One call away: Cuttack-based ThinkZone has activities lined up to keep your kids engaged 

Cuttack-based EdTech start-up ThinkZone has our attention again. This time, they have come up with the simplest solutions to ensure that parents at home can keep their children occupied, all the while ensuring that they are learning and also having fun. A voice call and SMS-based learning platform for parents, it helps them organise small activities for their children. In this way, they have engaged over 10,000 families since the lockdown began.

An activity being conducted | (Pic: ThinkZone)

Well-known for implementing early and primary education programmes through tablets and a blended-learning approach, ThinkZone was started back in 2015 to develop foundational skills in students from an early age. And just because the lockdown was enforced, they did not want to pause their work. Thus, they came up with one-minute-long calls that parents receive every day that encourage them to organise activities for their children and these are as simple as can be, like sorting vegetables as per size and so on. "Parents have limited understanding about education and they might have limited resources too, so the focus is on taking up very little of their time and keeping the activities simple," says Binayak Acharya, Founder, ThinkZone.

Currently, the content is available in Odia, Hindi and English and there are three categories — nursery, classes I to III and classes IV to V. Parents can choose their language of preference and category and they are ready to go. Once the pre-recorded call ends, which is developed and recorded in-house, the parents receive an SMS that conveys the same information in a simpler format.

Binayak was a Global Education Practice Consultant for World Bank and Start-up Scout at Unitus Seed Fund

Since ThinkZone was already engaged in the field of education, they had the learning outcomes in places and just had to come up with activities. "Suppose the learning outcome is identifying colours, the task would be to identify which colours are the various objects in the house," explains the 32-year-old and adds, "Our aim is to develop the relationship between parents and children and involve the former in the latter's education." To ensure that parents are following through with the activities, random survey calls are made and feedback is taken. Parents are encouraged to share pictures of their child doing the activity. The Anganwadi workers and community educators, about 200 of them, are currently overseeing this activity. The team is working on a more structured form of taking feedback which will involve Machine Learning.

An activity being conducted | (Pic: ThinkZone)

In some more good news, ThinkZone is initiating a pilot programme with Akshaya Patra Foundation in Karnataka and are waiting to see how it goes. They are also partnering with a local radio station to broadcast some of the activities and ensure a wider reach, informs the alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management.  

What activities look like for:
- Class I, II and III students: Segregate buttons as per colour or pattern and make a garland out of them 
- Children between three to six years: Help your child remember the name of body parts by asking questions, like ‘I have one on my face’, as well as give hints 
- Class IV and V students: Write three or four digit numbers on the floor and ask your child to circle the biggest number and underline the smallest one  

Glimpses of more activities

For more on them, check out thinkzone.in