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Health & Fitness

Brooklyn teacher using new educational software

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Chicago-bred inventor Gavenraj Sodhi has just began a crowd-funding campaign to support A7, an educational technology he invented that has been endorsed by “Star Trek” alumna Nichelle Nichols.

Sodhi said in the United States, primary education is in decline, along with literacy scores and math and science performance. Parents are desperate to find additional materials to educate their children not just academically, but socially and emotionally as well. Sodhi loves comic books and cartoons, which influenced him greatly in his youth. Many of these taught simple lessons that resonated with him because he was paying attention to the animated elements that intrigued him. However, school today is often dull, and many teachers are leaving the profession or not motivated to teach. In some places like inner city Chicago, gang violence and dropping out have become major problems.

To remedy this, Sodhi identified teachers in Brooklyn and other cities adept in “flip learning,” when instruction shifts from the group learning environment to that of the individual. He enlisted them in his company iMedia.fm Limited’s development of A7’s methodology, which would be in line with the U.S. Common Core standards. A7 will integrate one to eight minute video lessons teachers have been using in their classrooms and tailoring them for the platform as well as mini-games to assess what children have learned from these lessons. When the child completes these games, they earn points for rewards like A7 eBooks, comic and drawing books, and other merchandise.“A7 is an amazing learning experience that offers them learning challenges but also has them build skills like critical thinking,” Sodhi said.

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The characters in A7 come to life through arts, language, math, science, and character-development lessons. In the first learning adventure, they make a personal association with a character and use that character as their personal avatar.

To further develop A7, Sodhi has created an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign that can be found at http://igg.me/at/A7/x/2850504.

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Using the technology in her Brooklyn classroom is Stacey Guidice. She thought it was a great idea and something she wanted to be part of.

“What I love about A7 is that it is self-paced,” she said. “We know every child is different and they learn at different rates.”

She implemented the technology in her classroom last April during the extended day program for students that needed extra help, allowing her students to interact with the dashboard and play games that reinforced basic language skills. She introduced A7 to the children by explaining the special talents of each dragon and students interacted with it using a pen. The next day they asked when they could play with it again.

Guidice intends to use A7 in the future.

“It’s such an easily accessible tool for any educator, child, or parent to use,” she said. “Parents can track their child’s progress and kids can feel in control of what they are learning. Teachers can create or upload their lessons for students to view at home. Students can view at their own pace, freeing up more time in the classroom for more research projects and hands-on learning.”

Nichols first learned of the project when Sodhi took her to lunch at the Brandywine Restaurant in Los Angeles. She liked the idea of reaching students through video games, as well as the little dragon character. In fact, she liked the character so much she got a stuffed version that she hangs from her bedpost.

“Children have vivid imaginations,” she said. “The A7 characters will pique their imaginations while educating them as well.”

She hopes it inspires children ages two to 92. She cannot wait to see how the character she portrays reacts with the other characters and the responses it receives from children.

Those interested in learning more about A7 can visit http://www.playA7.com or e-mail Sodhi at raj@iMedia.fm.

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