itsmastermindabacus

[itsmastermindabacus]

Over 30000 Abacus Trainers are now jobless, the Pandemic effect. Are you one of them?

In the ensuing write-up, which is a conversation that I had almost a year back when my entire team was all engrossed in finding a solution for the revival of all the Abacus Institutes that had been forced to close down owing to the Covid Lock down. The students stopped attending their Abacus classes. This had severely hit our own business as we were hugely dependent on our franchise business spread across 16 countries. My conversation was with three people, one being an Abacus Trainer cum owner of the Abacus Class and the other being the duo of a father and child. The child was a student of Abacus. I being an Abacus promoter was curious to know, ‘What do they have to say about the effect of the Covid pandemic on Abacus?’ Effect of the lock down on the Abacus Classes While the Institute owner expressed of he going through a very bad phase as he had to close down his centre as the students stopped coming due to the lock down. He also said he did try teaching online through the available video conferencing apps, but the results are neither satisfactory nor promising. It was not convenient for teaching. I told him, I couldn’t agree more and that over 20000 Abacus Institutes worldwide had shutters down due to the lock down, and also that this had rendered more than 30000 Abacus Trainers jobless. Effect of the lock down on Abacus Students. When I looked at the father and son duo, I felt they both had a lot to say. While the father said that his son had to discontinue the Abacus Training as the centres were closed. He felt this deprived his child of learning the skill of Abacus math. Meanwhile, the son was waiting impatiently for his turn to get into the conversation. It seems he had a lot to say, which seemed very obvious as he was the end-user, and naturally the most affected. He said when the lock down started his Abacus class got closed. He was sad that he and many other students of that Abacus class now were unable to learn Abacus Math. I told him that it was not only him but over 5 to 6 lacs or approximately half a million students were facing the same situation. They all had to discontinue their Abacus Training. Online Abacus teaching is not effective When I probed further with my question, that  why did the teacher not go online and also why the student had not joined an Online Abacus class? Well with this I seemed to have hit Pandora’s box. Both the teacher and the student started to put in their opinion to this. They had so much to say. Let me sum it up one by one. I will get you the Students view first. -He said learning abacus on the mobile was very difficult as he could sometimes not see the finger movements demonstrated by his teacher and also said his teacher also faced the same problem. Because of this, he was making mistakes in moving the beads correctly on the Abacus instrument. He further added the wrong answers always frustrated him. - He was finding it difficult to do Abacus Mental Math practice because of this. He was also unable to improve his speed of calculations because of the lack of mental practice. - The student was also of the opinion that his workbook both for Homework and Class Work could not be checked regularly. - He further said he was not enjoying learning Abacus as he did not know how his other friends were performing. The child summed it all up in one final sentence that the Online Abacus class was not interesting and he did not want to continue. Now it was the turn of the teacher. He said he agreed with all that the student said. He also said that if Abacus had to be taught online then a dedicated platform has to be created both for teaching as well for the student to learn. I went a step further and asked him to be more specific about what are all the facilities that he would like to have in the Online Abacus Teaching Platform so that he could teach smoothly and effectively. I must say the teacher was very clear in his mind, he insisted I would better take note of the points that he was going to raise. To which I agreed and started to jot down his points under this head, Requirements in an Online Abacus Teaching Platform a. A well developed integrated system from where several students could participate in the Abacus Class, he could train all the students for the right finger movements and also be able to monitor and ensure that all students followed the right method. The number of students in the class should not be a hindrance in the teaching process. It should not be dependent on external video conferencing apps. b. An option that would allow problems of different students to be attended at the same time by him and still not disturb the normal classes functioning.   c. A system with the facility from where he could give Classwork, Homework and also that he should be able to check and evaluate the work thus done by the students, preferably in real-time. d. Most importantly a specially developed content that could be easy to show, explain and be able to keep the students glued to the screen. He said the if the lessons are created in the form of self-explanatory videos that he as a teacher could add explain further and use as visual support to explain to the students. This he said could be the only way that would bring back the students to the Abacus classes and also will be worth the money the parents will invest. e. He also said that since it would be all online better if we are done away with the workbooks and the child should solve the questions and input the answers on the system itself. This he said would ease the problem of evaluating the work done by the students. f. One more issue he said that need to be addressed was to create a competitive atmosphere in the class was to give awards to the students. He concluded even if it is virtual, it would good enough. g. After a second thought he went on to add that if the experts could develop a digital Abacus, that can be of great help especially if the child gets stuck in solving any sum while doing the homework. h. A system that would allow the teacher to conduct the exams level wise and also allow the teacher to issue Certificates to the students after that. i. He said further that before he forgets, he would also want that the system must also have a complete teachers training system so that he can become an expert in conducting the Online Abacus Classes. i. He also wanted the system to facilitate online registration and collection of fees of the students. Well, well when he was done saying all that he had to say and I was done with my listing, I was very clear why the several companies that claimed to be offering Online Abacus Classes had failed to help the closed down Abacus Institutes to get back their students. This required the experts to develop a huge integrated Abacus Teaching and Learning system in tandem with the Abacus Experts who would have to develop an exclusive online friendly curriculum that could deliver the expected convenience and results. This was asking for a hell of a lot of investment both in terms of time, expertise and finance. Which certainly was not a cup of tea for the small-time companies. The challenges were too many. But of course, what was the solution? As promoters of Abacus Education for over two decades and having our  presence in over 16 countries worldwide, we Mastermind Abacus took up the challenge and developed a Hi-tec Abacus Teaching and Learning Platform that promises to meet all the needs as expressed by my friend Abacus teacher and the Abacus student. Yes, we successfully created The World's First Live Online Abacus Teaching Platform. This Online Abacus Learning Platform of Mastermind Abacus meets all the expectations of the Abacus Institutes and the Trainers. It is also extremely easy for the students to access and operate. To make the program easy, high interest and exceptionally engaging for the students, the Abacus lesson here for all levels have been transformed into interesting and innovative video games based on Math calculations. The system allows the Abacus Trainer to conduct exams, evaluate in real-time, issue Certificates, collect fee mange marketing. It has an answer to every aspect related to Teaching Abacus or managing the Abacus institute in the most effective way. Anyone could start his / her own Abacus Training Centre / Institute with No Franchise Fee no overhead expenses and naturally no Business risk, with only a Laptop / PC with broadband internet connection. This is the answer to the present catastrophic situation being faced by my friend Abacus teacher and many more. It will certainly help the several closed down Abacus Centres and the out of job Abacus Trainers to not only get back their previously registered students but also encourage many more students to Enroll themselves. Your opinion and suggestions are most valid for further enhancing the utility of this Online Abacus Learning Platform. Do put in your comments in the comment box.

