With a population of 1.2 Billion, India is no stranger to the problems associated with sustainable spread of literacy and education across its nooks and crannies. As of now, the literacy rate stands at 74.04%, according to the latest census conducted in 2011. The situation reflects many disparities that plague the country in general, related to gender, income, caste, class, geographic location, access to infrastructure and technological shortcomings. In such a scenario, education through technology (EdTech, hereafter) can work
wonders. India’s education system may be revolutionised completely if educational technologies, are developed keeping in mind the needs and demands of the people.
What can EdTech do?
Connect classrooms:
With proper internet connection, a student may be connected to a teacher in another part of the country. It can also provide for innovative tools and programs that are personalised for individual students. Classrooms across the country can be connected, and there may be interaction and participation between them. This would ensure that a dialogue is established between multiple stake-holders of the education system and promote diversity in terms of cultural exchange.
Use of Multimedia:
Multimedia is an extremely valuable tool when it comes to educating young children. Moving visuals and sounds can help to ingrain the lesson into their minds in lesser time and greater ease. Many private schools in India are using this kind of EdTech along with regular methods of teaching. Not only do the students learn better, the teacher’s job is also somewhat simplified. This kind of EdTech has the capacity to make a great impact on Indian Education, once it is spread evenly amongst the population. For older students looking to pick up vocational skills, videos of lectures or tutorials can be a great boon. Even those who are unable to read or write properly can hope to understand lessons imparted using multimedia tools. They will also facilitate greater degrees of engagement with the material.
Preparation for competitive exams:
Lakhs of students all over India prepare for competitive exams like CLAT, IIT-JEE etc. EdTech can bring about great changes in the way they prepare of such examinations. Programs developed specifically for practice, revision, memorisation and testing will bring about a great change in the lives of students who rush from one coaching centre to another, attending preparatory classes. Gamification of learning can help to make these tools even more lucrative, as months and months brushing up on the same material can make the students feel bored and tired. Introducing concepts such as badges, levels and points into the learning process will excite the learners and keep them hooked.
Adult learning opportunities:
Out of all the countries in the world, India tops in adult illiteracy. The population of illiterate adults in India stands at 287 million, according to a United Nations Report released in 2014. EdTech can contribute to adult education in a big way. In low income households, it s often found that the children are first generation learners, i.e. their parents are illiterate, as they have worked to make a living since childhood. Usually they are manual labourers, farmers or factory workers who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. EdTech created specifically for their use can provide vocational courses where they may pick up new skills, allowing them to acquire better jobs. Language, mathematics and social science courses may also follow.
E-texts and other material:
Awareness is building around India about the need to save paper. EdTech can come in handy in such a scenario. If all learning materials, texts and tools are available virtually, then there will be no need for physical copies of textbooks. This will help underprivileged students even more, as they will not have to spend huge amounts of money purchasing important textbooks. However they must be provided with the access to internet and other necessary gadgets, like an e-book reader for the same. E-texts can also help students when it comes to annotations, making notes, marking pages or attaching relevant supplementary materials. For younger students, interactive textbooks can be a great way to hold their attention and facilitate retention of lessons learnt.
Tracking the progress of the students:
In India the pupil to teacher ratio is not ideal in most cases, and hence, students rarely get individualised attention from the educator. EdTech can solve this problem by tracking the progress of individual students by taking into account their test scores, class participation and performance, interactions with peers and students etc. This will help both the teachers and the parents of the students’ to get a more clear idea about where they stand and what can be done differently to help improve their performance. At the end of the session, a student’s overall performance can be analysed based on these reports.
Facilitating student interaction:
In the fast paced world of the 21st century, many students often suffer from anxiety, depression, and loneliness. By connecting students with each other using technology, safe spaces may be created where children can help each other not only with academic problems but also lend a hand of friendship. They may share stories of their own anxiety before tests and garner support. This will help to boost confidence and self esteem. If need be, mental health professionals such as psychologists and counsellors may also be involved in these platforms, monitoring and assisting these students. If new age EdTech is able to create such a platform, then it can be used to realise a lot of potential. Advanced students will be able to help weaker ones. Students may also share study materials with each other from across different parts of the country. This will also facilitate inter-cultural exchange, facilitating the broadening of the students’ minds in every way.
India being a huge country with a variety of problems has a lot to gain from the advancement of EdTech. Innovations made in the field by partnerships between educators and engineers can hugely benefit students from different social and cultural groups. As the days go by, the possibilities become more and more exciting for India.
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Written by Proiti Seal Acharya, UG-III
Department of English, Jadavpur University.
Department of English, Jadavpur University.
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