DIGITAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS IN RURAL AREAS

SRP Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree

Of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMILISTRATION

OF

ACHARYA BANGLORE BUSINESS SCHOOL

By

Soumya R

19YUCMD198

Under the Guidance

Of

DR. ARUL SENTHIL. B

Assistant Professor

ACHARYA BANGLORE BUSINESS SCHOOL

2020

1
 DECLRATION BY THE STUDENT

I hereby declare that ‘‘Digital education for students in rural areas’’ is the result of the project work
carried out by me under the guidance of Dr. Arul Senthil in partial fulfilment for the award of Master’s
Degree in Business Administration by Acharya Banglore B School.

I also declare that this project is the outcome of my own efforts and that it has not been submitted to
any other or institute for the award of any other Degree or Diploma or Certificate.

Place: Signature:

Name: Soumya R

Date: Register Number: 19YUCMD198

2
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

(To be given by the Institution on its letterhead)

Date :

This is to certify that the SRP titled ‘‘ DIGITAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS IN RURAL AREAS’’ is on
original work of Ms Soumya Veeranna Revadigar being submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of
Master’s Degree in Business Administration of Banglore University. The report has not been submitted earlier
either to this Institution for the fulfilment of the requirement of a course of study.

SINGATURE OF GUIDE SIGNATURE OF DIRECTOR

Date : Date :

3
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I take this opportunity to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to all those who have directly or
indirectly helped and contributed towards the completion of this project.

The success of any project study depends upon a number of factors among which the proper guidance
received from the experts in the industry and teachers play an important role.

I take here a great opportunity to express my sincere and deep sense of gratitude. Dr. Arul Senthil. for
giving me an opportunity to work on his project. The support and guidance from sir were of great help
and it was extremely valuable. I would like to express my gratitude to sir for his constant support and
encouragement. I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to DR. HR VENKATESHA
(DIRECTOR), for his constant and encouragement without his outright and energetic motivation,
support and prompt response. It would not have been possible to do any justice as well as bring
authenticity to the project.

Finally, I want to thank everyone for their constant support and encouragement.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER. PARTICULAR PAGE.NO

NO

01 INTRODUCTION 6-11
02 SOCIAL RELEVANCE 12-15
03 ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITIES 16-32
AND BUSINESS PLAN

04 REVIEW OF NATIONAL AND 33-37

INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

05 CHALLENGES 38-45

06 CONCLUSION 46-47

07 BIBLIOGRAPHY 48-50

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CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

6
MEANING OF DIGITAL EDUCATION:
Digital education / Digital learning is any type of learning that is accompanied by technology or by
instructional practice that makes effective use of technology. It encompasses the application of a wide
spectrum of practices including: blended and virtual learning.
Digital Learning is sometimes confused with online learning or e-learning, digital learning
encompasses the aforementioned concepts.
A digital learning strategy may include any of or a combination of any of the following:

• Adaptive learning
• Badging and gamification
• Blended learning
• Classroom technologies
• e-textbooks
• Learning analytics
• Learning objects
• Mobile learning e.g. Mobile Phones, Laptops, Computers, i Pads.
• Personalized learning
• Online learning (or e-learning)
• Open educational resources (OERs)
• Technology-enhanced teaching and learning
• Virtual reality
• Augmented reality
Through the use of mobile technologies, digital learning can be used whilst travelling as mobile
technologies gives us this advantage.

Rural India and digital education

Digital education is breaking the numerous barriers that are preventing students in rural India from
receiving quality education in the physically bound classrooms:
 Direct to Device' technology will empower these students to get quality education, anytime and
anywhere
 It will enable them to save time, by having more freedom to move at their own pace as well as
help them save money by avoiding "hidden costs" of education, like transportation fees etc.
7
  By not having to be at a certain class at a certain time, it will assist working students to not limit
their work schedule, helping them to not lose on wages that they can potentially earn
 With the flexibility of online courses, students can conserve more hours and more money,
enabling them to learn with a purpose and instil a sense of self-belief in them

Four Reasons A Digital Education Is So Important:

‘‘Children today are in a world that is run by technology. Everything is online, or run by machinery
and with an online world comes an online education. That’s not to say that people have to learn online
to be qualified in the digital world, but that a digital education is important for students to get by.’’

Ten years ago, tablets, smart phones and digital technology was gaining some serious traction in the
world. Everyone wanted the latest and greatest gadget and companies like Apple and Samsung were
struggling to keep up with the demand of their customers. This required more and more people to be
literate in HTML and coding, programs like Photoshop and In Design and most other Adobe guides
were gaining popularity. A digital education has become as important as mathematics and English, and
it’s a language that is just as fluent. With the rise of careers in the IT and digital sectors, the interest in
learning how to build websites, design company brands and upgrade the user experience for tablets and
smart phones has blossomed.
We must be able to use technology to continue in the world we live in, and this means a digital
education is very important for our children. We’ve gathered five reasons why so you can understand
this too:

1. Equality. Educational resources are at an all-time low. Some schools now require students to have a
tablet with them in the classroom and parents are, for the most part, required to provide these. This isn’t
the school trying to squeeze money out of parents, and pen and paper learning is still beneficial.
However, with the influence of technology in the world, children need to be fluent in coding from a
young age if they hope to get far in life.

