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Journeying through the learning curve of India’s academic arena in 2022

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
dl cover 2022 dec

The Indian education system has seen a significant transformation in recent years. Technology is becoming more prevalent in schools and paving the way for an updated educational system. The stage is already set for innovation to reimagine the future of learning, with its worth predicted to reach USD 30 billion over the next ten years. DigitalLEARNING explores the various facets of education that took place through out the year in 2022.

T he pandemic that swept the globe in 2020 sent India’s education industry on an emotional roller coaster. After 34 years, the new education policy was finally implemented, only to be derailed by the unexpected closure of schools. However, by implementing remote learning methodologies and employing technology, schools, colleges, and higher education institutions (HEI) soon recovered.

The unprecedented crisis gave decision-makers the opportunity to take a step back and reconsider the function and significance of education. The education industry has truly undergone a transformation as a result of the widespread adoption of technology in lectures and online courses and the pressing need for skill development. A new, and possibly permanent normal will be established in 2023 as institutions reopen.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has prompted significant institutional changes, which have been implemented by India’s top educational advisory organisations. The start of the pandemic, however, appears to have held back the NEP’s implementation in 2021. In light of this, 2022 appeared to be prepared to start the necessary reforms. Here is a run through the educational development in the year 2022.

Implementation of National Education Policy 2020

There finally seems to be a strategy in place to start the effective implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 after over two years of discussion and debate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired over a meeting in May 2022 to examine the implementation process and to get specific proposals for fulfilling the policy’s objectives from leaders in education.

Following this meeting, the state government of Karnataka decided to implement the NEP 2020 policy beginning with the 2023–24 academic year, as declared by B. C. Nagesh, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education. Along with several higher education institutions nationwide, the states of Assam, Goa, and Uttarakhand have made similar announcements for the upcoming academic year.

Perhaps this is the first occasion that a government-mandated education policy has been so enthusiastically accepted nationwide. It may be recalled that the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution allows for legislation on education by both the Union and state governments. Even though certain states have expressed concerns, the finer details of NEP 2020 implementation have been worked out over the past two years, and 2023 should ultimately see the spread of a consistent education system over the majority of India.

A shift in curriculum

The fundamental goals of the new education strategy may be implemented differently from state to state and between institutions. Major changes to the primary and higher education systems appear to be taking place as a result of K. Kasturirangan, a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), establishing the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). A 5+4+3+4 curricular framework will be created as a result of the NEP, which will do away with the 10+2 framework currently used in K–12 education and replace it with learning that occurs in four stages: foundation, preparatory, middle, and secondary. This is the first foundational-level curriculum that the education policy has created.

National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which was established recently, has quickly taken the lead in designating high-performing HEIs. The initial criticism it received for not checking institute-submitted data and instances where institutes ranked highly on the list lacked basic infrastructure, diversity, and hygiene, etc. has considerably subsided over time.

The NIRF has gradually grown, adding more criteria each year to more accurately assess institutes. The structure is always changing. The term “Research Institution” was included in the framework last year. This year, it has been announced that “Innovation & Entrepreneurship” will be added to the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievement. 7,254 institutes participated in 2022, a considerable rise from the 6,272 institutes that participated the year before.

K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Union Ministry of Education while announcing the 2022 ranking had said, “We will be focussing extensively on how quality and procedure in each institution will be refined (and) developed so that they may reach the top ranks in the near future.” The NIRF is also the ranking framework that institutes most frequently use to assess students’ academic potential. The education minister has made preparations to include school rankings in NIRF. Details, though, are not yet made public.

Major changes in 2022 at a glance

Implementation of Common University Entrance Test (CUET)- In July 2022, the University Grants Commission (UGC) held the first round of undergraduate and postgraduate examinations for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). All central university admission exams are part of CUET. According to sources, 2,50,495 students received CUET places in 2022, but only 1,91,586 took the test.

Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes (CCFUP)- The new curricular framework for the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), which will replace the current Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) throughout higher education institutions, has been issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The new curriculum will give students several entry and departure options with UG certificates, UG diplomas, or degree certificates dependent on their earned credits, among other noteworthy characteristics.

New Regulations for PhD programmeAccording to new regulations released by the UGC, candidates who have successfully completed a four-year bachelor’s degree programme in any discipline with a minimum of 75% overall marks or its equivalent grade are now eligible for a PhD programme.

Emphasise on Regional Language in Education- The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) introduced regional language in technical education in August 2022, in keeping with the NEP’s goal to promote Indian language in the teaching and learning process. In this regard, UGC is anticipated to integrate regional language into all subject-area course curricula. The use of regional languages in medical education has also been emphasised by the Ministry of Education, and it is anticipated that it would release guidelines in this regard.

