Apple to BYJU'S, how tech is empowering teachers in India amid pandemic

New Delhi, Sep 5 : Over the last year, as bedrooms and kitchens became classrooms, teachers and students around the world adjusted their lives to remote learning.

The Covid-19 pandemic was helpful in studying the role of technology in education and how well students and teachers could adapt to different learning environments.

Educators in India are using Apple technology to help their students learn, connect and thrive in new ways. With Apple Teacher, a programme designed to support educators who are using Apple products for teaching as well as learning, the iPhone maker is helping educators build foundational skills on iPad and Mac.

"Apple Teacher taught me how to give my students a platform to create, animate and illustrate their understanding of concepts and content," Kirti Trehan, Apple Teacher, said in a statement.

According to weforum.org, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology, with global edtech investments reaching $18.66 billion in 2019 and the overall market for online education projected to reach $350 billion by 2025.

Whether it is language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools or online learning software, there has been a significant surge in usage since the outbreak of Covid-19.

Apart from Apple, live online learning platform Vedantu's W.A.V.E teachers can mathematically measure the effectiveness of each teaching-learning engagement and the level of improvement in learning outcomes, which has technologically reduced the gaps between the teachers and the students.

"Today, virtual classrooms enable us to make the engagement between teachers and students as close as possible to a real, in-class experience. However, it cannot be denied that the pandemic has enhanced the adoption of technology to make the transition from traditional to online learning seamless. Technology-based education makes it more open and equitable. Our mission has always been to focus on impact at scale - leveraging technology and bridging the gaps between the teachers and the students," Pulkit Jain, Co-Founder and Product Head, Vedantu, told IANS.

Meanwhile, BYJU'S MoU with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is providing free access of its educational content and tools to upskill teachers and trainers with the key skills and digital tools to make learning engaging, effective and personalised for the students.

"Our partnership with Google Vidyartha has empowered us to create unique learning pathways for teaching the students. This further enables teachers to harness the power of technology to develop highly personalised learning experiences for the students using the learning app. Furthermore, with WhiteHat Jr, we are empowering over 12,000 teachers to bring about a change in a student's life," Mrinal Mohit, Chief Operating Officer, BYJU'S, told IANS.

The whole idea of "online study" is to bring students and their mentors/teachers closer, as even after coaching hours, a teacher can stay in touch with the student via mediums like Telegram etc, making sure that no student feels alone or unheard anyhow, in any circumstance.

"I believe that the 'online learning' or 'online-study model' made our teachers more efficient in learning, identifying and working cohesively with each student. I mean, when a teacher used to teach in a conventional classroom of 50 students, they would often miss out on weak students or students who want to have a revision," said Prashant Sharma, Co-founder and Director, ZinEdu.