K-12 School Archives

adminSeptember 24, 2021comment (0)K-12 School, learning, Maths

Wisemindz Journey

When was the company founded?

24^th August 2017.

What problem is it trying to solve in the education ecosystem?

Students are lacking conceptual understanding in Computing and Literacy skills and they are moving out without any foundational skills required in real life

As per ASER Survey,

After five years of schooling, at age 10-11 years, just over half (51%) of students in India can read a grade II level text (appropriate for seven- to eight-year-olds).

For computing ability just 28% of grade V students are able to do division, compared with 37% in 2008.

Why did the founder feel the need to start this company? Any personal experience?

While working in the K-12 domain and implementing integrated curriculum solution for over 10000 schools pan India, handling a team of 400 people, launching a books division as the President in one of the leading education companies, perceived the gap in knowledge dissemination in schools. Mr.Sachin Dhakate, CEO & Founder , realized that the activity-based learning was not really brought to be as age-appropriate content. Moreover, the activity-based programs were said to be time consuming, costly and diversion of the traditional learning practices. With a mission to change this belief, he zeroed in upon organizing experiential learning programs doing workshops in Mumbai, Indore and Nagpur. With his K-12 relations, Sachin got an opportunity to work with Vibgyor Group Bangalore, Poddar World School Group Mumbai. “During this period, we fine-tuned our programs, ran through the iterations and made it in curriculum ready. The programs of Abacus and Vedic Math have been moreover mishandled by half-baked trainers and net surfers making it more difficult for a child to learn. While speaking to over 2000 odd parents and more than 300 principals, we understood that the program has to focus on more intrinsic behavioral aspect of a child. For that it has to be part of a curriculum. We devised a platform that can be affordable to each child at a fraction of cost as compared to the existing market price. This is how we marked our beginning,” Sachin informs.

Through all its products, the company ensures that the child explores through hands on activity-based learning. It focuses on creative wisdom that accelerates holistic development, gives exposure to left brain and right brain activity from early childhood that brings the best out of the students. Through the programs, it aims to expose the child to the right learning environment so that effective learning happens in a fun way. They can learn skills in leadership, community involvement, communicating across different technology platforms, finding their passions, and teamwork, which will position them for success well beyond their school years.

What are the unique/key features which help solve the problem for your target audience?

With the simplistic approach in adopting the learning methodologies, there should not be any hindrances and barriers in one’s learning process. This forms the core of our product philosophy.

We believe that every child is born with equal ability. It’s the environment and experiential learning offered thereafter that makes a difference. Through our programs, we aim to expose the child to the right learning environment so that effective learning happens in a fun way.

At Wisemindz, we focus on creative wisdom that accelerates holistic development. We give exposure to left brain and right brain activity from early childhood that brings the best out of our students. Every person has inherent traits that need to be explored for desired results. One of the tools that we use is based on the multiple intelligence theory proposed by Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education who developed his theory of multiple intelligences.

Name of the product/service, if any? What it does?

Product Details:

Computational Skills: Computational thinking helps students develop skills that are attractive for future employment opportunities. Math computation skills are usually introduced during the early elementary grades in the following order: addition, subtraction, multiplication and then division. Teachers often reinforce math computation skills via games, timed tests and drills. New learning builds upon prior knowledge and is continually dependent until students have mastered all four skills. We have 3 products under computational skills- Abacus, Vedic Maths and Conceptual Maths.

STEM Zone: STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. What separates STEM from the traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life. It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real-world applications of problem solving. STEM includes following products

Business Acumen: This program entails business knowledge to students at an early age so that they can understand advanced concepts such as revenue or profit margin. The key is to start with the basics and incrementally work toward more difficult concepts.

