According to latest estimates, e-learning market is growing 60% per year, says founder of an internet-based learning portal.
Imagine a portal similar to Facebook, where instead of uploading photographs and latest activities, it actually acts as a platform for classmates and teachers to interact with one another and also continue to learn. There is a software management Knewcleus, a Bangalore-based start-up which installs a Facebook-like portal that keeps parents, teachers and students on the loop.
“Knewcleus is a cloud-based service, so students can go online and access it even from their homes. But it’s like a private Facebook page that is exclusive for just the school that opts for it,” says the director and one of the founders of the service, B Jayashankar. The development of the e-learning space started in June 2011 and despite being new to the game, 25 schools from Bangalore, Delhi and Ahmedabad have already gotten the software installed.
“Students can log in and share their homework on the website. Teachers can do the same. Teachers can also post videos that will help students learn. This online interface is meant for collaboration between students, teachers and parents,” he adds.
Currently there are 60,000 to 70,000 users of the Knewcleus. However the service is not open for individual users and has to be installed by schools themselves. “You can recommend videos to fellow classmates. It also helps teachers with assessment. Say if a student is weak in maths but specifically trignometry or algebra, teachers have to feed in all their evaluations and the software will figure the student’s weak points for the benefit of parents and teachers,” Jayashankar explained.
Currently a school is charged about Rs200 per year per student, but the group has plans for expansion according to Jayashankar, “We want to come up with apps for mobile phones and other platforms as well.
E-Learning is growing
According to Shiv Shankar, one of the founder’s of yet another Bangalore start-up called the Learnhive Education Private Ltd, the market for e-learning in India is growing. “According to the latest estimates, the e-learning market is growing 60% per year and mobile learning apps is increasing by 65%. Children are more comfortable today using various gadgets,” he said.
Learninghive itself recently came up with a Personal Concept Tutor, (priced between Rs1,500 and Rs10,000) which provides online tutoring for students from LKG to grade 10, which provides and teaches students all subjects under CBSE, ISCE and International curriculum. “Students willbe provided with coursework and taught via the application. They can take practice tests and parents are sent information about their progress,” Shankar said. The start-up also has a specific app to help students with Math called the Smart Learning Cards (available for download in all platforms for Rs99) for grades 7 to 10.
What about the developers?
G Ramakrishna, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Saltmarch Media, the company that organises the Great Indian Developer’s Summit, felt e-learning for school children in India is still in its nascent stages. “I know of children who have quit school to pursue homeschooling and these services will be of great use to them. When it comes to school and upper school, developers need to understand the nitty gritties of the syllabus of students,” he opined. However it is the college market that is the most profitable according to Ramakrishna. “That is the primary market for e-learning apps and services. But the revenue model is still fledgling because a lot of apps are free because developers do it out of passion,” he said.
Apps for students taking competitive examinations
One of the most popular apps for students planning on taking competitive exams such as GRE is the GRE Vocabulary Flashcards & Quick Reference available for free download on iTunes.
GMAT ToolKit, a free app available on Google Play for android, introduced a few months ago has already found its fair share of fans and provides content from top companies like Princeton Review.
App for children with special needs
Picaa is a free app developed for the Apple platform by researchers from University of Granada. It focuses on helping and teaching children who are in the autistic spectrum.
Through puzzles and memory exercises, the app is developed to help students who have conditions like the Down Syndrome.
Apps for specific subjects
Glory of India developed by Day Dreamers, is an app that teaches the history of India through flashcards and maps and is available for download on most platforms for free. Science Glossary developed by Visionlearning, Inc for IOS platform (Apple) not only provides brief history of famous scientists such as Marie Curie but also has definitions for various scientific processes. It is meant mostly for high school students and is free of cost.
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