TeachAIDS
Encyclopedia
TeachAIDS is a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 that develops HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 prevention education technology materials, based on an approach invented through research at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

.

The TeachAIDS software has been cited as a model health intervention. Since the materials bypass issues of stigma
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS is when someone is discriminated against, oppressed or otherwise treated unfairly for their real or perceived diagnosis as HIV-positive....

, they allow HIV prevention education to be provided to communities where it has previously not been allowed. In other communities, the tutorials provide the highest learning effects and comfort rates of any tested educational approach.

The TeachAIDS materials are animated, interactive software tutorials
E-learning
E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...

, customized for individual cultures and languages, and incorporating the voices of celebrities from each region. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, these include national icons such as actress Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...

, actor Akkineni Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna is an Indian film actor in Tollywood and Bollywood. He is a producer and one of the lead actors in Telugu cinema.- Early life :...

, and director Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar is an Indian actor of the 1970s and a director of Hindi and Marathi cinema.-Theater career:Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, Aniket, in 1972 [citation needed]...

. In Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

, they include musicians Scar and Zeus
Zeus (Musician)
Game Goabaone Bantsi but better known by his stage name Zeus, is a Motswana hip-hop artist, MC and businessman.Zeus released his debut album Freshly Baked in 2008 which included the hits Back in the days and Gijima....

, with an introduction from the former President of Botswana, Festus Mogae
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae is a Botswana politician who was President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was reelected in October 2004; after ten years in office, he stepped down in 2008 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Ian Khama...

.

TeachAIDS operates globally, with its animations in use in more than 30 countries. Its materials are made available for free under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...

 License
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...

, funded through donations from individuals and organizations including Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. The firm advises multinational corporations on significant transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters...

, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

, Nimmagadda Foundation
Nimmagadda Foundation
Nimmagadda Foundation is a philanthropic initiative of Mr. Nimmagadda Prasad, the Chairman of VANPIC Group. With major contributions by Prasad, in his personal capacity, Nimmagadda Foundation was set up to work in areas like healthcare, education, life skills improvement and community development...

, UNICEF, and Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

.

History

TeachAIDS began in 2005 as a research project at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. From 2005 to 2009, a new interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....

 approach to HIV/AIDS education was developed by Piya Sorcar, based on IRB
Institutional review board
An institutional review board , also known as an independent ethics committee or ethical review board , is a committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the...

-approved research conducted under professors Shelley Goldman (Learning Sciences
Learning sciences
The term Learning Sciences refers to an interdisciplinary field that works to further scientific understanding of learning as well as to engage in the design and implementation of learning innovations, and improvement of instructional methodologies...

), Martin Carnoy (Comparative Education
Comparative education
Comparative education is a fully established academic field of study that examines education in one country by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries...

), Cheryl Koopman (Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

), Randall Stafford (Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

), and Clifford Nass
Clifford Nass
Clifford Nass is a professor of communication at Stanford University, co-creator of The Media Equation theory, and a renowned authority on human-computer interaction. He is also known for his work on individual differences associated with multitasking. Nass is the Thomas M. Storke Professor at...

 (Communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

).

The project's goal was to find a way to address the frequently taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...

 subjects associated with sexual issues and HIV/AIDS specifically. One major finding was that 2D
2D
2D or II-D may refer to:* 2-d, two-dimensional space* 2D geometric model* Bi-dimensional space* 2D computer graphics* 2D , a member of the virtual band Gorillaz* Oflag II-D* Stalag II-D* Transcription factor II D...

 cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

 figures were the optimal balance between comfort and clarity in terms of visual representation for sex-related topics. On that basis, animated storyboards were created which emphasized the biological aspects of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 transmission and used cultural euphemisms
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...

 to overcome social stigma
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...

. In addition, specific pedagogical techniques (e.g., instructional scaffolding
Instructional scaffolding
Instructional scaffolding is the provision of sufficient support to promote learning when concepts and skills are being first introduced to students...