2. Future. Our world is already dominated by the digital industry, and this is showing no signs of
slowing down. Articles like this one can give you some insight as to how fast we are evolving with
technology. People who are important in education should be using their responsibility as teachers to
encourage students to master technology on all platforms. Whether kids head off to college or go
8
directly into work, technology will be used every single day. The more they learn now, the better off
they’ll be.

3. Mobility. Technology can take us anywhere. This isn’t just about computers. Think about the
transport options from ten years ago and think about how the aviation industry has adapted to the
changes in technology. Technology can be taken anywhere, and students who learn early that they
don’t have to be stagnant with their careers will be the ones to go far in life.

4. Convenience. One of the best things about technology is how convenient it is. If your children are
learning from an early age how to navigate the digital world, they won’t struggle when it comes to the
workplace. Technology is as easy as you want it to be and education in technology is vital for the
continuation of the world as we know it.

How Digital education is going to be helped to students in rural areas

The use of technology can help in mitigating aforementioned concerns. Education can be digitized in
rural areas by providing multimedia teaching tools to teachers and engaging students through learning
methods that utilize digital tools, such as smart-boards, LCD screens, videos, etc., to teach them
different concepts. By making it possible for one teacher to deliver information remotely across several
locations, interactive digital media will also help address the shortage of teachers in these schools.
‘Children are the future of our nation and therefore, it is imperative that they are provided with
necessary means to realise their potential’
In the Union Budget for 2018-19, the government’s focus has been towards improving the quality of
education by integrating technology. It has allocated Rs 456 crore for digital education. The emphasis
on the need to graduate from blackboards to digital boards signifies the role that technology must play
in improving the quality of education. The role of NGOs in spreading digital education tools across
Indian villages is also noteworthy. For instance, Pratham, in partnership with Vodafone Foundation
India, has started the digital classroom initiative called “Learn, Out of the Box” to enhance teaching
and learning in low-income schools using technology as the primary teaching tool. Similarly, e-
Vidyaloka is a not-for-profit that aims to improve the quality of education in remote regions of India
through digital classrooms. While NGOs are making efforts alongside the government in the field of
digital education in rural India, the next logical step would be to bring resources of both entities
together and implement these initiatives on a large scale to maximize the impact.

9
The Features of E-Learning
E-Learning has the potential to revolutionize traditional education, because it could provide faster
learning at reduced costs, increased access to learning, and clear accountability for all participants in
the learning process. It enables businesses or schools to distribute training and critical information to
multiple locations easily. Employees and students can then access training when it is convenient for
them, at home or in the office.

In today's fast-paced culture, organizations that implement e-Learning will provide their work force
with the ability to turn change into an advantage. However, e-Learning is just now in its infancy
[Downes 1998]. As pioneers struggle with new technologies and new practices, the discipline evolves
almost daily. Despite the rapid change, some significant features of future e-Learning can be identified
as the following:

• Personalization. The education of the future will become deeply personalized. The learning topics
will be selected based on student interest, student aptitude and educational level, and societal need. The
menu of available courses presented to any given student will be determined dynamically by the
student's prior learning assessment, by the prerequisite for the new course, and by the learning
management system. A student's daily menu will be varied and constantly changing, building on each
day's achievement.

• Interoperability and reusability. E-Learning systems with different environments and contents
from multiple authors must have the ability to work together. There must be a semantic relationship
between different e-Learning systems. Learning content may be reused in multiple applications and
environments regardless of the tools used to create them. This requires that content be separated from
context-specific runtime constraints so that it can be incorporated into other applications. For reuse to
be possible, content must also have common interfaces and data.

•Flexibility. Courses could be generated in a variety of forms based on standard style sheets.
Different forms of layout could be available depending on the purpose of the course and the
preferences of the learner. A student can use various kinds of devices with different processor speeds
and memory capacity, from desktop computers, laptop computers, and mobile devices such as Palm
computers, to access the learning content.

10
How can rural students and adults particularly benefit from digital education

Digital education is breaking the numerous barriers that are preventing students in rural India from
receiving quality education in the physically bound classrooms:

 'Direct to Device' technology will empower these students to get quality education, anytime and
anywhere

 It will enable them to save time, by having more freedom to move at their own pace as well as
help them save money by avoiding "hidden costs" of education, like transportation fees (gas,
parking fees)

 By not having to be at a certain class at a certain time, it will assist working students to not limit
their work schedule, helping them to not lose on wages that they can potentially earn

 With the flexibility of online courses, students can conserve more hours and more money,
enabling them to learn with a purpose and instil a sense of self-belief in them.

