Mathru Project Proposal 2009-10 Pravin Shankar. Outline History New School Building Achievements in...
-
Upload
christal-kennedy -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of Mathru Project Proposal 2009-10 Pravin Shankar. Outline History New School Building Achievements in...
Mathru School for the Blind: Timeline
• 2000– School started with first grade– Rented premises and “kutcha” sheds.– Goal: Add one grade per year. Be a 10 Grade High School by 2010
• 2002– Subsidised Civic Amenities Plot allotted By local government– Appeals made for funds and services to local donors & individuals
• 2003 – Appeal and plans sent to Asha CNJ for funds to construct a 10 room school
• 2004 – Asha CNJ issues first grant for school construction ($17,000)– Appeal made for local funds to construct dorms, kitchen, dining room. community and computer center.
• 2005– Construction started.. Started 5th grade– Second Asha CNJ grant and WAH grant made ($18,000, $10,000)
• 2006– Construction completed. School moved to new premises. – School named The Asha School in appreciation.– ESlate successfully designed, built and tried out in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon Institute
• 2007– Strated 7th grade– Application made to Central Government for grant to run school. When approved Grant will pay 70% of
expenses. • Asha resources
– Time: 3 years, Money: $35,000, SiteVisits: 6+, resident volunteer for several months..
Achievements in 2008
• ESlate - CMU
• Braille Printer – IFlex
• Recording Studio
• Vocational Training Center
Braille
• Easy to read but…
• Difficult to Write– Written in reverse, from right to left– Children need to learn mirror images of all
letters– Delayed feedback
• Paper needs to be removed• Longer time taken to identify mistakes
ESlate
• Digital Stylus – Interfaced to Computer• Text2Speech
– Speak Sentences to the student
• Student writes letters on stylus– Provides immediate audio feedback
• Lessons and Exercises• Video Demo:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~nidhi/brailletutor.html
ESlate – Current Status
• Was presented at the International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, 15-16 December 2007 in Bangalore. (Sponsored by Microsoft, IEEE, ACM, IDRC) – Mathru staff and students were invited to give a special
demonstration of the Braille Tutor at the conference
• Field trial of ESlate2 at Mathru – May to Aug 2008– Partnership with
• Carnegie Mellon Technology Consulting in the Global Community program
• Microsoft Research India (MSRI)
Braille Printer
• Donated by IFlex Solutions, Bangalore
• Being used to print all textbooks and reading material
• Future plan: – Have a library of books which will be made
available to any visually challenged person in the area as a borrowing library
• Cost of a Braille blank: Rs 1.30
Vocational Training Center• Planned to become operational in Summer 2008• Vocational training with residence for 20 students by Teachers
(volunteers) • 5 of the 20 will be Mathru personnel/students. • 5 will be physically disabled and the remaining 10 will be selected
from the visually challenged general populace• The 20 will be selected by a qualified group of selectors. • Subjects will be Screen Printing, Knitting, Book Binding, Plumbing
and Electrics• Mathru is already talking to potential employers• Students will also be able to be self-employed• Besides training in these fields, the students will have daily classes
in Marketing, finance, computer skills, accounting
Budget Proposal – 2009-10
• Needs money for annual Administrative Expenses– For the year 2009/2010 they need Rs.
4,00,000 (between USD 8,000 and 8,500).
• Breakup of Budget*– Educational Expenses– Hostel Expenses– Administrative Expenses
* Detailed Breakup available in Proposal – Question 43
Recording Studio
• Donated by Ashraya, NJ (http://ashraya-usa.org/ - Different from Ashraya Project of Asha CNJ!)
• A Mathru teacher has been trained to operate it
• Produce material that will be later made available to other visually challenged persons and institutions