This is a continuation of the thread on technology tools for Geo Education initiated in the previous post where I discussed Google Maps in the classroom. read more

Imagine a History assignment where a student must submit a write-up on Mughal Architecture (or the form it takes as an oft-asked question in exams - "the contributions of Shah Jahan to Indian Archtecture"). Or a "project" on the temples of India. Think of the way this is usually done - a hand-written write-up with pictures cut and pasted into the notebook. Or in schools where students have access to computers this would take the form of a Word document with text and images or perhaps a powerpoint presentation with text and images. read more

A new and unique translation in Hindi of the ancient Indian Rig Veda (ऋग्वेद) has recently been published - the first volume of a four-part series. This covers the third, fourth and fifth mandalas of the sacred text and is generally dedicated to Agni - the sacred fire. This volume also includes the sacred "Gayatri Mantra". read more

Many have expressed an interest in the Hindi Ki Duniya - Pehle Kadam early learning programme designed for children for whom Hindi is not a spoken language (such as those in South India). This kit, authored by Chandrika Mathur of Rishi Valley, is no longer available from Scholastic. read more

Found this site with some classic hindi nursery rhymes for pre-school and young school children.

Also located this book called Shishu Kavita by Vinod Chandra Pandey 'Vinod' published in 2001 by Lokbharti Prakashan and Press (Allahabad). It has some very simple and nice 4-line poems for young children, which could be used by teachers in early Hindi classes in school too. read more

In the process of checking out Varni's video link on YouTube for "School Chale Hum", I also found a link to the lovely film 'Ek Chidiya' that used to air on Doordarshan (in the BC ("before cable") days). It's a simple film that explains a powerful concept to children. 

Teachers need only a computer and internet access to show this film. read more

I came across this nice poem in Hindi that can be used with children in elementary school. It tells about the places around the world where different food - fruits and vegetables - originally came from. Apparently it was used extensively by the Eklavya schools in Madhya Pradesh.

It has a nice rhythm and could be sung as well. 

I think Hindi (second/third) language teachers or geography teachers in Hindi medium schools could use this poem.

"Hindi Ki Duniya - Pehle Kadam" is an innovative 4-part set aimed at teaching Hindi to the beginning learner. This program was developed at the Rishi Valley Education Center by language expert Chandrika Mathur (and published by Scholastic India), from first-hand experience in dealing with children in South India who do not speak or hear Hindi at home, for whom learning Hindi as a second or third language in school becomes a struggle.

The set consists of a workbook, an activity book, a reader and a book of rhymes with an audio cassette. read more

If you are a language teacher, here is a wonderful software that you and your students could use for producing worksheets and documents in Kannada, Hindi (Devanagari), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Gurumukhi, Bengali, and Oriya scripts; and its free!

"Baraha is a word processing application for creating documents in Indian languages. It is developed with an intention to provide a free software to enable and encourage Indians use their native languages on the computers. read more