11
 CHAPTER- 2
SOCIAL RELEAVANCE

12
The process of imparting education has gone through a sea change if we look at the picture 10-20 years
before now. Technology has taken over almost every field of our lives and the onset of online courses
came as a path-breaker. No longer did one need to have access to schools, time or a lot of money! All
one needed was a good internet connection and a computer.

Importance of Embracing Social Media in Online Education

The continual development and progression of the internet has had an immense impact on society and
the way that we do things. From our consumption of information to our communication with each
other, technology and the internet have altered the way that we exist. Therefore, having become an
integral part of our survival, technology is now widely accepted in more areas such as education. With
the new generation having become accustomed to using technology from a younger age, their way of
understanding and digesting information has changed. For example, it has altered the attention span of
students due to having more access to shorter videos and concise articles. Therefore, traditional
education can appear to be challenging due to being presented as deviating from their accepted norm.
The idea of having to sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher may not appeal to everyone and is
therefore leading to more students pursuing online education.

When students are already familiar with using social media and consuming information online,
distance learning is naturally the next step. Therefore, more institutions are beginning to incorporate
and embrace social media within their teaching and learning processes. Instead of having to sit and read
through a wealth of text, students are able to learn through videos and other mediums. They have the
flexibility to learn from within their own space which not only caters to different learning styles but
ensures that they are learning in a way that suits and is familiar to them.

Social media and the internet also make it possible for students to feel more included in a community
whilst still having access to resources and guidance. Social media is often the quickest way to contact
people or have questions answered, therefore making information accessible, regardless of location.
For example, news of current affairs can quickly spread across social media before television stations
have had the chance to cover it. Social media is instant and allows communication in real-time, almost
emulating our daily interactions with people. Therefore, its use in education can only be perceived as a
means of aiding learning and creating a shared experience for the student. Tutors are able to share
content and relevant material with students in real-time and interactions are not as limited as when in a
classroom setting.

13
It also allows students to ask more questions and clarify their own understanding which is something
that is often challenging in a classroom when there is no time to contemplate the things that they have
been taught. Social media even improves communication between tutors and students because neither
party has to sit down to compose an email. Social media is accessible on phones and tablets, making it
easier to respond to one another and thus improving the overall interaction between student and
teacher. This ensures that students are able to develop a better understanding of content but that they
are still using their initiative and becoming more critical through their questioning.

The presence and availability of online communities can also help to provide support for students
which is integral for ensuring that they feel encouraged and motivated. Without the physical presence
of peers, it is easy for students to fall behind or struggle with a lack of enthusiasm. Social media makes
it possible for students to have a support network and maintain interaction with others.

As the face of education continues to change, institutions are having to find ways to continue to
develop their curriculum in a way to appeal to the new generation of students. Although some are
hesitant to deviate from the practices of traditional education, it is important to prioritise the student’s
needs and therefore ensure that they are taught in a way that will maximise their own potential and
learning. Whilst more social media platforms continue to be introduced, the internet is thriving and
should therefore be used as a tool to aid the educational process. It has already proven itself as an
invaluable medium and pool of information.

Bridging rural-urban educational divide using social technologies

India is facing a huge rural-urban divide with regard to learning achievement at the school level. Even
after significant educational expansion in the recent years—including physical infrastructure of schools
and enrolment of students (at primary and secondary levels)—dropout rates in rural India are
substantially high (at 40% and 57%, respectively). The major reasons behind this unfortunate
outcome—in spite of large investments in traditional classroom programmes—are teacher absenteeism,
and poor quality of teaching due to non-availability of trained teachers and attractive teaching materials
in rural schools.

Enrolment rates and identification of learner obstacles are two objective metrics of evaluating a
nation’s level of educational attainment. In this context, the UNESCO Convention against
Discrimination in Education noted: “If the right to education for all is to become a reality, we must
ensure that all learners have access to quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches
lives. But in reality, millions of children, youth and adults continue to experience exclusion within and

14
from education around the world.” Ensuring inclusive, lifelong learning for all, and improving quality
of education are among the top priority areas identified by Asia-Pacific education ministers.
Unfortunately, many developing countries, including India, are struggling to maintain a unified
learning system that caters to students from all socio-economic backgrounds.

However, the current age of digital connectivity can enable us to address this problem in innovative
ways, paving the way for access to quality education universally. The internet plays an important role
in connecting students to an ever-expanding information base that is now easily available owing to the
presence of free cyber knowledge repositories like YouTube, Wikipedia, Khan Academy. Social
technologies (i.e. technologies used by people to interact socially, and to create, enhance and exchange
content) have been gaining importance globally, leading to the creation of crowd-sourced knowledge
resources throughout the internet.