) were utilized to create a coherent conception of HIV transmission for learners, as opposed to the fragmented knowledge created by mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 campaigns.

Early research versions of the animations were sponsored by Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...

, the Government of South Korea
Government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...

, and Neeru Khosla
Neeru Khosla
Neeru Khosla is the Co-Founder and Chair of the non-profit CK12 Foundation.She has a master's degree in Molecular Biology from San Jose State University and a master's degree in education from the Stanford University School of Education...

, and used custom illustrations drawn by Sorcar's father, award-winning animator Manick Sorcar
Manick Sorcar
Manick Sorcar is an Indian American artist, engineer, and entrepreneur based in Denver, Colorado, USA....

. Pilot versions were subsequently created in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, Kinyarwanda, Mandarin, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. Additional experts contributed to the design and evaluation of the materials, including Stanford professors David Katzenstein (Infectious Disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...

), Douglas Owens (Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

), and Roy Pea
Roy Pea
Roy Pea is David Jacks Professor of Learning Sciences and Education at the Stanford University School of Education. He has extensively published works in the field of the Learning Sciences and on learning technology design, and made significant contributions since 1981 to the understanding of how...

 (Learning Sciences).

Spun out of Stanford in 2009, TeachAIDS began expanding its organization and developing new versions of its tutorials for additional countries and languages around the world. Additional versions of the tutorials in Indian English
Indian English
Indian English is an umbrella term used to describe dialects of the English language spoken primarily in the Republic of India.As a result of British colonial rule until Indian independence in 1947 English is an official language of India and is widely used in both spoken and literary contexts...

, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

, and Tswana were launched in 2010.

Worldwide use

The TeachAIDS tutorials are available for free online and are used in more than 30 countries around the world. In addition, numerous AIDS service organizations
AIDS service organization
AIDS service organizations are community based organizations that provide community support. While their primary function is to provide needed services to individuals with HIV, they also provide support services for their families and friends as well as conduct prevention efforts...

, AIDS education and training centers
AIDS education and training centers
AIDS, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus , has become a global health issue, and various ways are being explored in order to combat the spread of the disease. One such way to somewhat limit the spread of AIDS is through education...

, NGOs, and government agencies distribute and utilize the tutorials as part of their own HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Some of the organizations partnered with TeachAIDS include CARE, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs...

, and the U.S. Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...

.

In India, the National AIDS Control Organisation
National AIDS Control Organisation
The National AIDS Control Organisation , established in 1992, is a division of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies, and is "the nodal organisation for formulation of policy...

 approved the TeachAIDS materials in January, 2010, marking the first time HIV/AIDS education could be provided decoupled from sex education. Later that year, the Government of Karnataka
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...

 approved the materials for their state of 50 million and committed to distributing them in 5,500 government schools.

In Botswana, the TeachAIDS tutorials have been adopted nationally as a standard method for HIV/AIDS education. In 2011, the Ministry of Education
Education in Botswana
Secondary education in Botswana is neither free nor compulsory. In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 103 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 81 percent. Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do...

 will be distributing the tutorials to every primary, secondary, and tertiary educational institution in the country, reaching all learners from 6 to 24 years of age nationwide.

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education distributes the tutorials on CD along with a custom educator handbook, both of which are made available at no cost.

Notable people

Numerous international actors, musicians, and celebrities have lent their voices and likenesses to the TeachAIDS materials. These include Akkineni Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna is an Indian film actor in Tollywood and Bollywood. He is a producer and one of the lead actors in Telugu cinema.- Early life :...

, Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...

, Shruti Haasan
Shruti Haasan
Shruti Haasan is an Indian actress, singer and music composer who has worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. Her parents are noted actors, Kamal Haasan and Sarika. As a child artiste, she sang in films and appeared in a guest role, before making her adult acting debut in the 2009 action drama,...

, Jayanthi
Jayanthi (actress)
Jayanthi is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 500 films, including films in the Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi languages. In Kannada movies, she was honored with the title Abhinaya Sharade....

, Prashanta Nanda
Prashanta Nanda
Prashanta Nanda is one of the most popular Oriya Movie stars in the state of Orissa in India. He served Oriya Film Industry as an actor, director, screenplay writer, and lyricist and even as a playback singer. He was also former Minister of State of Orissa.-Life and career:In 1962, he won...

, Navdeep
Navdeep
Navdeep is a regional Indian actor.Navdeep has appeared in both Telugu and Tamil films in his career, portraying diverse characters.Navdeep's first major film appearance was in the 2004 Telugu romantic film, Jai, in which he played an Indian boxer fighting against Laskar-E-Taiba terrorists...

, Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar is an Indian actor of the 1970s and a director of Hindi and Marathi cinema.-Theater career:Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, Aniket, in 1972 [citation needed]...

, Anu Prabhakar
Anu Prabhakar
Anu Prabhakar is an Indian film actress, who predominantly appears in Kannada films is from Mangalore.-Early life:Anu Prabhakar is the daughter of M. V. Prabhakar and dubbing artist and actress Gayathri Prabhakar.She is married to Krishna Kumar, son of veteran actress Jayanthi...

, Swati Reddy, Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu...

, Sudeep
Sudeep
Sudeep is an Indian actor, director, producer and singer from Shimoga, Karnataka, known in the Kannada film industry and Bollywood. He is also founder owner of his production company Kiccha Creations.Hence he is also famously known as 'Kiccha' Sudeep....

, Zeus
Zeus (Musician)
Game Goabaone Bantsi but better known by his stage name Zeus, is a Motswana hip-hop artist, MC and businessman.Zeus released his debut album Freshly Baked in 2008 which included the hits Back in the days and Gijima....

, and many others.

The TeachAIDS advisory board includes film director Mahesh Bhatt
Mahesh Bhatt
Mahesh Bhatt , is a prominent Indian film director, producer and screenwriter.Bhatt's early directional career consisted of acclaimed films, such as Arth, Saaransh, Janam, Naam and Zakhm....

, HIV/AIDS treatment pioneer Nimmagadda Prasad
Nimmagadda Prasad
Nimmagadda Prasad, is an Indian serial entrepreneur, the founder and Vice Chairman of Matrix Laboratories, Chairman of MAA TV and VANPIC. Mr. Prasad is often addressed as "Matrix Prasad" or "MAA Prasad" in the social circles....

, Global Fund for Women
Global Fund for Women
The Global Fund for Women is the largest non-profit foundation in the world funding women's human rights. It was founded in 1987 by New Zealander Anne Firth Murray, and co-founded by Frances Kissling and Laura Lederer to fund women's initiatives around the world...

 founder Anne Firth Murray
Anne Firth Murray
Anne Firth Murray is a New Zealand author, professor, and nonprofit founder.Murray is the founder of the Global Fund for Women, the largest non-profit organization in the world exclusively funding women's human rights. She founded the organization in 1987 and continued to act as president until...

, and former President of Botswana Festus Mogae
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae is a Botswana politician who was President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was reelected in October 2004; after ten years in office, he stepped down in 2008 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Ian Khama...

.

See also

  • AIDS education and training centers
    AIDS education and training centers
    AIDS, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus , has become a global health issue, and various ways are being explored in order to combat the spread of the disease. One such way to somewhat limit the spread of AIDS is through education...

  • HIV/AIDS in Africa
    HIV/AIDS in Africa
    HIV/AIDS is a major public health concern and cause of death in Africa. Although Africa is home to about 14.5% of the world's population, it is estimated to be home to 67% of all people living with HIV and to 72% of all AIDS deaths in 2009.-Overview:...

  • HIV/AIDS in India
    HIV/AIDS in India
    According to a recent study in the British Medical Journal, India has an HIV/AIDS population of approximately 1.4-1.6 million people. The estimated number of human immunodeficiency virus infections in India has declined drastically in recent years—from 5.5 million in 2005 to below 2.5...

  • Sex education
    Sex education
    Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK