CHENNAI: How did the concept of InkLink come about?Being an academician for many years, teaching design, art, fashion and consumer behaviour at NIFT, Chennai, my decade-long research on social swarming and collective intelligence made me search for more ways to engage youth in collaborative learning and knowledge sharing. I found that they spend most of their time on social networking sites and on their cell phones. So, keeping in mind the wide reach of Facebook, I thought of starting a free “unschool” that will provide after-class lessons and engage students and others in drawing, design and art. That was how InkLink came about. Unschool is a term coined by me to explain a free space to share ideas and lessons, but not in a formal academic environment.What is the working model of the InkLink?The model is based on the theory of crowd sourcing and social swarming. At InkLink, the team keeps assessing the needs of InkLinkers through their comments or chat messages and then plans the sessions accordingly. I load step-by-step drawing modules and videos to explain various drawing skills, concepts and methods. The lessons and sessions are declared a week ahead so that interested participants can join in. We also arrange group chats to clear any doubts after the sessions are posted.Do you believe that InkLink is an effective model that will reach and benefit the interested? In the contemporary basic education system, we spoon feed the children too much. I pray that they don’t become robotic human beings who won’t be able to learn or think without the help of a physical teacher! At InkLink, we try to help them have the ability to acquire knowledge on their own.How has the response been so far?Within the first nine days, it was visited by 3,654 individuals in the age group of 16 to 25. Has anyone shown real improvement after InkLink?Yes, many! Some of them have even taken a resolution that they will draw at least once every day for the next one year.What are some of the things that have already been taught on InkLink?The current session is on portrait drawing. I have added basic methods on how to draw the face and its features. The most liked session was on how to draw men’s eyes. I understood that men’s facial features are the most neglected when it comes to portrait study.How do you see the Future of InkLink?The future is to make this unschooling platform more active and wider in reach so that those individuals who don’t have access to a drawing session/ school can also learn from the knowledge shared by experienced designers, artists and academicians.
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