1. Near blind girl scores 91.5 per cent

Mumbai: With a mere two percent vision in both her eyes, Aditi Shah did not let her impairment come in her way. She scored 91.5 percent in Maharashtra’s HSC (Class 12, junior college) exams despite her shortcoming. Born sighted, Aditi was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disease which results in a progressive loss of vision, when she was 10.

http://tinyurl.com/34k8pza

2. Delhi IIT JEE topper is just 14
Sahal, schooled at home by his mother, Ruchi Kaushik, a doctor-turned-homemaker cracks  the IIT with AIR 44 and tops the Delhi region. The boy is special. He doesnt need pen and paper.  He solved JEE problems orally. and the most important thing he is not after engineering, he wants to study pure science, physics  mathematics. He has a library with more tha 2000 books at home  and he has already read them all. The boys is different!!

http://tinyurl.com/3agf8t7

3. Hat trick for Bihar’s Super 30
The super 30 program in bihar made a Hat trick. All 30 students cleared the JEE.  Super 30, a free coaching centre in Bihar, started by Abhayanand
helps the economically backward students crack the IIT-JEE, one of the toughest exam.
In 2003, the first year of the institute, 18 students made it to the IITs. The number rose to 22 in 2004 and to 26 in 2005. In 2007 and 2006, 28 students made it through ITT-JEE. In 2008, for the first time 30 students cracked the IIT-JEE followed by 2009. This is a great effort and has also been featured in Time Magazine in the list of The Best of Asia 2010, discovery channel.

http://tinyurl.com/2wftau2

4. Visually impaired talent bells the CAT
Puneite Alpana Dubey, who conquered her visual limitations to appear for the exams with three lakh aspirants from all over the country. Alpana lost her vision when she was in the 10th standard, but she managed to get a place for herself in the prestigious list of IIM Calcutta among others. She got calls from IIM B (Bangalore), C (Calcutta), L (Lucknow), I (Indore) and Shillong and converted Calcutta and Lucknow. Her words- “i want to use my potential to the fullest, and maybe opt for a government job one day. I want to use my intellect for the country”. Country needs people like her.

http://tinyurl.com/2uvp9my

There are so many professional streams we see and admire. We listen to Zakir Hussain, appreciate A R Rahman, we like Rohit Bal’s Designs, we are a fan of Boman Irani’s acting but did we ever think that these people are different and are not a common man, not a common Doctor, Engineer or a CA. There are umpteen number of fields and arena in which the growing kids can venture into if we as their parents/relatives let them to. We all agree that there needs to be more awareness, more information about such courses and fields.

I would like if Indian parents let the students free to chose their area of interest and let the students select their own career. A person can best perform when he is working on his interests, the work seems to be fun and if its fun it can be done 24 x 7. Let there be that extra edge of support with your child and see what difference he/she can create.

Below is an article from MSN. Spread it!!

10 offbeat courses after 12th standard

Here you are, at the crossroads. You have finished your 10+2, and are on a hunt for the course that best suits your taste and chances in the future. A good number of students choose Engineer, Medicine, Management or IT after their PUC. But there are other offbeat, yet interesting, courses too. Here is a collection of 10 of them. Check them out.

1. *Update your School Tags: Now what that Tag?? Well, keep it plain and simple, its a search tag assigned to School name. Namely what is the School board, Is school boys/Girls/Co-ed, whether School is Private/Public/Autonomous and What are school timings. These are the most important update any individual can contribute for school profiling.
2. *Update General Statistics: Yes… Statistics!! SchoolSearch researched on the most common information Parents wish to have about the school before they step into it. School Fees and Number of students per class tops them all. And so We have made these information easily editable and presented them right in front of the user. Go ahead and update your schools statistics because no one knows it better than you!
3. *Review your School: Start your School profile with a truthful review. It is a good practice to present any authentic statistic to support your review claims.(like any school ranking list where your school has been featured) Because review can be promoted and demoted(see thumbs), make sure you are saying what people think, because “conformity” matters
4. *Kick start Reasonable Discussion Topic and share it! How many a times have you thought you are lost and forgotten in your school? Didn’t you wished to chat again with your school teachers? SchoolSearch make continuous effort to get Teachers round each corners to come in online sphere and start interacting with students, alumni and Parents! Because nothing solve issues more effectively than communicating smartly.
5. *Join Your School Community and Promote it!
   At last,  Do Join Your School. Who wont love to get updates regarding School Events, School showcase, School achievements and School admissions! SchoolSearch create a niche Social Network around each schools (which will keep flourishing with tools in time to come).

