Digi-content has been yielding good results for its adopters feels Anshul Sonak, President – Corporate, Core Education and Technologies Ltd

Your take on the level of e-Content adoption by Indian schools.

The education fraternity is fast becoming aware of the importance of content support and gradually adopting the same. It is only a matter of time for the school management community completely adopting the e content based education system. Also with adoption of new technology tools like 3d and tablets for 1:1 virtual education is increasing the e-content adoption

What kind of solution you provide to schools.

Core enables collaboration and best practice teaching methods within schools, local education authorities and school clusters. We offer developed content in collaboration with University of Oxford to enhance instructional capabilities and classroom efficiency, lesson and attendance control.

Challenges faced in convincing school management about the benefits of e-content.

Earlier there was a general apathy to advanced technologies in education but now the situation is different with the state and public both understanding the need for contextualizing education for revamping the education system in India.

In your opinion, why should every school go for e-content learning system?

Every school should focus on 21st century education transformation goals to make their students better poised to succeed in new world we are in. A strong research driven content coupled with whole school reform philosophy and strong teacher quality focus will be very critical for any change.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

We have leadership solutions in research driven STEM, literacy and career tech content besides cognitive growth solutions and formative assessment tools that we deploy worldwide including India. We are also enhancing our e-content portfolio by introducing more gesture based computing content solutions, immersive 3d content, advanced STEM solutions.

Rupesh Shah, CEO of InOpen Technologies feels the reach of digital learning is yet to touch rural schools although the prospect is magnificent

Your take on the level of e-Content adoption by Indian schools.

The concept of e-learning in India is in early stages and may not exactly be spreading like wild fire in many parts of the country, especially in rural India. However, as a mode of teaching and learning, it has seen an increasing use in urban educational institutions. In cities, the use of computers and audio visuals is being extensively promoted to get the children better versed with the lessons taught in the classroom.

Kind of solution you provide to schools.

InOpen has been serving K-12 market with the flagship product ‘Computer Masti’ and newly introduced Science curriculum called ‘Small Science’. We offer IT literacy solutions to government bodies and corporate. We make tailor made curriculum using Computer Masti for K-12 segment. The execution starts through training the existing IT faculty and setting up the computer lab. We design a series of handhold visits where faculty from InOpen visits the schools to do capacity building exercise and solve issues arising out of implementation.

Challenges faced in convincing school management about the benefits of e-content.

Most of the present efforts like government policies, public private partnerships are directed to ensure initial access to technology. One of the major challenges is renewing licenses of the software and providing hardware support. In this regard, if free and open source applications are actively used, this would help keep the total cost of implementation low and make good use of the old systems.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

We intend to supply the highest quality of content and training in all major subjects for schools. We will launch the following econtent services: a) Launch CM 2.0, b) InOpen’s CM Everywhere Initiative, c) We are working on e-learning modules and different platforms which would help us attain scale and large audience.

Abhinav Dhar, Director- K12, Educomp Solutions Ltd says the Indian education sectors  as travelled a long way from chalk and talk to smart classes

Your take on the level of e-Content adoption by Indian schools.

Indian education sector is today among the fastest growing in the world. There are close to 15 lakhs government schools and 1 lakh private schools in the country. Out of this, only 7-10 percent of the private schools have tapped the potential of multimedia classroom teaching whereas in government schools, it has barely made any inroads.

Kind of solution you provide to schools.

Educomp Smartclass is today the largest player in the digital content solutions space. We provide complete solution to the school- from hardware to India’s largest repository of high quality digital content. A knowledge centre manned by Educomp resource coordinator is set up in each school to help teachers on a daily basis. Total support is provided in upkeep and maintenance.

Challenges faced in convincing school management about the benefits of e-content.

When we launched Smartcalss back in 2004, it was the first of its kind digital content solutions for schools and as with most pioneering initiatives, did meet with some reservations. Schools needed to be convinced about its effectiveness and teacher community too was hesitant to adopt technology alongside the tried and tested chalk and talk method.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

Smartclass CTS, the new avatar of the popular Smartclass program is an amazingly versatile, rich-on-technology innovation, which will make every teaching-learning session much the more stimulating, interactive, enlightening Educomp will continue to innovate and create new products that will enhance a student’s educational experience.

Veena Raizada, Director Academics, Next Education India Pvt. Ltd. senses abundant prospects in e-content segment and speaks about the solution the company delivers to schools and institutes

What kind of solutions do you provide to schools.

Our service is called “TeachNext,” which delivers high-quality 2D and 3D content in networked classrooms through modern projectors onto interactive digital whiteboards. TeachNext also includes several tools like NextStudio, Next Tools and NextDictionary. We also provide other products like NextERP and Next-Labs (MathLab, ScienceLab, EnglishLab). We help schools set up the system by deploying our team at the school premises, which installs the equipment, and also conduct training for the teachers to use the system. We have a huge team of support professionals across India, who continuously supports 4000+ schools in the country for replacement of any hardware and upgrades, etc.

Who form the biggest group of adopters of e-content solutions?

Private schools have been few steps ahead of government schools in adopting digital content technology. However, we have seen a recent trend of government schools also adopting digital learning technology on a large scale.

