When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2019, the world was at a loss. Having never faced a similar situation, countries were faced with a decision to make – shut everything down and risk economic losses or keep everything open for the sake of business and economy and risk the spread of the disease? The worst-hit area, it would seem, is the education sector. Unable to allow students gathering, schools were unsure on how it would continue providing lessons for its students.
The graph below depicts that by mid to end March 2020, 1.38 billion students worldwide were impacted by the pandemic.
To ensure students’ education remained on track, digital platforms and online learning became the new mode of learning and teaching.
What is EdTech?
Also known as Education Technology, EdTech refers to the combined use of computer hardware and software integrated with educational theory and practice so as to facilitate learning and teaching.
Education and the Pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly enhanced digital transformation in schools, which is an indication of how education will be imparted in the future. The availability of high‑quality content online could replace and/or supplement classroom-based teaching and learning even post-pandemic. Furthermore, technology will come to play a key role in guaranteeing that data is available to educationists, students, parents, and policymakers alike that will significantly enhance learning outcomes.
Byju’s, the world’s second-highest valued EdTech company based in India digitally teaches academic subjects and concepts to students between the age group of 5 to 20 with the use of interactive animation videos, immersive and interpersonal one-on-one online tutoring, etc. They also deliver exam prep courses for admission into premier technical and management institutes in India. The COVID‑19 pandemic has naturally caused an upward surge in the usage of BYJU’s, which has now launched the app in quite a few regional Indian languages so as to increase accessibility to all students within the country. With tie-ups with Disney, Byju’s is ensuring that education is made not only more fun and attractive, but also easy to learn and access.
Indeed, with COVID-19 forcing education to digitize at a rate faster than before, it is becoming increasingly difficult to envision a future where online learning is not at the heart of education and teaching. “In a post-COVID world, the classroom is no longer contained within four walls. EdTech will be the key to expanding beyond them.”
EdTech trends that are here to stay.
Parent involvement:
Initially, most parents did not have time to understand the progress and needs of their children’s academia. Now however, with the easy accessibility of reports and scores, parents can track and monitor the progress of their children’s schoolwork. Byju’s Parent Connect App facilitates parents to keep track of their children’s learning progress through their own mobile apps. Timely reports and detailed scoresheets enable parents to understand where their children excel, where they are struggling, and the teaching methods they enjoy. There is less pressure on teachers to give such detailed reports to parents on a regular basis, as everything is now automated. This is a very useful feature that is here to stay post-pandemic.
Increased teacher focus:
When asked Mr. Sean Tierney, Microsoft’s Director for Teaching and Learning Strategy Asia, he shares, “If I am one teacher and I have 30 kids in my class, I will only have the chance to have a cursory look at every child. But if I had ten really experienced teachers in that classroom, they could watch 3 kids each closely and look for problems and opportunities for each. We now have technology that can act as those 10 extra teachers.” This very clearly indicates that online learning has helped teachers focus on every student better, give them more attention understand their needs and what they respond to best. Byju’s ensures that students get personal attention from teachers and can be helped when needed without further delay.
Blended Learning
A study conducted by Promethean, an EdTech company that primarily develops, amalgamates, and implements learning environments, has shown that 82% of educators think that the most likely trend that is to evolve in the coming 10 years is the combination of technology with traditional resources and teaching methods. This is especially helpful in the long term because it ensures that students can choose from a wider selection of classes and work with more flexibility as they have an option between on-site learning, remote learning, or a combination of the two.
High Retention
It is also proven that EdTech has resulted in students being able to understand and retain knowledge from their lessons better. It is recognized that gamification, or the application of game-design components and game principles in non-game contexts in education results in an increase in students’ enthusiasm and engagement. This also promises to help students reframe subjects they consider burdensome or boring as engaging and fun. Collaborating with Disney, Byju’s has created lessons that are incorporated with your child’s favorite characters told in colorful video and game formats.
As BYJU’s promises, “we take the chore out of learning and make it a more enjoyable, interactive, and rewarding experience.”
To experience firsthand how digital learning works, you could visit BYJU’s and sign up for a free class.
