For the first time, I was conducting a Web Literacy campaign at night school. So, it was totally a new experience for me right from the inception of the idea. From past 2-3 years, few V.J.T.I. students of B.Tech and M.Tech were actively participating in activities of various night schools including “Nanaware”. Their contribution was in terms of giving lectures, conducting competitions and helping schools organize annual functions. This year, they had planned two new activities in their schedule, first was the science day and other was the Web Literacy Drive. Being a volunteer this year, I was suggested to conduct one.
In the previous week, I had visited the school twice to familiarize with the students. I came to know about the ethics and discipline that a night school usually follows. The school comprised of children of very tender age without any adult student.
Challenges in front of me: As a Mozilla Rep, I was used to deliver talks to students, developers, entrepreneurs and professionals, but I was going to face children for the first time. Also, I was told not to have any preconceptions about their innate knowledge. Hence, I had to start right from “What is Computer” and reach till “How to use Internet effectively”. Secondly, it was a Marathi medium school. Hence, not only that I had to speak in Marathi, but also prepare slides in the same.
Fortunately, I managed to prepare well and with the help of other volunteers, the infrastructural requirements like projector were arranged very smoothly. I started with the talk mentioning that it will be an interactive session and hence, I will keep on asking questions. Students were extremely enthusiastic and I felt synergy propagating towards me. All of them actively participated in every kind of discussion. I really admire their ability to listen without a pinch of boredom.
I started with “What is Computer” and migrated through hardware and software devices including different types of computers. Then explained bit about the i/o and processing. After that, I briefed about how computers are useful in modern world. The next section was about Internet. I started from basics to general working. I focused more on how Internet is a boon to the society and how one should use it properly. Also, I made students aware of the negative side of Internet, how people become victim to frauds and how children get addicted. Lastly, I ended my session with few tips on “Do’s and Don’ts” while using Internet for social networking.
Next activity was to introduce “MS powerpoint” to kids. I explained few operations which students demonstrated on laptop under the supervision of volunteers. They were very excited as they got to handle the computer and at the same time got some productive learning.
I loved interacting with kids as it helped me discovering a child within me. I became one amongst those while conducting the activities. It gave me more confidence which would help me in my further presentations. Also, one thing I discovered that there are hardly any tutorials or presentations available regarding computer basics and web in our local languages. Hence, we must come forward and take initiative individually to develop those. I will upload the slides, not only on this topic, but develop on other tech topics as well. Overall, the event was an amazing experience for me. Thanks to “Friends of Nanaware” for the initiative and overall support. I would write the blog post on the main event soon.
AMoz Narvekar 