<br>The textbooks are available on NCERT website, although as a collection of chapters that need to be downloaded separately and not as entire PDFs. <br>These PDFs can be downloaded and then placed on school servers, XOs.<br>
<br>Regards,<br>Trilok<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 11:39 PM, Harshal Jawale <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hjawale@gmail.com">hjawale@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<b>Update on content digitization:</b><br><br>Based on the tests done with various formats - we have come to a conclusion that 72dpi scanned PDF format is the optimum format (quality & file size) for digitizing primary school textbooks (Stds I to IV). The subjects are - Balbharati (reading), Math, Sciences, History/Geography.<br>
<br>I am trying to get a few volunteers to mail Marathi primary school textbooks to Soundar.<br><br>We are requesting primary textbooks for other Indian languages including Hindi, Gujarathi, Kanada, Telugu, <span style="background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent">Bengali</span>, Oriya, Urdu, Tamil (the syllabus is
changing so this is on hold) etc.<br>The books need not be brand new but should not be torn and should not have any scribblings on the pages.<br><br>Anyone interesting in helping gathering primary school textbooks from your neighbourhood kids etc and mailing it to Soundar?<br>
<br>His mailing address is :<br>M.Soundara Pandian<br>eAccess<br>New No.42, Old No.2,<br>Vellalar Street, Near Best Hospital,<br>Kodambakkam,Chennai - 600 024<br><br>We plan to package them as Collections so that children will have access to the textbooks on the XO itself.<br>
<br>Thanks,<br><br>Harshal<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex">
1. Re: Digitizing Primary school textbooks for OLPC, India<br>
(Harshal Jawale)<br>
2. (no subject) (Soundar)<br>
<br>
<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Message: 1<br>
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 20:22:20 -0700<br>
From: Harshal Jawale <<a href="mailto:hjawale@gmail.com" target="_blank">hjawale@gmail.com</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [OLPC India] Digitizing Primary school textbooks for<br>
OLPC, India<br>
To: <a href="mailto:India@lists.laptop.org" target="_blank">India@lists.laptop.org</a><br>
Message-ID:<br>
<<a href="mailto:z2s4bac79531004062022x9018d581n5eb24d37137fa17b@mail.gmail.com" target="_blank">z2s4bac79531004062022x9018d581n5eb24d37137fa17b@mail.gmail.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<br>
<br>
Agreed Sameer. Now that Soundar has shown interest in doing textbook scans -<br>
I think we should open this for inputs from others.<br>
<br>
To keep this discussion streamlined and focused, I would like to suggest<br>
following discussion points:<br>
<br>
1. To facilitate digitization of primary school textbooks, Soundar has<br>
offered his services to scan and digitized textbooks so that they can be<br>
used on OLPC. There are two formats which look attractive,<br>
<br>
a) HTML - as Sameer rightly points out, its easy to keep these on school<br>
servers. For this we would just need image scans of the pages. The images<br>
would need to be optimized to reduce the file sizes. Also, these would need<br>
to be packaged so that the HTML navigation can be incorporated using<br>
Javascript or simple hyperlinks.<br>
<br>
b) PDF - this is the easy option and can also be kept on the school<br>
server.<br>
<br>
Thoughts? This is pilot test so lets keep it simple without getting into<br>
painful technical discussions.<br>
<br>
2. Can someone check on copyright & legal aspects of scanning primary<br>
school textbooks? Can the scans be used for educational purpose? If not,<br>
what approvals are needed and from whom?<br>
<br>
3. Soundar, since you are based in Chennai, can you take couple of Std 1<br>
textbooks from your local schools? Try to find a kid you know and borrow the<br>
textbook for scanning. Please scan in JPG as well as PDF format. We do not<br>
need them to be 'editable'<br>
<br>
4. Once we do a pilot scan, then we can check if volunteers across India<br>
can help to collect primary school textbooks in local languages to be sent<br>
to Soundar who can then scan them for XO.<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Harshal<br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 6:37 PM, Sameer Verma <<a href="mailto:sverma@sfsu.edu" target="_blank">sverma@sfsu.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
> On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:20 PM, Harshal Jawale <<a href="mailto:hjawale@gmail.com" target="_blank">hjawale@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> > Hello Soundar,<br>
