By: Nishant Agarwal, Founder, Proctur
Despite the technological advancements that have taken place over the years, India’s education system has remained relatively unaltered, as if it is frozen in time. We mostly rely on the same old principles of teaching and learning that were discovered centuries ago. However, the intervention of the Covid-19 pandemic has changed things drastically.
As soon as the virus started rampaging around the world, schools, colleges, and other educational institutions were shut down to prevent any unnecessary outbreaks and safeguard the health of staff and students. The pandemic, in a sense, strong-armed the educational institutions to transition to the online platform for disseminating education. Several edtech organizations have mushroomed up since the last year to provide novel edtech solutions to tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic. The Indian education system may have fallen off the rails during the pandemic but the edtech sector has tremendous potential to bring it back on track.
Let us take a look at some of the areas where the edtech organizations can make a meaningful difference to fast-track the recovery of the Indian education system.
Professional Development to support in-person, hybrid, and remote learning
One of the first steps we should take is to ensure technology and remote learning pedagogy are critical areas of professional development (PD). As several of today’s edtech products could be used in a brick-and-mortar or online classroom environment, it’s key that their PD programs focus on the broader subjects of technology, not solely just on a product. Without the right training or understanding of the overarching concepts, those products will not be as successful.
Technology to make teaching-learning easier than ever
The edtech industry has already created several products that solve a plethora of challenges that teachers and students regularly face in conventional settings. The new-age technologies that the edtech sector deploys, should:
To make a positive change in the education system, the edtech sector needs to deploy technologies that fulfill these criteria. Only by doing so can we ensure that our education system will get back on track.
New challenges and changing needs
The pandemic has turned the education sector topsy-turvy. Several challenges need to be tackled and the edtech sector must come up with innovative solutions as soon as possible. Edtech organizations need to stay agile and mold their new products as per the changing needs of users and the overall market.
A strong alliance between the edtech organizations and the education fraternity – including thought leaders, teachers, and students – is the need of the hour. Following are some of the ways through which the edtech sector can stay in touch with the ground realities:
Even though the world’s largest immunization drive is underway, it is still too early to comment on when the pandemic will effectively end. As long as it continues to be a matter of concern, e-learning will continue to be a lifeline for the global education system. Moreover, since the educational systems have gotten comfortable with using technology, they’re now realizing its benefits. It suggests that the edtech sector will continue to add value to the Indian education system, even after the pandemic subsides.