Numerous e-learning platforms are using crowd-sourced educational materials where knowledge
seekers can connect to a pool of knowledge providers, with the internet serving as an intermediary.
This crowd-sourced knowledge base of the internet can effect positive change in communities by
allowing people to connect and experience uniform knowledge exchange. Social interactions via
technologies allow people to raise questions, share knowledge, ideas and discover human skills
regardless of hierarchy. This gives rise to the concept of ‘sharism’, wherein people actively share goods
and services worldwide using the internet.

At its heart, the disparity of educational quality between rural and urban areas is due to unequal access
to quality learning in its traditional form. This problem can be addressed by utilising the massive
potential of the internet and cyber knowledge resources.

15
 CHAPTER – 3
ENTREPERNEURIAL/ EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
INCLUDING BUSSINESS PLAN

16
The opportunities for improving rural education are endless. The awakening of rural population to the
value of education throws a giant opportunity for education entrepreneurs to begin with their education
start-up and expand in this rural India. Entrepreneurs can open schools in various rural districts and
enrol students and provide them with the basic schooling. As infrastructure of government schools in
rural India is a problem, it can be taken care of by these entrepreneurs. Hygiene and sanitation are a
major cause of worry which should be addressed by these schools.

Entrepreneurs can also start a venture with other schools educating the adults / elderly population of
rural areas as these people, if not properly educated would not let their children study and instead will
join them in work.

Another opportunity could be opening an institute for the working population in rural India to provide
them with the necessary skill to excel in their work. This comes after PM Modi took the initiative and
laid down the Skill Development Mission in the year 2015 which plans to make India a hub of skilled
manpower.

For example, Hippocampus learning Centre provides low-cost preschool and after-school learning
services to students in rural areas. It currently serves over 6000 children across Karnataka and is the
largest early education provider in the state. They are actively seeking additional entrepreneurs across
India who have plans for scalable and affordable educational services or products that will help India’s
rural children get the education they deserve.

Thus, opening of an educational venture in rural India would let the entrepreneurs tap the potential
market and reap the benefits of enrolling a high number of students, obtaining easy funds by
government and other institutes and educating the masses altogether.

The fact that education is part and parcel of our existence. The business opportunities in the education
industry are massive and any entrepreneur who is serious about making money can leverage on the
opportunities available in the industry. As a matter of fact, any entrepreneur who is creative and really
imaginative can create his or her own business concept that can be highly marketable in the education
industry.

Here are 5 thriving and profitable business ideas in the education industry that an entrepreneur or
investor can choose from:

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Tutor Finder App:

Private tuitionis something highly demanded everywhere in the world. Be it a high school student or a
university student, a large number of the population needs help in their studies and so they look for a
tutor. A web based or a mobile app that allows students to find best tutors in their city can be a great
business. Get local tutors onboard; allow them to add their professional background and rates. Promote
them, get them business and keep a percentage of their earnings. Allow the students to review the tutors
they have booked. This way you can ensure that your service connects students with the best tutors.

Skills Development Center

A skill development center can organize various courses under one roof, i.e. cooking, music, arts
painting, language and anything that helps people to improve their skills. To make your skills
development center, you must get affiliated with a local education council, and this way your business
should be providing authentic and certified skill development services.

Teachers Resources Online:

A healthy education system is one that goes with a constant improvement, and to keep up with the
changing requirements, teachers must update their methodologies. This is why they look for new
resources, lesson planning help, ideas and tips to improve teaching practices and so on. On the other
hand, there are too many researches going on that provide a lot of qualitative teaching aids on regular
basis. Creating an online platform that has teaching resources and aids available for free or for a little
price can be a great business. In case if you are keeping the resources free, you can make money by
selling advertising.

The options mentioned above are the ideas that do not require huge investment and can be highly
profitable is short period of time.

Start an Online Library Business

Online library is another platform where people learn different subjects at an affordable fee. The
internet has made it possible for people from different parts of the world to be registered in the same
library. Online library (e-library) is a resource center where you can comfortably conduct a thorough
research and study from the comfort of your home no matter the part of the world you live in as long as
you have internet enabled device (smart phones, computers, notebooks, tablets et al).

18
People pay registering fees and of course membership fees to make use of online libraries. If you
looking towards starting a business in the education industry, then starting a well equipped e-library is
one of your options. You can start your own e-library and attract membership from across the globe.

Start an Entrepreneurial College

It is fact that loads of entrepreneurs did not go through entrepreneurial training before launching their
businesses, which is why much business closes shop before their 3rd anniversary. Entrepreneurial
college is a place where aspiring entrepreneurs enroll to learn the rudiment of starting and growing a
business. Statistics has it that majority of the startup businesses that survives are managed by people
who have undergone formal or informal business/ entrepreneurial training.

The Essential Guide to Entrepreneurs in Indian Education

Problem Solving

As the education market grows, so do its problems. Several start ups are attempting to pinpoint and
solve issues that plague the education industry.

