The first part of this report highlighted the findings of a UNESCO study on the state of education in India and the role that Artificial Intelligence could play — as a subject for learning and as a tool for teaching.
But what is the ground reality? Are the tools for students and teachers, centred around Information Technology and AI, available if the key stakeholders — the teachers and the taught — are ready and willing to absorb and deploy?
To find out, Swarajya, visited the DIDAC India show in Bengaluru last month — the only event in Asia for resources, training and solutions for the education and skills sector — and the largest annual platform in India for showcasing educational technology trends.
This year the three-day event drew around 19,000 visitors and 200 exhibitors. Organising partners included the Union Ministries of Education and MSME, NITI Aayog, Atal Innovation Mission and Skill India.
Other government supporters included the Ministries of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, AICTE, NCERT, CBSE, and the National e-Governance Division.
So this is as good a vantage point as you can get for an overview of EdTech in India. Out of the hundreds of products and solutions on display, many covering the same niches and areas, here is a small but representative sample that testifies to the variety and scope of Made-in-India technology solutions available to teachers, students and school administrators.
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) hitherto considered college-level disciplines have trickled down to school-goers.
Bengaluru-based MakerInMe Technologies offers the Cretile range of plug-n-play kits to learn electronics, robotics, automation and Internet of Things priced from Rs 5,000-Rs 15,000 for children aged 9-16. They are complemented by (separately priced) courses lasting 8-32 sessions with two sessions a week.
Hyderabad-based Butterflyfields offers a wide spectrum of educational toys and kits for children of all ages from 1 ½ to 13+ in their range called Tinkl.
A typical 20-experiment science kit for five-year-olds, costs Rs 1,699. A 10-project robotic and sensors kit costs Rs 3,599. Founder Sharat Chandra says his mission is to transform learning from rote to real.
Smart Classroom tools
Tag Hive is a Samsung-supported company operating in Korea with an India operation out of Kolkata, that specialises in AI-driven student-learning and teacher-empowerment.
Its most popular product in India is a tool called Class Saathi a combination of a hand-held clicker (with which the student gives his or her response to a question), a mobile application for students, teachers and parents and a dashboard for school administrators.
It aims to be a personalised learning platform, a digital assessment solution and a diagnostic tool, all rolled into one. And it requires no Internet since it works on Bluetooth.
Read More at https://swarajyamag.com/science/made-in-india-solutions-dominate-domestic-edtech
Commentaires