Educational technology providers have to change their mindsets while developing products for schools, students & teachers. Ego & IQ have to take a backseat. Empathy has to take the lead
Ninad Vengurlekar
This article is not about the potential of tech-driven education in India. Nor is this article going to talk about how technology can change the face of education in India.
We all agree that technology/new media tools like computers, internet, interactive content, virtual learning, eLearning, mEducation, tablets, apps, etc, have the power to change the way education is imparted in India. But somehow, somewhere, we have not been able to achieve successful traction with technology in our schools/colleges and amongst our students. In this article, I am going to pinpoint some of the reasons behind our failure and the change of approach we need, based on my experience in technology-led education for the past 12 years.
Coexist, not replace
The education ecosystem in India is driven by teachers, textbooks and tests. Unless technology can coexist with these 3 Ts of education, they will have little chance of impacting educational outcomes. Most technology solutions, by design or intent, are created to replace these Ts. Thus, they are doomed from the very beginning. Traditional teaching methods and tools cannot be replaced in an instant. It will take at least a generation for this to happen.
Unfortunately, educational technology providers come with a view that if their solutions are innovative and user-friendly, they can be scaled in a short period of time. They believe that the pull formula that works in social media can be replicated in education. Their funders too believe the same and get restless when the actual scale-up takes time. This impatience does not work in education sector. Technology integration and usage needs extended hand-holding because the educational users (i.e. teachers and administrators) are not savvy like the traditional technology users. Most technology providers disregard this aspect.
It is imperative that education technology solutions will have to coexist with traditional methods of teaching and learning and strive to enhance their quality and delivery?at least for a generation more. Over time, some of these methods and tools might be replaced and some might be integrated with technology.
So, coexist, don?t replace.
Focus on teacher-led solutions
In a country that is so focused on marks, self-learning is a myth. All solutions that profess they can aid self-learning and replace teachers in the learning process are digging their own grave. I do not see this happening any time soon. My daughter is 13, and she studies only in two scenarios?when there is a class test or when we tell her to study?else she is not keen.
I cannot imagine a situation where she will switch on a PC or a tablet or download an app and study for the love of gaining knowledge. This may happen at post-graduation or PhD levels, but not in schools and graduate colleges. Whether we like it or not, a traditional teacher is here to stay.
So, let us build solutions around her rather than to replace her with self-learning education platforms.
Education first, tech later
Technology solutions for education have to have clear, demonstrable and measurable educational outcomes. We are not talking of educational outcomes in terms of only improvement in marks, but overall enhancement of performance in teaching and learning. For example, an online assessment provider believes that since their assessment engine can work for half a million simultaneous users, their solution is world-class and should work well in education. Wrong. In education sector, the online assessment engine will not work for the technology features it offers, but the quality of assessment questions created by it, which enhances the evaluation of student knowledge and understanding. The same applies to hi-tech hardware solutions built for education. It is not the features of the tablets and mobiles, but the quality and impact of the educational content that it streams which will lead to increased demand. When these aspects are neglected, technology fails to deliver.
Not online, but offline
Innovations in educational technology work only at ground level. Not in the Cloud. A good education technology product needs to have an even better servicing model at grassroots level to succeed. Servicing includes product training, usage support, enhancing educational outcomes, and so on. There are also challenges of getting teachers to use your product by working on their psychology and fear. Without these aspects, the product will fail?however sound it may be.
So, a great educational technology product can be created online, but it works through offline efforts.
Summing up
Educational technology providers will have to change their mindsets while developing products for schools, colleges, students and teachers. Ego and IQ has to take a backseat. Empathy has to take the lead in product development. Only when products are developed with empathy and rigorously implemented in schools, will the tipping point for educational technology happen in India. Till then, we will keep discussing its potential and feel disheartened about its acceptance.
One cool tip
The greatest parameter for success of any educational product is to be part of the educational institution?s Timetable. This T is more important than all other T?s appearing in this article. So, go figure your solution around it, for quicker acceptance and scale up.
The author is a masters in educational technology from Harvard University. He is head of Educational Technology Solutions and Content for Private Schools and Skills in IL&FS Education