The whirl in Edtech

The K12 and online tutoring platforms appear to have taken the brunt of the turmoil that the edtech sector experienced this year. According to media sources, edtech platforms like BYJU’s, Unacademy, and Vedantu, among others, collectively accounted for approximately 7,000 layoffs in 2022, or nearly 45% of all firings in the startup industry.

Four edtech businesses, Lido Learning, Crejo.Fun, Udayy, and SuperLearn, closed their doors during the startup ecosystem’s fundraising winter. Ironically, upGrad, an edtech in the professional education sector, stated it will be employing 1,400 new staff in the middle of the layoffs and shutdowns.

The demand in the K12 industry has changed dramatically as new schools and coaching facilities have opened, notably for business-to consumer activities. The industry will likely experience some stabilisation in the upcoming year. The biggest issue for edtech firms will be to regain and maintain consumer trust and plan for long-term sustainable solutions as education continues to explore the role of edtech in and outside the classroom.

Technology trends that will define 2023

Personalised Learning – We have long believed that our educational system is stiff and overly complicated. It was all about traditional classroom learning up until now, but now that the school system has been digitalised, we can see a more individualised kind of learning emerging.

Gamification- Gamification is a technique for problem-solving in education that makes use of game mechanics. It helps to increase student engagement, develop their abilities, and maximise learning. Additionally, it aids in memory retention and simplifies difficult concepts. In addition, it accomplishes learning objectives, inspiring students to set greater goals and receiving immediate feedback. By 2023, it’s anticipated that use of this game-based teaching strategy would increase by about 32%.

Digital infrastructure-The physical infrastructure of the school undoubtedly contributes significantly to providing students with a helpful atmosphere for their academic journey, but the future of education will be built on the digital infrastructure. In India, digital classrooms have grown in popularity over the past few years. These technology-enabled classrooms (digital infrastructure) offer a plethora of new opportunities for teaching and learning by integrating technology such as interactive whiteboards or projectors, audio-visual capabilities, ICT labs or multimedia centres, educational games, classroom activities, management software, homework submission, review software, cloud-based e-learning initiatives, and so on.

Augmented and Virtual Reality – The education sector is going through a significant upheaval, and virtual and augmented reality are two key technologies causing this transformation. It engages pupils with compelling techniques, enabling successful learning. Students benefit from virtual tools in a controlled setting that help them to understand complex ideas. Further, AR and VR technologies are seen as the future of education, despite India’s adoption still being in its infancy.

A shift sweep towards future

The past year has been the first significant step in regaining lost knowledge from the pandemic. One of the main areas of concentration for the coming year will be returning all of the employees and students to the institutions. Another delicate balance will be struck when the industry needs to determine the place of edtech outside of offline classrooms.

In the first year of implementation, the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) examination dates and admissions processes were severely delayed. Private universities in particular struggled because exam results were released in September, after classes had already started. Exam schedules have been disrupted frequently since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, including this one. The Union ministry of education is already working on a calendar for coming academic year.The year 2022 has taught us a lot about how to adopt policies, learn about edtech, and prioritise laying a solid educational foundation in addition to combining skill development with textbook knowledge. The education industry will undoubtedly benefit from the lessons learnt in 2022 and will keep a running foot forward to cope up in the upcoming 2023.

Marching ahead in the world of education from the Himachal Pradesh – Sri Sai University, Palampur

By
digitalLEARNING Network
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Sri Sai University, Palampur

In a multitude of institutes opened across the nation, choosing one of those that meets all the academic ambitions and also enhances your career prospects can be a brain-storming problem. India today is on the brink of adopting Industry 4.0, and education is playing a pivotal role in facilitating this transition. One such institute that has been in the business of creating competent professionals is the Sri Sai University in Palampur which was established in 2010. The University provides access to high-quality education, cutting-edge research, and the development of new technologies in line with preparing successful professionals through our various professional courses i.e. Engineering & Technology, Basic & Applied Sciences, Management and Information Technology, Education, Law, Adventure Sports and Pharmacy with close interaction with industry. The University strives to its aim of “Transforming Dreams into Reality” by developing professional competencies with flexibility, adaptability, and passion for learning.

Technology giants at University

SSU has joined hands with IBM to develop the advanced curriculum to focus on developing the critical understanding of Linear Algebra and Statistics that are the foundation of AI and ML concepts. We are harnessing the potential of AI – ML with new courses at Sri Sai University with IBM. B.Tech in Computer Science Engineering (CSE) with a specialisation in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is a course featured by Sai School of Engineering, SSU which helps its students to gain a practical understanding of various Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The major focus of the programme is to equip the students who wish to acquire the ability to design intelligent solutions to real-time problems.

SSU has developed these courses with the help of industry experts as our advisory board from experts working in Apple, Deloitte and Google keeping in mind the advancement and increased demand for the use of AI and ML in today’s industries. This programme discusses artificial intelligence methods based on different fields like neural networks, signal processing and data mining, etc.