[itsmastermindabacus]

VIRTUAL ONLINE ABACUS CLASSES! THE MYTH SHATTERED. WANT TO START YOUR OWN?

             The World’s Fist Live Online Abacus Teaching Platform

We are now ready to formally launch Mastermind Online Abacus by 15th of Aug, 2021, the Independence Day of India.

The advancement of technology and its integration with the Abacus has broken the myth and made Online Abacus Teaching and learning a reality. Abacus Teaching and Learning will no more be a privilege of the Urban area only. You may be located in the remotest part of the world; you too can now start your Online Abacus Center like any of your counterparts in the cities.

Talk to anyone aware of an Abacus and its process of learning, it would be very difficult to convince that abacus learning and teaching could be possible through virtual classes, or to say an Online Abacus Class could be equally effective as any conventional Abacus classroom.

Importance of Abacus for a Student

The importance of Abacus education in promoting whole brain development in the younger children, enhancing their mental math and speed up their calculation abilities, augment ting their level of concentration and visualization was very well recognized by the Education Fraternity and the Parents / Guardians.

The problem has been it is not easily accessible to many. The reason being while Abacus Classes or Trained Faculties were available in the major cities the smaller towns lacked their presence, hence depriving many who wanted to train their kids in Abacus Math and give them a competitive edge in their future academics.

The Pandemic Effect on Abacus Institutes

We have been promoting Abacus Education for over two decades and are present in over 16 countries through our trained faculties and over 2000 Abacus Training Centers.

My entire think tank never imagined a situation when teaching Abacus through the conventional normal classrooms could no more be possible. As we all are aware of the Global pandemic due to Covid 19, the entire conventional education system came to a halt and so did Abacus teaching and learning as the students stopped coming to the Abacus Classes

Not only all our associates and teachers but over 10,000 Abacus trained teachers across the world were looking for solutions, a solution that could help the revival of the Abacus Classrooms and bring back the students. And of course, there were others who were planning to start their own Abacus Franchisee Centers, had to stall their idea.

