Mindspark Brochure 2011 by Bindu Pillai

Thought is only a flash between two long nights, but this flash is everything

MINDSPARK

What we learn with pleasure we never forget

Mathematics is the door and key to the sciences. Roger Bacon (Application of Geometry to Optics)

Mindspark is a computerbased program that is here to revolutionize the study of Mathematics. It focuses on self-learning with a curriculum integrated database. An interactive product, from the makers of ASSET, Mindspark has been derived from the belief of personalized learning. Every child is unique in his learning and should be taught with individual attention. Adaptive to the changing needs of education, Mindspark aims at making Maths easy to understand and fun to learn.

There is geometry in the humming of the strings. Pythagorus (The Pythagorus Theorem) On the basis of extensive research done by the ASSET team, Mindspark has been developed to enable application of basic concepts in students. Over 10 million students were assessed and their responses were studied to test real understanding of concepts. The study determined that students across classes answer rote-based questions perfectly well; however, they falter when it comes to application based questions and indicate a lack of clarity in fundamental concepts. This gave rise to the necessity of a teacher who provides an optimal customized path to ensure through learning and development of application skills in students.

The essence of mathematics is its freedom. Georg Cantor (Inventor of the Set Theory)

Students learn best at their own pace. Mindspark enables children to learn and understand at their own pace, without rushing them through the syllabus. With an active and detailed database, Mindspark monitors the level of understanding in each concept and patiently helps the students when they are in doubt by resolving errors and misconceptions through explanations. For example, if a student from the 8th grade does not have clarity on the core concepts of Algebra, the system automatically offers inputs in the form of questions that will help build the fundamentals of Equivalence (which is a critical point into understanding Algebra).

Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I assure you that mine are greater. Albert Einstein (Theory of General Relativity) Mathematics is a subject entirely based on core concepts. As the student advances to higher and complicated levels, theories can get difficult to comprehend if the foundation is weak. However, by then it is too late to get back to basics. Mindspark, through inquiry based learning and granularly designed questioning ensures a student is progressing on the basis of real understanding and not textual mugging.

With me everything turns into mathematics. RenĂŠ Descartes (Development of Cartesian Geometry) Mathematics is often described as a creative activity like poetry or music. Great Mathematicians describe Maths as a supreme beauty which only the greatest art can show and the greatest mind can comprehend. Mathematics, also, plays an important role in forming the basis of logical reasoning in children. It is always better to have an expert show you, and not tell you, how to play tennis or a musical instrument. This is because we learn better through direct experience and examples rather than mere verbal instruction. Mindspark is an enjoyable visual experience for students where they can explore their way through concepts and learn from their errors. With an interactive and playful user interface, students can have fun while getting deeper insights into the science of Mathematics.

Mindspark aims at showing students the beauty of numbers through technology and engaging animations so they can appreciate the subject and build their logic and reasoning at a young age when the mind can be most effectively trained and moulded. Teachers are one of the most important elements of education. The growing importance of education requires a teacher to be a specialist in the field and impart knowledge in an entertaining way so as to keep the students involved. At the same time, teachers must monitor the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; progress and give all 60 students in the class individual attention while keeping up with the never ending syllabus within a given period of time. Mindspark aims at assisting the teacher in all stages of education. With instructional modules that complement the content taught in the classroom, Mindspark aims at giving each child the much deserved individual attention.

An interactive program that entertains the student also monitors his progress through the syllabus and generates annual, monthly and session-wise reports which are given to teachers, parents and students. With Mindspark, teachers can have a systematic tool to their disposal, which assists them in all their functions and delivers uniform progress to all the students. For example, when the teacher introduces Fractions in class, the students sit for a Mindspark session on Fractions during the week. They explore the concept with the help of instructions and questions on the topic. Mindspark tracks the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding of the topic to the root cause of his misconceptions, if any. With the help of thorough questioning, it generates reports on his performance. With the help of the report, the teacher can address the doubts, which even the student may be unaware of, and revise that part of Fractions in the class so as to make the concept crystal clear.

Teachers are a valuable part of education and we respect their contribution by being of assistance in every way.

In mathematics the art of proposing a question must be held of higher value than solving it. Georg Cantor (Set Theory)

The understanding of mathematics is necessary for a sound grasp of ethics. Socrates

Our commitment to stakeholders in a nutshell Students An engaging and interactive experience which takes you out of the classroom and into the world of mathematics, while you are physically still in class.

This, therefore, is Mathematics:

Teachers An assistant teacher who will teach, entertain and monitor progress at all stages, in order to help you make your students perform to their maximum potential.

She brings to light our intrinsic ideas;

Parents A mentor who gives individual attention to your child and ensures complete understanding of Mathematical fundamentals while informing you at regular intervals of his progress in the subject.

She reminds you of the invisible forms of the soul; She gives life to her own discoveries; She awakens the mind and puriďŹ es the intellect;

She abolishes oblivion and ignorance which are ours by birth ... Proclus Diadochus

How should Mindspark be integrated in the classroom ? Weekly calendar for a teacher...

Day

Monday Teacher teaches a new topic in class Teacher activates the same topic in Mindspark

Wednesday Teacher clariﬁes the misconceptions in class Mindspark generates students reports and highlights problems area in the topic

Day

Friday Teacher discusses particular questions and ensures that the students are ready to learn the next topic.

Day

Tuesday Students practise the topic activated Mindspark highlights misconceptions and generates teacher reports that help in preparing her next lesson plans

Thursday Mindspark assess if the child has understood the concepts thoroughly Mindspark generates a reports of the problem areas with speciﬁc questions that the students found difﬁcult.

