MUMBAI: Shirsa, a company specialising in enabling content publishers to engage-new age kids online and offline, has taken care of parental concerns on content and safety over internet and time spent on digital devices. The contents are age-appropriate and are based on user behaviour from renowned content partners such as National Geographic Kids, British Council, Amar Chitra Katha, Sony Music India, TED Ed and more," said Shirsa co-founder and CEO Sukhada Tendulkar.
As the kids’ television time is shifting to internet based devices, the time spent by them on the online devices is continuously on the rise. At the same time parents want their kids to learn from every interaction on the internet. This encouraged Tendulkar and Mandar Desai to start Shirsa as a ‘Kids Engagement Company’ which is primed to encourage children to be curious and have fun.The opportunity Shirsa sees is engaging kids globally, through interactive edutainment which includes entertaining content with educational value, gamification, interactive features offered through multiple platforms.
While it all starts with the brain, Shirsa has consciously correlated itself to being curious and as we know – Curious is fun. There is no better way to get kids involved in learning than getting them curious. Curiosity is nothing but an appetite for knowledge. It is the spark behind ideas, ideas that ignite reasoning and great learning. Today’s children or the ‘digital natives’ (children of digital era, always surrounded by technology) have access to technology at their fingertips. Digital music, video players, mobile phones, video games and the like have changed the way we receive and process information! Fundamentally, they ‘think’ differently than the previous generations. And that’s a greatest challenge as well as a boon when it comes to building educational tools for kids. Challenge – because the content has to compete with the round-the-clock ‘edutainment’ kids live with and be exciting and engaging enough to grasp the attention of the kids. And a boon – because kids love anything digital and anything that come through a laptop, a tablet or a phone, they are happy to experiment with.
Shirsa is currently engaging children aged 6 to 15 years through innovative plus safe digital products and services in collaboration with parents, educationists and partners. Each online platform is created basis a deep understanding of the transforming nature of knowledge consumption in order to gratify the ever-changing needs of hungry young minds.
PlanetOfGui.com is a social platform that inspires kids aged 6 to 15 years to be curious learners while having fun with engaging content. While Newspik.in is a digital newspaper sharing bite-sized news, city events and non-fictional articles for children. The news topics range from nature to science and technology, from entertainment to sports stories from across the world.
Both the platforms are gamified wherein every activity of the child is rewarded with Geekos, our virtual currency. These Geekos can then be redeemed against buying real products, unlocking social features, customizing avatar, and getting freebies at your doorstep.
Shirsa Enhance is the co-scholastic solutions vertical of Shirsa Labs that specializes in developing products that are child friendly, real-world relevant and easy to implement in schools. Our life skills product will make the child ready for the future along with preparing him or her to tackle any challenges in their life.
Shirsa Engage is the events vertical of Shirsa Labs, specializes in conceptualizing and organizing large-impact kids events & school contact programs for brands. It creates engaging experiences for students, parents and educators through the help of brands. Shirsa Connect is the digital vertical of Shirsa Labs, specializes in enabling content publishers to engage digitally with kids aged 6-15 years through its multiple products. As Children’s preferences are evolving, it wants to cover the relevant Digital & Tangible touchpoints of a kid’s life through branded content engagement.
Tendulkar said, “The Shirsa Parent App allows to set-up time duration for the child to be online. They can also monitor their growth, inclination and learning style through the App.”
It’s the time when digital revolution is entering every aspect of life. It’s only prudent to let our children explore and experience the full learning potential of digital medium, within a safe and protected environment. With educational platforms like PlanetofGui and Newspik; children, parents, teachers and brands are to benefit equally from the innumerable fun ways to engage and enlighten the young minds.
