With COVID-19 forcing the closure of educational institutions and postponing all academic activities, online education is fast emerging as the only viable option. Here are some of the online edtech platforms with their new-age offerings that promise to deliver unique solutions to challenges unleashed by coronavirus pandemic.
ELO from S.P. Jain School of Global Management
S.P. Jain becomes the first in Asia to use advanced technology to bring the classroom to the homes of its students affected by COVID-19. With COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, universities all over the world are racing to adapt their programs and classes to online alternatives. Not all online learning systems are the same and caught unaware, a majority of universities have resorted to using whatever technology is available to them. In this landscape, S P Jain School of Global Management is using its own proprietary Engaged Learning Online (ELO) technology which was developed in anticipation of the need for high quality and customized online education.
ELO is a high-end online learning system that replicates a live classroom down to its last detail. Along similar lines are Harvard’s HBX and Oxford’s HIVE. The ELO studio is set up with a robotic tracking camera for the faculty. This allows them to move freely, maintain eye contact with students, and respond to their visual cues, moderate discussions and more, all in real-time. Faculty and students are able to engage in one-on-one conversations as if they were sitting side-by-side. ELO enables faculty to evaluate each student’s level of engagement, respond to them individually and keep them motivated – just like they would do in a conventional classroom. A big advantage is also that ELO engages even those students who wouldn’t participate in an on-campus classroom discussion.
Speaking of this technology, Mr. Nitish Jain, President, SP Jain, shares, “Like most industries, technology is shaping the way we live and experience things. Unlike Zoom, Google Hangout or other popular video conferencing software that was mostly designed for office use the emphasis within ELO is upon ‘student engagement’. We weren’t satisfied to simply replicate our classes for the online platform. Our students deserve – no matter where in the world they are – to continue to experience the dynamism and engagement of an SP Jain classroom, safely and comfortably.
Over 2,000 students from 20 countries have experienced this technology in the past four weeks and the experience has been fantastic. To see our students continue to enjoy their lessons and bond with faculty, even in the midst of such chaos and uncertainty, is very encouraging to us. We are constantly collecting feedback and tweaking our technology to ensure that it is at the forefront of online education.”
Notebook School
Notebook, an after-school digital learning portal, announced its free Notebook app access for all schools and students across India. It allows schools to get access to concise and engaging high-quality audio-visual teaching aids for classrooms and students to get access to the same content on their devices. With a responsibility to enable every child to learn, Notebook is a digital content portal that allows children and parents to learn topics in their respective school syllabi through engaging videos and notes. Notebook exists to empower positive social change. Its vernacular feature allows children to learn their syllabus in their regional languages. The videos include instructor-led components as well as graphic visualization elements to reinforce storytelling. Hand-drawn illustrations, soothing music, and well thought out creative design augments the storytelling and enhance understanding and retention of topics.
Whilst the parents may be working from home or engaged in daily household chores, the school-goers in the family also should get an opportunity to get round the clock unhindered free access to best in class education from the comfort and safety of their homes. Students will be able to study all topics in their syllabus through engaging razor-sharp videos made by the best minds in school education in the country and also benefit from our unique pedagogy that revolves around the augmented storytelling approach. Notebook also has a huge question bank for practice that the students (especially those in their board year) can benefit from. We would earnestly request parents also to be a part of this immersive learning process and encourage their children to make full use of this time.
Achin Bhattacharyya CEO and Founder Notebook said: “We have made our entire content catering to CBSE, ICSE, UP state board, West Bengal state board fully free till 31st May 2020 (and will extend the same if required).”
Vedantu
Vedantu, a LIVE online tutoring in India has unveiled the #21DayLearningChallenge involving social media influencers from various walks of life including Hrithik Roshan, Shikhar Dhawan, Sania Mirza, Jannat Zubair to convey a message of learning should never stop and that it can be continued from the safety of the home. While India braces itself towards the second week of lockdown, these personalities are trying to learn a new skill and make the most of the self-isolation period. While Hrithik’s Instagram post where he is learning the piano is trending, Sania is attempting to bounce the tennis ball on the frame of her tennis racket and Shikhar Dhawan is mastering the art of juggling three balls. Inspired by Vedantu’s 21 Day Learning Challenge, these influencers are throwing open the challenge for others to learn something new and post their experience on social media.
With this unique initiative, Vedantu is encouraging everyone to keep themselves engaged and motivated while learning a new skill right at their homes. While Vedantu is offering free LIVE classes for students belonging to standards 1-12, JEET and NEET from the safety of their home, it is taking learning to a new level by encouraging people to challenge themselves and acquire a new skill. Anyone can take up this challenge by learning any soft skill be it painting, play a musical instrument, learning a new sport, cooking or even a new trick.
Vedantu is offering support to students, parents, and schools across to provide free access to its complete learning platform. Vedantu is providing Free access to all LIVE classes & Premium Courses with Vedantu Master Teachers, Study Material, Tests & Assignments, LIVE Doubts feature during this outbreak, where students & parents can rest assured as they can continue their learning from the safety of their homes. Vedantu’s vision is to make the best quality education accessible to everyone and is committed to helping students have uninterrupted learning. Vedantu’s LIVE classes can be easily accessed at home from your Mobile, Desktop & Tabs.
Tata ClassEdge
Considering the evolving situation of COVID-19 in India, and the lockdown of schools across the country, Tata ClassEdge announces an initiative “The learning must go on”.
The initiative allows the use of ClassEdge content through video conferencing software: Teachers can teach via the ClassEdge platform and use any video conferencing service to conduct a virtual class.
Sanjay Radhakrishnan, CCO, Tata ClassEdge. “Due to the evolving situation COVID-19, during these unprecedented times, Tata ClassEdge is attempting to support schools to utilize the TCE online content to conduct their classes. The teachers are now using the same content and curriculum that is being taught in the classrooms. This ensures familiarity and consistency in the entire teaching-learning process.”
How does it help?
- Continue teaching without losing time
- Plan your teaching at your convenience
- Access from home – anytime
- Classroom experience to students
How does it work?
- Login to TCE online
- Access the mapped content for your school
- Connect your students through online video conferencing platform
- You are ready to go.
Global Grad Show
Global Grad Show announces an open call to universities and students across the world, to help address COVID-19 collateral issues.
- Call for submission is open to the international community of students and professors from all disciplines and universities around the world, including India.
- The proposals must identify and address a critical issue surrounding COVID-19, which can range from home quarantine to decontamination of public areas, to an enhanced patient- screening methods and statistical disease-prediction models.
- Any selected proposal will receive an academic award in the form of a scholarship (covering the annual tuition fee of the selected student or establishing a research scholarship of equivalent value for the department of the selected professor).
- Any selected proposal will be supported through an acceleration program and may be further funded to be produced and distributed at scale.
A leading social impact innovation platform for graduate students across the world, the Global Grad Show, held in partnership with Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), and supported by A.R.M. Holding and Dubai Culture, is extending its efforts beyond its yearly program to announce an open call to its global academic network looking for solutions to COVID-19 collateral issues.
“COVID-19 is entangling the world in a healthcare challenge and creating a tailspin of circumstances that need to be addressed to safeguard our communities, the global economy, and the way we live and interact with each other overall. With the full support of ICD and a consortium of institutions, the Global Grad Show will help enable its creative community to challenge the global threats the world faces today,” commented ICD Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Mohammed I. Al Shaibani.
Global Grad Show encourages all graduates, undergraduates, and professors of all academic backgrounds and universities around the world, including India to submit their proposals. Any selected project will be announced by 16th April. The proposals must address collateral issues related to COVID-19.
Examples include improving the efficiency of self-quarantine, increase treatment capacity and screening methods, mitigate contagious behaviors individually and within groups and enable collaborative efforts among private and public sectors.
A team of health professionals and innovation specialists will support the selection and development of chosen projects. Any selected proposal will be funded through prototyping and testing. Additionally, creator(s) of a selected proposal will be awarded the tuition fee of their current studies, or equivalent scholarship for the department of selected professor(s).
Leverage Edu
Leverage Edu launches Online University Fair Platform – UniConnect; Joins hands with Sannam S4 for the first edition. In the last few weeks, Universities have been taking bold and impactful measures to put their current and incoming class of students above all else. However, the traditional on-ground education fairs, which have been the primary mode of interacting with potential students for decades, have been cut short.
To ensure that the academic session at universities around the world is not impacted, and things go completely seamlessly, the edu-tech platform Leverage Edu has launched UniConnect. UniConnect, powered by Leverage Edu, is an online University Fair platform that will help hundreds of universities directly interact with students in a replicated-with-technology fair – which has college booths, presentation halls, virtual campus tours, an opportunity to e-meet academics and alumni, understand right fit programs, as well as apply for financial aid.
Students can also create their profiles for quick evaluation and specific advice – directly from the universities, giving themselves a chance to also land on-spot offers & scholarships.
In this endeavor, leading market entry international trade and business consultancy Sannam S4, widely acclaimed for its education practice in India has come forward to partner and will be opening UniConnect to its partner universities from six countries, for them to be able to bring in real innovation to the global student mobility industry.
Speaking on the initiative, Lakshmi Iyer, the Executive Director of Education at Sannam S4, said: “these are extraordinary times and at Sannam S4 we are looking at innovative ways to make sure our partner universities maintain high levels of visibility and also test out new ways of working as it will not be ‘business as usual’ when humanity emerges from this pandemic. We take our responsibility to our partners seriously to ensure that we are thinking about and bringing to them new channels and ways of working as every institution is impacted globally.”
Founder and CEO of LeverageEdu, Akshay Chaturvedi, added, “As a technology company, it is imperative to think about solutions that change the industry or create new sub-trends within it. Our teams have worked extremely hard to bring this new platform, UniConnect, live in record time, to make the maximum impact. I am all the more thrilled to be launching this with Sannam S4 that supports the highest number of institutions from around the world in India.”
The first of these fairs went live on April 4, for which over 35 Universities and hundreds of students onboard.
Byju’s
In a bid to help students, who may be facing troubles in continuing their studies due to the nationwide lockdown, edtech unicorn BYJU’s has now launched free live classes for students to help them cover the curriculum.
Students will now be able to learn real-time from Byju’s teachers by reserving their preferred topic and slot from the schedule on Byju’s – The Learning App.
The students can select their preferred topic based on their class to book their slots. Students can continue learning from home through interactive live lessons from top teachers, watch engaging videos and revise from multiple practice tests on the Byju’s app.
To access free live classes, students can download BYJU’s mobile application from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. On the application, students can access the content by going on the ‘Live classes’ section.
Yocket
Mumbai-based edtech startup Yocket has announced that it will provide access to the students whole over the world without any cost. The company has also decided to provide free webinar services to International universities so that they can directly interact with the candidates and solve their queries and they could get best-fit students for their universities.
Sumeet Jain, Co-founder, Yocket, “We have seen panic among students looking to study abroad. Many of the students were in the middle of their applications for the Fall 2020 season which would start in Sept 2020. If the students aren’t able to complete their process they would end up wasting a year. We don’t want that to happen. Even if the term starts online or a bit late, they would need to be prepared. We want to be sure that students don’t waste this time in panic.”
Yocket is going to do a series of 27 webinars from April 6.