A. Quality of Education

Lack of personalization

Education has stayed a ‘one size fits all’ model since the industrial revolution. With current progress
and research, we know that it isn’t as effective. Everyone learns at different levels depending on their
abilities, their background and their access to learning materials. Each student struggles in different
subjects and even different areas of each subject. Ed Tech can aid teachers and students here, as shown
by US based Khan Academy.

Lack of engagement

Technologies such as AV systems and video are equally important. While they may not bring people
online, they are mediums that can make learning more interesting. Books and papers have become
things of the past. Bringing new methods of learning into the classroom can encourage children to stay
in school and learn further.

Lack of after-school support

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When personalization or engagement is lacking in traditional set-ups, most students turn to after school
support. While tuition classes have become dime a dozen, the growth has not resulted in an equal
improvement in quality. While home tuitions are popular, the teachers may not be qualified or
effective.

Lack of vocational training

Former president APJ Abdul Kalam said that “un-employability” of a majority of Indian youth, which
was a result of skill deficit, was a bigger crisis than unemployment itself. Education in India is oriented
towards gaining a degree. Unlike in the west where business degrees are meant for experienced
professionals, Indians pride themselves on continuous education and salary comparisons. Little thought
is given to actual skill building. This results in poorer career outcomes and underemployment.

B. Access to Education

Distance as barrier

India lacks schools and teachers in several districts, especially in government schools. According to
some estimates, as many as one in six teaching posts is vacant. Enabling students to access distance
learning, through online courses and assignments, helps solve this issue. IGNOU, the largest open
university in the world, with over 4 million students across 67 centers is a rare and successful solution.

Technology as barrier

In classrooms around the world, children are used to digital tools at home and school. It is essential to
bring these e-learning tools such as computers and mobiles into every classroom. Rural areas,
especially, need these in a world where digital skills are more important than ever for a successful
career.

Entrepreneurs in the Education Sector

There are many individuals who have contributed to the change so far. While we cannot list them all,
we hope the below list provides an inspiration for many more.

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Change makers

Narendra Modi

The current Prime Minister of India has been working on educational reforms since taking on the role.
He has put forward initiatives like a university for teacher training and evaluations of teachers by
students. He has also recommended overhauling of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All
India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). The government think tank, Niti Aayog, has also
begun to work on recommendations to the education system under his guidance.

Azim Premji

The Chairman of Wipro runs the Azim Premji Foundation, whose object is to update the quality of
primary education in India. In 2010, he gave INR 8.8 crore to the establishment and construction of
Azim Premji University (APU). The objective of APU is to set new standards for teacher training and
research for education.

Dr. Jagdish Gandhi The founder of City Montessori School in Lucknow, Dr. Gandhi and his wife
Bharti now manage over 20 campuses with 44,000 students. CMS emphasizes co-curricular activities,
while most schools do not. The K-12 school hosts 32 international events annually and has an active
student exchange program with schools overseas.

Dr. Mithu Alur

Dr. Alur is the founder-chairperson of Spastics Society of India (now ADAPT) and the National
Resource Centre for Inclusion (NRCI), Mumbai. The two organizations provide education for 3,000
physically and mentally challenged children. She has also staged four global conferences on inclusive
education (bringing children with special needs into mainstream education).

Lina Ashar

Coming back to India from Australia, Ms. Ashar set up the first Kangaroo Kids preschool in 1993. At
this point the concept of a preschool was relative unknown in India. Her aim was to teach children with
creativity and imagination. It has now grown into a chain with branches across India, West Asia and
the Maldives. She has also founded a full fledged high school, Billabong International High School.

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Over the past few years, mobile learning has picked up by the populace who have gradually assimilated
it in their lives. It has offered students the flexibility to access educational content seamlessly across
multiple digital devices like desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

The smart phone user base in India continues to increase, in both urban and rural areas. The coming
years will witness users accessing most of their educational content through internet powered smart
phone in a massive way. Most educational content, including even online courses, will be optimized
entirely for mobile devices.

Video-based learning

Video learning has always appealed to students since it closely mirrors the traditional classroom
teaching style. Earlier, students watched video lectures as a form of homework and then discussed them
during the next class. Over time, this habit brought about a remarkable improvement in their
performance, with a noticeable improvement in grades.

Video lectures allowed students to learn subject syllabi at their own pace and dedicate time spent in
class towards interactions. This will continue to be a trend in the future where students will have access
to rich and interactive content, that will be useful for both formal training as well as performance
enhancement. The increase in video-based learning on mobile devices will eventually account for 80
per cent of all internet traffic by 2019.

Open educational resources

Open digital education resources have commonly been used in distance learning courses. They consist
of freely accessible media for learning, teaching and research purposes. They are licensed to be revised
and disseminated freely by teachers among students. This allows the latter to gain access to an
extensive arrive of study material that is otherwise restricted indigenously.

Open educational resources also facilitate the creation of a flexible environment where teachers can
customize educational content for individual sessions or classroom sittings. This is applicable for
typical curricular subjects like mathematics, sciences and languages, as well as business and fine arts.

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Usage of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) for learning
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are already buzzwords in the technology space. Their advent in
e-learning has massively impacted the efficiency with which it is offered to students and the way it
assesses their performance.

VR allows students using e-learning platforms on mobile devices to directly interact with study
material. This keeps their engagement levels high and motivates them to learn more and better. On the
other hand, AR facilitates teachers and trainers in performing tasks, they previously haven't or cannot,
in a safe environment.

Together, the both of them are engaging students in ways like never before and are poised to become a
lot more widespread in their usage and impact in the future

BUSINESS PLAN

3.1 Executive Summary

Meaning Of Executive Summary:

An executive summary is a brief introduction and summary of your business plan. It should
describe your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial
highlights.
A good executive summary grabs your reader’s attention and lets them know what it is you
do and why they should read the rest of your business plan or proposal. It’s not unusual for
investors to make an initial decision just based on reading an executive summary, so it’s
important to get it right. We’ll show you how to write an executive summary that sets your
business plan apart from the rest.

1. A description of your product or service and the problem your business solves
Include a brief description of the product or service you offer and why it’s necessary. Your
business doesn’t need to serve a larger social problem, but it should address a need for
customers or an opportunity in the market.

2. A description of your target market

Your target market is who you think your customers will be. Sometimes the product name

23
 itself defines the market, such as “Peoria’s Best Thai food,” or “Mini Cooper Dashboard
Accessory.” If not, then a brief description of the target market—your primary audience, or
the people you think will spend money on your solution will suffice.

3. Competition
Assuming your business has competition (every business does!), then briefly describe how
your business will differentiate itself. Are you competing on price, quality, or something
else? Briefly describe what makes your business different here.

4. Financial Overview
If you’re an existing company, this might be as simple as highlighting recent annual sales and
growth over the last year. For a startup, it might be a brief description of aspirations, such as

a sales forecast goal for the next year or three years from now. I often recommend a simple
highlights chart, a bar chart with sales and gross margin for the next three years.

1. Your Team
This is especially important for startup companies. Investors want to know who is behind the
business idea and why you and your team are the right people to build the business. It also
may be valuable to highlight any gaps in your team and how you intend to fill them. If you
have potential partners or candidates in mind, briefly mention them and expand on their
qualifications within your full business plan.

2. Funding Needs
If you are using your business plan to raise money for your business, your executive
summary should highlight how much money you are looking for. Investors will want to know
this upfront and not have to dig through a business plan to find this detail.

3.3 Market Analysis

A key part of any business plan is the market analysis. This section needs to demonstrate both
your expertise in your particular market and the attractiveness of the market from a financial
standpoint.
This article first look at what we mean exactly by market analysis before looking at how to
make a good one for your business plan.
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 What is a market analysis?
A market analysis is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of a market. It looks into the
size of the market both in volume and in value, the various customer segments and buying
patterns, the competition, and the economic environment in terms of barriers to entry and
regulation.

Effective Market Research for Website Design

1. How Much Research is Enough

Generally a research can be divided into 3 types; namely Quick Research, Long Research and
Deep Dive Research.

Quick Research: A quick research that is completed within couple of hours, is basically an
extended version of brief given by client (in case you are a pure web design company). If you
have your own resources to develop a website, you go by the instructions of the management.
Let’s take example of a web design company; it gets the brief gathered via email or phone on
a set questionnaire, which is mostly same for all. These details allow the company to chalk
out the estimated budget for creating the website and the time it will take. But it is still not
enough, a little more research about who are in competition to your client gives a general
overview of the industry. This research allows figuring out the similarities and differences
between rival websites. This also allows you to create a website that meets industry standards
but also adheres to clients wish list.

Long Research: this type of research that takes anywhere between couple of days to a week.
This mostly happens when the client is unable to give clear picture of the website he/she
needs. This require a lot more questions for clarity via regular email conversations and/or
phone calls until a clear picture is on hand to create a website’s design. In the above case its
better to not just know about the clients’ competitors but also about the industry on the
whole. Also understanding the scope of the project is important as well as understanding
client’s current online presence alongside analytics data (if available) also helps. The
information thus gathered will help you to prepare a solid website; thus, allowing the client to
save time and money in the future. This may also result in client retaining the services to web
design company in future as well. All this will help create a better picture about the website,
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its page requirement and cost estimation.

Deep Dive Research: deep dive research can easily take over 15-20 days of concerted efforts
for better clarity, objectivity in relation to the website that needs to be developed. There are
several aspects to it; with respect to website that includes Design (Brand, Stationary, Design
Audit, and Marketing Material); Development (Mobile Support, CMS, Native App);
Technical Requirements (Domain, Hosting, Traffic). Under phase 1 ask the client about the
website related marketing collaterals including offline publications, brochures, newspaper
publications, annual reports, promotional posters, etc. these help in gathering of information

about the client and help in creating the website. This is followed by asking the client about
brand like colour, symbols, design preference, and brand message. This is important, as a
website must reflect the company’s brand and related image.

