OUR VISION : Empower schools to

Consider these alarming numbers. On average, only 70 finish school out of an initial enrolment of 100 students in India. Even in an economically developed country like the US, an average of 7000 students drop out of school daily, totalling 1.2 million annually. Reasons behind these large numbers vary across countries depending on socio-cultural as well as political factors but to a large extent on their economic status. A few of these factors range from poverty and accessibility to family issues, disability, addiction, academic failure and pressure to perform, lack of awareness and motivation and sometimes plain boredom.

 

These staggering numbers beget an important question – what attributes are important in an education system to keep children engaged today?

 

A part of the solution lies in the creative use of technology. Modern schools are under tremendous pressure to keep implementing new programs and initiatives to ensure that children are adequately engaged and learn skills that would be useful later in their professional lives. But one of the greatest challenges that the education system has struggled with over the years is its structure that encourages “teaching to the test” that forces students to look at learning in school as a mundane, unoriginal chore. Fortunately, with the right utilization of technology, the focus can shift to an approach where students become active participants in their own learning - assessment for learning.

 

Teaching 21st-century skills in school

 

With the rapidly changing pace of technology, education must evolve as well. Technology is transforming the way we live, work, and think. Education needs to equip today’s young people with the skills to face a world increasingly dominated by technology. In the near future, technologies such as AI, automation, robotics, nanotechnology, and others will transform most occupations. A whole range of occupations will need a high degree of cognitive skills like logical reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity. Therefore, education needs to be more than just formal schools producing an obedient and punctual workforce. 

 

A 21st-century workplace would require phenomenon-based learning, which emphasizes skills like critical thinking, communication, and creativity. The role of teachers has to be redefined from a ‘sage on the stage’ to a guide who learns simultaneously with the students. Instead of conducting lectures in traditional classrooms, teachers will need to create and curate structured content for the students to absorb at their own pace. 

Skill-based curriculums, learning, and assessments
 
Innovation is the key to creating ways of bringing people together to work and learn in a collaborative environment. With the development of various learning management systems, many schools are streamlining their way of functioning. These systems not only accommodate different styles of learning but also provide a platform where teachers can create skill-based curriculums and assessments. These innovative systems help teachers post worksheets, assignments, resources, and more for students to access from home or school. 
 
These systems facilitate communication between teachers, students, and parents. Students get the opportunity to ask questions, interact with their teachers and peers, share their ideas, and do so much more. With the help of discussion boards and messaging apps in these systems, students can debate and learn how to communicate and collaborate effectively. Educators can connect with each other, update developments, ask and respond to questions, design skill-appropriate assessments, analyse, and provide constructive feedback on a single platform.
 
Analysing and managing progress
 
The learning management system helps teachers and parents monitor progress, track time spent on tasks, alerts educators about emerging issues and provides real-time glimpses of student and school performance. With interactive dashboards and various effective channels of communication, parents and teachers can track a child’s performance over the years while giving and receiving targeted feedback. 
 
The parents can view their child’s courses, assignments, feedback received from teachers, attendance summary, grades, and so on. They can also analyse how the school and the educators are performing and provide appropriate feedback when necessary.
 
Customizing learning experience and integrating online learning
 
Technology will be at the heart of the learning space in the future and that’s why educators should understand that the idea of ‘one size fits all’ is not valid anymore. Efforts must be made to enhance the available content and create ways to personalize the learning experience to suit the unique needs of individual students. Online learning and learning management systems are the way to go in such circumstances because of the need for dynamic learning environments. It can no longer remain a passive, one-way flow of information. It is important to create collaborative spaces for students and teachers to communicate without a huge cost or the rigidity of a traditional AV infrastructure. Students no longer need to be in rooms to learn and it is becoming more and more apparent with an increasing number of students choosing blended learning environments where traditional campus learning is used in tandem with online education.
 
Interested in learning more about interactive and collaborative learning? Request a demo with team SKADEPT and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours!

