How do you think technology can be creatively incorporated into education?
There is tremendous scope to incorporate technology into education. New technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), 3D learning platforms, and 2D learning platforms facilitate learning immensely. Immersive technologies such as these allow students to learn in an engaging manner. All three platforms teach students using visual and audio output making it possible to learn complex ideas easily.
- Virtual reality creates worlds students can freely traverse and explore. Such a world may be a seabed, the cosmos, the inside of a human body, or any other world. VR immerses students in such a world and allows them to learn by seeing, hearing, and perceiving.
- Other technologies such as 2D screens allow students to learn in familiar settings viewing slides on a screen
- 3D technologies also have tremendous scope in education. Unlike VR, 3D technologies don’t fully immerse students in a virtual world; but they allow students to learn by observing images and concepts in 3 dimensions.
An advantage of using such technologies to teach is they make learning fun. Furthermore, lessons using such technologies are retained better than lessons learned reading textbooks. Professors and teachers who use these technologies help spark creativity among students. Digital media such as 2D and 3D displays and immersive media such as VR, allow complex ideas to be learned fast and grasped well. The advantages of using these tools in classrooms are tremendous.
How competitive is the Ed-Tech sector?
The Ed-Tech sector comprises of companies that use technology to facilitate education. It is not nascent, it is extremely huge with extreme competition.However, the 3D and VR technology in education are now. But there is still a lot of competition from the large existing players who are able to provide the complete content at reasonable prices. There are only a few startups that have found success in this sector, perhaps no more than half a dozen. It is a competitive sector because the opportunities present in this sector are vast. As more and more schools and colleges begin to use technology in classrooms, the size of this industry will expand. Today the size of the domestic education industry is approximately $100 billion and within 3 short years, the size of the domestic Edu-Tech sector will grow to $1.96 billion. Clearly, opportunities in the Edu-Tech sector are great and startups want to capture a share of what will become a nearly $2 billion industry by 2021.
While may Ed-Tech companies have innovative products, relatively few have VR and 3D platforms that facilitate learning. Our VR, 3D, and even 2D platforms make us unique among leading Ed-Tech companies in India. We can proudly say that while the Ed-Tech is competitive, few platforms can match ours.
What kind of response are you receiving from students?
The response from students has been overwhelmingly positive. They enjoy being immersed by an interactive learning platform. Nearly every school and college-age student who used our learning platforms gave us kudos because they easily understood complex ideas which had baffled them earlier. The VR platform found favour with students of all age groups. Using our VR platform many students took an educational journey across our solar system. Such an experience is unlike any possible using textbooks or in a traditional classroom setting.
A majority of students were also pleased with our 3D educational platforms because they allowed images to be viewed in 3D making it easy to master topics in a short time span. Our 2D platforms were well received too because of their richness of content and well-paced sessions.
One of the biggest reasons why our products have been so well received is they make learning easier and fun. A student cannot walk amidst the words in a textbook, but they can walk in a virtual world created using words. Hence VR negates the tediousness of reading with something engaging and enjoyable and students love this. For similar reasons, students also like learning using our 3D and 2D platforms.
What are the areas that you took special care of as an immersive learning platform?
We’re proud of each of our learning platforms and diligently worked to ensure those using our VR, 3D, and 2D platforms enjoy a productive learning experience. One of the key areas we worked on was creating quality content. Using the immersive capabilities of VR, 3D, and 2D platforms we ensured that students were able to easily learn content designed by us.
We also worked hard to ensure that anyone using our platforms comprehends complex ideas easily. By simplifying difficult ideas and allowing them to be taught on immersive platforms, we enabled students to learn more in as short a time as possible.
What is the scope of jobs in the field?
There are already a few Edu-Tech companies that have made a big name and have created many jobs. When we consider the size of the entire education Industry in India, a staggering $100 billion large employing lakhs of people, the scope of jobs in this field is even vaster.
The education industry is supplement by lakhs of individual who provide tuition to millions of children, this market is ready for disruption. Learning opportunities using VR, 3D, and 2D platforms will lead to much disruption in the Indian education space. One of the results of this disruption will be the creation of thousands of jobs. By 2021 when the Edu-Tech industry is worth nearly $2 billion it will have created thousands of jobs.