2. Use of Market Research

For a website designing company; designing a proper revenue-generating website is not only
about coding, it also helps align the online business goals of client with customer needs and
creating a better customer experience.
Customer Journey Development- Before a website design is undertaken, the ideal customer
journey must be charted out. For that client and website designer must share input. Striking
balance between them is crucial as it will help in the creation of the website and its
navigation tree. To conduct market research, it I imperative to provide questionnaire to all
beforehand, allowing them enough time to give detailed insight into their experience.
Co-creation & Innovation- it is a modern concept where client and customers are invited to
co-create the website with you. Though most may be virtually illiterate in terms of web
designing concepts but it is their innovative ideas that can help website stand out. In this
creativity and conceptualization is the key; as it allows creating a more interactive
experience. This type of innovative approach allows merging or integrating the essential
elements in to the proposed client website. The only concern here is the budgetary
constraints, if some ideas fit the bill these can be adopted while, the remainder can be shelved
for later use when the website in up for maintenance or redesign and upgrade.
Concept Testing- an important aspect of market research is to create a number of mock-up of
the website and to present them to client for decision on which to carry forward. Its important
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 to test the concepts with customers, as it allows for incorporation of feedback from client.
User Experience Feedback- As the website development cycle nears launch, you must not
forget to collect user feedback. Based on end user experience with regards to load times,
aesthetics, and navigation of the website, all necessary concerns should be taken into account.

People involved in Business

Designing websites is such a huge undertaking that to do it right, you really need a team of
people — whether working with an internal team, with vendors, or independent consultants.
Here is a sampling of the major players, their roles, and when you need them.
Business folks and website client

Once, you could get away with sticking a website up on the Internet and expect to get
reasonable traffic without much further effort. In the crowded Internet highways of today,
however, you really need a business strategy and a marketing plan. Your business and
marketing folks must be involved with the website from the very beginning. They are in
charge of the following responsibilities:

Setting the goals and requirements for the site. You must always understand the business
goals, in order of priority, of the site.

Identifying the target customer. The marketing team members should provide a profile
picture of the ideal customer that the site must cater to.

Reeling in the visitors. The marketing team also needs to figure out how to direct
customers to the site.

Producers and project managers

Once clients and companies are committed to a new web project, invariably their eyes tend to
get bigger than the budget. Often times, they will ask for the moon because they simply do
not understand the complexities that go into web development. Among many other
responsibilities, the main job of the producer or project manager is to set and manage client
expectations so the project stays on track.
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 Content developers

For this reason, content development for a web project is often parceled out to two distinct
individuals — or one individual wearing two distinct hats:
The content strategist: The person who identifies the chunks of copy needed for each page
and the rules for each, such as character limits and style of copy.

The copy writer: The person who actually writes the text for each identified chunk.
Media specialists
No modern website would be complete without a splash of video, audio, or even a Flash
component. With so many specialized media formats and compression schemes, however, it’s
best to leave media development to separate professionals.
Web developers
A web developer is the person who assembles the actual web pages in HTML (HyperText
Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). There is a real art to producing what is
called the front end of a website (what you see when you visit a website) because there are so
many browsers and computer configurations to account for.
Programmers
Modern website projects would not be complete without a team of programmers. These folks
can really give your website a turbo boost by making it a powerful business tool, whether it is
an e-commerce site or a social networking site.
In addition to coding web-page templates with a scripting language such as PHP or ASP,
programmers also create the online databases to house all the information the templates may
need. Building databases can be so complex that many times you need a specialized database
dude or dudette for that task alone.

Fiance

Financial planning is the task of determining how a business will afford to achieve its
strategic goals and objectives. Usually, a company creates a Financial Plan immediately after
the vision and objectives have been set. The Financial Plan describes each of the activities,
resources, equipment and materials that are needed to achieve these objectives, as well as the
timeframes involved. A financial plan creates a roadmap for your money and helps you
achieve your goals. Financial planning can be done on your own or with a professional.
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A financial plan is a comprehensive picture of your current finances, your financial goals and any
strategies you've set to achieve those goals. Good financial planning should include details about your
cash flow, savings, debt, investments, insurance and any other elements of your financial life.

The Financial Planning activity involves the following tasks:

Assess the business environment
Confirm the business vision and objectives
Identify the types of resources needed to achieve these objectives
Quantify the amount of resource (labor, equipment, materials)
Calculate the total cost of each type of resource
Summarize the costs to create a budget

Identify any risks and issues with the budget set.

