The year 2020 saw the education sector moving online on the back of an increase in demand for virtual learning in view of the Covid-19 induced lockdown. With educational institutions reopening now, blended learning is being considered as an effective method for the times ahead. “The bigger task for school leaders, teachers, educators, policymakers is to understand what is their ecosystem and how will technology support them,” Bani Paintal Dhawan, head of education, India and South Asia, Google Cloud India, told BrandWagon Online.
In the blended learning model, there will be several things to consider. According to Dhawan, one of the most important pillar is the content and platform ecosystem that needs to be developed. The second is ‘access’ needs to be tackled — both on the teacher’s side as well as the student’s side. Access includes stable internet connections, and devices that are able to let the students and the teachers interact both in the synchronous and asynchronous mode. “Each ecosystem in a state or in a school system– whether it’s private or public school – is unique. We‘ll have to understand the nuances of what kind of content is available and if the teacher is fully supported to provide a foundation-level classroom. The future will be about how all of these pillars– Access, content, platform as well as teacher training is able to come together for school systems,” she added.
Bani also highlighted how Google has been an enabler in taking education online and supporting students, teachers and policymakers in the field of education. For instance, the company launched its ‘Teach from Anywhere’ hub in several Indian languages to support remote learning. The company also partnered with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Kendriya Vidyalayas, and education ministries of Delhi and Maharashtra to embark on large-scale education capacity building efforts, to upskill teachers to use online resources.
Watch the full interview here:
