How important is technology in education?

How important is technology in
education?
Technology is slowly and steadily making
a foray in education. Knowledge is no
more limited to books and the use of
platforms such as websites, apps, videos,
live chats, etc., have taken it to another
level. A lot of schools and colleges – mostly
in tier 1 and tier 2 cities – have embraced
technology to make learning fun and
interactive.

Education Technology or ‘edtech’ as it has
been termed now, is a growing sector. If
we look at the numbers, India’s online
education market is set to go as high as
$2.5 billion by year-end, according to a
research done by RedSeer Consulting. The
report had further estimated a total of 20
million students between junior high to
senior school who would count as the
contributors to this market.
Interweaving technology with education
seems to be helping students at all levels.

Many educators in the city swear by
instructional videos while parents are
gradually opening up to the possibility of a
platform which may help their wards learn
something new in an innovative manner.
The use of education technology is not
restricted to cities and metros, as one
might believe. It is expanding its base to
Tier II and Tier III cities as well. One of the
reasons for this is difficulty in having
access to proper instruction channels and
resources/quality of education available to
city students, the report says.
The way edtech has evolved is interesting
to see. While originally it aimed at
providing a fun alternative to learning
activities in terms of education-related
games and platforms in general, they have
now come all the way to including
technologies dedicated to enhancing

learning and education itself.
In July this year, Lenovo had launched an
electronic slate for kids. According to a
research done by the company, the interest
span of children waned easily when
studying but remained put when they were
engaged in games.
Besides aiming to make students adapt
better to the rapidly digitising world
around them, edtech also helps develop
creativity as well as personalising content
suited to the needs of each child based on
constant evaluation.
Taking the case of assessment based
learning tools, iAugmentor, is a
personalised and adaptive medium that
intuitively suggests a learning roadmap to
an individual as per the learning
tendencies, competencies and proclivities

of the individual while constantly tracking
progress.
Sameer Sikka, CLO and Cofounder of
iAugmentor, feels that the dynamics of
education have changed with the
infiltration of technology.
Sameer Bora from Next Education India
Pvt Ltd, an education solutions provider
with a special interest in K-12 education,
says that edtech can work only when there
is interaction and participation. A lot of
people only look at videos but that is not
the sole purpose of education technology.
Interaction and participation are the two
biggest components of online education,
he says.
The way online learning differs from
edtech, Bora feels, is that education
technology involves programmes which

engage a physical response from the child
and enables an interaction instead of a
one-sided conversation, whereas online
learning is consumption of content in the
form of videos or written lessons posted
online. Online education is one component
of edtech.
Programmes that allow kids to take part in
the learning process is what would define
edtech.
Talking about the aims and focus of online
education in this regard, Sikka says,
Today’s education doesn’t change
behaviour —something which can happen
only when people learn to ‘do’. Skills are
not being imparted. Current education
scenario assumes people come from same
profiles and learning needs. Education
technology uses artificial intelligence to
gauge individual needs.

Sikka informs that in order to assess
students, iAugmentor throws up five pieces
of content which can be videos, articles or
cartoons from which a user has to choose
one and then answer questions related to it.
“Through the students’ answers, we can
assess specific gaps in learning by using
tools such as memorability, hand
movement and articulation assessments
tools, which are our parameters, said
Sikka.
When it comes to involving technology
while learning, special attention needs to
be given to each child by understanding
his or her individual needs as well as
making the process more interactive and
fun by transforming studies into a
hands-on experience instead of a rot-based
system.

Personalised mentoring and “life-skills” are
parameters that are never discussed in
school educational programmes or
curriculums. Individual emphasis on the
enhancement of student’s skills and
aptitudes to be ready to face life
challenges are not given utmost
importance in classrooms either, Sikka
says.
Parents need to understand the important
of technology in education just like outside
experiences enhance learning, why can’t
technology do the same, feels Bora.
A homemaker with three school-going
children who are adept at finding their
way through a cell phone or a computer,
feels that in this day and age, it is
impractical for a child not to be engaged in
some kind of technology based game or
learning activity.

It is a good practice to keep them (kids)
engaged in some or the other
computer-based activity because if they do
not learn now, they will not be able to
work later, she says, adding that even if
she prevented her children from working
at a computer, it would not be in their best
interests.
Moreover, they would end up playing
games on a friend’s cell phone or school
computer anyway. Why make something
forbidden when it can help them learn one
more skill, says she.
Her sister who has a one and a half years
old toddler, has already started letting her
daughter listen to rhymes and stories on a
tablet.

She has also bought CDs with softwares for
children as she feels they are better than
books due to their interactive element.
Technology has infiltrated the education
sector and is only going to grow, as
exemplified by the above examples. The
biggest challenge of edtech, which is
changing the mindset of people, especially
parents, with regards to technology’s role
in education also seems to be easing up.
The only factor which remains to be seen
now is what shape the sector takes in the
future and how it competes against
classroom teaching and the rot-based
education system prevalent in the country.
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How important is technology in education?

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