Major study on COVID-19 impacts in Aotearoa launched

A nationwide study to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on people in Aotearoa New Zealand has been launched today by Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.  

 The “Impacts of COVID-19 in Aotearoa—Ngā Kawekawe o Mate Korona” study, funded by the Ministry of Health, aims to survey people aged 16 and over who had COVID-19, or were a probable case, before 1 December 2021.  

 

Nearly 9,000 eligible people will be contacted by letter and text over the next two weeks inviting them to complete online surveys about their experiences of COVID-19 and the healthcare services they received.  

 

The study is led by Dr Lynne Russell (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou) and Dr Mona Jeffreys, who head-up a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, primarily from the University’s Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora—Health Services Research Centre. Dr Marianna Churchward (Lotofaga, Faleasiu, Samoa) leads the Pacific arm of the research. 

 

“We want as many people as possible to take part in the surveys so we can understand their experiences of COVID-19 and assess the effectiveness of the services they received,” Dr Russell said.  

 

A series of interviews with COVID-19 survivors will also be conducted as part of the research.  

 

Insights gained from the study will be used to provide recommendations to the Ministry of Health on how to better support people with COVID-19 and improve health services in the future.  

 

Survey questions that participants will be invited to answer focus on four areas: 

• the support they received (and would have liked) when they were first diagnosed with COVID-19, and how the situation affected them and their whānau 
• their experience after getting COVID-19 and the quality of the health services they accessed 
• the financial costs of COVID-19 to them and their whānau, and who (if anyone) helped care for them 
• Long COVID and symptoms that continued to affect their health beyond the first month of getting the virus.  

 

Dr Russell said the effects of COVID-19 on Māori, Pacific communities and whānau hauā (disabled communities) are a key focus of the research.  

 

Jenene Crossan, who was the 37th COVID-19 case in Aotearoa, is among those already signed up to participate in the study, and is one of four people who has had COVID-19 advising the research team.  

 

Jenene tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020 and has since suffered from Long COVID symptoms. She’s encouraging others who have had COVID-19 to take part in the study. 

 

“The more we come together to understand the impacts of the virus on our people, the better we can serve and protect our tamariki and whānau.” 

 

Speaking up “may not be comfortable, but it is the right thing to do and I hope it is rewarding for those who bravely step up,” Jenene said.  

 

Any information participants provide to the research team would be kept strictly confidential, Dr Jeffreys said.   

 

“We know some people may be reluctant to share information because of the stigma associated with COVID-19 infection. We want to reassure participants that their identities will remain confidential unless they give us permission to release that information,” she said.   

 

About Education New Zealand:

Education New Zealand (ENZ) is New Zealand’s government agency for international education. ENZ works to grow awareness of New Zealand as a study destination and to support New Zealand education providers and businesses to take their services and products abroad. 

Post Budget Quote by Chitra Ravi - Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Chrysalis

The pandemic has completely altered the way of learning and has increased the pace of digital adoption in the education sector. With improved digital infrastructure and the new initiatives introduced by the government such as the 'One class, one TV ‘, strengthening online education, quality education can now be possible.

As Educators, we should realize Technology has opened up lots of possibilities to improve the quality of education. Tech can be used for the professional development of teachers and also get assessment insights from children. We can safely say that Technology has the potential to solve some of the traditional challenges and pandemic related challenges as well.

About Chrysalis:

Chrysalis was founded in the year 2001 by Chitra Ravi, a school educational visionary with a vision to awaken ‘innate human potential’ in EVERY CHILD. Chrysalis'​ initiatives are based on 20 years of sustained research on education and pedagogy which have led to a remarkable transformation in over 1800+ schools. Through different collaborations, Chrysalis has successfully contributed to the research, curriculum design and bringing rigour in the transformation of the current teaching practices. They have partnered with private organisations and State governments, acting as knowledge partners and problem solvers. Chrysalis actively seek CSR collaborations with like-minded organisations, that wish to impact the education eco-system.

Leading corporates such as IBM, Microsoft and Dell partner with Chrysalis for their strategic expertise on their CSR initiatives in education. For their contribution to education, Chrysalis (EZ Vidya) was awarded South-Asia’s most innovative curriculum award and the coveted ET-NOW 'Game Changer'​ Award from over 63000 organizations across the globe.

Break the silence

 

7-year-old Trisha came from school and started looking for her mother, but she was nowhere to see. When she asked Disha, a lady in her neighbourhood, she told her that her mother fell down and got hurt. Your father has taken her to the hospital.

Trisha got scared and started crying bitterly. Somewhere inside she knew that it was not just an accident. If papa has taken her to the hospital, there is definitely something wrong.

Her father was a very good and noble man for the people. Why wouldn’t he be; after all, he loves his family so much. The complete family goes out for dinner often. Whosoever sees the family of three says that this is the example of a perfect family with a great bond and love.

