Data: The mover and shaker of 21st-century education
Learning is becoming immersive (inside and outside the classroom); spurring creativity, critical thinking and meaningful real-world experiences.
Technological disruption is revitalising the
education industry, enabling both students and teachers to strengthen their
skills and knowledge to adapt to the new requirements of a 21st-century work
force.
In July 2016, Georgia Tech professor Ashok
Goel hired Jill Watson, a teaching assistant for the spring semester. Jill was
great at online student interactions, answering questions and was nominated as
an outstanding assistant by students. The difference between Jill and other
assistants? Jill is a chatbot. Her DNA is based on an open source platform
(with pre-fed customized data) developed specifically to handle an enormous
amount of students posts on the forum. And thus began an interesting new phase
in one of the most respected sectors in the world - the education sector.
In India too, personalized digital learning
platforms, new learning models delivering customized knowledge and flipped
classrooms are finally dismantling the “one size fits all” approach towards student
learning and education. Learning is becoming immersive (inside and outside the
classroom); spurring creativity, critical thinking and meaningful real-world
experiences.
Technological disruption is revitalizing the
education industry, enabling both students and teachers to strengthen their
skills and knowledge to adapt to the new requirements of a 21st-century work
force. These are exciting times to be an educator and a student.
But, the growth is disparate and still
rudimentary. Understandably so for a country like ours with widespread
geographical, cultural, gender and financial differences. Coupled with limited
infrastructure, the dream of a truly literate India has a long time coming.
There is a wide gap between expectations and reality both in terms of physical
infrastructure and technological adoption.
While the government and academia work on
improving the former, the latter has the power to really turn things around.
What it needs in that endeavour is a solid data led backbone. Educational institutions
today hold large amounts of data collected from online applications, classroom
exercises/testing and student surveys. Social media too provides a rich source
of information to capture student learning styles, preferences, concerns,
reactions and perceptions.
This unstructured but valuable resource can
be effectively analysed for insights to boost student achievement, increase
faculty and staff productivity and improve operational effectiveness via better
financial management and streamlined operations.
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On
a student level, the right utilisation of data sets will provide educators
with real-time feedback on students’ performances, strengths and weaknesses.
Data analytics can track student learning curves based on learning style and
capability. Teaching techniques can accordingly be altered based on student
pace and skill level, further augmented with technology innovations. If we
can Dial in a Doctor, why not a teacher?
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On a national level, a central repository can
help make better decisions for the entire sector. The ball has already started
rolling with the Digilockers and the National Repository of Open Educational
Resources (high-quality digital content in local languages). The next step
would be to make data accessible to institutions and academia alike - so that
they can build customised techniques basis local and individual differences.
However, this is not a small undertaking.
Challenges include low awareness, an absence of a data driven, insight -
oriented culture, availability of uniform data sources and the apparent cost
associated with data mining. Greater efforts are needed to adopt data
management and infrastructure backbone for informed decisions, increased
efficiency and greater accountability.
One of the foremost ways to address these
issues is to increase collaborative efforts between educational institutions
and data management enterprises. India must invest in a strong technology
backbone, focused on hardware and software development across schools and
higher education institutions. Educators need be trained to integrate
technology in their pedagogy for effective learning.
But is the future of education solely
dependent on technology? While data is set to move the educational landscape,
educators are also working incessantly to build a sustainable and meaningful
education system for all. The future will be about putting students first -
with an innovative new curriculum focused on real-world needs, class design
revamps for greater collaboration, rehashing educator roles and harnessing big
data and artificial intelligence. The global conversation on innovative
education is growing much louder and the urge to get rid of antiquated
education systems has never been stronger and we should definitely not sit this
one out.
There are tremendous growth opportunities for
big data and analytics in the education sector. The Digital India drive can
catalyse such initiatives by creating an enabling environment across the
country.
Therefore, as we adapt to the needs of a
21st-century workforce, the sector needs a robust infrastructure background
with measured approaches to manage life critical, business critical, real time,
and mobile data. Backed up with investment, coherent strategies, and top-notch
human talent, it’s now time to change the education sector with data.
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Knowledge
Repository
Khaitan & Co
Upcoming Conference | National Conference on Transforming Libraries
into Knowledge Resource Centres 11th – 12th January 2018, SNDT Mumbai For
further details contact Prof Jyoti Bhabal (jyotibhabal@gmail.com
)
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
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