This Thursday an unexpected thing happened. The company Hindustan Unilever finally decided to drop the word Fair from its product called Fair and Lovely. This incident received happily by many people because they felt uncomfortable whenever they came across the advertisement. A girl who was twenty-two years old was particularly affected by the line that she decided to file a petition against the company. She received over 15,000 signatures in just two weeks. She filed the petition on Change.org. The name of the girl is Chandana Hiran and she took this brave move to stop the discrimination against black skin colour everywhere.

What was her inspiration?

(1/3) Let’s talk about #bodypositivity

For the longest time, I have felt insecure because of my knees. They are slightly darker & and I’ve always received comments that made me feel like there is something wrong with them. So I started to hide them completely. pic.twitter.com/dqZrYy8dCS

— MoonChild🌛 (@chandana_hiran) June 29, 2020

Chandana Hiran got inspiration from the Black Lives Matter Movement happening in the US. Although the company HUL did not share that she was the reason behind the change however we know that she is one of the many women who stood up against the ideology. Because of the continuous views of the women regarding their advertisement the company at last removed the word.

In India, the idea behind being beautiful is being fair. Many women go behind the creams and other beauty products that make them look fair. This is because of the discrimination against the dark skin colour. Everywhere they go people want them to do something to be fair. Even in the marriage ads, the groom wants a woman who is fair and lovely. So to take away this thought from the people’s mind girls like Chandana Hiran are bravely sharing their views. They are battling against the mediums that make people believe that being fair is being lovely.

Chandana Hiram boldly shared her views with News18. She said that she demanded the company to change its brand ideology which they used effectively all these years to sell the cream. However now as many people are aware of how it affects people in general girls like Chandana Hiran are fighting against it.

She also used the social media platform as a medium to share her thoughts with the public. She posted the views on her profile page and asked many people to sign the petition. Finally, when HUL changed it she also thanked the company for their step.

I have goosebumps as I read this! Kudos to you .@Unilever I’m so so so happy rn. And I thank you on behalf of over 10k people who signed my petition for this to happen – https://t.co/EW7RjBTk6r #Unreal #ThankYou #AllShadesAreLovely
.@HUL_News pic.twitter.com/yhec0DJ2Hz

— MoonChild🌛 (@chandana_hiran) June 25, 2020

Other than this issue Hiran also questioned the objectification of women in the songs in Bollywood. Many songs in the industry have a woman wearing revealing outfits to appeal to men. She accused the industry of being misogynistic. The brave girl used the Change.org to talk about this issue also.

Conclusion

It is really good to see such young girls take a stand for what they believe in. This step shows us that people of India can use their voices to talk about issues that affect them personally. It worked well in the case of Chandana Hiran. She actually turned the head of a large company with her strong stand and her platform Change.org.

So because of people like Chandana Hiran, some wrong things in society can get straight. Now many people got inspired to share their views on Social media. It is an effective tool to talk about issues and problems in our society.

Also read: Women worldwide: What Do We Think About Feminism

Also read: 7 Instagram Accounts You Would Love To Follow Which Are Showcasing Feminism

Ready at Dawn is a game developer company based in America. At the start, they created games for PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Sony Computer Entertainment for the games such as God of War and Daxter. They are now part of the Oculus Studios from June 2020. Facebook bought the Ready At Dawn for the creation of VR titles. The news came from Oculus vice president Mike Verdu. In recent years the company was majorly working in VR developments. To get more information on the subject continue reading.

The history of Ready at Dawn

The game developing company was first started in Irvine, California in the year 2003. They launched the first game named Daxter in the year 2006. Then the company worked on God of War: Chains of Olympus which is a PSP game. Afterward, the company stopped developing games for PSP and began to make games for Sony. They developed the game called God of War: Ghost of Sparta along with Sony’s Santa Monica Studio.

In the year 2009, they started developing a new game engine. It was a complete console-centric platform. Many new features got added in it such as user interface, audio, and 3D content. Furthermore, in 2012 they had an idea to develop a type of action-adventure game in the third person. So Sony and Red At Dawn released the game called The Order: 1886. This game became very popular.

In 2017 they made Lone Echo and Echo Arena for the studio Oculus Rift. So now the Oculus Studio headed by Facebook bought the Ready at Dawn for the development of VR titles.

What can we expect?

The Vice president of Facebook Andrew “Boz” Bosworth shared in his Twitter platform that the studio will put more focus on developing VR content. As we all know that Ready At Dawn is an experienced developer of some of the first-class games its work with Facebook is going to produce ground-breaking results.

From the year 2018 Ready At Dawn got immersed in the development of Lone Echo II. The game was set to release in 2019 but got delayed. Now it is still delaying because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now it will release only during the second half of 2020. The former CEO of Red At Dawn Weerasuriya shared in 2018 that the company wanted to explore more on the VR medium.

So the developers think that VR is an excellent medium. The company is still focusing on VR and now along with Facebook, they will make something new. The continued interest shown by Facebook on VR titles confirms the fact that they will achieve something great. The company has put billions of dollars to achieve its VR goals. Many numbers of employees are also getting on the board after Facebook’s acquisition of the studios.

Facebook is the head of three VR game studios

via: Mark Zuckerburg Facebook

Ready At Dawn is the third studio in the list of studios that Facebook has bought. The first two studios are the Beat Games and Sanzaru Games which also created some wonderful VR content. Sanzaru studio is the studio that developed the popular game called “Asgard’s Wrath”. Moreover, Beat studios made the “Beat Saber”.

