What is the Teach Tour and why were you inspired to start this project?

I have a passion to do something revolutionary in Education. I had all the engineer-prone perceptions about how to make that revolution happen. I saw simple answers through things around me that would make huge differences. As I began to implement one such solution, I noticed a common missing variable. I saw incredible minds creating fascinating products that should, have made significant impacts on the education world. What was missing though was the human factor.  Charles Leedbeater points to the equation “Education + Technology = Hope” in a famous TED Talk, while I respect his work, I disagree. I believe that “Education + People + Technology = Hope.” It was in this effort to discover the human aspect that I took off on The Teach Tourto understand what the people wanted in education, and how I might help them gain access to that desire.

Your recent blog, The Failure to Educate, explores the rationale behind failing education systems. What are the three most pressing challenges that global education systems face today?

• Innovation- made possible only when the space for failure is given.
• Identity- made possible only when each student is treated as a human being, capable of anything and everything, but at his or her own pace and space.
• Delivery- made possible only when education can actually deliver on the promise it makes, that quality of life will truly increase due to an education.

The best teachers are those who challenge and support their students, majorly missing in most classrooms today.

Do you see a vast difference in the challenges that the education sectors in developed and developing markets face?

No - the challenges are ubiquitous and remain the same across continents: we have standardized education to such anextent that we no longer encourage children to be inquisitive, to have their own passions, and to pursue their own dreams. We require they pass the tests and fit in to the mold society has set out for them. Worse, if they do not fit in, they are labeled for life.

Where is the Teach Tour currently in its program delivery?

The Teach Tour completed the India portion of the research in January 2011, we hope to continue on into Africa by late 2011, fund raising dependent.

This year the US tour is on hold, while I attempt to prove a solution called HobNob, born out of a consistent overarching need I discovered across countries: students are unengaged. If the first few pilots in the U.S. can be proven to show results of increasing student engagement and funding can be secured, we will test out the product in Africa and then in India in 2012.

Where and when was HobNob conceived?

As part of my research into education, I studied under MadhaviKapur who had a unique methodology of teaching but classrooms across the world, demand that one person understand, challenge and support 25 to 75 growing minds all at once. Also, we rarely ask the students whether or not they are learning and engaged to determine what is working and what is not. Engagement is at the crux of what allows us to learn and become curious to learn more. I realized then that giving students a voice in their own education could be the key to empowerment and innovation. If teachers could actually hear those voices and implement those changes, engagement levels might rise. I also saw this as a way to bring down the walls of the classroom for us, the public, to see inside, understand, and try to help innovate around what is not working

Is HobNob applicable and beneficial to the low-cost private education sector in developing countries?

I developed HobNob with the developing world as my primary consumer: providing student feedback to teachers could be game changing for the typical classroom, APS or otherwise. Three out of every four people have a mobile phone today and can send text messages. Using SMS allows me to deliver otherwise complex data into a pretty package of useful information. HobNob does not only need to be used to measure student engagement. It now becomes a tool with which any question can be asked to a large number of people, allowing the aggregated data to be analyzed by the appropriate people.There are many applications to this, I just believe engagement levels could be the most insightful to our students.

The plan to implement HobNob in developing countries requires a lot of on the ground rapid prototyping. So until I am able to get to India and Africa to rapid prototype what worked in the US, I will not be sure of the implementation.

Did you conduct awareness programs prior to launching the HobNob pilot?

I talked with students and the Principal in the school I was piloting in to determine their own understanding of engagement. I also made them part of the creation and design process, that played a huge role in their participation of the program.

What analytical data will HobNob distribute?

The HobNob product is three fold: Quantitative Feedback and Qualitative Feedback conducted via sms and Class Intervention where we work with the teacher to observe the classroom and offer feedback on how to positively impact the class. The feedback mechanism currently is a graphical representation of the classroom’s engagement levels, over time.