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Revolutionizing Education Through Interactive Technology
Rohit Pande, CEO, Classteacher Learning Systems
2011-11-18
In tandem with global trends, education in India has witnessed a paradigm shift in the last decade. Some of the changes would have been unthinkable barely a generation ago. Consider today’s teacher-student equation: students no longer seem overawed by their teachers. In fact, teachers are sometimes wary of interacting with students nowadays - unless they are fully prepared on a specific subject for the day. This is because teachers are aware that present-day students are sometimes ahead of the learning curve, compared to students of yesteryears. What has brought about this incredible transformation in the modern-day learning environment?
Technology is enabling teachers to expand beyond linear, text-based learning and to engage students who learn best in other ways. Its role in schools has evolved from a contained "computer class" into a versatile learning tool that could change how we demonstrate concepts, assign projects and assess progress. Till date, education has been one of the lagging sectors of society in adopting technology; however the dynamics are fast changing. It is extremely important to understand and harness the factors that are driving this institutional change.
At the outset, the fact is that there is no substitute for a good teacher. Technology can only enable, catalyze and enhance, but not replace. We hadn’t bargained for the fact that education is a social activity, which occurs in the human context. Just as important as it is to understand the value added through technology, it is critically important to understand the context, the coherence and the specific problem being solved through the application of technology. The key is to be able to forecast adoption trends for new technologies as its just easy to over design technology just as it is to become obsolete.
Our business and company has been built over the last decade around 2 ideas - technology and education. The twains were not very complementary in the early days of Classteacher. We created technology to connect the school to students and parents, to help children learn over the Internet at home. This was the first wave of Internet at the turn of the century. The possibilities were immense - convenient access to information at home and in office, immediate solution to a doubt while learning at home, instant grading and feedback for test results. Some clear cut advantages vis-à-vis traditional modules and processes.
Product design in the last few years for us in education has been dominated primarily through an amalgamation of hardware, software and school support services. The interactive software goes along with the Interactive Board, the personalization platforms that we are now building around tablets. Our experience has been that such hybrid solutions are better accepted in the market, provided its structured right and addresses the existing concerns meted out by conventional mode of education. We will come up with more and more innovative solutions in the near future.
Classteacher Learning System, which we established in 2000, is a pioneer in K-12 educational content and applications in India. We have the largest database of educational content amounting to 85,000 modules, which are updated at regular intervals and a quiver full of applications, to make education a quality oriented enjoyable experience. At Classteacher, we combine technology and innovation as part of our commitment to education and provide content to leading schools in across India. Some of these include DAV, DPS, Father Agnel, Bombay Scottish, etc.
Classteacher solutions seamlessly integrates interactive white boards, multimedia devices, tablets, scientific probes and assessment devices, etc. to create a truly immersive learning experience advocating and supporting collaborative learning and facilitating learning outcomes like critical thinking, creativity, global awareness, initiative and self-direction. The Classteacher program takes teachers progressively through 3 levels of inputs linked to the stages of adoption in school. The introductory ‘Awareness’ program builds their comfort with technology, content and tools. The intermediate ‘Assimilation’ program develops teacher competence in specific areas of instruction and in creating their own content. The Advanced program series develops teachers as internal trainers thus making the school self sufficient in managing its technology program.
When we look back at our journey a decade ago, we realize that the technology edge has always attracted the innovative early adopter customers towards us. It has also allowed us to have a standardized quality edge. It has further permitted us to attract and retain employees who have been driven by the urge to create and innovate. The excitement of our product designers and engineers towards building the curriculum of the future has kept us going through our tough days.
One of the possibilities of technology which excites us today is to be able to personalize delivery in sync with the aptitude and skill of each child. While the technology for this has not reached the desired perfection level, the challenge is to create a pragmatic solution, which is able to motivate each learner towards his own potential. The challenge is to engage the minds of the new generation of learners who are digital natives and who are immersed in technology right from their birth. The learning solutions for such learners are based on a paradigm shift in curriculum goals and ways of collaboration.
It is heartening to see a similar level of ‘urge to teach and learn’ at Classteacher. Our dream to build a brave new world of education, teaching and learning, to inspire a new generation of teachers to engage their students. The time has arrived for the new trend in education to make its presence felt - the trend of digital interactive immersive education experience.
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