P2 at IDC: My 2 month project in the third semester of my MDes course.

'Aao Devanagari Seekhein’ is a tool for adult illiterates to learn the Devanagari Alphabet. This tool is based on a touch screen interface and concentrates on writing, exploration of letterforms and repetition to help adults learn the Devanagari Alphabet.

It comprises of exercises which help the learner in learning to pronounce, read and write a letter. Also, the structured exercises make sure the learner does not forget what has been learnt before, and that at any time, his curiosity and will to learn do not get discouraged.

The prototype was developed in Flash and was deployed on a Nokia communicator. I worked with Oasis, an NGO based in Mumbai as part of my research into the way adults learn basics of writing. Oasis works to help women from red light areas in finding a better livelihood. They maintain a half-way home where women can stay until they get some basic training enough to get them a decent job. When I taught there as a guest for 15 days, there were 8 women living there who attended my class. I tried various unorthodox techniques to get them interested in the shape of the letterform, trying to free their mind of the idea that writing a language is some sort of a strenuous rule-riddled task.

Here's the video of the final product: