers and their written assessment were held at schools. After introducing Balaswecha virtual lab os apps to students, they felt it be a more interactive and visualized experience of learning.

Traditional Teaching Practice UBA-MVGR volunteers setting up quiz assessment through apps  As a part of the post-assessment, UBA-MVGR volunteers set up the quiz assessment by formulating students into teams near Raghumanda. As they had their pre-assessment on maths and biology, they were given with Tux Math and Human Atlas apps for post-assessment. As a part of Phase III, Technical workshops and training for volunteers of Bala Swecha focused on the app development, customization of OS and deployment of applications by Phani Vamsi, SWECHA AP Ex. Committee and Tech Expert.

Technical workshop & training to Bala Swecha volunteers (left); UBA-MVGR Volunteer introducing periodic table application in Bala Swecha OS to school students during the Science Week at MVGR. Students from Raghumanda, Akulapaeta, and Chelluru visited MVGR.

Final Impact The project helped in inculcating self-learning methodologies to both students and teachers in villages. Teachers were very motivated by their association with Balaswecha Team. It is a very clear objective of the project, empowering the school teachers to improve the teaching-learning methods. Therefore, Balaswecha complimented teachers but did not replace them. Few parents near Raghumanda extended their support by welcoming student volunteers to their house and inquired about the Balaswecha’s kind of learning.  

UBA-MVGR Volunteers bidding farewell to students Also, village partners were made aware of utilizing e-governance services through our Balaswecha OS. With their motivation, We have designed and deployed low-cost computers and at Raghumanda, Akula Peta and Chelluru. A periodical team would visit the school and extend their support to bring awareness regarding the importance of education. To conclude,  this opportunity helped the young graduates to realize that technology must be translated for the progress of society and also the teachers and students at schools to think out of the box and has evolved a new teaching-learning process.