Learning close to nature

Sri Sai University Palampur is a fascinating spot in the Kangra Valley, surrounded on all sides by tea gardens and pine forests. The University enjoys a healthy climate and the pine-scented air that makes it a curative property. The scenery presents a sublime and beautiful contrast- the plain presents a picture of rural loveliness and repose, while the hills are majestic. Behind this University stand the high ranges of Dhauladhar mountains, whose tops remain covered with snow for most part of the year. The combination of all these make SSU, Palampur an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city noises and ideal for a conducive study environment.

The front-runner in innovation

Sri Sai University has taken a leap in launching the first of its kind in India, the new department of Mountaineering and Adventure sports in Himachal Pradesh. The university is starting courses like Certificate, Diploma, and Degree Courses on Mountaineering and Adventure Sports embedded with regular courses in sync with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It’s a Pioneer project with the aim to promote Himachal Pradesh as the main adventure sports training area of international repute.

Philanthropic workforce behind SSU

With the blessings of Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ji and under the dynamic leadership of Chancellor and Er. S.K.Punj, Chairman and Tripta Punj, Managing Director, the group of institutes was founded under the guidance of Late Shri Ram Iqbal Bhardwaj with a dream to provide world-class education in the areas where it was needed the most. The belief of our leaders is that education is the passport to the future and we make sure that in SSU, all our efforts are made to achieve this goal in letter and spirit. The recently appointed Pro-Chancellor Er. Kanwar Tushar Punj (Alumnus of the University of Leeds, UK ) puts his guidance to students and faculty members to follow the most innovative ways and means to impart education, eventually having brought a sea change in work culture of SSU, Palampur.

Extra mile

Addressing world problems with industry-ready courses and research-focused learning at SSU, Palampur. The road to be featured in the world ranking starts with a lot of passionate, talented and ambitious individuals who want to steer the education industry with their skills and hard work. Also making SSU future ready, entering the top ranking in the global standards, creating center of excellence and global alliances and partnerships. In the next 5 years will put Sri Sai University on the Map.

Views expressed by Er Kanwar Tushar Punj, Pro-Chancellor, Sri Sai University, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh

Innovation in education pushing India toward an educational revamp

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
ravi-gupta-ji sir

From enhanced engagement to accessibility through interactive and customisable learning, digital transformation has fueled transformational changes in the education ecosystem. Education, as a social institution serving the needs of society, is not only essential but requisite. In addition to being evolutionary and revolutionary, it must also be ever-evolving to face the difficulties of the unpredictable and rapidly changing globalised world. Catering to the education industry through our events since 2005, I have seen the development that increased multi-folds in the last decade. Today, the Indian school education system is one of the largest in the world with nearly 14.89 lakh schools and more than 95 lakh teachers. Alongside, it is expected that India’s higher education market to grow at a CAGR of 10.30% during 2022-2027.

Ably assisted with the advancement of technology, the education sector has come a long way. From 1:1 initiatives, e-Yantra, virtual labs to flipped classrooms, there are a variety of initiatives that transformed the education paradigm with the emergence of technology. Continuing the innovative approach, few states revised their model of evaluation; Recently, Maharashtra reintroduced exams from class III onwards to gauge students’ development right from the primary years.

While a lot of states are focusing on enlarging their educational infrastructure, earlier this month, Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister of Punjab launched a major infrastructure revamp for medical education in Punjab. The state government has planned to construct 16 new medical institutions in the next five years to build Punjab as an educational hub of India. This space is too less to capture the entire gamut of innovations transforming the education landscape in the country.

With this backdrop, digitalLEARNING magazine is bringing this month’s special edition, which pivots on the innovative initiatives of Maharashtra and Punjab and will also accentuate the rapid innovations in the education sector. The issue will enclose knowledgeable dissemination from the school and higher education figureheads, emphasising the importance of innovation and technology in the landscape of education.

With an overall focus on “Digital Transformation -The way forward”, this special edition will be unveiled at the paramount platform of the Education Innovative Summit in Pune and Chandigarh. Awaiting the housefull, action-packed presence of thought leaders and their keynote deliberations.

Happy Reading!

The future of education – Next generation of learning spaces

By
digitalLEARNING Network
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abha

As technology has enabled new ways of learning, communicating, and working collaboratively, the four walls of the classrooms are no longer a barrier. Education must adjust to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution describes the blurred boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. It is a fusion of AI (Artificial Intelligence), Robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D Printing, and other technologies.

Technology is transforming how we think, work, learn and play. It is happening so fast and at an incredible pace compared to any point in human history. If we want our students to excel in the future, we must ensure they receive an education that prepares them for today’s world. With the right skills, they will be able to thrive no matter what challenges they face.

According to the World Economic Forum, “Higher degree of cognitive abilities will be needed for ample amount of occupations, such as problem-solving, Logical Thinking, creativity as part of their core skill set, which we need to imbibe at a very early level in our education system.