> ><br>
> > Thank you for your email and interest in helping out OLPC.<br>
> ><br>
> > Here's what I think:<br>
> ><br>
> > The biggest shortcoming of OLPC in India (& elsewhere) is the lack of<br>
> > content. Ofcourse, it has built-in activities and tools etc but when it<br>
> > comes to learning for exams, how can it help the children? I do not have<br>
> a<br>
> > clear understanding of it.<br>
> ><br>
> > This is where you can provide immense value and help.<br>
> ><br>
> > The idea is very simple -<br>
> > Digitize textbooks of Std 1 to 4 (primary school) for OLPC. And, to start<br>
> > with, you can focus on Science, Maths and one language.<br>
> ><br>
> > Most of the syllabus and curriculum is determined by the State Govts. -<br>
> in<br>
> > many cases, the Govt publishes the textbooks and heavily subsidizes it<br>
> for<br>
> > primary students.<br>
> > Now, if instead of carrying paper textbooks, if these kids had it all on<br>
> > their XO or could access it using the XO- it changes the whole equation<br>
> on<br>
> > how the XO gets used! The students don't need to carry any books at all.<br>
> ><br>
> > Do you think you have the capacity to softcopy (digitize) textbooks from<br>
> Std<br>
> > 1 to 4 for 10 major Indian Languages? That would be around (4 classes x 3<br>
> > subjects x 10 languages = 120 books)<br>
> ><br>
> > If you can do this, I am hoping that we can request volunteers around<br>
> India<br>
> > to ship you textbooks. You can then create the soft-copies and I can help<br>
> > package the collection for XO.<br>
> ><br>
> > Sameer, what do you think?<br>
> > I am aware that softcopies take disk space which the XO may not have.<br>
> But,<br>
> > school server can host this or an additional SD card can also help solve<br>
> the<br>
> > problem. In any case, this shouldn't be a big deal. I am also betting<br>
> that<br>
> > since the Govt owns the rights to the educational material, they won't<br>
> have<br>
> > problem if this is made freely available to all kids in India.<br>
> ><br>
> > Harshal<br>
><br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 6:27 PM, Soundar <<a href="mailto:soundar@eaccessbpo.com" target="_blank">soundar@eaccessbpo.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
Hello Harshal,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the reply. Really I am very happy to do this. I would like to<br>
know whether the all text books in softcopy ( only for image (PDF ) or<br>
editable Soft copy.) please advice the same. How I will get the entire text<br>
book.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Soundar M<br>
<br>
<br>
><br>
> There are two basic pathways to content. Either it is prepackaged by<br>
> the country/state or the school/teachers create it. So, for instance<br>
> you want electronic versions of textbooks, then the books have to be<br>
> scanned or digitized (OCR). NCERT has already done this in an<br>
> experimental mode. <a href="http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm</a><br>
> Anything that's HTML/web based for exams etc. are usable with a school<br>
> server. A lot of the material is not clear legally for reuse in such<br>
> environments.<br>
><br>
> The mode of self-exploration and development of content locally is<br>
> based on activities such as Write (word processing), Memorize (memory<br>
> matching), etc. TamTamEdit is a music editing system that allows for<br>
> building card-based music scores, which can then be played in<br>
> TamTamJam.<br>
> <a href="http://tamtam4olpc.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/new-tamtam-90-flat.png" target="_blank">http://tamtam4olpc.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/new-tamtam-90-flat.png</a><br>
><br>
> Etoys is its own authoring system. Sandeep Surve, the teacher in<br>
> Khairat did some of his own development early on. I saw this when I<br>
> was there in 2008. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKy0SuZJHk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKy0SuZJHk</a><br>
><br>
> Nepal is using a HTML and Javascript framework that they have<br>
> developed (<a href="http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Karma" target="_blank">http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Karma</a>).<br>
><br>
> The choices are several. A lot depends on who is authoring and how it<br>
> is delivered.<br>
><br>
> Note: A good bit of this discussion should happen on the lists so that<br>
> others can chime in.<br>
><br>
> cheers,<br>
> Sameer<br>
> --<br>
> Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.<br>
> Associate Professor, Information Systems<br>
> Director, Campus Business Solutions<br>
> San Francisco State University<br>
> <a href="http://verma.sfsu.edu/" target="_blank">http://verma.sfsu.edu/</a><br>
> <a href="http://cbs.sfsu.edu/" target="_blank">http://cbs.sfsu.edu/</a><br>
> <a href="http://is.sfsu.edu/" target="_blank">http://is.sfsu.edu/</a><br>
><br>
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<br>
Message: 2<br>
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 09:43:03 +0530<br>
From: "Soundar" <<a href="mailto:soundar@eaccessbpo.com" target="_blank">soundar@eaccessbpo.com</a>><br>
Subject: [OLPC India] (no subject)<br>
To: <<a href="mailto:hjawale@gmail.com" target="_blank">hjawale@gmail.com</a>>, <<a href="mailto:India@lists.laptop.org" target="_blank">India@lists.laptop.org</a>><br>
Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:20100407041326.F1E162384F@mail.laptop.org" target="_blank">20100407041326.F1E162384F@mail.laptop.org</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"<br>
<br>
Hello Harshal,<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Thanks. If I am doing the pilot for the Std 1 Text books for OLPC. I would<br>
like to know the DPI & Mode of the Pages to be scan ( 300 dpi / 1 bit Black<br>
& Whit or 300 dpi gray, if we are do the scanning in Gary the file size to<br>
large .) please advice the same.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Soundar M<br>
<br>
eAccess<br>
<br>
New No.42, Old No.2,<br>
<br>
Vellalar Street,<br>
<br>
Near Best Hospital,<br>
<br>
Kodambakkam,<br>
<br>
Chennai - 600 024<br>
<br>
Mail : <a href="mailto:soundar@eaccessbpo.com" target="_blank">soundar@eaccessbpo.com</a><br>
<br>
Phone : + 91 - 44 - 43565774<br>
<br>
Mobile : + 91 - 9543009993<br>
<br>
_____<br>
<br>
From: Harshal Jawale [mailto:<a href="mailto:hjawale@gmail.com" target="_blank">hjawale@gmail.com</a>]<br>
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 8:52 AM<br>
To: <a href="mailto:India@lists.laptop.org" target="_blank">India@lists.laptop.org</a><br>
Cc: Soundar; Sameer Verma<br>
Subject: Re: Digitizing Primary school textbooks for OLPC, India<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Agreed Sameer. Now that Soundar has shown interest in doing textbook scans -<br>
I think we should open this for inputs from others.<br>
<br>
To keep this discussion streamlined and focused, I would like to suggest<br>
following discussion points:<br>
<br>
1. To facilitate digitization of primary school textbooks, Soundar has<br>
offered his services to scan and digitized textbooks so that they can be<br>
used on OLPC. There are two formats which look attractive,<br>
<br>
a) HTML - as Sameer rightly points out, its easy to keep these on school<br>
servers. For this we would just need image scans of the pages. The images<br>
would need to be optimized to reduce the file sizes. Also, these would need<br>
to be packaged so that the HTML navigation can be incorporated using<br>
Javascript or simple hyperlinks.<br>
<br>
b) PDF - this is the easy option and can also be kept on the school server.<br>
<br>
Thoughts? This is pilot test so lets keep it simple without getting into<br>
painful technical discussions.<br>
2. Can someone check on copyright & legal aspects of scanning primary<br>
school textbooks? Can the scans be used for educational purpose? If not,<br>
what approvals are needed and from whom?<br>
3. Soundar, since you are based in Chennai, can you take couple of Std<br>
1 textbooks from your local schools? Try to find a kid you know and borrow<br>
the textbook for scanning. Please scan in JPG as well as PDF format. We do<br>
not need them to be 'editable'<br>
4. Once we do a pilot scan, then we can check if volunteers across<br>
India can help to collect primary school textbooks in local languages to be<br>
sent to Soundar who can then scan them for XO.<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
<br>
Harshal<br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 6:37 PM, Sameer Verma <<a href="mailto:sverma@sfsu.edu" target="_blank">sverma@sfsu.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:20 PM, Harshal Jawale <<a href="mailto:hjawale@gmail.com" target="_blank">hjawale@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Hello Soundar,<br>
><br>
> Thank you for your email and interest in helping out OLPC.<br>
><br>
> Here's what I think:<br>
><br>
> The biggest shortcoming of OLPC in India (& elsewhere) is the lack of<br>
> content. Ofcourse, it has built-in activities and tools etc but when it<br>
> comes to learning for exams, how can it help the children? I do not have a<br>
> clear understanding of it.<br>
><br>
> This is where you can provide immense value and help.<br>
><br>
> The idea is very simple -<br>
> Digitize textbooks of Std 1 to 4 (primary school) for OLPC. And, to start<br>
> with, you can focus on Science, Maths and one language.<br>
><br>
> Most of the syllabus and curriculum is determined by the State Govts. - in<br>
> many cases, the Govt publishes the textbooks and heavily subsidizes it for<br>
> primary students.<br>
> Now, if instead of carrying paper textbooks, if these kids had it all on<br>
> their XO or could access it using the XO- it changes the whole equation on<br>
> how the XO gets used! The students don't need to carry any books at all.<br>
><br>
> Do you think you have the capacity to softcopy (digitize) textbooks from<br>
Std<br>
> 1 to 4 for 10 major Indian Languages? That would be around (4 classes x 3<br>
> subjects x 10 languages = 120 books)<br>
><br>
> If you can do this, I am hoping that we can request volunteers around<br>
India<br>
> to ship you textbooks. You can then create the soft-copies and I can help<br>
> package the collection for XO.<br>
><br>
> Sameer, what do you think?<br>
> I am aware that softcopies take disk space which the XO may not have. But,<br>
> school server can host this or an additional SD card can also help solve<br>
the<br>
> problem. In any case, this shouldn't be a big deal. I am also betting that<br>
> since the Govt owns the rights to the educational material, they won't<br>
have<br>
> problem if this is made freely available to all kids in India.<br>
><br>
> Harshal<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 6:27 PM, Soundar <<a href="mailto:soundar@eaccessbpo.com" target="_blank">soundar@eaccessbpo.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
Hello Harshal,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the reply. Really I am very happy to do this. I would like to<br>
know whether the all text books in softcopy ( only for image (PDF ) or<br>
editable Soft copy.) please advice the same. How I will get the entire text<br>
book.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Soundar M<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
There are two basic pathways to content. Either it is prepackaged by<br>
the country/state or the school/teachers create it. So, for instance<br>
you want electronic versions of textbooks, then the books have to be<br>
scanned or digitized (OCR). NCERT has already done this in an<br>
experimental mode. <a href="http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm</a><br>
Anything that's HTML/web based for exams etc. are usable with a school<br>
server. A lot of the material is not clear legally for reuse in such<br>
environments.<br>
<br>
The mode of self-exploration and development of content locally is<br>
based on activities such as Write (word processing), Memorize (memory<br>
matching), etc. TamTamEdit is a music editing system that allows for<br>
building card-based music scores, which can then be played in<br>
TamTamJam.<br>
<a href="http://tamtam4olpc.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/new-tamtam-90-flat.png" target="_blank">http://tamtam4olpc.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/new-tamtam-90-flat.png</a><br>
<br>
Etoys is its own authoring system. Sandeep Surve, the teacher in<br>
Khairat did some of his own development early on. I saw this when I<br>
was there in 2008. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKy0SuZJHk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKy0SuZJHk</a><br>
<br>
Nepal is using a HTML and Javascript framework that they have<br>
developed (<a href="http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Karma" target="_blank">http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Karma</a>).<br>
<br>
The choices are several. A lot depends on who is authoring and how it<br>
is delivered.<br>
<br>
Note: A good bit of this discussion should happen on the lists so that<br>
others can chime in.<br>
<br>
<br>
cheers,<br>
Sameer<br>
--<br>
Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.<br>
Associate Professor, Information Systems<br>
Director, Campus Business Solutions<br>
San Francisco State University<br>
<a href="http://verma.sfsu.edu/" target="_blank">http://verma.sfsu.edu/</a><br>
<a href="http://cbs.sfsu.edu/" target="_blank">http://cbs.sfsu.edu/</a><br>
<a href="http://is.sfsu.edu/" target="_blank">http://is.sfsu.edu/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Soundar M<br>
<br>
eAccess<br>
<br>
New No.42, Old No.2,<br>
<br>
Vellalar Street,<br>
<br>
Near Best Hospital,<br>
<br>
Kodambakkam,<br>
<br>
Chennai - 600 024<br>
<br>
Mail : <a href="mailto:soundar@eaccessbpo.com" target="_blank">soundar@eaccessbpo.com</a><br>
<br>
Phone : + 91 - 44 - 43565774<br>
<br>
Mobile : + 91 - 9543009993<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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