Infosys Co-Founder and the mind behind the India’s Massive Unique Identification Aadhaar Project Nandan Nilekani is all up for an equally ambitious project to help children across the country improve their reading and arithmetic skills using low-end tablets and smartphones.
After giving a unique identity to the country Nilekani now wants to use technology to take primary education to 200 million Indian children.
EkStep, will be child-centric with the main focus on the kids aged between 5-12 years of age. By leveraging game-based learning expertise at U.S.-based Filament Games, this non-profit platform aims to create an ecosystem of support to bring personalized learning to students for better education delivery. The idea is to create a learning tool that will be available on smart devices like tablets and smartphones for millions of children so that they can access education be it at home, tuition centers or schools.
Developed by EkStep in partnership with Filament games, together they will provide the backbone, called ‘EkStep Genie’, a meta-app hosted in Google playstore. The Genie will contain lots of gamified apps, the contents of which will be developed by a larger ecosystem that will follow the method.
The content offered as games will largely aim at improving the numerical abilities and literacy among children. The game will be playable on even the most affordable mobile technology in order to maximize the reach and accessibility of the game.
Shankar Maruwada, Co-founder and CEO of EkStep on the collaboration said, “We approached Filament Games for this project because of their position as a global leader in game-based learning,” “We are confident that with their talented team of developers, artists, and designers, the EkStep platform will benefit from game content that is at once authentically entertaining and effectively educational.”
Why EkStep?
— With a belief that every child is unique with different education needs is deserving of quality education not being enforced as a burden for the child instead making it fun and enjoyable for the kid, it is a collaborative approach where technology is a necessary enabler.
— Learning gaps which EkStep calls ‘micro concept gaps’ at primary level education effect child’s confidence and engagement in the education process throughout needs to be addressed for better education delivery and this can be done by level appropriate, engaging and interactive content.
How EkStep will help kids to excel education:
The 3 A’s of EkStep for Students: A Personalized Learning Cycle
— Assess:
Detects the present learning level of ever child to help them on the areas that demand more focus. Get to know weakness and strengths.
— Assign:
From the assessment, assign the level appropriate content to child to cover the learning gaps. Helps them to correct and grow their learning pattern. Discover your learning needs and work accordingly.
— Advance:
Analyze the progress of each child, modify and present content to suit the learning needs of the child.
Other features:
— Can be accessed on mobiles via their Meta app (EkStep Genie) or web platform.
— Maps student learning and provide with feedback.
— Personalized attention to each child.
— Quality instruction and child engagement.
On announcing partnership with EkStep, Dan White, Chief Product Officer and Co-founder of Filament Games on this collaboration said, “Partnering with a mission-driven organization like EkStep allows us to participate in an innovative, ground-breaking project that will demonstrate the unique and universal strengths of game-based learning,” “Access to quality digital educational content is crucial for helping children master educational concepts and develop the technological aptitude needed to thrive in the 21st century.”
What are your views on EkStep?