In 2055, half of the world’s current work activities will be automated, which means that the world will be drastically different from the one our schools and universities are designed. Formal education began around the First Industrial Revolution when early schools were less about improving children’s minds and producing a punctual, obedient workforce for the new factories. We see students increasingly taking ownership of their learning now that information is widely available. The teacher provides mentorship and context along the way, but the student is more in the driver’s seat than ever before.

Knowledge at Fingertip

We are in a world where readily searchable knowledge at our fingertips is available; we do not need to memorize facts anymore. Nevertheless, we will need to learn new skills to help us manage the powerful tools at our disposal. We need to know how to elucidate search results, critically assess the quality and integrity of information, and make ethical judgments about using it. To come up with solutions to the world’s complex problems, we need to think creatively.

In the future, education will be structured around Problem-Based Learning, seeking the engagement of the students curiosity rather than simply presenting them with the information. Instead of saying, ‘here is information for you to remember, one must say, ‘we have a problem to discuss, and then only students will get involved in that problem.

Motivated students are involved in something that means they are interested in unstructured information; only those with ways to engage in information get better outcomes. Learning is a social process that, with others, has better results.

That means we should be focusing on something other than the traditional curriculum.

Phenomenon-Based Learning is a method of teaching that focuses on real-world applications of knowledge instead of taming learning into different subjects. In this type of setting, a lesson might include topics from history, geography, and writing or working in collaboration to design and build an automobile. This medium emphasizes the skills like communication, creativity, and critical thinking that prepare a student for the workplace of the 21st century. We live in a New World where a teacher plays a distinctive position. Today’s students are the first generation who are growing up with the internet and are getting educated by the same. This new teaching and learning journey is a new domain for teachers and students.

So, will a teacher be able to lead? Or will students be left unanswered?

Educationalist Erica McWilliam has emphasised shifting the teacher from the “guide on the side” to “sage on the stage” to “meddler in the middle”. The “meddler in the middle” stands alongside students, stretching the students to expand their perception.

The next-generation learning spaces will be ‘Flipped’

The teacher-as-sage can leave the stage at the front of the class to demonstrate their knowledge, and students can come to class to learn. They can sit in the first row facing the teacher.

In the future of Education System, homework will have to happen before the lesson starts. Teachers can record structured content for the students to absorb at their own pace, and when teachers come into the classroom, they can help the students solve the problem. This setup is the “flipped” classroom. It is bigger. Multiple monitors in an active learning classroom space allow students to follow along with course materials and look up information online as it becomes relevant, giving them a more well-rounded and comprehensive education – this combination of traditional teaching and online teaching is called “Blended Learning”. Modern schools will require a much wider variety of learning places, from spaces where groups can work together to corners for self-learning and everything in between.

The collaboration will be the core skill

In a world where technology is automating more and more routine tasks, students who can offer creativity, intuition, and innovation will be especially valued. Global teams will recognize the importance of communication and collaboration, which will be essential skills in the future workplace.

The idea of collaboration is to put young people together in one place, where great conversations and new ideas are sparked; this can be done by designing a creative outcome to bring people into a group who may need to be used to the idea of a collaborative environment.

“Students learn from each other; they do not just learn in the classroom; they learn outside the classroom, maybe at their dining tables or the coffee shops. A group of students with their laptops sitting around a table is a wonderful learning environment” – Stefan Jakobek, HOK

Views expressed by Abha Deb, Manager – Digital Marketing & Events, MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul, An IB World School, Pune.

National Education Policy 2020: A roadmap to prepare students for a multidisciplinary future

By
digitalLEARNING Network
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ketan

The University Grants Commission approved the proposal to pursue two full-time degrees simultaneously on April 12 of this year. Multiple UGC committees have debated this change for several years, but with the advent of the New Educational Policy (NEP) 2020, this was one of the first changes to be implemented. Double majors or equivalent degrees have long been popular in several European and American countries. With this change, India has come closer to being uniform with international educational norms, with emphasis on increasing involvement of technology, multidisciplinary education, research-based learning, and the nexus between industry and institutes being some of the key features.

In the last two decades, UGC and AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) have tried to incorporate holistic education in the curriculum in addition to the incorporation of steps such as Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses and Choice Based Credit System but with varying degrees of success in outcome. With NEP, students are empowered to design their career and knowledge pool to a greater extent than earlier. This choice ushers in the possibility of a spike in the number of multidisciplinary experts who will ideally be prepared to tackle the upcoming challenges of a complex world, both in terms of the needs of the market and society in general.

For example, if a student seeks to combine their distinct interests in biological sciences and computer science, especially in emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, then following the NEP guidelines, they will now have a unique academic framework that was not possible earlier. A its long-standing innovative and technologically enhanced infrastructure and extensive collaborations with several leading institutes and members of the industry, is ready to adapt to the change.

Students are actively encouraged, with special inputs from academic and industry experts, to embark upon this multidisciplinary journey and are meticulously guided along the path. The guidance includes advice on the choice of credits, suggestions for projects, supervised collaborations among students across departments, and real world exposure through the wide network of industry partners who are leaders in their respective fields.

The implementation of NEP is not limited to purely academic and industry-oriented grooming but extended to personality development and skill-oriented subjects such as critical thinking, creative thinking, and design thinking, along with activities such as sports, debates, events, and platforms for peer collaboration and review of projects, etc.

NEP encourages students to be involved in research and gain industry experience even during their initial undergraduate years. The institute’s long-term connections across academic and corporate circles help the student identify and pursue a niche early on in their career, thus giving them an edge in this time of fierce competition. Another advantage that the tech-enabled pedagogy of SIT, Pune, helps with is familiarity with technology, which will strengthen the resumes of the students in today’s hybrid and tech-enabled working environment.

As NEP allows industry leaders with extensive experience in their respective fields to teach without having mandatory academic qualifications, this presents an exciting opportunity to incorporate and impart different approaches to learning the subject matter along with the lived-in experiences of the experts as an enhancement to the institute’s already advanced and dedicated academic faculty. In the age of start-ups, where several industry leaders have a proven track record of running successful companies that do not directly use their formal qualifications, such classrooms run by such personalities will prove to be inspiring for aspiring entrepreneurs as well as provide an insider’s view for future job seekers and recruiters alike, in the ever-changing landscape of the modern job market.

SIT, Pune, has been for several decades, a leading engineering institute in Pune with a strong placement history across departments, especially the Civil Engineering Department, with students placed in numerous leading companies. The institution also provides students with platforms to grow into leading academics as well as entrepreneurs, with platforms such as the Symbiosis Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SCEI), a business incubator, funded and recognised by the government. The implementation of the NEP will only further the pursuit of excellence and innovation that the institution has long fostered.

Views expressed by Dr Ketan Kotecha Director, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune.

“Today’s students are digital natives and schools need technology to enhance the learning pattern”

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
sandepan

India is now able to connect last mile through the emergence of various roles of technology in varied sectors. Talking of education, Traditional + Innovation = Technology is bringing the most driven change in the education paradigm. Everything comes with its two sides; so does technology. To know more about the advancement of technology among schools, Sandeepan Reddy, Founder, Director, Synergy Group of Schools, Pune, Maharashtra, had an interaction with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network (ENN). Edited excerpts:

After NEP, everyone is aiming for a multidisciplinary curriculum. How are you planning to inculcate the same in your school?

NEP is going to disrupt the education industry and the way of learning. Multidisciplinary curriculum is the way forward which will keep the interest of the student in learning.

As you know, Synergy Group of Schools are typically affordable schools based out of rural empowerment and to get quality resources for a multidisciplinary curriculum. Using technology to get resources to the remotest parts of rural India is now possible and we will take help of Technology (Tradition +Innovation) is the next step at Synergy.

Indian education system follows multiple boards like CBSE, ICSE, or state in their schools. Which board does your school follow and why?

Synergy Group of Schools follow CBSE Board. There are a few reasons.

1. CBSE is a national board, followed in most of the schools after State boards. NCERT gives a perspective about application of students’ learning which is most effective.

2. Students leaving the school have an option to take admission to other CBSE schools anywhere in India, due to availability of CBSE schools.

3. There are very effective platforms created for CBSE teacher training.

Do you think that much exposure to the digital world is impacting the mental health of students? Do you have any special classes to improve or cater to the mental health of students?

The future of Global is digital and we cannot deny it. We need to have a balance of both. This generation of students are digital natives and we need the help of technology to enhance the learning pattern. We have seen that using technology has increased improvement in learnings in slow learners and we will keep using technologies for improvements in delivery of education. Also, multidisciplinary curriculum will only get delivered using technology.

To develop the mental health of students, we are focusing on activities and team building skills. The focus is on skills development and sports curriculum.

A few successful days we observed are night out in school, full of activities with camp fire and songs creating school moments in the life of a student.

Do you face any challenges in establishing the digital infrastructure at your campus? Is your campus fully equipped with digital tools?

We are rural based schools and we are facing challenges in establishing digital infrastructure. Also there is a choice of digital technology which has very short shelf life and needs upgrading, which involves cost.

At present, our campus is not fully equipped and we are making a slow and steady effort to get the best use of limited technology resources.

What are your plans to expand in 2023? What achievements or goals are you looking up to achieving in the year 2023?

To use the existing resources, we are planning to expand to 5 CBSE schools and 100 preschools. This will help us to keep our academic costs in check to give quality education. 2023 is going to be the year to test implementing NEP in our schools to at least 40 per cent. By 2025, our goals of expansion will be achieved.

