The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), a wing under the Department of General Education, has launched its revised Information and Communications Technology (ICT) textbooks for schools across the state. These new ICT textbooks introduce Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC), aligning with the state’s AVGC-XR (Extended Reality) policy introduced in 2024.
The updated Kerala ICT textbooks aim to equip students with advanced digital literacy, coding skills, animation techniques, and music composition from the early years of schooling. KITE officials highlighted that the curriculum builds on previous initiatives where subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Fact-Checking were incorporated into classroom learning.
Digital Music and Animation in ICT Curriculum
The revised textbooks take students through a step-by-step journey in digital arts and music. For instance, in Class 3, the chapter Songbox introduces children to basic musical notes using a trial-and-error learning approach. By Class 4, lessons like Play the Piano and Utsav Mela encourage students to compose their own songs.
The progression continues in Class 8, where students use LMMS (Linux Multimedia System), a digital audio workstation (DAW), to compose background music for their animation films. This exposure to digital music integration enhances both creativity and technical skills.
Animation concepts are also introduced systematically. At the upper primary level (Class 6), students begin experimenting with movement in the chapter Drawings in Motion, using Pencil 2D software to animate a ball and a car while learning essential terms like FPS, onion skinning, and frames. By Class 10, students work on advanced animation projects using OpenToonz software, covering storyboarding, character design, keyframing, and tweening.
Coding and Game Design from Primary School
The new ICT curriculum integrates game design and coding from an early stage. Students engage in logical gaming exercises until Class 3 before moving on to Scratch programming in Class 4, where they learn to create simple movements. By Class 5, students begin designing mathematical patterns through gaming.
From Class 6 onwards, students build their first computer game, such as guiding a baby mouse to its mother in the chapter Coding: The Things in the Game. Coding skills are gradually strengthened, with Python programming introduced in Classes 9 and 10, ensuring a strong foundation in computational thinking and problem-solving.
Preparing Students for the Digital Future
According to K Anvar Sadath, KITE CEO and Chairman of the ICT textbook drafting committee, these textbooks are designed to help students gain technical expertise, understand core academic subjects better, and develop job-ready skills in the AI-driven era. He noted that much of the content was refined after being successfully tested in Little KITES clubs.
The second volume of textbooks for Classes 8, 9, and 10—available in Malayalam, English, Tamil, and Kannada—will be distributed after the Onam holidays. Meanwhile, KITE has already conducted training sessions for ICT teachers to ensure effective implementation of the curriculum.
In addition, schools have been equipped with customized Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and tools necessary to run the new ICT programs.
With the launch of these ICT textbooks in Kerala schools, KITE has created a transformative learning framework that blends AVGC, digital music, animation, gaming, and coding. By aligning education with modern technologies and the National AVGC-XR policy, Kerala is preparing its students for the future of digital creativity, innovation, and employability.