One of these students, with a similar state of mind like thousands of students asked me the same. He informed about his interest in computer science….He thought IIT or AIEEE was a good option….He loved Physics and Chemistry but had not much interest in Mathematics. Just on the basis of his likes and dislikes for academics subject was going to be his deciding factor of his career and life ahead. Majority of students are not able to do a correct analysis of their aptitude for a career path. Moreover, most of them are not aware of different paths that are available to them.
Well, interest in Computer Sciences, liking Physics & Chemistry does not mean that Engineering is the only field for you. You have a Myriad of options which can be thought of based on your passions and interests and not just your academic expertise. Moreover, its high time you need to decide on it.Following one’s dreams, something you really would love to do all your life is a lot less sought after thought one comes across. May be one’s interest in arts or music for example can lead him/her to a totally different world. Yes, these fields can as well be taken as good career prospects. Why not.! More over, most of us go with the flow and opt for what everyone around is aiming for!

Referring to that kid’s so called interests, I informed him of what would be his step ahead to pursue Engineering. So If we are talking about Interest in Computers, It can lead you to pursuing Engineering in Computer Sciences from one of the thousands of engineering schools we have in India. Ofcourse IITs Top the chart. The Admission is through JEE. If you can manage Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics at school level, you are good to go and give IIT JEE a try. Yes, from a while ago, the pattern has been changing, and more stress in JEE is given on the secondary and senior secondary syllabus i.e. all that you will be studying in your 11th and 12th standard. this has been seen as a general change in the last 3-4 years. So it is definitely achievable if you are good in academics at school level.

Appearing for this exam is more about confidence, sincerity and hard work rather than being good or bad at a subject. You will have to start preparing for it right here, right now, the moment you are done with your board exams. you can join a coaching centre right beside you 11th class studies. Or you can prepare yourself along with your school. coaching classes always help in terms of being updated with the latest trends in the exam, comparing yourself with other students to check where you stand etc but they are expensive as well.

You can Join certain schools in the country which give more stress of JEE preparation than the board exams itself.

You can as well, continue 2 years with your 11th and 12th, enjoy final school days and then later spend one complete year preparing for JEE. Yes, Students sometimes do put in an effort for complete one year to prepare for it. I would not recommend it since it is a one year gone if nothing is materialized.

You also need to remember that each student can give JEE only 2 times. Thats about it!!!

The second option you can have for engineering is to go for the private sector colleges which have made their mark in the education sector. Colleges like VIT Vellore, BITS Pilani, Manipal, Banasthali(for girls) are really good options. They have their separate examination tests/procedures.

The third option you have is to go for NITs and other Regional colleges. This can be done through AIEEE. This is comparitively an easier test but if you see the number of students applying for it, getting a good NIT/ college becomes a challenging task.

Further you as well have private colleges spread all across our country, where you can have a paid seat.

This is all about engineering in Indian schools, In the next session we will touch upon a yet another career prospective with a slice of self-introspection.!

Have a good day!

Ayush
SchoolSearch

Research and grading criteria:

The list below is formed using following criteria

• Online traffic it attract
• Technology used
• Ease of use
• Value for Money metrics
• Volume of Resources available

8 Best School curriculum resources online list goes here:

LearnNext: TutorVista Backed product which has international distinguished presence in this domain. LearnNext has technically sound and helps make learning a bit fun for class 6-12 by presenting multimedia solutions to school curriculum. You can know more about LearnNext by subscribing to free demo CD which contains an application to be installed in the computer. Overall a sound technology and great learning pleasure.

Paremeters:

Mode: Multimedia (CD/DVD)

Organisation: TutotVista

Boards: CBSE

Ease of Use: Very Easy

Technical rating: Excellent

Average Cost: 2000-2500/- per class

———————————————————————————————

MeritNation: It is an InfoEdge Funded (A naukri.com Initiative) online school resources portal. The portal apart from traditional curriculum (like CBSE,ICSE) helps Indian Students to succeed in National and International Examinations like Olympiad (Firs of its kind in online domain). MeritNation is a subscription based resource portal where students can buy packages online and start learning modules straightaway.

Paremeters:

Mode: Subscription based Web Applications

Organisation: InfoEdge funded A Naukri.com initiative

Boards: CBSE,ICSE, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu State Board

Ease of Use: Easy

Technical rating: Good

Average Cost: 500-1500/- per class per package

———————————————————————————————

ExtraMarks and NDTV Tutor : NDTV provides tutor services online through the product powered by ExtraMarks. ExtraMarks provides CBSE curriculum multimedia learning resources for class6- class12.  It uses WhiteBoard technology for linking students and teacher from distant corners of the country.

Paremeters:

Mode: Desktop/Web application

Boards: CBSE

Ease of Use: Easy

Technical rating: Good

Average Cost: 275-300/- per online class

———————————————————————————————

WIZIQ: Wiziq is an Educomp backed product and helps Teachers worldwide to create their profile and carry out web conferences. Wiziq is unique in its approach where it charges Teachers for creating their online profile (sort of linkedin for Teachers!). Teachers feature their competence by holding web seminars/conferences and students can attend these seminars.

Paremeters:

Mode: Web based learning resources

Boards: All in general

Ease of Use: very easy

Technical rating: Excellent

Average Cost: varies

———————————————————————————————

MathGuru: Mathguru is also an Educomp initiative where Students can get free videos and other resources on math topics. Students can ask doubts and get apt examples to help them with their queries.

Paremeters:

Mode: Web based learning resources

Boards: All in general

Ease of Use: very easy

Technical rating: Excellent

Average Cost: FREE

———————————————————————————————

LearnHours: Also an Educomp initiative, LearnHours is based in WhiteBoard technology. It helps students find the best eligible tutor around the world to help him/her with queries. It charges students on hourly basis depending upon the class of the student. It help teachers to earn an extra income as well by profiling them as registered LearnHour Tutor. Teachers need to pass an entrance exam and has to undergo a tutorship training program organized by Educomp

Paremeters:

Mode: Desktop/Web application

Boards: CSBE,ICSE,IGCSE,GCSE,State Boards

Ease of Use: very easy

Technical rating: Excellent

Average Cost: Hourly subscription charges

———————————————————————————————

TalentBarometer: Talent barometer is as well a descent students learning resource portal. We made a space for this portal in our research due to its content, team and future prospect. Although website is a bit naive, we can have this portal here for its strong content and traffic

Paremeters:

Mode: Web application

Boards: CSBE

Ease of Use: very easy

Technical rating: good

Average Cost: 500/-  per course

———————————————————————————————

For more details on each of these products please drop a comment.

If you want us to cover any other services offered by you for Schools, Students or Teachers contact us here: contact@schoolsearch.in

School Community got enveloped!

When it comes to School, all strings are tied around teachers and students. To give this system a credit, it has been working for last two decades. Parents leave their children to schools, attend monthly/quarterly Parent-Teacher meet. Isn’t it too strange that Parent  review their kids’ performance and participate in their development only after 15/30/90 days!!.

SchoolSearch first target is this simple protocol! Why not teachers-parents meet regularly when technology can make this too easy for them? Not only teachers and parents but parents and parents too can communicate to participate in collective development of their wards.  SchoolSearch has enabled a niche community portal for such Parents who wants to communicate with their kids’ School Teachers and other parents of same school.

To Join your School click here

For any suggestions/feedback regarding features drop your comments. We love your comments and listen them twice diligently than you write!

+Saket

Divye

SchoolSearch

SchoolSearch Team

There’s is lot of Buzz around about Social Network is changing the rules of the market place where competitors are measuring their market position using customized Twitter clients. Nike is using Facebook to entice its customers by sending them free vouchers online through Mail Box. Samsung started Google BUZZ to send product updates to News agencies and customers. How Social Networks can be helpful for School?

1) Teachers – Parents Bridge: While parents are the first teacher’s for their kids, knowledge to understand the world comes only through school teachers. Parents can learn a lot about their ward when they are in regular communication with the teachers so that they can give right directions to their kids development. Although such Parent-Teachers meetings are regularly organized by School administration, but mostly last for general feedback from teachers to parents which are in general cases very less detail oriented and irrelevant. Internet Social networks can play a great role in such cases. SchoolSearch by itself is an Open social network where Parents and Teachers can have open discussions. Facebook, TheSchoolsUnited, Edmodo are few to name.

2) Social Network for Learning: While there are many resources available online for schools kids, all parents are more or less confused which resources are more useful. But when these resources are channelized through a well controlled social community these resources come served to their hands. An Oracle initiative ThinkQuest, is one of best leaning space for children. It organizes International Project contest and  other online quizzes in a true social way. Edmodo is also an online platform where teachers can set assignments and polls to be in contact with their fellow students.

3) School News Updates: School administrations can make best use social networks to inform parents about the upcoming event/important date/results. SchoolSearch enables schools to provide all these updates and help them reach to school parents through EMails/SMS/Social network. Well many school in India have started using Twitter to send out School opening update to Parents. As the Indian masses grow who accept such technologies, schools are expected to be ruling in social network sphere more than ever.

4) School Branding and Advertisement: Social Networks are the cheapest medium to shell out schools’ achievements, results, news that will help upcoming schools create its reputation and confidence among parents. Pre-Schools and Kindergarten are sprouting each days can go online to create a buzz among the new tech savvy parents generation.

5) School Networks as a Learning Game Tool: Enter social video games as a solution — immersive environments that simulate real-world problems. Today, technologically eager schools are replacing textbook learning with social video games, and improving learning outcomes in the process. Here’s how they’re doing it  Quest2Learn

All in all the world is changing and so should our education infrastructure.

Hope this post was helpful. SchoolSearch team keeps on researching to bring the latest updates on Schools and modern technology. Your feedback on such research will be helpful for us as well.

Comments invited, we are listening!

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has finally taken a good step to introduce some interesting things in syllabus.

The NCERT department of education in social sciences and humanities is looking at designing curriculum for students of Class 1 to 10 wherein various areas such as body, food and nutrition, social life, sports, health, hygiene, emotional and psychological factors will be covered. The aim is to help them develop sense of values about different aspects of life.

OBJECTIVES
To help children know…

• Collective responsibility for healthy living at home, school and in the community
• Identify health problems & be informed about remedies
• Rules of safety in appropriate hazardous situations & acquaint them with first-aid.
• Correct postural habits in standing, walking, sitting.
• Importance of developing self-control, concentration, peace and relaxation.

FRAMEWORK OF SYLLABUS
For effective implementation of the subject of Health and Physical Education, the committee identified several broad themes

1. We and our environment

2. Human body: physical fitness and  health

3. Food and nutrition

4. Social health and  relationships with others

5. Safety and security

6. Consumer health; vocational and  leadership aspects.

NCERT is doing great …

SchoolSearch Team