PhysicsWallah acquires S Chand’s stake in iNeuron

By
digitalLEARNING Network
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PhysicsWallah acquires S Chand’s

S Chand and Company Limited, a provider of educational resources, will pay edtech unicorn Physicswallah 14 crore for its whole interest in iNeuron Intelligence. According to a press release by S Chand, its co-investors Mukesh Sharma Family Trust will also be leaving the company.

As the company invested 7 crores in iNeuron in December 2021 and exited it with 14 crores, S Chand will see a 2X return in a year. This is the publishing major’s second departure from the nascent edtech industry. In July 2022, it too left Testbook with an 8X return.

Through well-known brands including S Chand, Madhubun, Vikas, Chhaya, Saraswati, and Mylestone, S Chand distributes material. It offers content and services for the Early Learning, K–12, and Higher Education divisions. Through acquisitions related to digital learning during the past few years, it also increased the scope of its product offering.

A minority investment in iNeuron Intelligence had been purchased by S Chand, along with its subsidiaries Vikas Publishing and Chhaya Prakashani.

The business also invests in Smartivity Labs, a maker of educational STEAM toys company, and has its own digital ventures, including S Chand Academy (YouTube), TestCoach, Learnflix, and Mylestone Curriculum Solutions.

Dharmendra Pradhan emphasises the importance of strengthening tribal communities

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
Dharmendra Pradhan emphasises

On Wednesday, Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of Education, emphasised the importance of strengthening tribal communities and noted that the Center’s motto is “Sab ka Sath, Sab ka Vikas.”

Minister Pradhan of the Union remarked, “In my opinion, this is an achievement of the nation that President Droupadi Murmu, who comes from a distant village in Odisha, acquired the highest constitutional post.” He used President Draupadi Murmu as an example.

In his remarks to the media, he stated that “The Centre is devoted to improving the indigenous community, and providing education, health, and employment.”

The Minister stated that an effort had been made to recognise the unsung heroes of the liberation movement and that for the first time a National Tribal Research Institute had been established to examine tribal concerns on a national basis.

In this context, Pradhan mentioned Bhagwan Birsa Munda to Laxman Naik, Nirmal Munda, Madho Singh, and many more liberation fighters.

Speaking on education, Pradhan stated that indigenous populations will benefit greatly from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s major focus on education in local languages and mother tongues. Additionally, he discussed the Eklavya Model Residential Schools for the indigenous people, which currently enroll over 1 lakh pupils.

Pradhan also discussed how tribal leaders played a crucial role in the liberation fight and how the government is working to honour this rich legacy and history through programmes like opening tribal museums and marking Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.

Other initiatives, he added, include the creation of the first-ever National Tribal Research Institute, the construction of searchable tribal digital record repositories, the SFRUTI (Program of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) scheme, and the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.

Edge of technological transformation – Stimulating to engage learners effectively

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
omkar

The education space is transforming from ‘memorization’ to ‘memorable’ and technology is playing a mega role in executing this transformation. Technologies like Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence are making a new space for learning experiences and changing the way students used to learn traditionally. To delineate more on the technology implementation in the paradigm of knowledge sharing, Omkar Pimple, Founder & CEO, Myracle.io, Germany interacted with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network. Edited excerpts:

With such a diverse experience in sectors of education, banking, health and more. How has been your journey so far and what were the hurdles you faced on your path in achieving the milestones of your career?

I’ve been fortunate to be on an insightful journey on the leading edge of technological transformation across all of these different domains – education, fintech, health, food tech, e-commerce, fashion-tech, real estate, logistics across Europe and India.

Every domain has unique challenges. At the same time, there are uncanny similarities among, for example, fintech, health, and education. All 3 deal with sensitive data, are regulated domains, and have a large-scale positive impact if you get things right – or a negative impact if you don’t!

I’ve had the opportunity to draw parallels between these different domains, and forge strong human connections to enable cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Of course, all of these things don’t come together easily, and there have been plenty of uphill battles. Personal and professional challenges, macro factors like pandemics, economic downturns, and wars, all can act as headwinds for a long journey.

Despite these factors, today our team combines 100+ years of global perspectives on immersive technology, education, & learning science to unlock learning by doing in the real world, with a stellar background from leadership at Harvard, Stanford, Humboldt, and the Government of India.

What was your vision behind starting Myracle. io?

When the pandemic hit, we originally started with building a remote exam management platform. Not only were we able to conduct assessments in the remotest homes of India, we were also able to capture comprehensive evidence about the candidate’s environment, and the candidate’s behaviour during the assessment. All of this, through everyday mobile devices.

But what we saw shocked us. We found that 3 out of 5 students were engaging in malpractices, and in some cases, their parents & friends were helping them cheat during exams!

After speaking to hundreds of students, educators, and parents, we realised that loss of academic integrity is a symptomatic problem. but the underlying cause for this alarming trend is the loss of learner engagement.

And that is when we decided to use our mobile technology to transform the environment around you into experiential learning activities, that empowers learners to learn by doing in the real world around them.

We do this by blending realities, and that is where Myracle comes from – Miracle – Mixed Reality Active Learning Experiences.

You are working towards transforming education from ‘memorization’ to ‘memorable’. What is your execution plan to make this work?

There is plenty of research from the learning science community that posits that education needs to be engaging to be memorable, and it needs to be appropriately stimulating to engage the learner effectively.

Active learning – specifically, learning by doing in the real world – stimulates visual, auditory, haptic, and kinaesthetic senses, making it the most superior form of learning.

But it is incredibly difficult to scale even for moderately large numbers, due to bottlenecks in infrastructure, equipment, and personnel.

Myracle.io addresses both of these crucial challenges – learner engagement and the infrastructure gap – by transforming homes and classrooms into interactive exhibitions and STEM labs.

We make this magical technology accessible to every learner through everyday mobile devices and tablets, with or without internet connectivity, wherever they are.

Any kind of transformation begins with people – and we want to take all stakeholders – learners as well as educators – together with us.

Extended reality is playing a major role in bringing experiential learning to the real world. How are you using it for your company?

Physical reality is beautiful, and we don’t want to replace it. Rather, our vision is to enhance it by adding what is missing. At the intersection of realities is where things really start to become interesting. The learner gets to participate in creating the learning experience, because they choose the environment. Learners improve their confidence with complex concepts and procedures by practising, experimenting, and making mistakes safely in their own safe spaces; before they step into a physical STEM lab. This way, they are empowered to make the best of the precious little time they get in physical labs.

And we have seen great results with it! In Myracle-powered classrooms, students have reported significantly heightened understanding levels for complex topics. Most importantly, a majority of the students eagerly wanted to learn how to create such learning experiences with us, which was a serendipitous surprise!

We have grown in an era where books were the only medium of learning. Education today is evolving, what are the top technologies that can metamorphose traditional education into the digital world of education?

The biggest challenge as humans of today is to stay updated with the constantly changing understanding of the universe around us. Rapid evolvability comes first, and then comes rapid evolution.

Books do have their charm, but once printed, books take years to be updated and reprinted, while our knowledge about the world changes everyday. Depending on the book, there is a finite likelihood that it may contain outdated knowledge by the time it is out of the printing press.

Books inherently do not possess rapid evolvability. Having said that, most digital content – even with its inherent rapid evolvability – rarely evolves on a regular basis, if at all.

As XR (eXtended Reality) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) pioneers since the last 10 years, we definitely see data science-infused XR play a crucial role in this metamorphosis.

The education world is massively vouching for NEP, what are your thoughts on it?

The NEP portrays a broad and ambitious vision about education for 2030. There are many ideas in the NEP that are open to interpretation, but I perceive these 4 points as its most important goals:

1. Equitable and accessible education for all
2. Effective upskilling for hands-on skills
3. Affordable lifelong learning for learners and educators
4. Enhanced system observability for continuous evolution

With our approach to unlocking learning by doing in the real world to make education memorable, with a way to keep it evolving continuously, made possible with our human-centric technology, we are very closely aligned with what the NEP proposes for the next decade.

What is your expansion plan for the year 2023?

2023 will see us expanding our bouquet of learning experiences offered on Myracle, alongside a steadily growing base of loyal users who are shaping Myracle together with us.

We are also forging long term alliances with forward thinking educational institutions who are eager to lead the next chapter in how we transmit knowledge as a species.

We welcome all visionary organisations, communities, and people to join hands with us on this endeavour through 2023 and beyond!

For more details, kindly visit- https://www.myracle.io/

“When it comes to educational institutions, technology makes life easier for everyone”

By
digitalLEARNING Network
-
ram

Explore, engage, envision, and exhibit – these four facets give different platforms to understand and learn. The advent of technology into the education space is very much aligned with these facets; it has opened the doors for educators to innovate and explore while teaching. To know more about the various other technological innovation in the education landscape, Ram D Raina, Founder – Director, Cambridge International School, Pune interacted with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network. Edited excerpts:

How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) be used to expand the boundaries of the educational system? Could you tell us about the new technological initiatives your school has implemented?

Early work in artificial intelligence in education involved intelligent tutoring systems, but the field has broadened over the years to include all of the types of educational systems and interactions defined above, and has expanded to include several independent conferences and journals. The revolution in machine learning and data mining impacted artificial intelligence in education as well, with a significant shift around 2010— influenced by the emergence of a separate scientific conference, Educational Data Mining—toward much more use of this type of method. AIED systems now include a variety of functionality for identifying aspects of the learner as well as a variety of ways to interact with and respond to learners. Today, you will find AI everywhere, so it needs to be incorporated into the education system.

As a school management team, we have to think about the future demands in the fields of computers and lifestyle and also understand the necessity of AI learning for their future prospects.

What practices is your school adopting for the progress of the nation?