But no one knew the other side of Trisha’s father’s personality. The person who was cute and loving outside was cruel and feelingless inside. He would beat Trisha’s mother Subha black and blue.

There were times when both the mother and the daughter would cry in a corner and he would simply watch his favourite shows on TV. So many times, the small girl asked her mother to take help of her grandparents, but her mother always refused saying it's ok. Subha told Trisha that his father is a good man, it's only the days when he gets angry, he behaves like this.

She asked Subha, why is it normal. How can papa behave like this with you? Why don’t you raise your voice? Why don’t you complain against him? And her mother simply said, “it’s normal. Husband and wife have small fights.”

Trisha recalled all the days when his father hurt her mother and got scared. She asked Disha to take her to the hospital. The lady couldn’t deny and had to listen to the crying girl. They both reached the hospital and saw her mother with a lot of marks on her face. Trisha couldn’t control her tears and ran to hug her mother.

Disha got some doubt and asked Trisha’s mom the truth. Today when Subha saw the death closely and got worried about her daughter’s future, she decided to break the silence and raise her voice. She told Disha everything and asked her to call the police.

Trisha’s father pleaded in front of Subha and promised that he will never repeat it again. But this time Subha was firm with her decision and requested the police officer to take him away.

Actually, it was not Subha’s fault. In India, we are raised in such a way that every limitation or misbehave with girls look normal. From how to dress to how to speak and what to eat, there are rules for everything.

‘Hey don’t laugh so loud. Girls don’t look good behaving like this.’

‘Don’t wear western outfits.’

‘Don’t speak so loudly. What will your in-laws say, haven’t your parents taught you manners?’

‘Haw, you are not married yet. Girls of your age have already got kids.’

There is a long list of suggestions from everyone, we girls grow up listening to. From how to speak to what to eat, how to walk and to whom we should talk, there are rules for almost everything.

Not just before marriage but after marriage also. Don’t wear this, don’t speak like this, don’t eat this and whatnot. Even if the married life is not good, wives will be suggested to adjust and bear with all the mental and physical trauma.

There is a huge list of DON’TS.

Does anyone ever ask what do we want?

Everyone comes and starts giving their suggestions.

This is the time to break the silence and fight for your rights. If not now, it will be never.

#BreakTheSilence and make your life meaningful. God has given us just one life and this is up to us how we live it.

#BreakTheSilence with Fertility Dost, India’s trusted platform for managing fertility health. #FertilityDostContest 

 

Online Learning Platform to Hire Senior Citizens as Teachers

Lido Learning, an Indian EdTech start-up, is all set to rope in the expertise of senior citizens in Science, Maths and English as it expands its small group face-to-face online tutoring classes. The online learning platform that focuses on Maths, Science, and English for Grades 4-9 has seen a significant increase in enrollments since the pandemic began and is increasing its 500+ tutor pool in an industry-first move of hiring senior citizens and retired professionals as teachers.

"I have 17 years of rich experience in teaching Math in schools. I decided to spend my retired life using my teaching skills with the combination of technology, so joined Lido in September 2019. I am enjoying the work here as teaching is my passion. I am grateful that I can work from home and, at the same time, stay connected with my profession," says Lakshmi Venkatesh, a senior Math & Science Lido Tutor, Grade 6, who has retired from active teaching in schools.

Presently, Lido has several teachers with 20+ years of experience on board and has seen a great response from students and parents, who appreciate the expertise, maturity and the teaching style of these teachers. The EdTech plans ramp up hiring teachers with this profile in a big way.

In the current social distancing scenario, when many senior citizens feel cut out and lost, gainful employment from home in the form of online classes will keep them mentally occupied and help them earn money to supplement their retirement funds. Lido is a very flexible and convenient option as they can set their own hours and work from the comfort of their own homes.  Lido is also offering 5-day training on online teaching to all senior citizens who have the potential to become passionate teachers.

Krishnan Vishwanathan, Math & Science Lido Tutor possesses a Masters in Computer Science and has been associated with the corporate world for 30+ years. Since the past 3 years, he has been teaching middle school kids, who have benefited immensely from his rich experience. "I Joined LIDO to explore my passion of teaching kids from the comfort of my house," explains Krishnan.

He adds that LIDO does a lot of research to simplify complex topics and present them in a child-friendly manner, making it possible for teachers to conduct engaging lessons that are fun and easy to understand. "Training helped a lot in removing the initial concerns that I had. The training, along with the friendly student-teacher role-playing helped me refine my online teaching skills. Also, the frequent interactions and the feedback provided by LIDO helps in constantly improving our teaching methodology." Already an expert, Krishnan looks forward to spending his time mentoring students on Lido as a retired professional.

