Indiannica provides an array of digital learning platforms for students in schools and higher learning, which can be easily accessed anywhere, anytime, says Sumit Gupta, Managing Director, Indiannica Learning Pvt Ltd.
How important is the role of Internet in nurturing an entire community of learners and researchers?
Internet is crucial in today’s learning scenario as it provides easy accessibility to learners and researchers. At the same time, easy accessibility without a check or authentication can lead to learners accessing information, which maybe unsuitable or even create confusion by flooding learners with too much or unauthentic information. At Indiannica Learning, we are aware of the importance of connecting with learners and also keeping a check on what is accessed and by whom. We provide an array of digital learning platforms for students in schools and higher learning, which can be easily accessed anywhere, anytime on, varied devices that are authenticated and graded to suit the user and can also be monitored by parents and teachers. Our e-library, Indiannica Library Unplugged, is one such example that allows users access to a variety of books and via downloads, both online as well as offline access.
What are the best education practices followed across the globe? How these practices can be implanted in India to improve overall education scenario of the country?
According to researchers, one of the best education practices is for teachers and educators to see and better understand learning through the eyes of their students. Some highly effective classroom practices include teacher clarity, classroom discussions, feedback, formative assessments, and metacognitive strategies. These practices enable students and teachers to interact and engage more, and create a holistic teaching and learning environment. Although the talk is about digital learning solutions, the best education practices aren’t only about solutions or tools but also a better understanding of a student’s way of learning. In our country, on an average a class has about 40 students and a teacher has very limited time to engage with the students in that short period to explain the concept to the students.
At Indiannica Learning, we believe that technology can play a very important role in supporting the teachers by offering learning solutions which can reduce some of their work. While designing and developing digital learning solutions, we focus on the pedagogy and these aspects from a teachers’ perspective and keep in mind the needs of the students so the teachers and students can engage and interact with each other effectively.
In order to support teachers, what different kind of ICT products is Indiannica Learning offering? Please explain in brief.
Indiannica Learning provides many digital solutions for teachers to aid them in teaching. Along with our curriculum books, a very important and popular component is the “Teacher’s Resource Kit”, which contains support material for teachers to help with lesson planning and evaluation. The kit, which comes in a CD, also available online, contains a teacher’s manual, animated tutorials, and interactive teaching material. It can be used on smartboards to show videos and practice board materials. The Teacher’s Manual helps in lesson planning, provides answer keys, and detailed plans for teaching the subject. In association with Encyclopeadia Britannica, we also provide a customized, mapped to content, and graded smart class solution called Conceptpedia, which has won many awards in the smart class education category. Our other products include an e-library, Indiannica Library Unplugged, Language Lab – a dynamic-pure software solution which emphasizes on speaking and listening, and BsmartTest – a test generator for teachers that consists of a large repository of questions to prepare test papers and assignments swiftly.
How different products like Indiannica Library Unplugged, Language Lab, and Conceptpedia are helping the students improve and enhance their learning?
All our products are designed to enhance learning experience and develop a holistic approach towards learning. Indiannica Library Unplugged, our e-library offering provides access to high quality reference materials to assist curricular learning. We bring the library within the classroom, and at home, making it available 24×7 on any device, in the form of e-books.
Language Lab is an easy to use and dynamicpure software solution, which emphasises on speaking and listening. It has made classroom management easy, enabling peer and group discussion, can be easily controlled by the tutor, and made student evaluation easy. Similarly, Pronounce is a state-of-the-art digital solution for schools that has enhanced English language learning. The software solution combines the latest text-to-speech technology with voice recognition, creating a powerful tool for language learning.
Our award-winning smart class solution, Conceptpedia, which is especially designed for teachers, has enabled teachers to better engage with students for an interactive learning experience. The curriculum-mapped content has enabled teachers to teach the essentials of various subjects in an interactive way. Conceptpedia has also solved many problems that schools face while using a smart class and has allowed for easy integration with existing smartboard network.
What new products and initiatives does the company have in pipeline?
Keeping in mind the importance of easy accessibility and the increasing importance and influence of digital learning solutions, our learning solutions team has developed a student app that is made available to students. The app will enable students to access information with a simple click on their hand held devices such as the course books and practice exercises. Students will also be able to play animated tutorials and videos, making learning engaging, fun, and interactive.
Also, in the pipeline, is our Teacher Empowerment Programme that will have subject experts and professionals talk about the latest teaching techniques and developments in the subject.
