Board students turn to videos, not textbooks, for last-minute revision
Free videos sum up concepts well, say students; tutors say they supplement classroom teaching
MUMBAI: With just a few hours left for his first higher secondary certificate (HSC) paper on February 18, Omkar Shinde, 18, decided to do a quick, last-minute revision at his exam centre in Dadar. However, instead of flipping through his books, the Class 12 student of junior college in Wadala plugged in his headphones and started watching several ‘last-minute revision videos’ on Youtube on his phone. “This is the best way to revise key concepts and questions at the last minute. If I start revising in the traditional way, it would take an entire day. This way, I get to brush up on the entire syllabus in half an hour,” he said.
Shinde is not the only one relying on the several ‘last-minute revision videos’ that have popped up across online platforms. These videos — each spanning between 10 and 30 minutes and free of cost — are becoming increasingly popular among Class 10 and 12 students, and help them skim through important concepts and modules once again. Most of the channels posting the videos also offer the revision content in Hindi, on demand, too.
Imaduddin Khan, 26, who tutors students in the eastern suburbs and recently posted a series of revision videos for Class 12 preparation, said the response has been exceptionally good. With more than 87,000 subscribers, Khan’s videos have got up to 30,000 views on an average. “I have been doing this for the last two years. In 2017, when I had gone to Govandi to teach some slum kids, one of them suggested I make a video of what I was teaching,” he said. Khan began shooting at a coaching class where he taught, and later in his house. “I get requests from students who have specific doubts. I take the suggestions and then work on the videos accordingly,” he said.
Nagpur-based tutor, Abhishek Singh, 28, who started teaching basic concepts of physics for JEE and other competitive exams a few years ago, said many students focus on these exams, but neglect their board exams, which affects their average scores. “I started posting revision content so they take the boards seriously. Also, there are students who cannot afford to pay huge sums of money to big e-learning companies. Such students benefit from our videos,” he said. In the past two months, Singh has got around 700 subscribers.
Sachin Karnavat, president of the Maharashtra Class Owners Association, said the videos help students also because they are more attracted towards digital content. “Anything that is audiovisual is easy to understand and students prefer such short and crisp videos,” Karnavat said. However, he said there are both advantages and disadvantages to this model.
Khan said the fact that a lot of his videos are in Hindi helps him gain a wider audience. “Students find these videos easy to understand. The medium of instruction is a mix of Hindi and English which simplifies certain concepts at the last minute,” he added.
Swapna Naik, a teacher from a Kandivli school, said revision videos are a big hit among students and they supplement classroom teaching. “These videos come in handy. They can only supplement classroom teaching and not replace it altogether. While students can learn concepts in the class, they can revise them with these videos,” she said.