The founder and CEO, Sahil Sheth believes that retirees with 20+ years of experience will add a lot of diversity to Lido’s teaching base. “Having interacted with thousands of students, including their kids and grandkids, senior teachers are full of wisdom and patience – traits that will lead to better learning outcomes for the children in Lido’s online tutoring groups,” says Sheth. He further adds that "anybody who has ever made a Skype call, which includes almost every senior citizen during the present lockdown, can teach online comfortably after a short 5-day training from the comfort of their home. Our senior teachers can also choose their slots and take up to 50 one-hour classes in a month to earn a handsome sum from the comfort of their homes.”

Lido Learning aims to hire over 500 senior citizens as teachers in the next few months. The selected teachers would undergo a free 5-day training to deepen their knowledge and have them ready to teach online.

About Lido:

Lido Learning (Quality Tutorials Pvt. Ltd.) was launched in April 2019 by Sahil Sheth. It offers live tutoring and personalised online coaching sessions to students from Classes 5-9 in Maths and Sciences from both CBSE and ICSE boards. The platform characterises itself as an online immersive live tutoring platform for students, including interactive sessions, engaging quizzes, and interesting games. The app can be found on Google Play Store.

Every session has a maximum of 6 students to ensure each student receives enough coaching, feedback, and doubt clearing. Students are grouped according to similar achievement levels in the classroom to ensure that the in-class experience can be personalised as per pace and content. With advanced analytics and tracking, Lido can create unique learning journeys for every student. Based on their class performance, students are given customised homework, remedial help, and challenges to push their limits.

Top 5 Indian companies revisiting employee-wellness strategies amid Covid-19 outbreak

Amidst the global pandemic, most companies have been adapting to a lockdown hit India by finding all workable solutions to ensure most of their workforce remains active. This stands true especially for the corporate and IT industry which does not necessitate fieldwork and connectivity becomes the lifeline for such organizations. However, in space-crunch affected Indian homes and residential spaces, not every employee has the luxury to have a room or home office along with the associated challenges of working when the whole family is together.  In line with the current situation, Indian companies are rethinking their employee-wellness strategies and customising programs to accommodate the tectonic change in people’s habits after a prolonged phase of working from home due to the COVID-19 lockdown and are conducting various activities for the employees to adopt simple health measures during this prolonged shutdown to be physically and mentally upbeat. 

Here is the list of five top Indian companies revisiting the wellness strategies in the times of coronavirus: 

1) The auto major Mahindra has launched a series of activities for the wellbeing of our employees which involves interactive sessions with nutritionists as well as an exercise regime. They are also running a webinar on emotional hygiene as employees work from home. Mahindra is also tying up with external agencies for tips on indoor exercises as they feel despite it being just a few days into the lockdown, it can start taking a toll on employees, sooner than later.

2) Brookfield Properties has launched Positive Pulse, A Wellness Initiative to promote employee health and safety while they work from home during the lockdown. Under this month-long campaign, Brookfield Properties will be hosting a series of engagement activities, across its Commercial Real Estate portfolios, Candor TechSpace in Gurgaon, Noida and Kolkata; as well as for Powai Business District and Equinox Business Park in Mumbai.  It will be hosting two special webinars - one on Health and another on financial health along with cooking sessions. As well as a virtual skill-based CSR volunteering and rap/jingle contest, thus giving them a reason to stay healthy and entertained, and adding value and balance to the work-life of professionals even when they are away from their workplace.  

3) Johnson & Johnson has rolled out a 'telemedicine program' globally to help the employees and their families with questions about their physical and mental health. They are also encouraged to seek confidential support from counsellors via phone using the J&J employee assistance program (EAP). Maintaining a focus on their physical wellbeing is also important and Johnson & Johnson has digital mindfulness tools, virtual fitness sessions, home workout apps, access to health experts and regular knowledge-sharing to ensure their workforce stay motivated, healthy and mindful. 

4) Flipkart is encouraging employees across the organization to take a ‘Digital Chai Break’ and guiding them in scheduling their workday. It is also encouraging parents with older children to get them involved in scheduling their priorities for the day and keep them engaged in this regard and believe that this approach will help them balance priorities while working from home.

During video meetings, they also encourage the working parents to bring their young kids to greet colleagues, who are more than happy to see them. This is building a strong sense of togetherness. 

5) Vedanta is putting employee well-being ahead of productivity issues and offers psychological counselling helplines to people facing anxiety and stress-related problems along with online meditation and fitness sessions to a series of engagement activities during work for home to keep their employees motivated and engaged.

