#inopen

[techknots]

 InOpen has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Benesse Holdings for a minority stake in the company. Had previously raised a seed funding of $500,000 from VenturEast for a minority stake in the company. Provide educational content in 2 subjects and 10 languages  with over 4000 teachers catering to 5 lakh students including those in government schools, apart from downloads in over 130 countries. Link

[techknots]

IIT Bombay incubated startup InOpen Technologies has tied-up with technology services firm Report Bee to make interactive report cards. Information about various learning, activities and initiatives happening in the school ecosystem in an organized manner and easy-to-implement mind-map based data collection. Business Standard

[inopen-blog-blog]

          InOpen sowing seeds of Thoughtful Technology across India.

The workshops conducted by InOpen Technologies intend to delve into some of the very fundamental issues of the current education scenario. We are using technology to spread knowledge and to impart knowledge but are we focusing on teaching technology in the right manner? We just don’t want every child in our school to become a computer engineer but we want them to use technology in whatever they do. So how can we expose technology to the students in a structured manner?

InOpen Technologies has been trying to answer these questions through its 10 Computer Masti workshops which were held in a span of 21 days all over India.

The aim behind this series of workshop was to address the concerns of computer education in schools and to emphasize on the correct ways of teaching computer science. Through these workshops we were able to accomplish our task of outlining fundamental computer science areas that should be taught in schools. The workshops become meaningful when the teachers who attended it say :

"We have learnt something new today”.

Commenting on this, Mr Rupesh Kumar Shah-Co-Founder & CEO of InOpen said “ InOpen plans to slowly and gradually expand and make Computer Masti available to masses. This was one step in that direction.”

A workshop in Pune was completely dedicated to the schools of Deccan Education Society. It was attended by 25 teachers of the trust. They thoroughly enjoyed the hands on session. The attendees explored the applications of CM like GCompris, Tux paint, Tux Maths, Scratch etc. We had interactive participants making the session all the more interesting.

Breaking the language barrier, a workshop was also conducted for the Marathi medium schools in Pune in the PAI International campus. FOSS(Free and Open Source Software) was one of the many new concepts that was introduced during the workshops. The attendees appreciated the use of yoga sessions in between the curriculum.

Having received very positive respone for the Pune workshop, InOpen conducted another workshop for English medium schools at MES’s College of Engineering, Wadia Campus, Pune. A presentation on “Innovative Way of Teaching Computer Science at Schools” was followed by a panel discussion on “Computer Science @ School” A hands on session on some of world’s best Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) was also conducted. Applications for learning and teaching Computer science were taught in a fun and novel way.

After spreading wings in Jaipur last year, we decided to expand our ambit of services to Kota and Udaipur. Workshops were organized in both of these places. Presenting in the workshop, Dr Farida Khan, VP-Learning and Research said “For InOpen, teaching computers is just an excuse to, develop clarity in stepwise execution of any task right from planning to execution, develop clarity in communication, right thinking to creative presentations and develop confidence in solving complex problems using simple thinking.”

A workshop was also conducted in the Chemical Engineering Auditorium of Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai. Talking about InOpen, Mr. Sharad Naidu, VP-Business Development said, “InOpen has chosen Computer Science as a vehicle to mould next generation technology users.” The attendees were extremely enthusiastic about Computer Masti’s attempt to focus on Concepts rather than skills.

The Bangalore workshop was held in Xavier Hall, PG Block, St. Joseph College, Arts and Science Block. The entire college was extremely excited about the workshop and was attended by almost 125 people. The workshop was first of its kind in Bangalore and the attendees left with a lingering thought about the current teaching methodology.

The Hyderabad workshop was held in P Obul Reddy Public School, Jubilee Hills and was attended by school principals and teachers from Hyderabad and Secunderabad. We also had workshops in Kolhapur and Mumbai.

The Mumbai workshop which was held in IIT Mumbai had 80 attendees from schools across the city. The sessions were insightful, entertaining and enriching according to the participants. People could relate to the issues that were being raised and identified with the need to impart correct computer science education.

The attendees got an opportunity to meet, interact and discuss with academicians and industry experts about:

• The current scenario of Computer Science education in schools.

• Its gains & pains.

• Future implications and the road ahead.

Looking forward to more such workshops.

[inopen-blog-blog]

Thoughtful Technology !

To address the concerns of computer education in schools and to emphasize on the correct ways of teaching computer science, InOpen is organizing a hands on workshops for principals and computer teachers of schools across India.(Pune and Chennai)

What to EXPECT :

This workshop is an attempt to outline fundamental computer science areas that should be taught in schools and introduce you to methodology for implementing such a curriculum.

Program Schedule:

• Panel Discussion on “Computer Science @ School”. • Presentation on “Innovative Way of Teaching Computer Science at Schools”. • Hands on session on some of world’s best Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

Applications to learn and teach Computer science in a fun and novel way.

Date: 8th December 2012

Venue 1: MES's College of Engineering, Wadia Campus, Pune.

