When COVID-19 closed the doors of his classroom in 2020, Giridhar Panghate hadto think outside the box to reach, and teach, his students. What started as a WhatsApp group of 3-4 students, swelled to 6000 students on Zoom, when Giridhar tried his hand at making educational videos and lvie streaming in classes.

A simple man from a farming family, Giridhar never dreamed of teaching digitally, until he attended a series of 'E-learning' courses by Ambuja Foundation. The courses captured his imagination and he immediately went out and bought himself a laptop.

So when the pandemic hit in 2020, he decided to start making small videos. But his early efforts were thwarted by slow internet, dull lighting and poor sound quality, and students found them difficult to follow as a result.

Taking feedback on board, he built a small studio in the loft of his house - setting up a tripod and lights; upgrading his WIFI and microphone; and even purchasing a 'greenscreen' software that enabled him to project PowerPoint presentations behind him as he taught.

" I wanted to ensure that in each video, every child would understand. I stayed up late at night learning how to edit vidoes and integrate animation, and finding content on YouTube that would reinforce the concepts I was teaching." he said.

Teaching complex topics like 'photosynthesis' and 'understanding plant cells' he embraced technology and a passion took over. In a span of 5 months he made over 82 videos and their reach far exceeded his expectations.

"My aim was to impact my existing and past students," he said. "But word spread far and wide and soon I had studnets from Convent Schools across the district loggin in."

Having completed videos for the 7th grade syllabus, he moved on to introducing 8th grade material to his class - so whilst children around the world fell behind in their education due to COVID-19, Giridhar's students lept ahead!

How does his wife feel about his accomplishments? "She is just happy that now I can do all this without cluttering up her house!" he laughs.

Impact

• 82 Videos
• From 3-4 children in a Whatsapp Group to 6000 students on Zoom
• Awarded on a district and state level for his work in digital learning
• Created videos for 7th grade syllabus and started recording and introducing 8th grade material to his class