Math genius Raziuddeen Siddiqui transforming lives of underprivileged children’s through Likee

In the course of its journey so far, pioneering short video platform Likee has emerged as much more than an entertainment provider. Launched in 2017 by Singapore-based Bigo Technology PTE Ltd, Likee has touched and transformed several lives. Its pool of influencers and content creators are the protagonists of this success story. One such tale is that of 26-year-old Raziuddeen Siddiqui, a mathematics genius who uses the platform to impart education to those who cannot afford to join conventional coaching classes or tuitions.

It was in 2014 when Raziuddeen, fondly called Siddiqui Sir by his students, packed his bags from hometown Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh to embark on an ambitious journey to Mumbai. He began teaching at a coaching institute in Nala Sopara, a town in Palghar district near the Maharashtra capital. Though the stint helped Raziuddeen earn his livelihood, his tryst for inner peace and satisfaction was yet to be fulfilled. And that’s when he started teaching underprivileged kids free of cost.

As fate would have it, the teacher with a kind heart got acquainted with a student named Ritesh Jaiswal, who introduced him to the world of Likee. Initially apprehensive of venturing online, owing to the technical nuances involved, Raziuddeen thought over the suggestion and posted 2-3 videos to explore the medium. “Ritesh shot 2-3 videos and posted them on Likee. The response was average for the first few days, but within a week, the videos went viral and garnered more than 50,000 likes. I was overwhelmed by the response and decided to pursue it further,” recalls Raziuddeen.

As his fan base on Likee expanded gradually, Raziuddeen later started using the live streaming feature of the platform. At a fixed time, knowledge seekers would join his live sessions. As part of it, he would discuss and solve queries posted by hundreds of students.

“The response to my videos and live sessions was excellent. With Likee, I could create more content is less time, say 7-8 videos can be shot within 30 minutes. Around 500-600 students joined my live sessions, which were suspended temporarily owing to my health complications. But I plan to resume it soon and will organise it in a more synchronised manner,” says the Math genius.

According to Raziuddeen, creators on Likee must use the platform for more than providing just entertainment. He believes that dancers, singers, teachers and other creators must use the platform to educate and train others. “Thanks a lot to Likee makers that they created such great platform,” he says.

Raziuddeen failed to pursue his PhD due to financial constraints, but he made sure that he would do his bit to help others in need. Once an UPSC aspirant, he still intends to pursue PhD and even appear for the civil services examination. But no matter where the road leads, he is determined to continue using Likee for educating others. He currently has more than 223K fans and over 1.11 million likes on the platform.

This Teachers day, let's look at Ed tech platforms that impart education as virtual tutors

Teachers impart not just education but also values. They play a very important role in a student's life as they are a constant part in the process of learning and also encourage students towards reaching their ambition. The disruption in the education sector and living in an age where digital learning has impacted almost everyone around us. Virtual Tutors have gained popularity due to its effective teaching methods where a student is not bound to time or location. These methods have been super fruitful for this digitally influenced generation as it provides a platform where a student can interact, learn and grow along with the learners from different parts of the world.

Here are a few platforms who are emerging as virtual tutors:

Udacity - Udacity is a silicon valley based lifelong learning platform that co-creates courses with industry giants for future technologies. From mentoring, project reviewers to structured guidance, Udacity provides assistance to a variety of learners for courses in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, etc for both tech and non-tech background.

Toppr - It emphasizes on adaptive practice through machine learning algorithms, personalized tests, and goal-based pedagogy. Therefore, facilitating learning for students at their own pace and in their own space. Toppr currently caters to over 4.5 million registered students. With a community of 15000+ educators across India that works 24×7, Toppr ensures that no doubts for students remain unanswered even past midnight.

Next Education - Founded in 2007, Next Education is a fast-growing, technology-driven company revolutionizing the K-12 education system in India. Every day, its innovative products and solutions transform the lives of 10% of India’s private-school-going children. It has created innovative products which make teaching easy, engaging and effective  

Aakash Digital - The ed-tech version of Aakash, this online learning platform helps students get quality Aakash coaching at the convenience of their home through live online classes and recorded video lectures. It helps students get the discipline and academic excellence of Aakash at home and facilitates them to learn anywhere, anytime. With the latest technology and experienced teachers, Aakash Digital ensures that students get everything from teachers' guidance to quality study material, doubts resolution and regular assessment through online practice tests to crack exams like NEET, JEE as well as school and board exams. 

Edx - Leading massive online course provider Edx, it caters students with presence in various countries. It hosts online university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to a worldwide student body, including some courses at no charge. Acting as virtual tutors to a large number of students they are deeply committed to understanding the barriers that learners face when looking to advance or change their careers.

Imarticus - It incorporates a variety of delivery methodologies -online, classroom and blended – that are managed by a fully integrated state-of-the-art online learning management and governance system. The curriculum for each course is designed by industry experts to ensure relevance and industrial applicability, and to equip trainees with the pertinent skills that ensure employability upon completion. Imarticus has educated 30,000+ individuals globally.