Implementation Options Curriculum Integrated Enrichment Program: The real impact of Mindspark is felt when all the students in the school or atleast all students from a particular grade do Mindspark in school, during school hours. This would require the school to include Mindspark in the curriculum allocating a minimum of 2 periods per week per class for students to do Mindspark in the computer lab. The curriculum integration offers all the benefits of formative assessments and remediation to the teacher as all students can be made to do the topics in synchronisation with the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pace. Mindspark will require one computer per child and all computers networked and connected to the internet.

Resource Requirements

2 periods per week for students, 1 computer per student (should be sufficient to accommodate a class)

Computer Lab Basic Requirements: Processor: Intel Pentium III or higher Operating system: Windows XP/Linux or higher Internet Connection: 1 Mbps speed broadband line Browser: Internet Explorer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 or Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or higher version with Flash plugin installed One Server: One computer with 3 Gb RAM and an additional network card Proxy Server: The proxy server is needed (proxy software could run a Linux OS with Linux SQUID proxy service) for caching purposes to help save on internal bandwidth usage as well as in terms of better performance in Mindspark labs.

Main Features of Mindspark Curriculum customisation Visuals & Animations Challenge questions Remedial Items Topic wise revision Timed test Rewards (Sparkies)

Sample Parent Letter Dear Parent, It gives us lot of pride in sharing that our school has taken initiative to offer personalized learning for every child through ‘Mindspark’. This will ensure that our students are prepared for the fast-changing global scenario, having a deeper understanding of concepts. Given below are the complete details on how Mindspark will transform learning for your Child and help you engage your child in a richer learning experience. We look forward for your cooperation and contribution in our continuous endeavour to empower children to become self-reliant learners. Kindly sign & send consent slip provided at the end with your feedback.

Giving your child what he needs: Triggers Analytical Thinking Personalized self-paced Learning A Personal Assistant teacher that understand and works at your child’s level Animation and Visuals chosen specifically for your child’s need Clears Misconception Mindspark is an internet based self-learning program. Each child logs in individually, and learns by answering questions of progressively increasing difficulty. Mindspark works on an ‘Adaptive learning logic’ which is what all future learning systems will carry to personalize the learning. This enables Mindspark to adapt to every child’s level and serve the right, personalized & relevant content. Mindspark continuously helps your child learn, get assessed and get real time feedback through explanations with visuals and animation. Your child will do Mindspark as a part of the school curriculum for 2 periods per week in school. The best part of Mindspark is that child can even do Mindspark from home. Mindspark acts as an ‘Assistant Teacher’- somebody who identifies child-specific as well as common learning difficulties and remedies most of them. Visit www.mindspark.in for more details.

A Holistic Program: Impact on Child: Students learn, understand, think analytically, enjoy and master mathematics at their own pace. Impact on School: It provides teachers with tools to identify learning gaps & misconceptions of students so that it can be addressed immediately instead of waiting till the end of the term. Hence Mindspark helps improve teaching in school significantly. Impact on Parent:

Assistant Teacher: Saves parents their time, energy and money which they would spend on engaging personal tutors as Mindspark works as an assistant teacher. Self-Learning: Mindspark being a self-learning program, it does not need any adult supervision or involvement. Engagement: Students love doing Mindspark and hence parents can very easily engage their child in doing Mindspark. They will become self-motivated and will WANT to learn.

Background Mindspark is a programme developed by IIM-A / IIT Alumni with 10 years of experience in research on improving education and from the analysis of 15 million responses collected through ASSET. Currently more than 35,000 students from the leading schools across India are learning actively with Mindspark. The program has shown clear improvement in the students who have used it regularly.

Feedback & Consent Feedback Should school go ahead with this program or not: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good initiative of personalized education; School should go ahead with Mindspark. There is no need for personalized education in school. Consent Would you want your child to do Mindspark with other students in school I want my child to participate in Mindspark. (I agree to pay above stated fees for my child) I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want my Child to participate in Mindspark. Additional Information & Seminar participation: I would like to have more clarity on the benefits and wish to attend the seminar I have clarity on the benefits of the program and do not require any additional information.

Yours truly, Principal

Schools Seth M. R .Jaipuria School Podar International School (ICSE), Nerul G. D. Salwan Public School The Heritage School Anand Niketan, International Presidency School, Kasturinagar Sudarshan Vidya Mandir (ICSE) Modern High School for Girls GEAR Innovative International School Yadavindra Public School St. George^s School Innisfree House School The Riverside School The Galaxy School The Shri Ram School, Aravali Sri Kumaran Children’s Home - CBSE Gundecha Education Academy Manovikas English Medium School Inventure Academy D L F Public School TGES School TGES Riverside School S N Kansagra School BGS Public School

The Choice School Care Public School BGS International Residential School Amrit Vidyalaya St. Xavier’s School Riverside Public School Sishya School Sindhi High School, Hebbal Udgam School for Children Greenwood High The Deen’s Academy Kamala Niketan Montessori School Akshara Matriculation Higher Secondary School Mother’s Public School P. S. Chidambara Nadar Senior English School Vidhya Niketan High School Sri Gowthami Smart School, Gandhipuram Yennarkay R Ravindran Thilagavathy Vidyasala Mat. Hr. Sec. School Jeevana School S S B International School, ICSE Ramsheth Thakur Public School, Kharghar Welspun Vidya Mandir Adani DAV Public School