Smart City company plans to set up 15 more digital classes in BBMP schools

Buoyed by the success of smart classrooms and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) labs in a few BBMP-run schools, the Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BenSCL) is thinking of extending the facility to more schools.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Assistant Commissioner (Education) Umesh B S told DH that technology intervention had helped students understand the concepts better and BenSCL’s intervention would take the labs to more students.

“Teachers have been trained to use the classrooms and labs. Though the project started in January, it was only in June that all the schools started using them, and the digital initiative has received great response from the students,” Umesha said.

A teacher from a BBMP-run school said students find visual representations of concepts more fascinating.

“Visual and digital explainers attract students a great deal. It helps us explain the concepts deeply,” said Poornima, a teacher at a BBMP school in the South Zone.

She added that technological tools are handy in teaching scientific concepts and diagrams.

Another teacher said students are gaining valuable experience in using laptops. “This opens up a completely new world and a host of opportunities,” she said.

BenSCL officials said that they are looking at setting up another three ICT labs and 10 to 15 smart classrooms.

“The animated contents provide a better learning experience for the students and a platform for teachers to explain the concepts creatively. Financially, we have a 25% margin to take up more work and owing to the response, we intend to set up a few other classrooms,” a senior BenSCL official said.

Smart classrooms contain projectors and systems, which convert the wall into a touchscreen panel. Teachers can also use them to write explanations. The systems are pre-loaded with teaching material, explainer videos, question papers, and other study material.

The ICT labs are equipped with 20 laptops for students.