Second Student “Digifest” in Bengaluru South 3 Block High Schools, February 2020

Teachers' Community of Learning

IT for Change (ITfC) is implementing the “Teachers' Community of Learning” program; a 3-year program (academic years 2018-22) in government aided high schools in Bangalore South 3 Block. The program attempts to build communities of learning for teacher professional development (TPD) at multiple levels - within the school, across different subject teachers, and across schools in the block.

Student Digifest

Students at Government and Government aided schools are exploring different digital tools to learn by creating digital artefacts in their regular computer classes. Students get an opportunity to share their learning and creations in the annual ‘student digifest’ that is organized by ITfC in collaboration with Vijaya Teachers College. In this “DigiFest” event students from Government high schools and Government aided high schools of Bengaluru South 3 block presented their digital created artefacts. Students did a group (Maximum 3 students) presentations or individual presentation of their artefacts.

The second edition of Student Digifest was conducted on the 26th February 2010 at Vijaya Teachers College (VTC). for schools from Bengaluru South 3 block with participation from over 100 students from nine Government and Government aided schools. Balakumar Thangavelu and Rakesh Jalumane Ramachandra from CTS participated as judges and gave away prizes.

Around 100 students, across Class 8-10, from 8 schools took part in the student Digifest ‘20 event. We received entries for all categories of digital creations - audio stories, picture and photo essays, programming code blocks, data analysis projects, Geogebra constructions and multi-media enabled digital story telling. The day began at 9:30 and the students participated quite eagerly until the very end.

Objective of the event

To recognize schools and students engaged in digitally enabled learning and reinforce the digital learning in the schoolsTo provide a forum for exhibiting and sharing student creativity
Exploring the possibilities of digital resource creations in the learning process
Encourage students to present their digital portfolios with other schools.
Building students confidence by conducting quizzes on selected topics to the other schools students.

Design of the Digifest

In the event, there were two activities - students digital artefacts presentation and a quiz.

For Presentation

School had to identify students digital work for the presentation which was in any of the following categories:
1. A poster (or presentations) on any topic by students - through the use of different applications like a concept map, presentations or images (such as in comic pictures)
2. Picture storybook created using digitally created images (including digitized hand drawn images) to narrate a story or an event or an idea. (These could be from the respective school textbooks or on any other topic of interest)
3. Audio story (combination of audio +music, 2 character with voice modulation, tell story using different abstract sounds) of the textbooks topics or any other topics of students interest
4. Data analysis – by using spreadsheet and different charts to analyse data on any particular topic.
5. Creations made using subject based tools like Geogebra, Turtle Blocks or any other application of their choice.
6. Students can also create and present timelines of any subject topics or general topic.
7. photo essays – students can illustrate/take series of pictures on the selected topic to tell the story.
Schools sent upto a maximum of 6 entries for the event. Schools short-listed the students artefacts, and sent their best entries for the Digifest .
Students who prepared subject based resources using Geogebra or turtle block, respective subject received support of their teachers to make them to understand conceptually, so they were able to explain the artefact during the event.
Original work was valued more in terms of evaluation

Quiz

Students designed quizzes/ games on different subject topics. The team of students prepared a set of questions on a chosesn topic in a subject and created puzzles, games, quizzes on these topics using different tools, examples :- please see this link here for "guess the word quiz" (Indic Anagram), identify the picture (H5P) and a crossword (H5P). Students prepared the written description of each of these words which were given as a clue for the words.

Event logistics

From school side teachers brought the students to the venue place (Vijaya Teacher College). .
Before start the event, students used college lab computers to check and make sure that all the files are Ok.
School wise students presentation files were handed over to the IT for Change team members to present it in projector.
Students presented their artefacts by individual or in a group (Maximum 3 students).
Students presented or explained about their work. Judges may ask few questions about the topics or the files and students need to answer.
Once the presentation of all the schools was over, judges decided top 3 winners in each category.
After that, students conducted the quiz to other school students, each group had 10 min to conduct the quiz on the topic.
Based on the number of correct answers given from the group, the winner of the quiz activity was decided.

School-wise participation

The table provides the details of the tool / process that was planned for each school.

School	Tool	Artifact
St. Euphrasias Girls High School (EGHS)	Geogebra Turtle Art	Geogebra lessons/ sketches Visual programs
BHS High School (BHS)	Tux Paint Mobile phone recorder	Picture story Audio story
Gangamma Hombe Gowda Girls High School (GHGHS)	Mobile phone recorder Audacity	Audio story
Kamala Nehru Boys High School (KNBHS)	Mobile phone recorder Tux Paint	Audio story Picture story
Domlur Government High School	Mobile phone recorder Audacity	Audio story Geogebra lesson/ sketch
Jayanagar 9th Block	Geogebra	Geogebra lesson/ sketch

Prizes of the winners and participants

All students received participation prizes.
From the presentation, three winners were decided by the judges.
From the quiz activity, the team which answered more questions got a prize.

Conclusion

The variety and scope of ideas that students demonstrated was a veritable proof of the power of digital technologies in transforming learning paths. Many students also spoke reflectively about the process of creation as well, displaying the meta-cognitive skill of talking of their own learning.

This was a very powerful vindication of our model of technology-enabled pedagogic intervention for improving the quality of learning. Different schools were at different points in their life cycle of technology integration in learning; however, the students from all the schools participated with confidence and ease (in their chosen area of work).

Digifest Feb2020

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