To learn more about our programs ,check out our gamified learning management platform : Wisemindz Programs

adminSeptember 23, 2021comment (0)K-12 School, learning, Maths

VISUAL MATHEMATICS : Beyond Curriculum Mathematics

It is imperative that mathematics is a real-life skill preposition that propagates the prophecy of learning beyond the classroom. Important life skills mathematics teaches are:

Every problem has a solution
Follow certain steps and be process-oriented
Detailing of data
Figure out a solution in the given data and constraint
Analytical mindset
Creativity through numbers and many more

If you truly try to mull over, one may think that critical skills and real-life application are the way forward. Some of the rudimentary formulae can literally shape up the way we look at the solutions to the problems faced in real life. Sir Srinivasa Ramanujan has aptly said, “An equation is nothing to me unless it expresses the thought of God”. Comprehending the problem statement is equally important in solving mathematics. One has to speak and understand the language of maths.

What is the mathematics language?

One has to understand the language and the sound that mathematics helps to evolve. The child starts learning things by sensory organs touch and feel, smell, seeing and sound then get introduced to patterns, groups and finally introduction to alphabets and numbers. However, there is limited exposure to develop these sensory organs as we go higher up in the formal school environment.

How do we develop computing skills and make justice to the overall brain development?

Let us first understand what is overall brain development? We need to exercise both the hemispheres of the brain. The left part is the logical, calculative, storing numbers mind while the right part is storing visuals, sound clips, and videos often referred to as creative mind. Visualizing a math problem helps in nurturing the brain. Children at a young age have exceptional ability to take the learning ahead if they are exposed to the right kind of learning platform so that they can use this for development which is otherwise not often utilized up to the fullest extent. Calculating and computing skills developed at early ages help gain the confidence and brain capacity building that stays for a lifetime.

How do computing programs help in development?

The coming generation is thinkers and students who are exposed to early childhood development programs will definitely have an edge over others. Programs like Abacus that talk about the development of computing through visualisation. It helps in integrating the conceptual understanding of the left as well as right-brain thereby forming creative wisdom. For them, the processing of information is not only about math but also encompasses other subjects. Creative stimulation is very much needed. This helps the students to outperform their peers. Reliability on gadgets becomes less and the child takes interest in doing arithmetic of up to 10 digits or more calculations. Ability to focus and concentrate, intuitive thinking, understanding place value with formulae and application of concepts in real life helps the child’s overall development. The learning starts from an early age of 4 years and can go up to 13 years. The children start with basic counting, understanding the structure, hand and finger movement and then apply the concept and formulae for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Once the students get acquainted with the basic concepts of understanding numbers then they practice oral calculations and do tables of more than 2 digits orally faster than the electronic device. Students understand the compliments method of 10 and 5 for example 10 = 6 + 4 = 7 + 3 and so on and 5 = 4 + 1 = 3 + 2 and so on. With this compliment technique, they understand the simple arithmetic operation and apply it to more complex calculations and improve their computing skills mentally. There is anxiety for not performing in math which is reduced by practicing calculations on Abacus. The exercises comprising flash-cards, video clips, and auditory questions help stimulate the right kind of sensory organs for overall brain development.

When the children grow up and reach 11 years they should be embraced with higher-order thinking skills and exposed to even larger computing skills. They should understand the meaning of comprehension and problem solving and how these computing skills are applied in the curriculum. The concepts of Vedic Math help children to go beyond mathematics and open a whole new world of math-e-magic. The Vedic Math is based on the 16 sutras (formulae) derived from the Vedas by Shri Bharti Krishna Tirthaji. This comprehension has given a whole new dimension in understanding the calculation concepts. By exploring these formulae and applying more iteration on them, a whole new computing technique can be derived. Whether it’s a 2 digit by 2 digit or 3 digits by 3 digits multiplication or finding the square of a 5 digit number can be as simple as writing A to Z. The interesting part is how it is applied in the curriculum as there are misconceptions that with Vedic Math the students pay less attention to the steps and focus more on answers. Therefore, proper guidance is needed for students in applying the Vedic Math calculation principles. When children embrace higher – order thinking skills, they see a whole new world with confidence and a sense of achievement, gaining the ability to perform boosts their results in improving their Study Quotient. They find creative ways of number crunching and intelligent ways of arriving at the answers which help them to crack competitive exams.

If the techniques of Abacus and Vedic Math are coupled with a conceptual curriculum of math it will do wonders for the students. Today is the world of engagement through inclusive participation as well as immersive content. Keeping that in mind, if the students get that experience of visual mathematics coupled with gamified content and assessments then it’s a real treat to watch how the brain development shapes the new generation. This shall create a society of future thinkers. As Pythagoras has aptly said “Number was the substance of all things”, let us decode these numbers and help improve computing skills.

Sachin Dhakate, Co-founder Wisemindz Ventures Pvt. Ltd.

BE, PGDM IIM Lucknow, and 20+ years in teaching, Edtech, and Corporate.

Wisemindz is an activity-based experiential learning platform that nurtures students’ life skills right from pre-primary level through various mediums of Coding, Computing, Communication, and Business acumen skills.

adminJanuary 31, 2021Comment (1)K-12 School, learning

Wisemindz Joins the Amazon’s AWS Edstart Program

It is a privilege to let know that Wisemindz Ventures has been selected to join Amazon’s AWS EdStart Program. AWS EdStart is a program designed to help innovative companies build the next generation of online learning, analytics, and education management solutions, incorporating cloud technologies.

“The Speed math and STEM platform in schools has helped the students to garner the required skills” says Mr. Nishikant from Hunslow, UK. One of the Director Mr. Sharad Gandhi says “The Coding and Robotics lab in the school as given exposure to students on practical learning”.

One year down the line the usage and implementation using the AWS cloud will give a different user experience in the experiential learning domain for schools. Moreover the individual students will be able to check on their life skills assessment on real time basis. Wisemindz will start Leap platform to get the learning coupled with simulation and data sets on the cloud, making it efficient for the learner to achieve the required skill sets. The platform will include Machine Learning and AI based assessments along with personalised content.

“The AWS Edstart program selection has elated the team and given boosts to the confidence and is an exciting achievement for the team Wisemindz. We see as a great value addition in the selection and our strategy focus on future investments” said Sachin Dhakate, Cofounder Wisemindz. “AWS is our strategic and critical component in the service offering that shall create a differentiating factor in the user experience. The cloud technology and support from AWS will mark a new era of growth for the company. Membership in the EdStart program provides access to training, mentoring, marketing and other support from Amazon that aims to create niche and accelerate growth”

“AWS Edstart members are transforming the education landscape across the globe. Thank you for being an active member of the AWS EdStart Community! Our team has identified your company as influential in revolutionizing education” – Team AWS

About Wisemindz:

Wisemindz Ventures Private Limited – An IIM Alumni initiative is founded in 2017 by education industry professionals and IIM alumni along with IT education experts having a combined experience of 50+ man-years in various domains of education. The philosophy of the company is to provide cost effective experiential activity based learning programs to the Schools and various independent Institutes. The focus is to develop and nurture intellectual capability since early childhood through experiential learning programs.

Wisemindz has customer base present in India, UAE, UK

We set up a STEM zone in the curriculum program model.
In the Technology front we set up the –Coding, Robotics, Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Employable Skills from class 1 to 12.
Science DIY program for class 1 to 9.
For Math we set in house developed Abacus (Class KG2 to 5^th) and Vedic Math (Class 5^th Onwards) zones for brain exercise and faster calculations.
Live classroom platform
We do Career Counseling of students from class 7 onwards up to Postgraduate through artificial intelligence based Online Psychometric testing

For more details visit; www.wisemindz.com.

adminOctober 14, 2019comment (0)K-12 School

Leveraging IOT in K-12 Schools

The k-12 segment over the last 5 years has undergone a sea change. The way knowledge is imparted at the school through technology-based products and solutions have changed the learning styles substantially. This has created a more positive impact and shrunk the distances between various stakeholders in the education ecosystem. The schools have come a long way from providing a small computer lab with limited machines to a complete computer lab and tablet labs with complete infrastructure. However, as you go deeper in the interiors the situation is grimmer. There is a remarkable polarization observed in the penetration of various ICT programs restricting the schools to get exposure to various technological advancements. With the availability of internet bandwidth and programs, the infrastructure development will have a remarkable turnaround by 2020. According to the study by Counterpoint research, with 220 million smartphone users India is the second largest consumer in the world. Out of the total market of the mobile phone, 33% is using the smartphone (ref: www.statista.com). This will penetrate the use of IOT in schools through various module adoptions.

Technology adoption

Technology adoption is not only restricted to using computer and computer aided devices in the classroom for concurrent learning. You walk through an aisle in the schools and you can relate to any of the tech products and solutions that the school has adopted. Right from the biometric devices for scanning and attendance, CCTV cameras for continuous monitoring, Tab labs, mini handheld devices generating enormous data for the school environment. The day to day gazettes and gizmos that were earlier traditional has been converted into smart devices. The school operated the bus that transports the student from home to school and back is fitted with a GPS tracker, the Student having a RFID or a GPS enabled ID card are all smart devices operational in school. Smart Classrooms connected to a central processing server and each classroom having roll number mapped smart devices to have a complete environment for experiencing tech-enabled learning.

Government is also trying to leverage the internet and its technology by undertaking various tech-enabled initiatives. They have already made e-books available for NCERT through the web and mobile App. During the recent budget by the Government of India, a central examination authority has been proposed under the National Testing Agency so that the competent authorities like CBSE, AICTE, and ICSE focus on improvising academic excellence.

Technology has been often related to improving efficiency in the system. The #BigData that the school generates through admission inquiry, enrolment, health, academic grades and co-curricular activity is enormous. Moreover, this data will be futile unless analyzed and not gone through the eyes of data analytics to form a decision-making matrix. Some or majority of the schools today have this data recording in manual form while others have a school management system through an offline server or cloud server. The input is still manual and this is susceptible to human error.

With the advent of super leased lines and fiber optics with growing interference of disruptive technology-enabled solutions, it gives a better customer experience in taking learning to new heights for personalized intervention. The smart tab in the classroom mapped to a particular roll number connected through a WIFI environment in school gives response instantly. This enables the teachers to know real-time results while suggesting and focusing on the module that requires more focus. Through the device, teachers can know students’ weaker and stronger sections whether basics or application of the concept. The devices that are IP enabled helps in improving the operations. Based on these inputs the system can throw assignments on the smart devices and help in sharpening the multiple intelligence levels. Some of the schools can go one step ahead of profiling the students through #DMIT (Dermatoglyphics Multiple Intelligence Test) profiling and psychometric profiling. The data generated can be used for personalized counseling and suggesting corrective actions to further sharpen the inherent traits and skills.

The Data Sensors

The data sensors play a very important role in the administration of a larger network of chain school. Schools can be linked with IP enabled CCTV so that the management monitors the entire network through a central data center or a smart device. Imagine a fitness program run by an institute and spending enormously on training but without generating and monitoring the data. The smart fitness wristbands connected to a central server and tracking the continuous physical activity can certainly throw lot data for corrective measures in improving the fitness level. Based on the physical activity data the system can suggest the calorie intake and nutritional values as well as monitor vital stats. Sensors talking about various green initiatives in school and their impact on the ecosystem, quality of air, etc. can be studied further. The VR and AVR based learning gives a real-life 3D experiential environment.

By far there are tremendous opportunities in developing data analytics center and help the K-12 segment in making efficient use of IOT. It certainly enhances the safety of the students, improves creativity and reinstates the focus in learning through personalized suggestions. Students themselves can be part of the data analysis and understand and practice trends followed by successful students. Today’s generation is the team of collaborators so we need to engage them and make them partners in learning. Ideation, platform sharing and being responsive in real time are the real benefits that students and teachers can garner from IOT.

The implementation of the IOT should be robust and create a technology fencing to prevent data theft and improve on data security. Schools wanting to leverage IOT have to invest in the virtual connectivity and a WIFI environment, bandwidth, user devices and moreover user training to use smart devices in generating and using data. If the management has to create value for their students they should in principle align the infrastructure to the teaching methodology. Under a professional guidance and data analytics, the IOT can give an enriched learning experience creating value for all the stakeholders.

The next generation shall be blessed through personalized inputs, however, one needs to take note that the solution should not be cluttered. The product and solution innovation should be definitely Economical and User-Friendly!!!

adminJanuary 29, 2019comment (0)Exam, K-12 School

Year End Exams – A Nail Biting finish

Dear Parents, Teachers, and Students:

Come March and the parents are grappling and running helter-skelter. Every year I get a lot of requests especially during this period an anxious parents call, how to focus for the study and write an exam. The fear of non-performance compared to the other candidate is real and residing in the subconscious of the parents. The parents are more ambitious and this leaves the student in disarray. In my follow up to Holistic approach it is important for a parent to give that kind of conducive environment and not to think obnoxiously and be overdriven.

There are subtle things that as a parent we all need to understand. I ask a simple question to the parents as to what they wanted to be in their life and what they have become. The second simple question I ask them is what their parents wanted them to become and what they have achieved till now. Not often everyone gets that environment to chase their ambitions. The environments are to be made. It cannot lead to the easiest choice and mark your responses and submit to the external reasons. Creating an environment is more intrinsic and we as a change agent, the driver to bringing that change are very important. It is very often observed that parents have this habit of mentioning often “In our days” that gives birth to a rebel in today’s generation. Everyone who has been making a living in this world has undergone the rigours of pain, anxiety, courage, and perseverance. The testimonials are on the wall but do not make it a point to blow the trumpet and make the planned decision for your child.

Everyone Has The Freedom

Set Your Goals

Set your goals and breakdown in terms of smaller targets as we all do in the corporate world. At each accomplishment, there is a reward. Treat yourself for a dish you like to make or eat, or a movie you like to watch, or go for a sport or shopping that you wanted to do. The topics that interest you should be touched last and topics or subject that you struggle should be marked as the priority. Give at least 1.5 times more time allocation to these weaker sections while making your weekly timetable. First 3 months focus on the basics and the philosophy. The next phase is to start the time-bound study to ensure that you are molding yourself to be a timekeeper. Ensure that you complete the tasks within the stipulated time. The revision of the topics along with solving test papers makes a huge difference. After every set of topics, you cover you should test your limits. Follow the simple technique of Basic philosophy-Time bound study –Practice-Revise –Test-Back to Basic philosophy.

Your approach towards the day to day matters of your life will also govern the way the exam period gets along. Time never stops for anyone and this too shall pass. Having followed the back to basics methodology there is enough self-confidence that is built during this process. As I mentioned in my earlier blog physical endurance is more important coupled with peacetime, time for self. Having a balanced diet and sound sleep is very important to make a fresh and energetic start every day. Fortnights from exams ensure that you keep stacked all the class notes, syllabus and solved papers arranged in chronological order of timetable, the first subject test on top or front.

As the penultimate day of exams approach to ensure that you have all the requisite stationery properly arranged. Have a couple of sets for writing material properly kept in an accessible position in the bag. The uniform or dress should be properly ironed, shoe polished and all accessories that makes you comfortable will boost your confidence. Do not wear anything flashy or something that makes you uncomfortable and please realize that there is nothing called a lucky shirt or a trouser or any lucky undergarment. In the evening on the previous day of exam have a stroll in the garden, feel the nature and take self-time. Refer the stacked notes and have a light dinner and sleep early.

On the exam day get up early and have your daily chores. Have a good breakfast balanced with carbohydrates and protein. Check all your writing material once again. To the exam, hall Carry a bottle of homemade fresh lime juice with salt and sugar – popularly known as Shikanji in India. This will keep you hydrated and whenever there are any tense moments have a sip to make you feel cool and calm. Reach the exam hall at least before 15 minutes. Check your hall ticket, seat and make yourself comfortable to the rooms surrounding. Once the exam paper is handed over ensure that you read all the instructions and if not understood do not hesitate to ask the question to the invigilator. Prioritize your thoughts and give yourself a Déjà Vu feeling. You have done and passed through numerous such occasions during your back to basics methodology and this is no new situation. If you are stuck in the case with any question, revisit it later and do not stop there.

When entire scheduled exams are over rather than sitting idle in your time do a course, join a club that will take you one step near to your goal in life. Whether the results are favorable or not is the secondary thing but following a process that leads to better self realization and accelerating towards the life’s goal while trying with the best of the ability is important.

So, unwind, relearn and strive ahead with much more vigour, rather than being anxious and marred with negative thoughts. Let it not be a nail-biting finish.

All the Best!!!

K-12 School