Digitization is bringing in a major revolution in education by influencing learning patterns of kids and involvement of their parents
In today’s modern day and age, it is safe to say that technology has taken over people’s lives in a big way. There is internet for almost every chore that we need to handle. Innovations keeping getting added making our work easier and industries more productive.
Bottomline: Every sector is influenced and augmented by technology. The field of learning and education is no exception!
Technology has profoundly changed education and has improved its scope. Massive amounts of information through books, audio, images, videos etc are available at one’s fingertips and opportunities for formal learning are myriad. Access to learning opportunities is unprecedented thanks to technology. It is a powerful tool that is giving students, parents and teachers many new opportunities for learning and collaboration. Digital connectivity has led to deeper learning among students and is helping them in more ways than one.
But perhaps for now, the biggest gift of technology is that it has helped parents become more engaged in their children’s academic life. The host of digital tools now readily available have enabled parents to be part of their kid’s education more deeply and meaningfully. Some researchers claim that integrating technology into teaching and learning improves students’ grades. Technology is playing a key role as a catalyst in encouraging interactions between parents, teachers and students – tapping into the domain – and ensuring that students construct knowledge. Most parents these days have extremely busy schedules, work different hours and may find it difficult to help their child with homework and go to school for PTMs or coaching classes for interaction. This is where technology is helping them stay abreast and connected on their child’s progress and development. Education institutions too are happily connecting with parents through emails, apps and other mobile devices.
India’s educational systems has made great inroads in the recent past. The archaic system that was limited to classrooms and quarterly exams to measure the students’ progress is now giving way to newer ideas. Technology and its usage is booming and how! India ranks second only to China today with 348 million internet users and this figure is expected to reach about 555.3 million users by 2021. This expansion of technology has further led to the influx and rise of ed-tech companies in India. These apps are designed to alleviate the barriers to parental engagement and are simple to set up, easy to use and provide relevant and actionable information.
EdTech industry has been widely evolving and serving variety of benefits for the students and parents. When it comes to the private tutoring the safety and quality is becoming the biggest concern and priority for the parents nowadays. For instance, some new age ed tech platforms like GuruQ which is not only providing the different learning experience, but students and parents also have access to reliable and reviewed ‘Certified’ tutors. From managing the daily timetable to accessing students’ progress report all is happening under one roof. Parents can get a complete lowdown on how the child is coping academically, with just one click they know exactly where the child needs help and they can zero in on a particular area.
Looking it from the tutors’ standpoint now the digital integrated platforms are recognizing tutors’ quality of work and result oriented approach, reach and teach more students, manage time efficiently and be assured of timely payments. This timely intervention makes a world of difference. As for the children, the mere thought that parents have access to their report cards gives them the necessary motivation to perform well. The biggest upside is that all this information is available anywhere, anytime to parents in a simple, easy-to-follow format that can be instantly accessed on mobile devices.
Some recent research data has shown that the average person checks their smartphone about 27 times a day, making it an easy and convenient communication channel for all stakeholders to communicate when it comes to children’s progress. Using ed-tech apps, parents can view assignment descriptions, assignment grades, course grades and course announcements, as well as set reminders for assignments and alerts for specific grade activity, which they receive as push notifications on their mobile devices. This kind of digital media is letting parents see what their children are doing, what their academic activities are like and where their learning is focused.
Most of these apps keep providing a continuously updated real time digital report to parents on their child’s progress which facilitates parents in many ways. Learning does not start and end with the school hours. It’s an ongoing process in a students’ life and along with educators, parents also a play a crucial role in improving student learning. While schools may share progress reports only during PTMS or class meetings, what these apps do is they provide a regular progress card for the child from time to time. In the former case, the gap in the child’s learning patterns are identified only much later when the damage is already done. In the latter case, parents as well as tutors get to intervene when the need actually arises for the child to receive attention.
In short, technology has now become ubiquitous in every walk of our life and it is an essential tool of modern-day education. It is now for parents to take a call on how they can make the most of it to be a part of their children’s academic lives and help them make progress.