Benefits of e-content learning system.

The mundane topics become interesting with lively content, which helps students to learn the concept through experiential learning rather than mug them up. Detailed lesson plans with the content helps the teachers deliver content in a standardized way, maintaining quality in education.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

TeachNext is our bestselling e-Content solution for schools. We have recently launched our new version with options for schools that include lots more localised content in Hindi, KG, Pre-KG, Interactive Tools, just to name a few. We are continuously working to develop state of the art tools for TeachNext.

“The education world is waking up to embrace digital technologies,” says Snehal Tivatane, Project Coordinator of Guruji World Technologies Pvt Ltd.

Your take on the level of e-Content adoption by Indian schools.

Today schools in the urban and semi-urban areas are planning of adopting technology based education. Audio visual rooms for elearning are also in demand. The rural schools are untapped areas where a lot needs to be done in terms of usage of technology for education and school management.

Kind of solution you provide to schools.

GurujiWorld is engaged with public and private schools directly or through its implementation partners to provide a complete 360 degree educational platform, which caters to the needs, like: a) Digital learning via e-contents, b) a simple, robust and lightweight Online School Management Solution named as GEMS, c) an Online Examination Solution name ‘GOES’ which takes care of the complete examination requirements wherever schools opting for conducting Online Exams instead of paper/pen mode.

Challenges faced in convincing school management about the benefits of e-content.

As software and e-contents are intangible it is at times difficult to convince schools to pay reasonable rates for such products. Huge efforts go into development of digital contents with features like high end 2D animation, voice over, in line questions, good quality illustrations and interactivity, but getting the right price for the same is a tough task.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

GurujiWorld’s best selling product is our Computer Based Training solutions. The Maharashtra State Board curriculum e-contents are also in demand. We are also increasing our user base for our vocational employability skills for e-Contents on Spoken English skills and Basic of accounting with Tally and Cybercrime awareness. We are exploring the possibility of developing innovative educational contents for education tablets.

“The school fraternity is not averse of adopting e-content”, affirms Ninad Vengurleka, Sr. VP & Head-Content Curriculum Group of IL & FS Education and Technology Services Ltd

Your take on the level of e-Content adoption by Indian schools.

Indian urban schools are frequently using e-content based education. Semi urban and rural schools are recently gearing up to this concept. At IETS, we believe close to 25 per cent of schools are actively using e-content. We also believe no school is averse to use e-content based learning systems. The reason for non-use could be either because they cannot afford the high costs or may not be happy with the quality of content available.

Kind of solution you provide to schools.

Our solution is called the K-Class Program. It is a combination of technology, academic interventions and content to enhance teacher and student performance. K-Class stands for Knowledge Class. K-Class is an interactive learning solution for schools. It makes a school teach, learn, understand and perform better through an ingenious combination of technology and curriculum mapped content.

Challenges faced in convincing school management about the benefits of e-content.

Benefits of e-content based learning are already known to schools. The challenges are in convincing the schools to differentiate between good and bad quality content in terms of learning experience. Many schools tend to focus more on jazzy technology features of the hardware and overall pricing and curriculum mapped content. As a result many a times, learning quality may take a backseat.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

The K-Class Content Bank is a wonderful mix of over 10,000 digital content units stored inside the K-Yan. These include, curriculum mapped multimedia lessons in Science, Math, Social Sciences and English, as well as assessments, mind maps, practice sheets, science experiment videos and interactive exploriments in science and math. In addition to this off-the-rack content, K-Class also provides a bank of teacher resources that can be used by the teacher to make her own lessons and lesson plans.

Pearson Education Services mapped multimedia-based interactive content for schools. Meena Ganesh, CEO and MD of the company shares her insights with Sharmila Das.

Your take on the level of e-Content adoption by Indian schools.

The Indian school market has been very receptive to e content learning and has seen many positive changes towards a more progressive system of education. Surveys and reports have suggested that 65 per cent of teachers and school administers believe that printed textbooks will completely be replaced by interactive and e learning tools. The last decade has seen parents and teachers showing a keen interest in this new technology and I believe that this trend will show rapid expansion with many more schools adopting this solution.

Kind of solution you provide to schools.

We equip the schools with DigiClass; an ICT-based solution that combines state-of- the-art hardware with syllabus linked multimedia-based interactive content. DigiClass is a complete classroom solution that comes with a CPU, interactive device, digitally- patented, award winning teaching tool, syllabi specific course content, UPS, server, speakers and white board. A resource coordinator will set up and maintain the set up in school and also train teachers on its usage.

Challenges faced in convincing school management about the benefits of e-content.

At the implementation level, we sensed apprehension from the schools, as they were uncertain of the usage, implementation and hardware upkeep of the solution post installation. We addressed their concern by providing full time resource coordinators in schools, on rolls to ensure assistance and resolve any issues on the day to day usage of the hardware.

Your best selling e-Content solution for schools; kind of innovations for future use.

Digitally is our patented multimedia enabled teaching tool which is a part of all our digital classrooms. This award winning tool has several attributes which makes it a superior e content solution for schools. We are currently in the process of developing a learning aid using the tablets.