Samprati Gada On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I am set, thinking about my journey into the world of open source software and open educational resources…after viewing a video link sent by my friend. (https://vimeo.com/43401199) It was the period of the late 20th century and early 21st century – India’s economic policies had opened up. All households in metropolitan cities had a PC or a laptop and an Internet connection. The telephone service provider MTNL had just launched the ADSL technology for Internet service making high speed internet affordable and accessible for people in cities. Getting a 30 kbps connectivity felt like being in paradise. We were a part of the global community. I had been out of college a couple of years – practising with an architect. Ours was a small firm which made it imperative that we do many things in a DIY fashion – especially the intra office work. Those were the days when we – like most people in India – knew only about Microsoft Windows as an affordable operating system. MAC was for the elite and rich. What we did not know then was that Microsoft also came with a price tag. It was the price of proprietary license. But because it was the most pirated operating system, it was there – sitting on our machines. Along with that came a host of other pirated software – AUTOCAD, PHOTOSHOP, MS OFFICE, etc. Whenever a system crashed, we would have to wait for a computer service engineer to come and fix the bug. And that meant a delay in time and cost to the office/home. Soon we started hearing of raids by government officials at the behest of Microsoft on big architectural firms using pirated (unlicensed) software. Overnight, the firms had to buy expensive licenses not just for one machine but across all machines. Computers had become indispensable because they were fast with easy options to modify, alter and create new designs. There was no option of doing away with them. The whole understanding of licensing, usage rights and proprietary ownership started seeping in. My friend and colleague thought out aloud that every time we used the systems, it felt like we were committing a crime (because we could still not afford the licensing fee). And that’s what struck a chord deep inside me. Indeed, we were criminals. Although we got a great deal of respect as architects, but inside me, there was a sense of guilt for the crime I was

Neha Kulshrestha Most 21st century classrooms include a plethora of subjects such as mathematics, science, language, social sciences and computer science but now, what’s interesting to witness is the emerging discussion on the skills that will prepare the post-millennials for the world outside. These skills are nothing complex but include things that will be needed everyday such as empathy, courage, big-picture thinking, persistence, self-help and the like. These skills are definitely needed in today’s competitive, collaborative and communicative world. These are the qualities that will help students prepare for real life problem solving. As rightly put by Dov Seidman, a thought leader of principled behaviour, this is the ‘era of behaviour’, how we behave is becoming increasingly important to succeed in today’s hyper-connected world. Let me take you on a journey of a classroom that has been converted into a ‘wonderland’ both for the students and teachers post the introduction of an open source programming platform, Scratch. First, wonderland for kids because every now and then, they can be seen giving an ecstatic shout on seeing the magic unfurl on the screen through their tiny fingers and second, for a teacher, because not only does it provide an open ended environment to work on but also for a 21st century classroom, it inevitably encourages the above mentioned skills such as courage, persistence, empathy, creativity, etc. Scratch is a free visual programming tool built by MIT, designed for kids aged 8-16 years. The best part is that it can be used both online as well as offline. It has an intuitive drag and drop interface where students can choose different blocks of instructions to perform various tasks. These tasks range from making a character walk, run, glide, spin, sing, talk, to more complex stuff like changing shapes, sizes, flying and jumping. Using Scratch, students can create stories, animation and games. As soon as the word ‘game’ rings in their ears, you have already caught their attention but let me tell you that though the journey might look interesting, it is not without sweat. Let’s see how. Self-discovery: Be it any subject, today’s classroom demands that children construct their own understanding by independently figuring things out. A guided approach works well for the curious minds to reach its true potential. The focus is more on how to think rather than what to think. As a coding facilitator, a tool like Scratch immensely helps in letting kids do just that. In the class, once a concept is introduced

Suzanne Singh
In 2015, when Pratham Books launched Story Weaver, India’s first open source platform of multilingual children’s stories – a world open to parents, educators, publishers and most importantly, children, I penned an article titled, The Future is Open. Two years since, as I reflect on our work at Pratham Books, the multiple pieces of the big picture being drawn on an infinite canvas begin to come together.

Madhulika Sagaram
In the current age of information and innovation, a shift in lifestyle from tangible lived experience to intangible ideas

Sharmila Govande
For over 20 years, Manish Jain has been a crusader of the ‘unschooling movement”, a firm believer in free and natural learning,