The Present and The Future of Ed-Tech
Ed-Tech aims to dole out digitally integrated knowledge to all, thus shaping the future from the present. Read on to find out developing technologies like AR, Gaming, immersive experience can all heighten a students quest for knowledge!
The blend of Education and Technology led to the development of an entirely new and successful field of Ed-Tech, where technology is used in implementing and conceptualizing education for everybody regardless of their age. Currently, amidst the raging pandemic, this along with e-commerce are the two sectors that truly thrived and flourished under duress. This being no small feat, we now know that the future of well imparted education, truly and without a doubt lies inter-mingled with the latest nuances of technology.
Ed-Tech bridges the gap between classroom rote learning and an individual’s creativity. It allows the candidate to choose what they want to learn, when they learn and at the pace they want to learn it at without any hassle or pressure. This allows one to expand our field of knowledge within the reaches of our own comfort. Ed-Tech offers everything from short term fun filled courses to legitimately recognized degrees through learning portals, programs and institutes.
Ed-techs makes it possible to boost your skills without having to compromise on your occupation and means of life. Simply put, interested professionals can always find courses that provide a great set of knowledge and a certificate that can ramp up your resume!
With the pandemic still at large even after a year, people have truly begun to see the utility of Ed-Techs and resonate with their mission, providing courses and ampules of knowledge that are relevant to today’s world at their own convenience and preferred pace. This was also emphasized by a shift in the regular medium of imparting education via classrooms to platforms like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams i.e. all virtual and online.
It is crucial that in the post pandemic days, the upward boom of Ed-Tech companies be maintained and this can be done so by analyzing and implementing their key tenets which are-
- Make all individuals digitally aware about the options they have and it’s wide scope due to Ed-Techs
- Increased willingness to pay for Ed-Techs, people must be willing to pay for a quality education that Ed-Techs can without a doubt provide. One must also keep in mind that this mode of education is significantly less expensive when compared to offline courses.
- No company can survive their inception without funds, so it goes without question that companies like those in the Ed-Tech field that are capable of providing sustainable and easy access solutions to conventional modes of education must be well funded.
Ed-Tech — The Present
- Upskilling
People can take up the courses they are interested in pursuing at their own leisure especially in fields like HR, Marketing, AI, Robotics and more. Online certification for courses such as these will hold a huge value in allowing youngsters and professionals to be more qualified for positions. Availability of MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) is yet another benefit of Ed-Tech. MOOC refers to online courses that are taken for interested individuals all over the world with certification from recognised institutions.
2. Easy Access to Learning Resources
The age of EdTech has made content and resources more reachable to the public in general. Availability of Open Educational Resources through the internet can make knowledge boundless and accessible to everyone with an internet connection! These materials (textbooks, pamphlets, research papers etc.) don’t have copyright and therefore can be used and read by anyone. How to, DIY videos, tutorials are yet another free source of information and fun!
3. Element of Fun
Regular classes can get truly tedious after the first hour. Integrating a regular mode of education with electronics by showing relevant movies, videos, presentations can bring about increased student engagement and excitement from them. It can also increase their collaboration through various hands-on digitally equipped projects like making videos and presentations, programming etc.
4. Equipped for Tech Careers
Students who are well versed in handling technology and electronics meet the requirement for most job criteria today besides their subject qualifications. They are well versed in the usage of various social apps that facilitate virtual learning and online lab sessions and other apps that aid in communicating like Skype. It also ensures that kids know how to use programs like Word, Excel, Powerpoint Presentation and more very well.
5. Digital Life
This blended mode of learning also ensures that kids know how to navigate the apps and payment portals that are generally used by the society today to make transactions easier and paper money less. Living in a generation where people are rapidly transitioning from the use of cards and paper money to e-transactions and online bill payments, it’s very important that kids become aware of how these platforms work in order to be productive in the future.
Future of Ed-Tech
The education sector still has lightyears to go before hitting the milestone of perfection. However, utilizing Ed-Techs might be a definite step in the right direction. The lack of proper infrastructure, affordability and accessibility are few main reasons why education still remains unattainable to the poorer masses of our country. With the advent of Ed-Tech it provides a partial relief in the form of a possible solution! Ed-Tech with the backing of governmental and private educational sectors have the ability to provide a massive relief in the present educational shortage if a well designed educational infrastructure and delivery model is planned. This can be seen through
- Progressive Educational Planning
Most students of India managed to shift to a virtual learning environment for education owing it’s advent and necessity to the pandemic. Even though more steps need to be taken, especially in making education available equally to all the masses, the increasing availability of online courses can pave the way for getting education at the cost of a smartphone.
2. Gamification
Yet another venue by which education takes place advertently or inadvertently. It is a well known fact that gaming improves a person’s cognitive and decision making abilities. The simulations can also help them absorb massive amounts of information which in a regular classroom setting will not yield the same results.
3. Immersive Experience
The aid of technology in education can provide a dynamic classroom experience with the help of e-learning and electronics enabled classrooms. Futuristic technology like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality programs can be used to tutor kids in various subjects while giving them in depth life-like experience in different subjects. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could see the working of a heart, from within it.
4. Personalized Learning
With the introduction of technology and AI into education, personalizing the content of a course based on the person’s area of interest in order to enhance their quest for knowledge is becoming an increasingly well catered domain that only web based Ed-Tech companies can provide.
It is clearly evident that Ed-Tech is going to be the soul and crux of the educational sector within the upcoming years. Even today, parents, teachers, students, schools and other institutions are beginning to see the method behind this idea. Hopefully with the evolution of time, the method of parting wisdom will see a drastic, integrated change for the better too!
