In the present world, there’s no denying that technology has asserted its impact and taken over all sectors. Although earlier, the educational sector’s technological dependence was lower than the industrial or health sectors, it has increased significantly with the advent of Covid-19.
With or without the Coronavirus, it has been well established by now that Ed-Tech is the future of education. If you’re not familiar with the term Ed-tech, here’s what it means.
Ed-Tech refers to the introduction and utilisation of IT tools in classrooms to provide the students with a thoroughly engrossing, inclusive and individualised learning experience. Long gone are the days when the only technological device in classrooms were the big, bulky computers.
Be it the technological gadgets of tablets, laptops and projectors, or interactive online classes and webinars, or high-tech robots and blockchain tools, with Ed-Tech, learning has become easy, fun and engaging. Supposing it continues to flourish at the same pace, by 2027, Ed-Tech can reach the whopping number of $680.1billion, sprouting at a yearly rate of 17.9%.
Enriching the dynamics between schools and Ed-Tech Entrepreneurs, the silver lining of the pandemic is the embracement of educational technology by schools. Apart from being profitable for both sectors, Ed-tech can be extremely beneficial for the augmentation of the initiatives and development of the educational sector.
Benefits of Ed-Tech
Assessing the rising hype for it, it is crucial to know how Ed-Tech can elevate the teaching and learning experience in schools. So, mentioned below are the benefits of Ed-Tech:
For Learners
- Elevated Engagement- Besides digitised books and notes, Ed-Tech tablets are packed with learning games, interesting podcasts and problem-solving riddles. Also, with cloud-based apps allowing the digital submission of homework and projects and seamless interactions with teachers and classmates, learning has never been easier.
- Simplified Accessibility- From the past two years, online classes have replaced the actual classrooms, to keep education unhindered during these tough times. With Ed-tech, students have the flexibility to attend classes anytime and anywhere, get easy access to notes and complete assignments at a relaxed pace.
- Self-learning- Ed-Tech has empowered the students with the opportunity of self-learning. Rather than following the strict directions as timely assigned by the school authorities, with self-learning, students can learn at their own pace. From conducting online discussions to collaborating for group projects, self-learning helps students to engage better by shedding the traditional norms of education.
- Personalised Education- The skills and the guidance to hone them differ from student to student. So, a teaching technique that may work out great for one student may not be able to bring out the best in the other.
One of the finest benefits of Ed-tech is it helps curate personalised educational experiences for all students. Utilising Ed-Tech analytics, teachers can detect students are having issues in which areas and craft their learning plan accordingly.
For Educators
- Computerized Grading- The immensely tiring and time-consuming task of checking answer scripts and grading them is every educator’s dreadful nightmare. Well, thanks to Ed-Tech, with artificial intelligence technology grading may upgrade to being their new favourite activity.
The machine learning ability in Ed-tech apps helps assess answers based on the specifications of the assignment and grade accordingly. This saves the teachers a lot of their time which they can positively utilise to guide the struggling students.
- Effective Classroom Management- With so many classroom management Ed-Tech tools available, maintaining a peaceful and hassle-free learning environment is equivalent to “a walk in the park”.
Be it sending daily updates, assigning homework, sending reminders to students and parents or maintaining classroom decorum online. Ed Tech has made the fulfilment of the educators’ responsibilities a thousand times easier.
- No Paper Costs- Ever imagined attending classes without pen and paper? Sounds bizarre even today, doesn’t it? From report cards to classwork and homework copies, to maintaining registers, a lot of paper gets wasted in schools. With Ed-tech fulfiling all these responsibilities digitally, the once hefty expenses on paper and printing machines are reduced to none.
- Increased Productivity- An educator’s job is of nurturing children and help them make the best of their abilities to achieve new heights of success. However, to be able to do that, they need to have a thorough understanding of the students’ requirements. The variety of Ed-Tech tools, apps and data platforms available to analyse the student’s skills and requirements helps educators in providing them better guidance.
Ed-Tech and Schools Collaboration
Having numerous utilisations in education, the harmonious collaboration of Ed-Tech and Schools will help get closer towards their common goal of augmentation of education. Here are all that is required to maintain that.
Professional Compatibility
Just how people don’t blindly dive into relationships without figuring out if they’re compatible with their partner, compatibility matters in professional life as well.
In Ed-tech, the products or software are designed to be utilised in the educational set up by students, teachers and at times, guardians. Hence, their requirements, inputs and approvals are the ones to consider while developing Ed-Tech gadgets or programs. That’ll help the entrepreneurs decide if their creations possess the potential to be beneficial in the school environment. If a company can’t meet the school’s Ed-tech requirements, they’re not the right fit to augment the school’s development.
Trial Runs
The best thing about trial runs is they aren’t the complete outcome and thereby have abundant scope for improvement and alterations. Also, with trial runs entrepreneurs get the opportunity to improve the quality and glitches of their products.
As for the schools, they get the chance of introducing exciting and potential new Ed-tech products to their students and faculty. Based on the feedback from schools, the entrepreneurs can decide better if their innovations need improvement or not? If yes, what are the areas that require attention?
Sustain and Retain
The success and failure of a newly introduced product in the market depend on its popularity among users. In Ed-tech too, when an innovation holds the capacity of boosting and maintaining a solid customer base is when the company thrives.
The formulation and implementation of an Ed-tech solution or product depend on its usability in the classroom setup and the user experience. Therefore, feedback from teachers and students would help entrepreneurs in optimising the product quality, getting maximum utilisation and maintaining a steady customer base.
Convenient and accommodating of the diverse requirements of students, Ed-Tech has elevated and added a whole new meaning to learning. Considering the rapid growth in importance and dependence on Ed-Tech, it’s high time for the educational sector to establish a permanent partnership with Ed-Tech entrepreneurs.
