Imagine this: You are watching Bollywood star Parineeti Chopra live, sharing a glimpse into her life and her journey into the world of films. You get to be a part of an exclusive session, where the actress talks about her “need” to keep learning and how her parents’ sacrifices helped her achieve her dreams. Sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity, right?
Well, that’s exactly the kind of learning experience BYJU’S has created with XCEL Masterclasses, where more than 30,000 students can attend live sessions conducted by well-known hosts alongside popular celebrities and renowned experts from the world of Science and Technology.
The power-packed series crafted around topics relating to Science, Technology, Creativity, and Life, will bring students closer to the people they admire with the help of inimitable and cutting-edge technology. Each session aims to leave students inspired about how they can build a life that’s meaningful and impactful.
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This Engineer’s Day, we take a behind-the-scenes peek into BYJU’S Xcel and how with offerings like this, our engineering teams are building learning solutions at scale.
“One of the challenges in building XCEL was the sheer number of students watching and interacting during a live session,” says Senior Engineering Manager, Chandresh Bihani, adding, “Since the classes are open to all students from grade 4 to 10, there was a need to design a method that enables everyone to interact in a streamlined manner, without overwhelming the expert or celebrity.”
The solution was simple. “We introduced a two-teacher model. The celebrity/expert is the master teacher in this scenario, while a teaching assistant becomes in charge of a smaller classroom with a set number of students,” shares our Lead Engineer, Nirmal Selvaraj. “The students interact with the teaching assistant, who in turn shares feedback with the master teacher, teaching live.”
Students also have the option to react with the help of emojis during the session! “The teaching assistant selects a student from their classroom to ask questions to the master teacher during the interactive session,” explains Principal Software Engineer, Puneet Akhouri.
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Besides the chance to learn from a celebrity/expert, students attending XCEL Masterclasses get to be a part of various interactive activities. They can also participate in live quizzes during the sessions.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg in a truly immersive learning experience. “With the help of advanced technology, including live 3D visuals and high-quality audio output, the learning experience is enhanced severalfold,” says Divya Ingle, Software Development Engineer – Test II. “For example, a session on drones is almost transformed into a big-screen movie experience, where the expert breaks down the mechanics of the device with the help of 3D visuals and studio-quality sound.”
Creating an immersive experience that helps students understand the interrelation between STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is what XCEL classes are all about. Through their interactions with their celebrity idols or an expert, young minds will have the ability to understand how to deal with failure and adversities. The aim is to create the next generation of confident learners, who are goal-focused and understand how their academic prowess translates into the real world.
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Bidushi took a left turn from journalism and landed up in the corporate world. She is a foodie and considers eating good food amongst the greatest joys of life. Keen on travelling and exploring new places, Bidushi has spent the last four years of her life in three different Indian cities. But she has also learned that her bedroom is her happy place. Screens relax her greatly — whether it's watching a movie or a TV show or reading a riveting bestseller on her e-reader. A cheerful person, she prides herself on making friends easily. When not working, Bidushi can be found spending time with her parents, talking to her friends over a call, or browsing the internet for that one lipstick!
Arya C is a 4th grader who talks about her transition from the US to India and how BYJU`S has helped her at that. She also loves how BYJU`S has made learning a lot more fun.
Meet Sourabh who has a ton to say about his BYJU`S learning experience. His love for quizzes, games and other fun activities are paying off!
V Shriya is a class eight student who has been using BYJU’S for a year now. She shares her experiences with using the app and how it has helped her in improving her academic performance.
Aanvi from class 9 has been with BYJU`S for just 6 months and hear what she has to say about her learning experience with the app.
