PRAKASHAK - Parent’s Remote Assistance and Knowledge Support for Holistic Advancement of Kids

Enable parents to guide their children’s learning via digital nudges and community-led solutions.

ThinkZone provides parents with instructional learning activities via free and accessible ICT tools—SMS, IVRS, automated calls, and a WhatsApp AI Chatbot, aiding their children’s at-home learning. ThinkZone adopts a strategic approach to engage parents in improving the foundational skills of their children in support of schools and active parents in the communities.

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Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Web presence

2020

Established

100K

Children

1

Countries

Target group

Students early

Updated

April 2024

Aligning with India’s National Education Policy and UNICEF's recommendation on the importance of parental engagement in children’s learning & mental wellbeing, we aspire to witness the formal integration of parental engagement in the school curriculum. We seek to foster a cultural shift towards increased parent-child engagement in home learning and parents becoming a part of the school ecosystem.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

The PRAKASHAK initiative which originated during the pandemic has evolved into a program that focuses on engaging parents in enhancing the language and arithmetic skills of children at home. This program closely aligns with the National Education Policy and UNESCO’s emphasis on the critical role of parents in fostering their children’s learning, serving as an inspiration for our innovation.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

ThinkZone establishes formal collaborations with local government stakeholders to promote parental involvement in children’s learning at home. We onboard parents, teachers, and CRCs and launch PTMs in schools to sensitize parents regarding their role in children’s education and register their phone numbers. After registration parents receive personalized content on their phones according to their children’s grades and lessons covered in class. These learning contents are sent in image, audio, and video format via SMS, automated calls, and WhatsApp Chatbot. We also have a toll-free number with 2-way communication for parents to guide them through the learning contents and in case of any queries connect them with our education experts. Bringing more ownership to our intervention we identify active parents and in conjunction with these champion parents other parents receive support and motivation for continuous home-learning of children.

How has it been spreading?

We formally collaborated and co-created our parental engagement program in partnership with state education authorities. Upon recognizing the significant growth in children’s foundational skills via third-party evaluation and the importance of parents’ support, we are looking to unlock a new scale pathway by partnering with the government for onboarding public schools and having student acquisition happen through the government channel for the PRAKASHAK program. So, taking this into account we are scaling our home-learning program to newer districts through district-level and school-level collaborations and currently developing a strategic plan for state-wide implementation of parental engagement program in partnership with state education department; OSEPA, and Central Square Foundation.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

To get access to PRAKASHAK activity content, call us at 1800 3137338. To learn more about the whole process, please reach out to us through our email ID (hi@thinkzone.in) and WhatsApp number (+91-9178198947).

Implementation steps

Stakeholder Alignment (Government, parents & ThinkZone)

ThinkZone will develop program guidelines for all stakeholders included in the program implementation. Then we will organize meetings with DEO/ADEO/Pedagogy Coordinator to discuss and finalize the program design and obtain district-level, block-level, and cluster-level official approval for program implementation. Then in support of school teachers PTMs, meetings, and workshops are organized for parents at the school and community level.

Participate in Community and School-level Parental Meetings

Parents will attend monthly meetings where they will be introduced to the importance of their involvement in children’s learning journey. During these sessions, they will also be introduced to various ICT tools that can aid in children's education. In subsequent meetings, parents will learn different ways of utilizing household items to engage in children’s learning at home.

Instructional Learning Content Development and Management

ThinkZone will map individual school-wise class lessons and develop vernacular instructional learning activities for parents in line with the individual school syllabus. Utilizing our web-based LMS we will integrate these learning contents into ICT tools; SMS, automated calls, IVRS, and WhatsApp Chatbot.

Receive Instructional Learning Activities and Engage with Children

Parents will provide their phone numbers and weekly instructional learning activities will be sent via text messages and audio calls to their mobile phones. Parents will follow the instructions in these learning activities and engage with their children using household materials. Parents with smartphones will receive image and video-based edutainment content for a more interactive learning experience with their children.

Monitor Children’s Progress & Intimate to Schools

Parents will monitor their children’s progress and share their feedback and issues during PTMs, calls made to them, on Whatsapp AI chatbot/Whatsapp groups, and also during visits by the TZ team, champion parent/SMC member PoC to their homes.

Champion Parents Monitor & Support Other Parents

The champion parents selected from SMC will actively monitor and provide continuous support to parents and children within their communities. These parents will also facilitate the monthly meetings, and workshops and continuously promote at-home learning to motivate parents.