Venue 2: Chemical Engineering Auditorium, Mechanical Sciences Building (MSB), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai.

Please confirm your participation at least 2 days before the event at:

[email protected] or call at 097691 19576.

[email protected] or call at [phone], 098704 29499.

[email protected] or call at 090030 66399.

[inopen-blog-blog]

Computer Masti Workshop in Deccan Education Society, Pune

Deccan Education Society(DES) was established in 1884 by late Shri V. K. Chiplunkar with Lokmanya Tilak and M. B. Namjoshi . Later on few other prominent people joined them.

A hands on Computer Masti workshop was held by InOpen for DES group of schools on 29th November 2012. The workshop was organized in Pune in one of the DES group of schools. 25 teachers of the trust attended the workshop. A presentation on Computer Masti was given by Mr Manesh which was followed by a hands on session facilitated by the academic team of InOpen.

The Hands on session was thoroughly enjoyed by all the attendees. They explored the applications of CM like Gcompris, Tux paint, Tux Maths, Scratch etc.

The best part of the workshop was that it was an interactive workshop. Teachers were enthusiastic to ask questions and learn more about Computer Masti (CM). Though FOSS was a new concept for all of them, they encouraged the CM methodology.

They appreciated the use of yoga sessions in between the curriculum.

Towards the conclusion of the event, principal of the school shared her experience and the history of the DES and her school. We look forward to work with the DES and together raise the standards of education.

[inopen-blog-blog]

Computer Science : Then and Now ! Rupesh @ WES 2012

Mr. Rupesh presented a talk at World Education Summit at New Delhi. He spoke about Computer Science in Schools. The highlights of his talk were blending Computer Science with 21st Century Skills, Multiple Intelligence and Higher Order Thinking Skills. The focus was on emphasizing Computer Science as conceptual learning and not merely developing skills. 

Here is the deck

Rupesh (CEO - InOpen) talk at World Education Summit 2012 from Rupesh Shah

Team InOpen | [email protected] | [phone]

[inopen-blog-blog]

Computer Masti Summer Camp at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur

Howdy, Computer Masti (CM) is a computer science curriculum for Schools developed by IIT Bombay and InOpen Technologies (a IIT Bombay company). The skills taught in CM will lay the foundation for future programming as well as help students develop important life skills considered as skills of 21st century. CM adopts a constructivist pedagogical approach, which encourages students to ask questions and to explore on their own. The content apart from teaching the computer literacy, also teaches concepts like step wise thinking and logical reasoning.

We are conducting Computer Masti Summer Camp.

Dates: 2nd May 2012 to 31st May, 2012 in

Venues : Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur.

The workshops will cover topics like Digital Story Telling and Programming with Scratch (A Visual Programming language from MIT USA). Click here for details or call [phone] / 9619903712

REGISTER NOW

[inopen-blog-blog]

Press Release  Date : 24/02/2012

InOpen Technologies, SINE IIT Bombay tie up with HBCSE, TIFR to bring strong research based Science curriculum called ‘Small Science’ to schools.

InOpen Technologies (A Sine IIT Bombay) has announced its partnership with one of the premier institutions in Science Education & Research, the Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education, TIFR. HBCSE has played a phenomenal role in the promotion of Science education in the country for years. InOpen Technologies, with this association will launch Small Science, a series of innovative primary science text, work and teacher's guide developed by the HBCSE, TIFR. Small Science is based on the principles of building upon the natural curiosity of young children and fostering skills of systematic observation, analysis and articulation. With this partnership InOpen Technologies will add a brand new category and venture into Science Education with one of the most prestigious establishments in the country while catering to institutions they have associations with.

The curriculum will be implemented in English, Hindi and in various regional languages to cater to Schools from Metros, as well from Tier 2, 3 cities. This partnership will aid both the entities to further enhance their offerings and utilize each other’s competitive skills to develop quality content in the area of Computer Science and Science and reach out to maximum schools in the country.

Speaking on the partnership: Dr. Jayashree Ramadas, Director – HBCSE TIFR said “We expect that InOpen will help to make the Small Science curriculum known and available to schools. By offering help and support to teachers, especially in the initial period of adoption, we hope that InOpen and HBCSE together will help to seed a community of practicing teachers who interact and exchange ideas on academic issues. We hope that InOpen will document the implementation of Small Science in schools and in that process creates more support material for teachers. Over the last 10 years some schools and teachers have been using Small Science on their own initiative, and enjoying the experience. We hope that this group grows and flourishes with InOpen's help.”

Rupesh Kumar Shah, Founder and CEO for InOpen Technologies, SINE IIT Bombay said “With this new tie up we are adding a great value to our organization. Homi Bhabha is known for the past 10 years for working on hands on science curriculum. With this partnership InOpen will add a category and venture into Science Education. InOpen is currently in discussion with implementation agencies, to implement Small Science across Schools in India.” InOpen has always insisted that Education System in Schools has to primarily focus on content. 

More about Small Science can be seen here. More about Computer Masti can be seen here

- Team InOpen