The Online Abacus Learning Platform – A challenge

The need for an Online Abacus Learning platform was felt by many, but there were huge challenges in actually creating an Online Abacus Learning and Teaching Platform. The requirement was to have an Online Abacus Learning and Teaching Platform that should:

1. Be easy to use/operate by the Students without hassles, not be monotonous rather it should be very interesting.

2. Be able to give all the features of a conventional Abacus Classroom like, constant the presence of a teacher, one to one interaction, active participation of students, getting guidance when needed etc.

3. Facilitate training and monitoring the correct finger movements on the Abacus Instrument.

4. Allow the students to train for mental math.

5. Allow the Abacus Teacher to monitor the performance and progress of every student.

7. Enable real-time checking of Class work and Homework and also letting the students know their score.

8. Provide a Virtual Assistant (a virtual teacher to help the students solve a sum if they were to get stuck) while doing their Homework or solving a sum.

The Revolutionary Online Abacus Learning Platform

Not many such options are available that could meet all these requirements for an effective Online Abacus Learning Platform. Rather be very specific there were none. We created the Mastermind Online abacus Learning Platform. It has all the facilities that an Abacus Trainer or a student would require,

The features of Mastermind Online Abacus can be listed below

1. The Lessons –All lessons of every level are easy visuals where sums are solved depicting through right finger movements on the Abacus Instrument, with the objective to ensure effective learning by the students.

2. Practice - All the practice lessons are in the form of games. They have all been transformed into innovative, interesting Math Video Games. To score points in the game the students have to solve the sums on their abacus or mentally, input the answers.  

The advantages are, firstly the students enjoy playing the games and the Abacus Class never becomes monotonous, they wait for the next class. Secondly, the interesting learning process ensures the dropouts as seen in conventional classes are far less here.

3. Students Panel – A panel is accessible to all registered Students of Mastermind Abacus. This Panel has two parts, the first one being from where they can do all the learning and the other is the Video Conferencing Screen which allows them to be able to see their teacher. From this Panel, the students can

a. See the lesson videos that are shared by their teacher and learn.

b. Do the class work assigned by the teacher

c. Do the Home assignments given by the teacher

d. Participate in the exams when they are conducted.

e. Practice.

f. Resolve their problems if any by directly communicating with their teacher during the class.

g. See the marks or points obtained by them in their Class work, Homework and Practice and that allotted by the teacher.

h. Access Virtual Abacus – This is a readily available assistant that will help the students in finding a solution if they are stuck at any sum. It is a virtual abacus which is a digital abacus tool very similar to a student’s abacus. While doing an exercise if a wrong answer is submitted the option of taking the help of Virtual Abacus appears. The Virtual Abacus option on click opens on a separate window.

i. Get Certificates – The students can download their Certificates after the completion of every level.

j. Access The Book – The students can download and get a print of all the lessons of Class work, Homework and Practice.

4. Teachers Panel – The exclusive Teacher’s Panel allows the teachers to teach the students from their home, using their Laptop or PC, through the internet. This Panel has two parts, one that allows the teacher to teach and share educational videos, the other is a Video conferencing Screen that allows the teacher to be able to see and also be accessible to the students.

From this Panel an Abacus teacher

a. Can run preloaded learning lesson videos for the students to see and learn the fundamentals.

b. Can assign Class Work to the students after every lesson video.

c. Can assign Homework

d. Can conduct exams after every level is completed.

e. Can do Certification – The teacher can issue certificates to students after completion of every level.

f. Can see the students through the video conferencing option, they can communicate with them and guide them as and when needed.

g. Gets access to several options like Training, Admin etc. to allow the teacher to manage Fee Status, get training from the company as and when required and be in constant touch with the Company personals.

Advantages of Mastermind Online Abacus Platform

1. To learn Abacus through this online platform one only requires an Abacus Instrument and broadband internet connection. No infrastructure, no franchise fee & no overhead expenses.

2. There are no geographical limitations. One could be in any part of the world and learn Abacus from the best of the Abacus Trained Teachers.

3. The system having preloaded learning videos ensures that every registered student gets the same highest level of training.

The conclusion

The above features not only make Mastermind Abacus is an ideal Online Abacus Learning Platform but also an ideal Online Abacus Teaching Platform. It is the First time in the World Online Abacus Teaching and Learning Platform.

It certainly could be a game-changer in imparting Abacus Education to the masses. It could be the most effective option for the 10,000 plus Abacus Trainers towards the revival of their closed down Abacus Classes with the added advantage of geographically unlimited accessibility.

For those wanting to venture into Abacus Education, this could be the best opportunity to go for their own Abacus Training Centers. If you have access to the internet and a Laptop or PC you could restart or start a new Abacus Training Center from your home.