Q1. How can the adoption of meaningful EdTech solutions by the government accelerate learning for children aged 6–9 in the early grades?

Governments are extremely aware of the vast changes that the Indian digital scenario has undergone in the post-Covid era. These hold out great possibilities for children in early grades too.

On the supply side, there are high-quality, low-cost EdTech learning solutions to support the acquisition of foundational skills. Some of these solutions have also demonstrated evidence of impact. These can work well as supplemental resources for early-grade learning. Various studies have highlighted the rapid rise in smartphone penetration across the length and breadth of the country, thereby shrinking the digital divide quite dramatically. Today’s primary grade children are able to navigate digital mediums very fluently with minimal training. Hence, governments have a great opportunity to accelerate student learning in early grades by ensuring a well-integrated supplementary EdTech programme to support continued learning at home. For this purpose, they can reach out to teachers and parents to ensure that children are given the opportunity to engage with such solutions on a regular basis for a few minutes every day.

Q2. CSF has been actively working in the EdTech space — how does it support state governments in selecting and implementing the right solutions?

CSF supports IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi in the creation and deployment of the EdTech Tulna framework – a framework for rigorous evaluation of EdTech solutions. We have been introducing various state governments to the idea of evaluating EdTech solutions through the use of the EdTech Tulna, a significant step forward from the typical loose and delinked-from-evidence approach that has characterised EdTech procurement not just in India, but in many other parts of the world. CSF support to states includes assistance in designing the technical evaluation stage in the procurement of EdTech pro-bono training for state evaluators on using Edtech Tulna.

Q3. How can states ensure that EdTech solutions are not just accessible but also effectively used by teachers and students?

The first step to an effective EdTech programme is to achieve clarity on the specific education problem that needs to be solved. While this may seem obvious and almost trivial, the fact is that this step is almost always skipped in favour of a solution-first approach. Once the problem is clearly defined, it is possible to find evidence-based approaches to address the problem at hand. And using a rigorous evaluation framework like EdTech Tulna, states can identify solutions that are fit for purpose.

However, it is not uncommon to see even quality edtech products/solutions failing to create the necessary learning impact on the ground. The key success ingredient is a thoughtfully designed and rigorously implemented programme. 

Critical, but often overlooked, programme elements include:

• Making a concerted initial effort in aligning teachers, students and parents with the purpose and benefits of the programme;
• Fixing key impediments like power supply and backup and internet connectivity; 
• Proper curriculum alignment; 
• Having a competent officer nominated as the nodal officer for the programme; 
• Providing hands-on training to students and teachers; 
• Having visible rewards and recognition; 
• Creating clear and simple dashboards that are integrated with the respective state Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK); 
• Regular monitoring and review meetings;
• Most importantly, senior leadership buy-in and involvement. It takes serious effort for long periods of time to get all these elements to work seamlessly together.

Q4. How can state governments create long-term policies for sustainable and effective EdTech integration into FLN programmes?

The key to harnessing the potential of edtech for FLN is to acknowledge that young children are digital natives and, whether one likes it or not, spend time online – this is the unalterable reality. The question now is if there is a possible learning upside if a few minutes a day of children’s screen time can be used on well-designed, safe learning apps. Recent research evidence has shown that the use of the Chimple application for just 10 minutes a day can produce significant foundational literacy and numeracy learning gains. Therefore there is a case for state governments to curate a set of effective, curriculum-aligned learning apps for FLN that conform to privacy and safety standards. Governments should make a concerted outreach to teachers and parents advising them on the benefits of children being able to supplement their learning in school with digital home learning, while also highlighting that the usage needs to be limited to a few minutes a day.

Q5. How can personalised adaptive learning (PAL) aid in improving student learning outcomes in India? 

PAL is an advancement in learning like how Google Maps was an advancement for travel. Google Maps helps us navigate in real-time from point A to point B based on where we are, adapts to how fast we are going and to unexpectedly heavy traffic or obstacles in our path. Similarly, PAL uses diagnostic tests to identify proficiency in a concept which serves as the starting point for a learning journey and the misconceptions in a concept which are the obstacles in the path. Keeping all factors in mind, PAL creates a real-time path that helps one progress from the starting point to a higher level of learning.

In the context of Indian government schools, where foundational skills are often low and there is a wide variation in learning levels within a single class, personalised adaptive learning or PAL offers a promising approach to enhancing student learning outcomes. Regular grade-level instruction in government schools is inadequate to address the acute learning heterogeneity in classrooms. PAL uses technology to meet every child wherever she is on her learning journey and tailor the learning experience to each student’s needs, thereby allowing them to progress at their own pace, provide support where they need it most and identify and address their misconceptions. Unsurprisingly, there is substantial global evidence supporting the efficacy of PAL, including the seminal research done by Karthik Muralidharan et al.  

Both the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) guidelines and the PM Shri Scheme recognise the role of PAL. State governments can leverage ICT Labs/Computer Labs in schools at minimal incremental cost to improve learning outcomes using PAL.

About Harish Doraiswamy

Harish Doraiswamy leads CSF’s work on EdTech B2G. His work involves working with state governments on their EdTech strategies and implementation. Prior to joining CSF in early 2020, Harish was Vice-President at Pearson India where he was responsible for the K12 School Management, Vocational Education, and International Qualifications verticals. Harish is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta and has over 30 years of experience across various sectors and functions.