The world has a wealth of educators who understand the importance of integrating skill-based learning with the education process. And rightly so, because the scope of jobs opening up for the new generation does not conform to the skill-sets honed by a traditional curriculum.
There have been a few governments across the world that have attempted to identify minimum skill standards to be achieved at the school level, to cater to the growing requirements of the modern employment opportunities. This can practically be achieved by defining skills by subject/discipline and integrating them with learning outcomes and assessments that must be tracked and reviewed on a continuous basis. As you read on, you’ll understand why intelligent use of technology in the assessment creation and tracking process is necessary to attain the desired outcome.
A look at some Government initiatives
Over the last two decades there has been a paradigm shift in perspective among the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries such as Australia, Canada, USA, UK, Finland acknowledging the urgency in revamping their education system. Many Nordic countries have already changed, or are in the process of changing, their education systems to focus on competency-based (skill-based) learning, setting minimum achievable standards that can be raised over time.
In India, based on the recommendations of the NCF, the CCE was introduced by the CBSE in 2009. However, the response was mixed primarily due to the absence of a strategic framework to facilitate a smooth implementation.
Why didn’t the Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation System bear fruit?
First and foremost, hasty implementation meant schools and teachers were underprepared and overburdened and struggled to keep pace with the demands of the new assessment processes.
There should have been a more simplified format in place for integrating skills with learning outcomes and assessments. Adequate training of teachers on how to assess and track progress was needed. Bottom line: teacher effort to follow through and implement the methods should have been negligible. Teachers need to have time to plan/develop outcome-based lessons, evaluate them accordingly and give meaningful feedback to improve student learning and skill development.
The Government’s overzealous initiative put undue burden on teachers, without the means and training to follow through, which is why the entire CCE framework has currently been set aside. Unfortunately, this also means that India will lag behind in skill development in subject areas in schools.
Private Initiatives – The P21 Network
P21 or Partnership for 21^st Century Learning is a premier private organisation that champions the cause of the 4Cs (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity), creating in the process, the Framework for 21^st Century Learning for every student, at every stage of their scholastic career.
This framework was developed with inputs from select educators, business leaders and governments to define skills and expertise that can begin at the school level to help students succeed in the modern-day work arena.
Private school initiatives also fail to find a working solution
Having a little more leeway and financial capability to effect change, many private schools have tried to include new-age teaching-learning processes as part of their curriculum. However, the mandate to be innovative and fulfil the educational board’s requirements has been a tough ask, because the onus is on the teachers to put in the extra time and effort to develop and integrate the same.
What can practically be done at the school level?
Like most solutions to modern-day predicaments, the answer to reducing the teacher’s burden and effectively implementing skill-based education, lies in technology.
But then, you’ll find yourself facing another problem. With numerous technology options available in the crowded ed-tech market, identifying the right software that solves your specific problems, becomes quite a challenge.  
While most ed-tech solutions address digitising school administration processes and cater to the provision of subject content or after school tutoring. However, not many can functionally improve pedagogy in terms of skill development with reduced teacher effort. 
Learning Management Systems that help the principal and teachers align the curriculum to track skill development in teaching, assessment and feedback, simultaneously reducing time and effort is the need of the hour for schools.
So do your research, request a demo if you have to, understand the functionality and ease of operation of the software that best suits your requirement and make an informed decision. The software should be progressive enough to adapt to the changing requirements of schools and the education system. This is no longer a choice, it’s a necessity!
 
 
References:
P21-Framework: http://www.battelleforkids.org/networks/p21/frameworks-resources
WEF - Future of jobs (2016): http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/chapter-1-the-future-of-jobs-and-skills/?doing_wp_cron=1567500070.2538139820098876953125
National Employability Report – Engineers – 2019

As we enter the tenth month since the first officially reported case of COVID-19 appeared in Wuhan City, China, there is one question on everyone’s mind. How far away are we from a resolution to this crisis that plagues the world. Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to that yet although scientific communities across the world continue to collaborate on vaccines and possible cures for this disease.
The global impact of the pandemic has spared no one. In this article let us look at how the education sector has been affected. The immediate impact was the world-wide closure of schools and institutions of higher education. To maintain continuity in learning, schools adopted various innovative solutions including but not limited to the use of learning management systems, mass media, good old-fashioned emails, and various messaging platforms to deliver lectures and assess students. But as the uncertainty of the situation extends with no end in sight, the entire education sector continues to face a plethora of challenges.
In the case of parents and students, use of online resources comes with its own set of problems. First, for very young children, age can act as a hindrance to the appropriate use of technology. In such cases, parental presence and supervision becomes imperative for this approach to succeed. In the absence of physical classrooms, assessing the depth of a child’s learning can be difficult and slow down further progress. For students in higher classes preparing for their board exams as well as entrances for higher education, this has been a particularly stressful time. There is a somewhat unclear picture on what the future holds for them given disruptions in scheduled exams. However, even in such constrained and uncertain times the pressure to perform remains unchanged if not magnified.
From a purely parental standpoint, the problems are many. As the economy opens up, parents have gone back to their professional lives leaving them with little time to assist children and monitor their online activity. Additionally, the parent now must learn and adapt to new systems used by the school. To make matters worse, oftentimes, there may be issues with internet connectivity and availability of a dedicated device for the child’s educational needs. As if this were not enough, with limited means of communication with the school, parents can be overwhelmed with information sent by schools. Some parents feel the need to supplement the child’s learning through external content which can be beneficial. However, good quality content can be expensive and choosing a cheaper alternative may compromise the quality.
For teachers, adapting to a new teaching environment at such a rapid pace has not been the easiest task at hand. Together with adapting to new technology solutions to teach, evaluate and give feedback to students, working from home with unpredictable connectivity in addition to catering to one’s own child, requires planning and sufficient support. Additionally, not all schools have access to online resources for reasons such as lack of infrastructure. Typically, rural schools or schools that cater to children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds may lack the resources to avail expensive online platforms and/or the means to upskill and train their staff to continue to teach under these circumstances. In such cases, use of messaging services can provide a way out but can be a rather cumbrous way to manage assignments, content and evaluations for large class sizes.
Schools have their own set of challenges to meet. Difficulty in collecting fees as parents face uncertainty with respect to their livelihood makes it extremely tough for schools to meet salaries and other operational costs. But at the same time schools are under tremendous pressure to put in place a system that will enable them to continue to provide quality education. Many of these online systems however are either outrageously expensive or so cumbersome that lack of training becomes a hindrance to quick and easy adoption. Additionally, many systems are designed to be very generic functionally forcing schools to modify their workflow to use these effectively. A solution to this is to customize but that too can be expensive both in terms of money and time.
Ed-tech providers who are on the other end of the spectrum are continuing to provide services to educational institutions. However, for them it is a race against time given the immediacy of the requirements. This translates to producing quality products fast but that requires sizeable investment which can be a challenge given the current economic scenario. Another issue that plagues software service providers in the education space is that they are not always attuned to the needs of schools and end up designing products that are better suited for resource management for non-educational organizations rather than schools. This essentially means that training schools to adopt and use such products becomes imperative but is a huge challenge given restricted mobility in the current COVID situation.
Government, policymakers and regulators have been working to find solutions to lessen the burden on the education sector. Although, initially all states followed the central government policy to close schools, more recently many states have suggested reopening times different from the centre. Some states have let the uncertainty continue and are yet to act.
Given these varied problems, finding a single unifying system that works for most is a rather difficult task given that schools differ in their levels of access to technology and tech-savvy staff. Coupled with this when one takes into account that schools cater to students coming from diverse income groups it is indeed a problem that has no one-size-fits-all solution. In the absence of in-person classes, standardization of levels of learning where assessments and evaluations are uniform and easily comparable is the need of the hour but a tough measure to implement.
Prolonged school closures continue to affect children’s physical and emotional well-being along with impacting learning and development. For many children, not going back to school is a very real possibility. Some factors that will determine whether it’s the right time or not include the educational institution’s capacity to function safely, presence of at-risk and especially vulnerable staff and students with underlying health conditions, current levels of community transmission in the locality, responsiveness of local health infrastructure and the ability to enforce and maintain hygiene practices at school. Thus, the decision to reopen must not be taken lightly and should be a collective decision based on considerations from all stakeholders involved.

Continuity in learning can be defined in several ways. Learning in a familiar space where the child is exposed to a familiar environment (teacher, classroom, class group and material), performing repetitions and over a continuous period of time are all ways where the child can experience uninterrupted learning.
 
Disruptions happen for a wide range of reasons. Absence due to sickness/family issues, economic factors, and natural calamity/disasters are some examples of unplanned reasons for disruption in the learning process. While another type of disruption that is frequently observed happens when the educator/teacher/school board follow a teaching strategy that is so regimented that the goal is the efficiency in “completing tasks” rather than learning.
 
Why do we care about continuity? Learning is not a discrete event that happens with abrupt isolated dissemination of “packets” of information. Learning happens through repetitions by building on prior knowledge and experience. For children especially, this entails a predictable learning environment where they are not bound by strict adult routines of learning but are free to continue to use learning materials and resources for extended periods of time. This promotes a richer understanding as the child can think at her own pace, make connects and learn from others when in a group.
In this article I would like to focus on the first kind of disruption in learning-the unplanned kind. A global UNESCO report on school closures world-wide states as of July 2020, about 1.06BN learners have been impacted due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. With schools being closed and no certain plans of opening in the foreseeable future, it has left everyone wondering what next. Children too are facing this uncertainty. As days turn to weeks and weeks to months, children are moving further and further away from their once familiar school routine, with their teachers who have spent days developing a relationship of trust and comfort where learning flourished.
It would be incorrect to say that no learning is happening at home because parents are doing what they can to engage children within the limited means that these COVID times allow them. However, the habit of learning has been disrupted for many for a variety of reasons. Some children may not respond as well to a relatively unstructured pattern of learning at home while for some parents it is a challenge figuring out the right content to offer the child given demands on their time. Additionally, parents may find it difficult to evaluate objectively and may not have the experience or capability to offer the adequate assistance and guidance for the child’s learning needs.     
Educators are facing an increasingly difficult situation as more time elapses and more uncertainty about resuming regular classroom activity looms large. It is difficult to completely replace the physical classroom and the human element to learning. However, given that this is the “new normal” as many would phrase it, blended learning systems can alleviate this issue to a great extent. Schools can choose to exercise their options by carefully selecting appropriate learning management systems(LMS) that will facilitate the continuity of teaching-learning in a way that children are engaged, and some semblance of routine and familiarity can be restored. This will also help bridge the gap formed due to the possibility of a lost school year. Additionally, what we cannot overlook is that return to normalcy will require a careful and gradual approach. Leveraging an LMS at this point will give schools sufficient time to adequately train and acclimatize all participants (administrators, teachers and students) such that the post-COVID transition is as seamless as possible. In fact, focus should be on employing a system that works equally well in a non-COVID situation given that substantial investments in terms of time and financial resources are involved in adoption of any online system.
 
Some degree of caution would need to be exercised here though. To mention a few, learning is not about bombarding the child with a massive amount of unverified information. So instead of seeking completely external content, schools should try and leverage the content that their teachers have created through meticulous and thoughtful effort and under ordinary circumstances would have delivered in a physical classroom. Learning sessions should be delivered through regular and reasonably short interactions. The choice of LMS should also address new kinds of disruptions teachers and student will face due to power and internet connectivity issues. When the goal is early adoption and widespread acceptance a carefully chosen LMS should involve minimal training and ease of use. It should lessen the burden on the teacher and not add to it. Lastly, the issue of security cannot be stressed enough given that the internet can be a predatory space and particularly at such times.
 
Sanjibani Banerjee
Co-founder at SKADEPT

With a sweeping change from the Industrial Era to the Digital Age – a whole new world of job opportunities has opened up for the present generation. Skill-based education is no longer a choice, but ‘the need of the hour’. That is where modern-day learning management systems come into play, simplifying learning processes, teaching methodologies and tracking skill levels over the years. The last two decades have seen a great mismatch between the education system and the right skillsets required for youngsters to be employable in the modern world. Intelligent learning management systems bridge the gap between the teaching-learning experience and the real-world job market.

With the pace at which technological advancements are taking place, we can rightly predict that children entering primary school today, will find a completely different set of jobs awaiting them when they graduate. The World Economic Forum Report - The Future of Jobs­­ highlights the changes expected in the next five years in relation to the ‘relevant education versus actual job requirement’ dynamic.  The report states: “In many academic fields nearly 50% of subject knowledge becomes outdated from the 1^st to the final year of a technical degree.” Most businesses in the national and global arena are coming to terms with the fact that times have changed, and the need to invest in re-skilling or up-skilling their existing employees to meet the challenges of the future and prolonging their careers. This lends credence to the Employability Report India 2019 which highlights that 80% of engineers are not employable in India. Previously unheard-of job titles such as Social Media Manager, SEO Analyst, Data Scientist, Cloud Architect etc. have emerged . Even yester-year job profiles require essential skills like complex problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and ICT skills.

What do modern-day employers look for in a candidate?
Beyond subject-specific knowledge, employers and businesses look for the following skills and attitudes as essential requirements to carry out tasks and responsibilities in this dynamic work environment.
Skills: Complex problem-solving skills, critical thinking and decision-making skills, good oral and written communication, time management etc.
Attitudes: Cooperation and collaboration, taking initiative and a leadership mentality, being productive and taking accountability, being flexible and adaptable, willingness to continuously update knowledge and skills etc.