We can assume that with Ready At Dawn Facebook will release some excellent new titles. Facebook is prioritizing the VR titles at the moment so there will be something big in the future on the store for the gamers.

Conclusion

Facebook acquiring Ready At Dawn for its aim of creating VR content is a good plan. The Ready at Dawn is focusing on VR titles and Facebook is also in expectation of an excellent result as it is investing in virtual reality software.

Featured image source: Ready At Dawn

Also read: 5 of The Most Common Facebook Ad Mistakes

The outbreak of COVID-19 has had massive impacts on all industrial sectors across the world. While it resulted in businesses having to suspend their operations due to the lockdown, it also dimmed the future of school-going students. As the schools were shut down for an indefinite period which put over 1.2 billion children out of classrooms, online education came to their rescue. 

Before COVID-19, we experienced increased use of online learning platforms by students to prepare for competitive exams or pursue other courses. However, schools hadn’t realized the importance of e-learning platforms until the noble coronavirus hit them hard. Resorting to online education in haste has only brought struggle and mismanagement for many schools in imparting education to students. This has had an adverse impact on students as well as the schools. 

Online Education: The Last Resort During Lockdown 

As per research, online education has helped students in increasing retention power and taking lesser time to grasp concepts. Online education during lockdown is playing a vital role for schools and other institutions, helping students resume their usual routine even from the comfort of their homes. However, the online platforms currently being used by most of the schools are posing problems in conducting online classes seamlessly. 

Teachers are struggling to communicate with students over WhatsApp while conducting online video sessions on different platforms. Students aren’t able to access study materials once the online class is over. All they can depend on are their textbooks and their notes. There’s no medium of connecting with teachers after the class if the students have queries or doubts, which is also the case in physical classrooms. 

The challenges faced by schools are not the outcome of the pandemic alone but were also being faced prior to the outbreak of coronavirus. Online learning platforms have been gaining recognition by students and parents alike. Resultantly, an increased number of students are dropping out of schools and some parents are finding convenience in home-schooling their children. While online education is indispensable, traditional learning has its own importance. Therefore, schools should also adopt virtual school classrooms to embrace the changing trends and ensure a limitless flow of knowledge. Making the best use of both sides will ensure that schools still continue to remain the foundation of education in the future. 

VClassroom as the Solution for Schools 

Understanding the plight of schools and the importance of online education during the lockdown period, a solution has been launched to overcome the challenges faced. VClassroom is a virtual school classroom app that offers a multitude of features to bridge the gap between schools, teachers, and students. It has enabled schools to provide online education during COVID-19 for free. The app has been developed with a vision to make education more accessible and free for everyone. 

Features of VClassroom app 

The features of the app are integrated taking into account the major challenges that are faced by students, teachers, and schools during physical and virtual class sessions. VClassroom is available as a mobile app for students and teachers and on the web platform for the school.

Some of the key features available on the VClassroom app include the following: 

• Live video conferencing – Teachers can hold online video classes with students as per the timetable. 
• Schedule classes in advance – Teachers can also schedule classes in advance for the students to view. 
• Study materials – Students can access all the study materials of each subject that are uploaded by their teachers. 
• Quizzes and tests– Students can take quizzes and tests that are organized by teachers to test their knowledge on a particular topic or subject. 
• Submitting assignments – Assignments can be uploaded by students for the teachers to review and mark. 
• Marking tests and assignments – Teachers can easily mark and grade the submitted assignments and completed tests. 
• Making school-wide announcements – The school can make announcements for teachers, students, or school-wide through the web portal. 
• Discussion forum for students and teachers – The discussion forum facilitates students to discuss queries and doubts with teachers to find an instant resolution. 
• Conducting Parent-Teacher meetings – The school can conduct Parent-Teacher Meetings online using the app. 
• Manage students, teachers, timetables, and subjects – Through the admin panel, the school can easily manage all operations and aspects of the school system. 

Why should schools go online? 

Over the past years, businesses across different industries have been undergoing a digital transformation. Taking business online has become the need of the hour, not only due to the pandemic but also because of the changing consumer behavior. The technology-infused world enjoys the convenience of having everything at the tip of their fingers. And, the time is right for schools to leverage online platforms to sustain in the long run. 

Virtual classrooms help schools establish a better connection with students through the various features that the platforms offer. The schools can efficiently manage and 

communicate with students and their parents as well as reduce the costs of manpower and classroom-based resources. 

For teachers and students, the virtual school classroom apps prove to be an effective medium of learning that provides a great level of flexibility. They help teachers to focus on every student and offer extra attention to students who take time to grasp a concept. The discussion forums connect teachers and students, where students can clarify their doubts and queries. Online education ensures effective learning for students and eases the pressure on teachers that are navigating the harsh waters of online education during the lockdown. 

VClassroom is available for free on the Play Store for schools, students, and teachers to download and indulge in a fun learning experience. The app is already being leveraged for free by 6 schools to manage all vital aspects of the school system and online education during the lockdown. 

The Bottom Line 

Online education is not just a necessity during lockdown situations but will also continue to be one post-COVID-19. The pandemic has posed as an epiphany for schools and institutions that are now embracing virtual school classrooms. As a result, online education will be of equal importance to traditional education in the coming years. Striking a balance between physical classrooms and virtual classrooms has been long overdue and it is high time that institutions take action leveraging virtual classroom apps like VClassroom.