Rahul Deshpande, CEO, K-12 Schools, 0
In conversation with Rahul Deshpande, CEO, K-12 Schools
What would you advise new schools and startups seeking to build or invest in digital earning platforms?
Our learning management platform—a blended learning product—set sail before the COVID-19 pandemic, offering to equip students with the potential to achieve the best learning outcomes. We were able to quickly repurpose our platform to online learning when the pandemic struck, and it stood well over the last two years in helping students achieve their learning objectives. As students return to school, we need to switch to blended learning mode since it has completely changed the education landscape over the last two years.
Parents’ concerns for online learning management systems over screen time and security have reduced after children, including adults, are widely seen on their screens for longer durations. On the other hand, we built certain safety features into our learning management product. Besides, I believe that more advanced features prevent students from accessing content they are not supposed to, and these issues are mainly being solved.
We believe in two aspects crucial to blended learning program or learning management system. One is personalization, with students learning through different formats, fulfilling the unique needs of each one. The same is implemented in assessment as well. Modifying the learning stimuli helps provide an individual experience to each child. Secondly, we are working on a real-time feedback mechanism that takes course immediately after an assessment, unlike the delayed response received after an exam. Immediate feedback helps in both the identification and bridging of learning gaps immediately. My advice is that personalization and real-time feedback are two basic fundamental building blocks of any learning system. This is what we hold central to our product development.
What is the future of education and classroom learning
that you envision?
The last two years' events make us reimagine the purpose of physical schools. We often tend to oversee the elements that can be accomplished in schools and those at home. Classrooms should be reserved for activities that require interaction like projects, discussions, and other physical activities, while the primary curriculum transaction should be done at home. We are figuring out how much essential reading can be done at home, and discussions or projects work in schools, resulting in learning about collaborations. These activities can happen only in a physical setting. They should reflect in the school’s infrastructure through spaces for collaborations, auditoriums, large playgrounds, and various laboratories, among others, for students to learn about working together.
Also, we are looking to enable students to learn by applied learning. I think this is the future destination, with basic learning happening in both school and at home.
What is the scope available to startups venturing into the market today?
I believe we are in the nascent stages of technology in education, as its entry has been minimal over the last few decades, with projectors and smart class systems being the first technologies to enter the classroom. Currently, more technology is stepping in for two reasons. One is the wide acceptance of technology among people, and the other is the variety of products available to students. But most products tend to be a set of features and often fail to solve real problems. I would suggest edtech companies to start with a problem statement of what they want to address. Personalization of learning by teaching algebra in different ways could be one example. Starting with a high-level problem can open a vast scope. Schools will be largely adopting these systems. Regarding other markets like B2C, edtech startups should not dive directly; instead, they could sell these technologies to schools that can implement them.
What are the aspects responsible for pooling investments in the sector?
The market size is enormous, as well as the student body in India, especially considering that edtechs seem to pool more students from around the globe to whom they can sell their products. Hence, many investors appear to be interested in the sudden market explosion.
Moreover, I believe that most global jurisdictions/regulatory frameworks will change substantially. Education was a regulated industry across many markets that left investors uncertain when stepping into the sector compared to the past. However, as the times have changed, offering best-in-class learning solutions will call for a change in regulations and will simultaneously draw in more investors.
What's the future of education?
Nonetheless, tomorrow’s economy will be a knowledge economy and reflect the significance of education at every level. The era of formal education is coming to a fold, and there will be a need to stay updated with knowledge as life continues to unfold. However, the downpour is that formal education may tend to become more informal. Therefore, education will be an ongoing process throughout one’s life, and companies will be built around the same. This means there will be scope for individuals aged 30 plus—those willing to update their skills. On the other hand, colleges will need to reinvent themselves, and skill-building will become vital at the school level.
The last two years' events make us reimagine the purpose of physical schools. We often tend to oversee the elements that can be accomplished in schools and those at home. Classrooms should be reserved for activities that require interaction like projects, discussions, and other physical activities, while the primary curriculum transaction should be done at home. We are figuring out how much essential reading can be done at home, and discussions or projects work in schools, resulting in learning about collaborations. These activities can happen only in a physical setting. They should reflect in the school’s infrastructure through spaces for collaborations, auditoriums, large playgrounds, and various laboratories, among others, for students to learn about working together.
Also, we are looking to enable students to learn by applied learning. I think this is the future destination, with basic learning happening in both school and at home.
colleges will need to reinvent themselves, and skill-building will become vital at the school level
What is the scope available to startups venturing into the market today?
I believe we are in the nascent stages of technology in education, as its entry has been minimal over the last few decades, with projectors and smart class systems being the first technologies to enter the classroom. Currently, more technology is stepping in for two reasons. One is the wide acceptance of technology among people, and the other is the variety of products available to students. But most products tend to be a set of features and often fail to solve real problems. I would suggest edtech companies to start with a problem statement of what they want to address. Personalization of learning by teaching algebra in different ways could be one example. Starting with a high-level problem can open a vast scope. Schools will be largely adopting these systems. Regarding other markets like B2C, edtech startups should not dive directly; instead, they could sell these technologies to schools that can implement them.
What are the aspects responsible for pooling investments in the sector?
The market size is enormous, as well as the student body in India, especially considering that edtechs seem to pool more students from around the globe to whom they can sell their products. Hence, many investors appear to be interested in the sudden market explosion.
Moreover, I believe that most global jurisdictions/regulatory frameworks will change substantially. Education was a regulated industry across many markets that left investors uncertain when stepping into the sector compared to the past. However, as the times have changed, offering best-in-class learning solutions will call for a change in regulations and will simultaneously draw in more investors.
What's the future of education?
Nonetheless, tomorrow’s economy will be a knowledge economy and reflect the significance of education at every level. The era of formal education is coming to a fold, and there will be a need to stay updated with knowledge as life continues to unfold. However, the downpour is that formal education may tend to become more informal. Therefore, education will be an ongoing process throughout one’s life, and companies will be built around the same. This means there will be scope for individuals aged 30 plus—those willing to update their skills. On the other hand, colleges will need to reinvent themselves, and skill-building will become vital at the school level.