Geography.over.Distance Course

Enrollments are open throughout the year

Here’s a great gift idea for that curious young mind in your life!

Please note: This is not a coaching class!

Geography.over.Distance (G.o.D.) is an online course particularly suited for children who are interested in exploring geography beyond the textbooks, and home-schooling children.

Instead of a perishable material gift, why not gift that curious youngster in your life an opportunity to explore a world of ideas? Give them a year’s worth of this course!

Presenter: Dr Chandra Shekhar Balachandran (CV here)

Whom is it for: Children of classes 8 (age 13 or 14) and above. Subject to decision by both parties based on an online video interview.

When do sessions start: Flexible

What they will learn:

• Geography in non-textbook ways through exploring.
• The myriad interconnections between:
  • Geography and many things ranging food to international relations,
  • From latitudes to festivals,
  • From pandemics to human responses to them, etc.,
• Their own power to create spaces of different kinds,
• How geography touches everything in our lives,
• Critical thinking skills,
• Modern tools in geography (particularly GeoInformatics),
• Communication skills in geography,
• And much, much more. (see students’ and parents’ feedback below)

Most importantly, they will learn to ask geography questions.

Pedagogy:

• Interactive, and interdisciplinary.
• Offline and online work.
• Exploration- and project-based learning, rather than a set syllabus.
• No assessments, no exams, no tests, no textbooks.
• Readings will be assigned from accessible resources on- and off-line.

Students must produce a portfolio of their work online. Examples.

Technical requirements:

• Good broadband connection.
• Webcam.
• Noise cancelling headphones.
• Proper lighting.
• Installation of Zoom teleconferencing app. Access to informational sites online. (With parental supervision)
• Access to a Gmail account (with parental supervision)

Other requirements:

• A reasonably quiet environment for the sessions.Stationery (pen, pencil, notebook, etc.)
• A school atlas (Oxford School Atlas is recommended)
• Parental supervision during child’s assigned visits to news and other relevant websites.
• At least basic written, oral, and comprehension skills in English. (We will build a lot of geography and other vocabulary.)

Language of the course: English.

Timings:

• The course will have 2 sessions, each session lasting of 45 minutes to 1, per week. The session will be sometime between 9 am (start) with the last slot being 4 pm – 5 pm.
• Sessions will be 1-on-1. Exceptions may be possible in certain circumstances if parents prefer. However, each student has to pay the full fees.

Schedule:

• By mutual arrangement.
• No classes:  on weekends, and public holidays; and before 9 am or after 5 pm.
• Timings for students living outside India can be discussed to find a mutually convenient time.

Policies:

• Before enrollment, the student must chat with the presenter over Zoom with parent(s) present. This is to get to know each other. It will also help us understand any limitations that we may need to address. After this, the presenter will indicate whether he is able to take the student. This is no reflection on the student, but rather it is about the limitations of the set-up.
• Once enrolled, students must complete assignments on agreed-upon schedule. Students must produce a portfolio of their work online.  Examples.
• Adult involvement : Parents/care-givers must be involved in keeping track of the progress of the child. Please make time to have conversations with your child to learn what they are learning in the course. These make for mutual enrichment of parents and children.
• Registration is required.
• Registration fee: INR 1,000 is required before sessions begin. This will be refunded if (a) the child continues enrollment for at least 12 consecutive months and (b) monthly fees are paid on or before the 3rd of each month.
• Monthly fee : INR 6,000. To be paid on or before 3rd of each month. Fees will not be pro-rated for any reason. Fees are to be paid by net banking (details will be provided at the time of enrollment) or Google Pay.
• Fees include : Registration fees for the International Geography Youth Summit (IGYS), India’s only academic geography conference for school children held annually. All requisite study resources.

Contact details for enrollment :

Email : geo@tigsindia.com

Zoom : https://zoom.us/j/7704314568 (by appointment only)

What they have said about their G.o.D. experience

Students’ feedback     ||    Parents’ feedback

Apply with this form: