THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Remember the tale of ‘Mittu poocha’ and ‘Thanku poocha’ that went viral on social media during the pandemic? The video which is one of the most viewed in the KITE VICTERS channel, gained widespread attention for the imaginative ways in which teachers took lessons for primary students helping the education sector survive the Covid crisis. Years later, those classes have levelled themselves up, with its third edition ‘First Bell 3.0’ launched on Wednesday.
The sessions will no longer be alternatives for regular classes, but a support for students, KITE (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education) officials said. The updated curriculum for Classes 1-10 will be used in these classes, while the videos for Classes 11 and 12 will remain unchanged.
“First Bell 3.0 should not be considered as an isolated element. Instead they should be seen as a part of the academic side of the learning management system,” said KITE CEO K Anvar Sadath. The classroom sessions, First Bell classes and the learning rooms provided in the ‘Samagra’ portal should be seen as three non-sequential elements for holistic education. “But this doesn’t mean that the classes deviate from the core academics part, into a tuition mode, giving tips and tricks,” he said.
“Over 1,000 videos have already been produced for this academic year,” said a senior official from KITE. The video production is currently under way at VICTERS studios in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. “For Classes 8-10, this year’s sessions will be more textbook-oriented than previous years, with emphasis on academic activities and content provided for extra reading,” said the programme producer of high school content.
“Lessons for primary classes will not be a complete textbook adaptation but instead will contain more activities for interactive learning. Demonstrations of workbook craft projects and conversational classes for language subjects are in the pipeline,” the primary section’s programme producer said.
The production team is also planning to do lessons through puppet shows and peer group learning, wherein students themselves will take classes for their pals.Video lectures for value education lessons, which were held in classrooms at the beginning of the academic year will also be included in the third edition.
Experts from the respective industry will lead sessions on civic sense, excessive phone usage, personal hygiene, etc. Mattancherry excise inspector V Jayaraj, whose anti-drug ‘Ottamthullal’ grabbed public attention, is also expected to take a session on this topic.
Lessons for core subjects, including Science, Mathematics, Social Science and English will be telecast in the first phase. Other subjects with a lesser number of students, like Arabic, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, will have their lessons aired after Onam.