A digital future for rural schools, one mouse at a time

Fresh from her stint as a Chinese language teacher in two Delhi colleges — Daulat Ram and Khalsa — in the summer of 2016, Prateeksha Tiwari visited 20 schools in Gujarat's Morbi district to appraise the education system.

She found that though the government had provided schools with computers, educational CDs and LCD monitors, computer labs were not maintained and the student-to-computer ratio was highly skewed.

The culprit was the usual suspect: Scarcity of funds for repair. But more glaringly, disinterest from teachers and school staff in getting involved with technology. The 29-year-old decided to cause some mischief with a tool she was familiar with — Microsoft Mouse Mischief. "My mother teaches children of migrants from Bihar and UP. Education is very close to my heart. I wanted to implement the 'One Screen, Multiple Mouse' concept to make computer-based learning simple for these children," she says.

Working with members of the India chapter of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Prateeksha shortlisted three primary schools — Juna Vaghasiya, Palasdi, and Lalpar — in Wankaner taluka. The plan was to implement the pilot programme using the schools' existing computers and the learning material provided by the government.

"Educational presentations are shown on a single computer, and then we give a mouse to each student to participate in a computer-based quiz. Teachers can instantly evaluate the comprehension level of the class," she says. The only cost incurred was Rs 5,000 for 20 wireless mouses — a one-time investment much lower than desktops or tabs, Prateeksha says. She dipped into her fellowship funds to buy the equipment.

The One Mouse Per Child (OMPC) pilot ran for three months until the final examinations in April. As soon as the schools reopen in the second week of June, it will resume.

"OMPC is a part of computer-assisted learning intervention, which works towards integrating simple, affordable technology in regular classroom learning. The idea is to bring the benefit of technology-assisted learning to as many students as possible with limited financial and hardware resources available," she explains on her blog, onemouseperchild.wordpress.com.

She says her project is a modest attempt at bridging the existing rural-urban and public-private school digital divide. "It hinges on three things. One, existing resources such as computers and multimedia content. Two, free content like Microsoft Mouse Mischief, and informative videos. And three, low-cost technology, which in this case is computer mouse," she explains.

The summer break gave time to build on her plans, Prateeksha tells us. "This academic year, I plan to introduce more cost-effective technology in schools such as Google Cardboard, which is a very low-cost virtual reality headset that can aid in teaching geography and social sciences. I also intend to teach students to create projects using Google and MS Office tools," she says.