We’re excited to share a new monthly series: Meet the Edcite Team! Each month we will feature a different member of our team by asking them a set of questions.
This month we are featuring our fabulous summer intern Maya Ravichandran. Read on to meet Maya!
Where do you go to school? What are you studying?
I go to University of Southern California, or USC, and I’m studying Computer Science.
What brought you to Edcite?
I loved that Edcite gives teachers an opportunity to improve students’ learning experience and gives them a free and easy way to do it. I really connected with the mission, and being a part of this team is definitely rewarding.
Tell us about what you’ve been working on during your internship.
I have been creating new question types for teachers to use in their assignments! Specifically, I created a drawing question type where students can draw their answers. I am also working on a drawing and vocabulary game.
Which teacher in school had the most impact on you and why?
I would say my newspaper advisor had the most impact on me. My favorite and most memorable experience in high school was working for three years on the newspaper staff. My advisor was always open to talk and gave excellent advice. He was an excellent teacher and perfected the balance between leading and allowing students to run the newspaper independently.
Do you have any advice for teachers about how students want to learn today?
Students don’t want to just be presented with information. For me, in order to fully understand something, I have to be completely immersed in it. In other words, show not tell. The more interactive and hands-on a student’s learning experience is, the better he or she remembers it in the future. I still remember all the quiz tournaments and group projects, but all the Powerpoint lectures start to fade quickly.
What is your favorite movie or book? Why?
My favorite books are both by Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. He writes so beautifully, and his stories are so heartbreaking and haunting.
Do you have a favorite quote?
One of many favorite quotes: “Sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.” – Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried
Which is the better half: Northern or Southern California?
This is a hard one! I go to school in Southern California, but I was born and raised in the Bay Area. I’m going have to say Northern California because I’ve got to stay true to my roots. 🙂
Name three things you can’t live without.
1) My phone. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can survive without it, literally and figuratively.
2) Music. It’s the best way to relax and focus.
3) Chocolate. No explanation needed.
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