Tablets hold great promise in delivering education more effectively as they feature innovative hardware and also interactive content both of which are key to superior learning
Tablets have become the vehicle for a new trend in education, where students use handheld devices to interact with courseware. When the iconic iPad was launched, most analysts were of the opinion that this device would remain confined to the luxury segment, primarily because of its high price. But now a wide range of cheaper models have become available. For instance, there is Aakash. Aakash has been promoted by the Government as a device that can bridge the digital divide across the country. However, it was not a great sucess but it inspired many other players to come up with their low priced tablets. Now the Government has launch its second version of the Aakash tablet, which boasts fbetter hardware features. According to market reports, the country saw sales of about 475,000 units of media tablets in the last calendar year. Report from research firm Frost & Sullivan says the tablet PC user base in India has increased from 60,000 units in 2010 to 300,000 in 2011. The report further says that overall Tablet C user base is likely to grow at a CAGR of 107 per cent to reach 23.38 million by 2017. Adoption of tablets in education is likely to grow at fast pace. “In terms of sales, the market size in India is expected to grow to 500,000 units by end of this year. However, even with such high numbers, we will not be reaching even the Five percent of the education space and that is why this is a huge opportunity. Tablet market is set
to keep growing at a rapid pace,” informs Abbhishek, CEO, Kloudpad. Heavy bags, personalised learning, interactivity and reservation to the classroom have always been a challenge in conventional classroom learning nvironment,
which is answered by tablet to a large extent. Still, lot more innovations and improvements are required and these will be addressed by upgradation of tablets. Computerisation started with heavy desktops in computer labs and then we had the advent of laptops. Now there is a unified learning wherein desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones are playing their role in imparting education. Tablet is usually a 7 to 10 inches form factor and it works on different mobile operating Systems like iOs, Android, and Microsoft Windows. It is now well accepted as platform for interactive and personalised learning. The teacher can easily explain concepts using the digital whiteboard that is set up in the Tablet PC. Using learning tablets the students can access what was taught in the classroom and can also access the collaborative learning platform
for discussions on relevant topics taught in the classroom. Students can have he benefits of studying from the best faculties fromacross the globe.