What can be done to be future-ready on the job front?
How do we revamp the way learning is imparted to ensure students develop the necessary skills to equip them for changing job markets? A dynamic shift in attitude and priorities of parents, children and education boards is essential to make children are future-ready. And it has to happen right now!
Many of the skills and attitudes need to be inculcated and developed at the school level. Teaching, assessments and feedback should not be limited to subject topics alone, but include development of skills, attitude and aptitude in every learning activity, whatever the subject.
With so much resting on every teacher’s ability to do this, it is difficult for schools to enforce consistency in assessments and monitoring progress in skill development. In order to overcome these challenges, schools should consider the option of adopting learning management systems to simplifying learning processes, teaching methodologies and leverage emergent student skill profiles and prepare them for the future.

An intelligent learning management system is one that can adapt to every student's learning capability and behaviour. It should also be able to automate mundane tasks and processes, freeing up teachers to focus on modern teaching methodologies. Learning by rote is outdated and needs to be replaced by assessment patterns standardised to frame questions that require students to tap into the relevant skills necessary to answer correctly. These skill-based assessments will track student skills and performance, generating actionable insights for teachers and students.
In colleges and universities, it is imperative that subject knowledge along with hands-on experience is combined to further hone the skillsets of the students. Only then will they stand a fighting chance in not just staying afloat but rising to greater heights in work environments of the future!

Continue to the next article for initiatives by Governments and private organizations around the world to address this problem.

Schools and higher educational institutions are now keenly aware that a transformation of the prevalent education system is essential to meet the aspirational needs of the new generation. The challenge for large institutions to stay relevant in times of rapid change can be addressed, in some measure, by keeping pace with the digital revolution.

Apart from a well-maintained school eco-system (infrastructure and facilities) and committed teachers, digitising administrative and learning processes for more productive learning, have become the need of the hour.

Learning Management Systems are being created to help schools meet their modern-day requirements. In generic terms, a learning management system (LMS) helps schools transfer their systemic and educational processes, as well as student and academic resource management, to a digital platform. It facilitates easy course content creation, question bank compilation, automated weightage and totalling, tracking and reporting and a whole lot more features that simplify school and curriculum management.

So, when technology offers you just the solution you’ve been looking for, why not use it to empower the school and teachers? There are learning management system companies offering software with varied features – schools have to choose one that has a combination of features that works best for them.

Here’s how an LMS sets the stage for increased productivity and efficient learning in schools…

Flexible system: It complements existing ERP systems to manage most administrative work like fees, payroll, etc. but focuses on creating and maintaining best academic practices. Data maintenance becomes a breeze for administrators, while academic resources focus on their core task.

Reduces workload: Helps reduce teacher workload by automating mundane duties and administrative tasks, thereby creating more time for teachers to prepare for and improve on classroom engagement.
Training platform: It works as a platform for internal training of teachers and implementing class-wise or school-wide changes in curriculum.

Regular updates: Helps maintain regular communication with parents, updating them about student performance and progress in academics and co-curricular activities.

Tracks performance: Helps teachers track student performance, generating timely feedback to help students understand concepts better.

Accessible 24X7: Web or cloud-based LMS can be accessed anywhere/anytime by administrators, teachers and students – but each stakeholder will be given access only to the data that is relevant to them.

Performance analysis: Data and information collected and stored in LMS systems can be used to analyse student performance and teacher performance by subjects, classes, etc.

Completes teaching-learning cycle: LMS has the potential to integrate lesson plans, practice/homework assignments, assessments and feedback, thereby completing the teaching-learning cycle in the same system.

In advanced countries with ample infrastructure and resources, all content/assessments and communication can be delivered and accessed online, via computers or mobiles. In countries where technology is present, but lagging, the LMS needs to be flexible enough to accommodate a healthy mix of paper-based and system-based approaches, not compromising reduced teacher-effort in repetitive tasks.

A flexible LMS will not be board or curriculum specific, thus enabling integration of current school systems and content into the database. With the capability to support administrators, teachers and students with the assistance they need, in a format they can easily adapt to, an LMS facilitates a ‘thinking’ mindset as opposed to a ‘doing by rote’ mindset. This sets the stage for generating new content and new ideas that will lead to implementing modern teaching methodologies.


With student/class/teacher performance and feedback tracked and available at the click of a button, the school administration has timely information to take necessary action, in terms of tweaking teaching methodologies, introducing outside consultants, implementing training sessions and the like. This directly improves the teaching and learning outcomes across the school.