Adoption of smart classrooms: An impetus to observational learning

Our Indian education system has been training young minds since time immemorial. The history of Indian institutes such as Takshashila University and Nalanda Universitycan be traced back to the 5th century BC and 5th century AD, respectively. Today, the education landscape has undergone a drastic change.

However, schools and collegesstill play an instrumental role in shaping the personalitiesof students across their life stages.Academic institutions provide apositive environment that fosters learning, ensures continuous intelligence augmentation and prepares aspirants to be future-ready. This indicatesthat a good infrastructure plays a budding hand in creating a favourable environment for a student's growth.

Over the years, the education ecosystem haswitnessed a massive shift with technology redefining the scope of learning and,even more so, post the pandemic.The unprecedented health crisis only pushed educational institutions to embrace the digital transition in order to provide uninterrupted learning experiences.

Digital transformation of education

Online and digital education has been growing in leaps and bounds in an education-focused country like India. Interactive and participative modules of learning, such as the concepts of smart boards, AI and ML-based e-learning, and other immersive technology platforms, have already made their mark in the academic sector.

According to various research reports,technology has helped educators enhance the understanding of curriculum in the minds of students. The educators have identified the students' short attention span; hence, new-age, game-based learning content and quizzes have been introduced to make learning fun and engaging. This realisationhas alsoled teachers to embrace microlearning. Microlearning is a new pedagogy that breaks complex subjects into bite-sized content designed to make the topic easy to understand.

Along with learning experience, educational institutions have changed the traditional way of monitoring and tracking students' attendance to students logging on the school application with a live location. Moreover, schools and universities introducing digital classroomsassistsstudentswith an in-depth analysis of the curriculum than the usual textbook learning.

Benefits of smart classrooms

Academic institutes must create an environment using immersive technology and digital platforms that maximises the accessibility and effectiveness of education being delivered.Captured below are some of the key benefits of a smart classroom:

Creates an exciting environment to learn

When technology is integrated with everyday wisdom, it makes learning fun and enjoyable. With the help of smart classrooms, a teacher can utilise various tools at their perusal to engage the students in the lessons. For example, a teacher can take the students on a virtual field trip to show a manufacturing unit or may describe a complex topic with the help of an interesting video.

Students retain the lessons taught

With an interesting teaching method, students'attention span increases and thereby,they grasp the subjects efficiently.Since the studentscomprehend the topic better,they can recollect the subjects for a longer period.

Real-world approach to learning

Digital learning solutions emphasise methods that are constructive, collaborative and drive the students' attention towards a real-world approach to learning. For instance, educators can arrange multiple seminars and webinars with industry experts, leaving some lifelong impressions on young minds.

Conducive learning environment

Learning can happen in traditional classrooms, libraries and even in open spaces. Nowadays, educational institutes endeavour to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure, including innovative classrooms with special attention to ergonomics, libraries with the latest study material, sports equipment, laboratories with the latest learning devices and outdoor learning pods.These modern facilities enhance the student experience.

Access to parents

It is not just the educators and students who can experience the benefits of a digital classroom but also the parents. Through this technology, parents can track their child's academic records. They can monitor their child's academic progress by understanding the kind of syllabus covered in school and checking on all upcoming assignments and examinations scheduled.

Role of new-age financial institutions in shaping the education infrastructure

From KG to PG, every educational institution has identified the need of the hour and, therefore,has embraced digital transformation.To be the choice of parents, schools and universities need to provide quality education which requires significant investments in terms of infrastructure and upgrades in keeping with the industry. Whether educational institutions need finance for capital or operational expenditure, financiers have designed financial solutions to cater to all their needs.

Financial support in the form of educationalinstitution loans can enable academic institutions to scale up, remodel and reinvent. Various new-age, education-focused lenders provide hyper-personalised financial solutions for educational institutes that also cover working capital needs, construction and renovation, and purchase of the property. These loans will not only help education institutions expand and upgrade facilities for students but also contribute to building quality education infrastructure in India.

With time, the country's policymakers have shifted their focus from just providing access to education to providing access to qualitative education. The country's development is primarily based on its people and resources,as people play the most important role in nation-building,and education is responsible for shaping a person.

Moreover, ahigher literacy ratecan boost the rate of employment and,in turn, increase contribution to the nation's economy.Financial institutions step in and play the role of an enabler by facilitating access to finance for Indian academic institutions to create the best possible education landscape for the aspirants.India's current literacy rate is 77.70 per cent, and the partnership of financial players and educational institutions will take this rate to newer heights.

Vivek Baranwal

Chief Business Officer – Education Institution Loans & Social Infrastructure Loans, Avanse Financial Services