As the screen comes to life, it shows a seed being sown and watered. The seed then grows into a plant and a voice explains the functions of its various parts. The 15-minute audio-visual presentation ends with a small poem on the topic.

A distorted image appears on the screen. As the teacher clicks on it, the image transforms into the face of Mahatma Gandhi. The concept of ?x? (in algebra) is then explained.

Right from Nursery to Class X, an increasing number of children are being taught through interactive CDs covering subjects like English, mathematics, science, geography and history. Waking up to the advances in technology, a number of city schools have opted for this way of teaching to supplement textbooks.

?Today, children are far more tech-savvy and have much less patience,? said Malini Bhagat, headmistress, Mahadevi Birla Girl?s School. ?They have short attention spans and want to learn a lot of things during that time.?

The CDs serve this purpose well. Being colourful audio-visual renditions of lessons, they hold the attention of children much better and make learning more fun. Moreover, the CDs are pithy and simplified, compared to textbooks.

Apart from Mahadevi Birla, schools that are employing the technique include Heritage School, St James and Modern High School for Girls. While in most schools the system is implemented between Classes III and VIII, it starts right from Nursery in a few.

Students have taken well to the approach. Anupurba Chatterjee, Class IV at Mahadevi Birla, said: ?I enjoy the CDs as they are educative and interesting.? Added Nehal Binani, of the same class: ?Though we are taught all subjects through CDs, I particularly enjoy the language classes.?

As teaching and learning processes rediscover themselves in newer forms, educationists, however, stress that the importance of textbooks should not be belittled.

?The CDs are used as an additional teaching tool in keeping with the demands of changing times,? said Devi Kar, principal, Modern High School. ?This does not mean that they can ever replace textbooks. Not only do textbooks help students develop the habit of reading, they are also much more accessible than a computer.?

Agreed Mukta Nain, principal, Birla High School for Boys: ?The CDs are a useful teaching aid as the visual impact makes the topic clearer. But textbooks are needed. Be it spelling, punctuation or drawing, students can?t do without textbooks.?