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Report on a seminar on the use of android mobile phones and about library management

By: Sanyasi Lohar
10.11.2019 News

Sanyasi Lohar, Head of RSV-Santalschool

The uses and misuses of mobile phones

Recently, the RSV Campus witnessed a two-day-seminar and -demonstration on the use and abuse of the android mobile phone for the young generation. In addition, the organizers spoke on how to manage a digital library in the present time.

The Ghosaldanga and Bishnubati Adibasi Trust has organized this programme on 19th and 20th October in three places: Bishnubati, Ghosaldanga and R.S.V, in collaboration with AYASH – AN EFFORT, A Public Charitable Trust, Kolkata.

The first meeting regarding android phones was held in Bishnubati and Ghosaldanga. Numerous children and village people participated in the interesting discussions, also watching the video images of many different applications and functions of the android smart phone screen. During the video show all the children and illiterate village people were very attentive watching the mechanisms on the screen.

Afterwards , when the audience was asked who has an android mobile phone in the family, almost 70% of people held up their hand. Again, when asked for what purpose they were using their mobile phones, the answer was texting, to watch movie and videos, to use the camera. Many young people are using You Tube, Twitter, they make phone calls or video-calls to their friends.

It astonished us that even illiterate persons are using android phones. In fact, children are very much curious about mobile phones and spontaneously explore them. Many children are using mobile phones more efficiently than educated persons. Many children already watch videos or movies, they surf to discover different matters, they even do WhatsApp and editing.  In the seminar we came to know that many children look for personal enjoyment. They feel it is a right way to explore their happiness using the internet. Even if they have a small, fashionable electronic device, they feel proud.

In this workshop the important message was that mobile use has both a good and a bad side. We already knew from the contributions of some participants about the positive aspects: mobile phones can save time, save physical labour and cost, they can give us pleasure watching interesting movies anywhere we want, even in the smallest mud hut. But at the same time, people lose their physical energies and they misuse their time. They can watch the worst movies which may change their moral direction and destroy their talents. It needs these motivational programmes to the young people to make them understand what is important and what is not.

 

The need to start a good Library

We are at R.S.V. recently set up a Library especially for the school children, but also adults can be members of our Library. We have collected books since many years, so our collection is already quite good. But we have no professional librarian. Only after a trained person takes the responsibility to register books, number them, keep them in a certain order, we can speak of having a library.

We have Santali story books, picture books, drawing books, magazines in Santali, Bengali and English, and also school books according to our own school syllabus. Nowadays, not many people have the patience to read thicker story books.

We already use the library for our kindergarten children. The use of the library is included in our daily class routine. We go to our library room, give them plenty of story-books spread on the floor. The children can choose any book and see the pictures. After that the teacher will ask the children questions about pictures, colours, and as them to imagine stories. This way we have already made good use of the library.

During the second part of the seminar conducted by AYASH AN EFFORT, Kolkata, we received suggestions on how to awake in children the habit of book reading. 1) to show good movies to the children, for example on wildlife, forests, lakes or oceans; 2) by make them listen to music or stories on an audio sound system; 3) by story-telling, if possible by a writer who presents his or her own stories, 4) by inviting the children to the bookfairs; 5) by competitions which give awaf books as gifts.