It is a theory that all living beings are made up of five elements, only the ratio is different. It is believed that in the Devas (heavenly beings), Agni (fire) element; in ghosts, Vayu (wind) element; in human beings, earth element, are predominant respectively. One may wonder why venture such an analysis of the composition of matter. Looking at the modern generation one wonders if they are made up of a new element, the electronic element!
Extending the analysis further, it is also theorized that a Deva can see another Deva, a ghost another of its kind and of course we know a human being can see another human being. That is to say that each is comfortable in the company of their own kind. A compatible wavelength perhaps attributable to the predominant element in the composition of the species is an enabler for seeing eye-to-eye literally and otherwise. Hence a Deva is not visible to the other two species and so on. But is it impossible altogether? Not really! If only one would shed his predominant element and acquire the levels of others' elements to an appropriate degree, a glimpse or two may not be unattainable.
It is not out of a whim that I contrived a sixth element. It is a fact that nowadays, even an infant is comfortable with Electronics. They do not hesitate to handle a TV, computer/laptop or a mobile phone. They have absolutely no inhibition from which the older generation suffers. Their learning is much quicker when it comes to electronics.
Does it mean giving them some ready-made material with an operational capacity of these machines and leaving them to learn on their own? One should realize that plants do grow out of seeds on their own but without a gardener to tend to them as they grow, they will be wild. A planned growth tended to and well-cared for contributes to a garden while a wild growth leads to a jungle!
Even Ekalavya who learnt on his own had to forfeit his learning because he didn’t have an initiation through a guru.
A guru’s presence is therefore imperative and such values are eternal and cannot be subsumed to modernism. “Education is manifestation of perfection within man” says Swami Vivekananda. It is drawing out and not putting in as expressed by PG Wodehouse. To say the falling apple triggered the discovery of gravity by Newton is not accurate. Actually Newton might have experienced gravity on many an occasion. But it is the experience of the falling apple that took his consolidated experience to an ignition point enabling him to articulate his discovery. Realization of any concept dawns on one only after a sequence of exposures to the concept.
Thus it is for the teacher to provide such experiences that could facilitate a final comprehension. In doing so he has to select the appropriate technique for the most effective and quickest transaction. Gone are the days when the student said “Guruh Brahma” and just accepted anything and everything the teacher uttered as gospel. In order to reach out to these living forms made of electronic material, a teacher has to shed the earth element and endeavour to acquire the new element of the electronic age.
Thus integration of computers in education is not just a fashion. It is a necessity, especially one should concentrate on it not as just a technological aid but also on its potential to provide the infinity of experiences a child needs to understand the infinitesimals of a concept for a holistic comprehension.
A FEW ILLUSTRATIONS...
CLASS XII MATHEMATICS - Calculus Limits
Mathematics is a man made science. The basic process of quantification of all natural phenomena started with isolating a unit from a group and defining the operation addition. These two together created numbers. Also this operation laid the foundation for three other operations subtraction, multiplication and division. The stages where these operations proved inadequate were the turning points that led to the expansion of numbers. The first milestone in a complete set of numbers is the definition of a real number leading to the set of real numbers. The set of real numbers with four operations could successfully solve several physical situations. Whereas the three arithmetical operations plus, minus, and multiplication could adequately be used in the set of real numbers, division has its limitations.
How does one perform this division? The division operation as defined till now is at a loss! To go around this stalemate we have extended division to new realms under a new banner- calculus. If division yields quotient this new calculus discusses limits of quotients. What are limits?
Not to get into too much of parlance and jargon, let us talk in layman’s language. Many a physical phenomenon has a function to describe it. A function has a jurisdiction over a domain. It is an operation that transforms the domain into a range.
The behavior of such a function is studied in respect of each point and in neighbourhoods around each point of its domain. By behavior of a function at a point we mean the operation’s effect at the point reflected in the range. Whereas at a point the behavior is termed the functional value, around a point the study is through limits. The term limit is justified when we examine the continuous behavior of the function in neighbourhoods around a point of decreasing size.
We say x→a if x is a variable point of a domain and ‘a’ is a fixed point to mean that x is as close as possible to a but not exactly at ‘a’. The exercise is to examine the possible closeness or otherwise of the corresponding f(x) to a point or points in the range.
(1.9, 2.1), (1.99, 2.01), (1.999, 2.001), (1.9999, 2.0001), (1.99999, 2.00001), (1.999999, 2.000001), (1.9999999, 2.0000001), (1.99999999, 2.00000001).
When x→2 from the right, the values can be 2.1, 2.01, 2.001, 2.0001, 2.00001, 2.000001 and so on.
When x→2 from the left, the values can be 1.9, 1.99, 1.999, 1.9999, 1.99999, 1.999999 and so on.
To know where and how the functional values are located in the range for x belonging to this cluster of intervals, manual substitution will be a cumbersome task and devoid of interest and motivation. However knowing the actual values will be an enlightening experience for the student. How to circumvent the ennui? For the learner, a task with a simple excel sheet will be a great experience.
The student now has physical evidence that in the range, the functional values are as close as possible to 4 when x is as close as possible to 2 in the domain.
CLASS VIII MATHEMATICS - Area of a Circleifent
Area is a concept of measurement where the unit of measurement is related to a square. In respect of areas of rectilinear figures it is possible to construct a square exactly equal in area to the given figure. But for a curved boundary such exactness is not possible and only by approximation can one arrive at a formula.
Let us consider the simplest of a curved figure, a circle. We shall illustrate how a circle transforms into a rectangle.
In physics, biology, social science and languages too there is a lot of scope to integrate computers to provide a meaningful physical experience where only simulation is possible against the actual.
A very simple topic of nouns for class V
A class V student has to understand that all names of persons, places and objects are called nouns. The word “all” would mean a very large number, atleast as many as possible since to cover all possibilities may not be practically viable.
A suggested activity
The class is divided into three parts of say 10 students each. One group writes the names of aunts, uncles, parents, friends, at least 10 per student. II group writes names of capital cities, states, countries, towns, villages, at least 10 per student. III group writes names of objects in the bedroom, drawing room, kitchen, dining room, etc., at least 10 per student. Thus about 300 names have been generated.
To have these names presented at one place, have an interactive session where each child calls out his names and another child feeds them in the computer. It further paves the way for sorting like identifying persons with the same name, same first letter, matching states and countries with their capital and so on. Thus an integrated inter disciplinary approach to learning is achieved.
These are just suggestive. Each teacher can improvise and innovate. Only bear in mind that
The computer is not just to be a colourful aid but a truly educating tool.
The computer should supplement manual activities that are beyond human limits.
Perhaps this article may provide the necessary impetus and teachers feel motivated to identify topics where computers can be used as an effective teaching aid in the sense that no other technique could have replaced them to produce the same effect.
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