JOIN USA resourceful website for a unique school
Amid the thick green forests of Malnad in Siddapur taluk of Uttara Kannada district lies Hulkutri, a tiny village populated by farmers and labourers. Hulkutri has recently gained popularity among many teachers and students from across the state, thanks to its government higher primary school.
The headmaster of this school, Darshan Harikantra, has come up with a unique website that many teachers and students refer to across the state. One-of-its-kind, the website (hulkutrischool.in) has innovative study material for students from first to seventh standard.
During the first wave of Covid-19 in July last year, many students of this school had to struggle to keep their academic learning going. The students here had to climb hills to get internet network. To help these students progress academically, Darshan, who is serving here since 2004, came up with the idea of a website.
Darshan along with two other teachers of the school, parents and school development monitoring committee members invested around Rs 30,000 and got a simple website designed. Soon the three teachers began uploading learning material. “During the initial days of the pandemic, many of our students did not even have access to textbooks. So, we began preparing content in such a way that students without textbooks could understand the chapters on their own,” recalls Darshan.
To make lessons interesting, Darshan searched for content on the internet and embedded it in the lessons. For instance, in the history chapters on various dynasties, he included pictures of rulers, that of historical monuments and the like so that students could visualise lessons and assimilate them in a better way.
In science, the chapters were accompanied by related videos (non-commercial) on various experiments which students could perform with materials available at home. Apart from this, questions, answers and highlights of the chapters were also included. Later, the ‘Samveda’ videos launched by the government were also uploaded onto the website.
For primary classes like the first standard, Nali-Kali study material and worksheets became part of the chapters.
Each day, Darshan uploads chapters class-wise; he spends four to five hours beyond the school hours to prepare the content for all classes. Even after a chapter is uploaded, he keeps improving the content making it a continuous process.
In addition to this, the website has a list of innovative extra-curricular and co-curricular activities that the school has been conducting. Short articles on topics like culture, traditions, geography and other information about the area are also written by this headmaster.
“The main advantage of this website is that it can be freely accessed by any person at any time. It is also simple in approach. A child can easily understand it. Students who have internet facilities can learn from home and those who do not have access to the internet can learn in the smart classrooms of the school,” said Venkatesh Bhat, a member of School Development Monitoring Committee member whose children are also students of this school.
Currently, the website has around 3,000 active users and 550 daily users with an average of 15,000 views since the launch. Not only the students of Hulkutri but also government teachers and students from other parts of the state like Hubballi and Bagalkot have been using it actively.
“It is rare that a government primary school has its own website. The content on the website has been laid out neatly, and has been received well by the teachers,” said Siddapur Block Education Officer Sadananda Swamy.
Other activities
Not just the website but the school has been known for its innovative activities for the last few years. To make students develop an understanding of the surroundings, the students are taught paddy seedling transplantation, nurturing the plants and harvesting. Agriculture experts are invited to the school to tell students about progressive and scientific farming.
A mock market is held in the school every year where students learn skills that would prove necessary in the future. Rangoli sessions are held where students learn how to draw maps and science diagrams.
To make students environment-conscious, they are taken on outdoor tours where they are told the importance of conserving lakes and the environment.