Very good question! My first responsibility as an Indian citizen and educator is to keep my country at the forefront of everything I do. We all know that we talk about this or that change or that we compare our country to others not only regarding culture but also of vision.

Here, we plan our educational system based on Gurukul concepts, which I have changed to “modern Gurkul traditional values.”

Now, we work on the student’s strengths and weaknesses in all aspects of their lives, such as knowing themselves, improving their skills, obtaining a value- and logically-based education, connecting with the 5 elements (water, fire, air, earth, and space), and connecting with themselves through these elements. All of the above-mentioned points are nurtured through the following concept, which is essential for building a better nation:

I thought commando training must be part of the curriculum everywhere because I have witnessed the education provided to children in nations other than ours. I must say, the people there are capable enough to stop robberies, burglaries, thefts, and street fights. When I asked a friend who lives in the United States how the people there were so brave that they wouldn’t even flinch to save someone from a mishap, he said, “They’re Americans.” He replied: “People here attend self-defense classes very soon, and one thing they learn at first is being fearless.” And they are somehow able to manage day-to-day threats themselves. That rang a bell in my head! Such training must be started at an early age, and children spend half the day in school. There is no better option than schools that include commando training as part of their curriculum. I chose to grab this opportunity and start the first wave at my school.

There are many things I want to say, but because it is all about the experience, I can’t put it into words, but what I have said is significant. We cannot fully rely on technology; we need to use our brains for all physical and mental activities.

The best programme to enroll depends on the needs and objectives of the individual. Skill development programmes concentrate on particular skill sets. What steps is your organization taking to expand the Skill Development Program?

Yes! Answering your question takes me to our ancient education system, where every learner used to choose their skills, like open skills like weapon making, trading, civil work, medicine, and the Vedas. Now, under the New Education Policy, kids need to select their skills for higher education, but the big question remains: how to choose? We at the Cambridge Group of Schools work on the reverse engineering concept, where we assist the kids on the basis of the VAK (Visual-Auditory-Kinaesthetic) theory; so that we come to know what is required of our students in school.

Best practices, which I have applied to fulfill the needs and objectives of skill development projects in our schools, are based on the environment, i.e., the infrastructure facilities. If you give appropriate, scientifically checked infra for music, art, robotics, science labs, art and craft, and sports equipment and grounds, then only we can say that we are ready for the change.

In our music rooms, for example, we have 50 professional keyboards, 100 professional and beginner-level guitars, a drum set, and four tablas, as well as the best teachers to help us achieve our goals. Same things for labs and sports, but now we are also talking about different skills like culinary arts, financial literacy, business development skills, speed math, digital skills, and foundation programmes to meet future challenges like IIT JEE, NEET, and other competitive exams.

What measures is your institution taking to give students a platform for experiential learning? What tactics are you going to use to improve learning and the student experience?

We work on the 4E concept: explore, engage, envision, and exhibit, which gives different platforms to understand and learn the concepts. Under the five elements of life, values play a very important role. And our value for students says, “MY TEAM LEADS.” This is well described when we look at the ant. Ants know that they can accomplish more by working together than by working alone. They set goals and worked together to achieve them. (Ants teach us to tune out distractions and focus on responsible behavior, sharing, and adaptation.)Never lose hope and always strive for excellence.

If you ask me about tactics, I will say, “Plan according to the resources and allow students and teachers to explore what is relevant to exhibit the ideas.” Freedom is another key, like freedom of expression, freedom of communication, and freedom of execution.

Reading habits, writing habits, drama skills, social skills, and other skills acquired through an industrial visit, a talk show with genius, and other experiences provide additional learning platforms.

How has technology changed throughout the years at your institution? What are the driving forces behind your institution’s rapid technological transformation?

If you really want to move faster with perfection and without human error, then technology plays an important role. When it comes to educational institutions, technology makes life easier for everyone. For example, with ERP and LMS, you can get every piece of information and even communicate with all parents and students with the click of a button. It would be extremely beneficial in the administration department, where reliance on humans would be eliminated.

A digital marketing plan, online exams and sessions save paper and time, and students can access information through different platforms. Here we need to understand that information flow is too much, and we keep storing it in our minds, which does not allow us to think differently, so here I advise you to choose the right path of information and act.

How are you planning to enhance the student experience of learning in the year 2023? What is the major segment that you will emphasise to work in the year ahead?

In the coming years, we are considering the upcoming 10 years of growth in India and world-wide science, based on which our focus will be on specific skills.

You become what you believe! With this quote, we’re moving forward, and our Believe system is already in place, as I mentioned in the answers above, and we’re working on it. All readers must understand that the Taj Mahal cannot be built in a year; it takes time, just as consistency in planning and execution is required in school education. Whatever we plan, we must give it time; we cannot change every year simply because the world is changing, and if you believe that we must change in response to the world, you are not an educator; you are an industrialist. What we need to do is develop a long-term strategy, assign tasks to children, and then wait for the results.

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