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Photo: M. Moorthy

Cyber learning Overwhelming response

Waking up to the melody of nursery rhymes played on the computer has become routine for Ananya. “She has learnt quite a number of rhymes through the CDs. Her brother, meanwhile, has begun solving puzzles apart from occasional He-man games,” says mom Poorva Srikanth.

Rhymes are big resources to learn languages and cyber world helps in a way the kids want it to be. The CDs have become part of kids’ learning so much so that even grannies’ bedside stories are put to rest to let the computers do the talking.

CD-ROMS and DVDs have invaded the age-old realms of teaching.

If grannies aren’t beside the kids to narrate panchatantra tales, they would have one-horned crocodile or long-tailed mickey mouse in wacky colours to take them through the world of stories.

They frolic in even serious stuff like language learning and academic guides. For every correct answer, the creatures leap in joy with loud claps.

Young learners can pick up CDs that serve as starters for sentence formation, basic grammar and a lot many other language building activities. And what’s more, the lessons are in lyrics. Songs and background music add to the fun-filled virtual learning experience.

“I’m learning French, along with my son, through VCD. Every evening we would sit before computer to listen to how the animated French blonde that pops out pronounces words. It’s so much fun,” says Krithika Ravi, a Physics teacher.

The CDs dole out more guidance to the students in academics too. A whole lot of topics on respiratory system, solid state physics, periodic tables or even the most baffling arithmetic progression are made simple with two-dimensional diagrams in catchy colours.

With exams round the corner, many companies have developed CDs on science and maths for class X and XII students in state board, matriculation and CBSE syllabi. Like for instance, Pebbles Infotainment, a sister concern of Dove Multimedia, has introduced “public exam CDs” this year.

“It’s a refreshing break for the students. They find the activities amusing. I’ve received feedback from the parents that the students seemed to be more at ease with this sort of learning than mugging from books,” says M. Swaminthan, event coordinator of exhibitions hosted by Dove Multimedia.

The company, which imports CDs and DVDs from leading brands like Microsoft, Reader Rabbit, DK, Discovery Channel and BBC, would develop DVDs on class X and XII next year.

Academics apart, cyber learning teaches few life sciences too. Nandhini Rajan is now offering her gyan on sprucing up homes of her friends, but until recently she could not even distinguish a table cloth from cushion covers. “Thanks to a CD on interior designing, I have learnt simple ways to do up my home,” says this homemaker. The CD, which was gifted to her on her 21st wedding day, was a blessing in disguise.

“I surfed through it only a year later. The picturesque homes on the computer screen were interesting.” Housekeeping tips, surprisingly, was straightforward and easy to follow. She has now taken up aerobic classes through a couple of CD-ROMs.

Distributors say the demand is strong. “Nursery rhymes and language tutors top the list. Seasonal toppers are software on academics and exam tips. These homemaking and personal grooming software have picked up only too recently. But we foresee a healthy growth,” Mr. Swaminathan hopes.

“Language tutors,” as the software to teach languages are popularly called, settle for a strong market. Reason, the shoppers say, is the dizzying number of choices these software offer. One could choose anything from a 10-day course on German or a six-month extensive training on Hindi.

On the downside, kids seem to be too much glued to the computers that they find the old-fashioned writing exercises “boring.” Like in case of Anirudh, 9, who now picks up excuses to finish the everyday homework. “He’s basically lazy,” chides his mom. “He is happy when the lessons are taught over CDs and does the language exercises on computer keenly. But thrust him a pen and paper, he is put off.”

Cyber learning, with all its limits, cannot do much to replace a traditional classroom setup.

But for people like Poorva and Nandhini, time and money are worth spent on these that are satisfying substitutes to telly serials.

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