Karunn Kandoi, General Manager & Head - India Operations, Apply board India, 0
The pandemic brought about various disruptions across industries. It gavebirth to technological advancements and carved the path for the digital transformation of businesses. What was merely an option has quickly become essential in remote settings. Tech adoption became critical for businesses to continue running operations and maintain a competitive edge in the market. The education industry is no exception and has swiftly embraced the digital route. Adopting new-age solutions became the most important shift to ensure that a students’ learning process is not compromised. This trend has also pushed the emergence of EdTech firms that are making concerted efforts to offer high-end educational experiences.
Ed Tech Firms'Journey: Being An Alternative Option To The Mainstream Educational Experience
The Indian educational technology ecosystem has a lot of room for innovation. The market is poised for exponential expansion, with over 4,500 start-ups and a market size predicted to reach $30 billion in the next ten years.
Before the pandemic, remote education was viewed as an assistive tool. Now, it is the go-to solution and an ideal method for smooth learning processes. Up until the pandemic hit, the EdTech solutions were primarily used for competitive examinations and college entrance preparations along with offline coaching. Now, high schools and post-secondary institutions have started accepting technology as a primary delivery method. Advanced tech solutions delivered by EdTech firms have immensely enabled K-12 education as well as college-level studies. EdTech is also taking on a wider range of offerings beyond learning itself but enabling access to that education at home and abroad.
Virtual classrooms are engaging, interactive and offer tech-based content in abundance. EdTech firms also offer a plethora of high-end educational content making online learning productive, intriguing, as well as impactful for the students. Eventually, students will have access to personalized, customized, and self-paced learning. These are aspects that the traditional teaching pedagogy still struggles with.
The Future Scenario Of Online Learning And Edtech Firms
The new norm of remote learning continues to gain prominence and is indeed here to stay for the long haul. The EdTech sector strongly supports online learning and is flourishing significantly across all institutional levels. KPMG’s recent reports point out a similar trend and state that the online education market is anticipated to hit $1.96 billion by the end of 2021 from 2016 and will grow at a CAGR of 52 percent. The primary reasons for this growth would be the affordability and accessibility that virtual learning and EdTech platforms offer. Furthermore, Inc 42, in its recent report, states that the EdTech market size is estimated to be valued at $10.4 billion by the end of 2025. The study further states that this growth will be majorly driven by the increased tech adoption along with the rising demand of the consumers.
It is indeed anticipated that technological adoption will pick up its pace in the times ahead. While EdTech firms presently use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), their usage will increase in the times to come. Both AI and ML offer many benefits, but ultimately,
they help enable access and stronger personalization whether a student is using a web-based learning app or searching for the perfect university to continue their education journey at home or abroad. Our platform, Apply Board uses AI and machine learning to simplify the study abroad search, application and acceptance process for students applying to study in Canada, the US, UK and Australia.
This trend will further lead to the personalization at unimaginable levels. Adding to it, immersive technologies such as AR and VR will soon swoop into the educational market as well. Their virtually simulated content opportunities will lend a helping hand in upscaling the teaching experiences.
As we gradually shift from STEM to STEAM-based learning, automation of the educational industry will be another trend that will gain traction in the future. It will majorly help the learners as they absorb critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Collaboratively, the technological adoption will upscale the educational setting and will further lead to the remarkable growth of the EdTech platforms in the market.
However, at first, we must accept that technology is a tool, not a widespread solution to a complex challenge. Secondly, technology must be used to support the educational concept and teachings. It's risky to provide digital infrastructure without a plan for how it will be used or what teaching-learning methods it will support. Thirdly, technology must not replace the role of schools or teachers. It's not a case of 'teachers vs. technology'; rather, it's a case of 'teachers with technology.'Technology solutions are only useful when teachers embrace them and use them effectively.
We must also be cognizant of the challenges faced by the Indian school education system. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was suffering from a severe learning crisis, with one in every two children unable to read at the age of ten. We must also recognize the fact that the pandemic threatens to deepen the problem, particularly because 15.5 lakh schools have been forced to close, affecting over 25 crore students. Not every school, teacher, and student are able to adapt and use online learning effectively. Even for the schools and teachers that have implemented it well, many are reporting the serious lack of participation from various students.
With flagship programs like Digital India and the Ministry of Education's initiatives, such as the Digital Infrastructure for School Education (DIKSHA), open source learning platform, and UDISE+ one of the largest education management information systems in the world, India seems to be well posiioned, however, it's too early to comment on the effectiveness of these initiatives yet.
EdTech firms help by extending high-end educational experiences to the students. They also foster the holistic development of the learners via their engaging, high quality and tech-enabled curriculum. The Indian EdTech industry and the education sector, overall, are ever evolving in order to cope with the external changes and to cater to the demands of the consumers.
Technology is supporting the EdTech firms as well as offering personalized, flexible, and scalable learning experiences to the students. Digital adoption lends a helping hand in transforming EdTech which is now used as a mainstream education tool. It is no longer viewed as an alternative learning process and has emerged to be the go-to solution for high-end educational experiences.
Technology is supporting the Edtech firms as well as offering personalized, flexible, and scalable learning experiences to the students. Digital adoption lends a helping hand in transforming edtech which is now used as a mainstream education tool
This trend will further lead to the personalization at unimaginable levels. Adding to it, immersive technologies such as AR and VR will soon swoop into the educational market as well. Their virtually simulated content opportunities will lend a helping hand in upscaling the teaching experiences.
As we gradually shift from STEM to STEAM-based learning, automation of the educational industry will be another trend that will gain traction in the future. It will majorly help the learners as they absorb critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Collaboratively, the technological adoption will upscale the educational setting and will further lead to the remarkable growth of the EdTech platforms in the market.
However, at first, we must accept that technology is a tool, not a widespread solution to a complex challenge. Secondly, technology must be used to support the educational concept and teachings. It's risky to provide digital infrastructure without a plan for how it will be used or what teaching-learning methods it will support. Thirdly, technology must not replace the role of schools or teachers. It's not a case of 'teachers vs. technology'; rather, it's a case of 'teachers with technology.'Technology solutions are only useful when teachers embrace them and use them effectively.
We must also be cognizant of the challenges faced by the Indian school education system. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was suffering from a severe learning crisis, with one in every two children unable to read at the age of ten. We must also recognize the fact that the pandemic threatens to deepen the problem, particularly because 15.5 lakh schools have been forced to close, affecting over 25 crore students. Not every school, teacher, and student are able to adapt and use online learning effectively. Even for the schools and teachers that have implemented it well, many are reporting the serious lack of participation from various students.
With flagship programs like Digital India and the Ministry of Education's initiatives, such as the Digital Infrastructure for School Education (DIKSHA), open source learning platform, and UDISE+ one of the largest education management information systems in the world, India seems to be well posiioned, however, it's too early to comment on the effectiveness of these initiatives yet.
EdTech firms help by extending high-end educational experiences to the students. They also foster the holistic development of the learners via their engaging, high quality and tech-enabled curriculum. The Indian EdTech industry and the education sector, overall, are ever evolving in order to cope with the external changes and to cater to the demands of the consumers.
Technology is supporting the EdTech firms as well as offering personalized, flexible, and scalable learning experiences to the students. Digital adoption lends a helping hand in transforming EdTech which is now used as a mainstream education tool. It is no longer viewed as an alternative learning process and has emerged to be the go-to solution for high-end educational experiences.