Edtech

1) THE PROBLEM: Looking at the labour market,  we see that digital skills are much required. The question is: after the Pandemic has adversely affected the growth and potential of learners (especially young learners) there is a need to have a solution that will not only improve teaching teaching but also equip students with skills and prepare them for the labour market.

2) THE SOLUTION: The solution I'm proposing is "Edtech". We talk about CONCEPTS such as smartphones, wifi and USB. Edtech is simply put, "educational technology ".

3) IF SCALED GLOBALLY, Edtech could not only improve teaching but also prepare future generations with skills for the labour market. 

1) The specific problem I'm trying to address is "Equitable Classrooms " through Edtech/Educational Technology. 

2) The Covid 19 Pandemic has seriously disrupted education by forcing educational institutions in my community, regionally, nationally and indeed globally to suspend physical classrooms and shift to online classes.

3) Schools have been shut. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. 

4) That this is an educational problem of mammoth proportions by itself calls for a solution.

Tools such as smartphones, wifi and USB are CONCEPTS that a few years ago we didn't understand but that today we use without a second thought. Similarly, "Edtech" is a CONCEPT in the EDUCATION SECTOR. Edtech is the abbreviation of "Educational Technology ". EDTECH (a combination of "education " and "technology") refers to hardware and software designed to enhance teacher led learning in classrooms and improve students' education outcomes. It is both an academic discipline and a practice  The AIM of Edtech is to improve Education. 

The solution is intended to serve those with little or no educational access: those who are geographically isolated, discriminated against on the basis of gender or linguistics etc and/or those who are economically not fortunate enough. 

My Edtech solution is designed to serve largely in remote environments. It is intended to provide tools for parental support, peer interaction and guided independent work even in those cases where families are either economically/income insufficient and cannot afford even Wifi connections. In a country like India, where a large majority lives in rural areas with no electricity, and where there is widespread gender discrimination (especially violence against girls), I see Edtech as an innovative and powerful way of outreach. This may also enhance the physical safety and mental health of our learners besides enabling teachers adapt their pedagogy. 

We are obsessed with creating new concepts that allow us to have a better understanding of our current reality. Tools such as smartphones, wifi and USB drives are devices that a few years ago we didn't understand but that today we use without a second thought. I have chosen to categorize my process/technology/ service as a CONCEPT " because a lot of it has already been tried and/or tested, mine is still in the IDEA STAGE. 

Education determines the progress of nations. The "Jomtien Conference" in 1990 was a game changer for education as a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, the Covid 19 Pandemic has adversely impacted the education, social life and mental health of students, particularly young learners. 

My innovation makes use of effective, innovative and powerful technology to create equity for learners. Technology isn't the only tool we can use to create equitable learning environments, but there are a few outstanding ways in which it can assist in that mission. Firstly, students can access learning materials outside the classroom (eg. if we are able to bridge the digital divide especially in developing countries by creating a digital repository, ebooks etc). Secondly, EdTech with a narrow, specific focus can help create a personalized digital experience. Finally, educators and district leaders can  use technology to get helpful insights and more effectively, make data informed decisions. 

We must remember that to provide all students with equal access to technology, we must get rid of systemic disparities like income inequality, geographic isolation and discrimination on the basis of gender and linguistics. 

My solution makes use of tech and aims to bridge the digital divide through bringing technology close to even the remotest of areas. 

Will write in more details later. 

For more,

www.nilanjanasanyal.com 

The website of the "Public Peace Prize ".

Much solidarity, 

Nilanjana Sanyal 

(Writer/"Public Peace Prize " Laureate, 2018/Diverse)

(Writing from Kolkata, West Bengal, India)

I shall wait to hear from you. I am currently WORKING ON MY CONCEPT (IDEA). 

My Solution is in the CONCEPT (IDEA) STAGE. 

1 (Working on Concept).

I, Nilanjana Sanyal have traveled my life journey from the grassroots to being a Published Author (nine books, including one published from Germany) to being made a Laureate of the prestigious "Public Peace Prize ", 2018. My accomplishments have however come at great personal cost. I have undergone (and continue to undergo) much pain and suffering. It is this which serves as my ultimate inspiration. 

Education determines the progress of nations. I have read with great interest the lives of such eternal luminaries as Gandhi, King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt, Alice Paul and The Suffragettes and Madame Marie Curie and draw much inspiration from these. 

If technology can be harnessed and leveraged to deliver education to the remotest parts of the world, much of the developing world could be enabled to come out of ages of illiteracy, ignorance and backwardness. 

I am committed to diversity, inclusion and equality. The Founder (that's me) is a woman. I'm differently able. I hope to create a team which shall have an equal number of women and men (after all, men need a voice too), the disabled and those from low income populations.

MIT faculty or initiatives 

I, the prospective founder, will promote a world where women's voices can be celebrated, though entirely to the extent possible of me and bearing in mind my own life limitations. PLEASE SEE MY APPLICATION. 

I am applying to an innovative technology powered solution to support education. PLEASE SEE MY APPLICATION.