iEARN connects teachers and students across the world

The International Education and Research Network (iEARN) is an international NGO working with 30,000 schools and youths organisations. It has pioneered the online school linkages to enable students to engage in meaningful educational projects with peers around the world.

Sunita Bhagwat, who has played a key role in establishing iEARN programme in India, was previously the director and principal of the Balshikshan Mandir, Pune. She is the country coordinator of the organisation and spoke to DNA about the activities of iEARN-India.

What is the objective of iEARN-India and how are its programmes beneficial?
Our main aim is to make the Indian youth active in using technology in order to improve communication and build bridges between schools in India and other countries. We have been successful in taking iEARN programmes to various schools all over India especially in cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and others. We encourage and support schools to participate in online collaborative projects.
It enables the effective use of information technology in classrooms and connects teachers and students, which helps them in understanding different cultures. These projects provide a unique platform for schools to showcase their work to other countries.

How much importance does iEARN-India gives to projects and training programmes?
We have conducted training programmes for students and teachers in nearly 400 schools across India. These projects were mainly funded by the United States and at times by software companies. The projects were based on language learning, environment and science.

As far as project works are concerned, it is of paramount importance to the iEARN-India. We recently conducted a project 'Adobe youth voices', which provided breakthrough learning experiences using video, multimedia, digital art, web, animation and audio tools that enable youth to explore their world. It employs an integrated approach in and out of the classroom to enable middle-and high-school aged youth to think creatively, communicate effectively and work collaboratively. It was implemented in Bangalore and Delhi schools.

The students made documentaries on environment. The second project was the 'national security language initiative for youth (NSLI-Y)' in which over 600 scholarships were given to the US high school students to study abroad and learn Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian and Turkish. The programme began last year and concluded on August 4 this year at a Nigdi-based school. Under this programme, 10 American students came to Pune to learn Hindi.

What is the mission of iEARN-India?
iEARN is giving teachers and students the chance to experience and apply new learning methods through collaborative projects nationally and internationally, within as well as outside the school system (formal and non-formal). We are also creating access to libraries and technology for under-privileged schools in the vicinity of the iEARN. We are in the process of initiating new projects that communicate the Indian perspective and showcases exclusive contribution of Indian culture worldwide.

How can a school become a member of iEARN-India?
At the Pune centre, we have four full-time staff members looking after our activities. We have branches all over India. Mostly, the teachers are also the coordinators. If any school wants to become a part of our initiative, they can log on to www.iEARN-india.org and fill up a form.