Performing Financial Planning is critical to the success of any organization. It provides the
Business Plan with rigor, by confirming that the objectives set are achievable from a financial
point of view

Average Cost to Build a Website

I’ve prepared a breakdown showing phases that make up a website development price. In a
nutshell, custom website development costs can start at 4,20,000 and go up to 6,80,000 and
over.

UI/UX Design

Tools that can be used: Sketch, InVision, Zepplin, Adobe Creative Cloud

You’ll barely find a poorly designed yet successful product. Most users are visuals. Good
design is what captures their attention and calls to action. Bad design is what makes them
leave and never come back.
In other words, UI/UX design services are as essential as engineering. That means expenses
on design are one of the key points answering how much it costs to build a website.
Research. Defining the target audience, their preferences, and analyzing competitors.

Wireframe. Creating wireframes to show a schematic placement of elements and agree it

with a client.
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 Prototype. Crafting the final user interface to show how the app will look like on devices.
The breakdown above allows to reach the best efficiency and settle down every project detail.
So, what is the average cost to build a website’s design? It can vary from $750 to $4,000 and
over.
Again, the time and cost to create UI/UX design depend on your requirements. They are
number of pages, animation complexity, and so on.
Front-End Development

Some technologies that can be used: HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, TypeScript,
SASS, LESS, Angular, React

Imagine a registration page with three standard fields: name, login, password. You can see
shades they throw, shapes of the input fields, and a red Register button below. You click that
red button and see it's animation. That’s the front end.
The front end is everything your visitors can see and interact with on the website. It typically
starts once the UI/UX design is ready. So what you saw on prototypes before, developers
would turn into a working product running on any browser.
QA engineers are starting to participate in the project from this stage and continue working
on it till release.
The main factors that influence website creation cost on this stage are:

Website responsiveness or adaptiveness

Complexity of animations (yes, again)
Front-end development costs can vary from 37,000 to 65,000 and over.

Back-End Development
Some technologies that can be used: Node.js, Express.js, Nest.js, .NET

Let’s get back to that registration example. Without the back end, nothing would ever happen
after you click the red Register button. The back end is what makes input data travel to the
server and register you as a new user.
If something is wrong, it returns an error saying you’ve already been registered or another
message. In other words, the page alone is just a bunch of code visualized by browsers. It
can’t fulfill it's end purpose — register users.
Back end is at the heart of every website powering all it's features. That means the back-end
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 development makes up a considerable part of the website creation cost.

The main factors influencing total development time and the average website cost are:
Integration with third-party services
Non-standard data processing (for example audio)
Complex queries
etc.
Back-end development costs can vary from 1,50,000 to 4,50,000 and over.

Admin Panel Development

Content management system (aka admin panel) is a solution that allows to create, manage,
and edit website content. So if you want to change a word in a paragraph somewhere on the
website, you won’t need to ask developers to do that.
There are a plethora of ready-made CMS engines like Shopify, WordPress, Drupal, and others.
They are designed to cut on development hours and reduce the cost to build a website. But as
any out-of-the-box solutions, they can be limited in functionality and security. The latter is
because malicious software is generally written to target popular systems rather than custom-
built ones.
Expenses on custom CMS development can vary from 1,10,00 to 2,20,000 and over.

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 Final Development Cost of All Stages
Summing up the development time and cost of every stage described, you’ll get an
approximate website development price.
How much does it cost to build a website
Stage Time Min Price Max Price

UI/ UX Design 15-80h 37,500 1,51,040

Front end 20-250h 45,300 4,90,880

Back end 80-250h 1,88,800 5,28,640

Admin panel 60-180h 1,13,200 5,66,400

Total 175-760h 3,84,800 17,36,960

The final website development cost also depends a lot on the region where you outsource
web development or form an in-house team.
Conclusion
\A business plan conclusion, doesn’t need to be very long, in fact, it can be pretty brief.
Your conclusion should; reiterate the opportunity, highlight the key strengths of your plan,
summarise your vision, and remind the reader why your business is in a position to
successfully execute the plan.
If you are looking to raise funding with your plan, you should detail the finance required.
Benefits Of Online Courses For Rural Students
e-Learning makes it possible for students to take classes that wouldn’t normally be available
to them. For example, schools in the Idaho Education Network (IEN) can share and exchange
classes online. Homedale High School is just one of many rural schools that share resources,

allowing students to participate in physics, calculus, and hybrid speech courses from schools
across the state.

Online learning can also support rural students when shrinking budgets and strained resources
limit access to libraries and other learning materials. With eLearning courses, students can
study at their own pace with a wide range of online tools from scholarly articles to audio or
video lectures.

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 CHAPTER - 4
REVIEW OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SENARIO

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CURRENT STATE OF E-LEARNING IN INDIA
Although the foundation of education is still reading, writing and arithmetic, today’s students need
broader education. Contemporary classroom, hence, needs to deliver live instruction, video content
delivery, student to- student interactions via video conferencing, remote test administration, up-to-date
materials, self-learning etc. Digital India campaign is
likely to benefit education by bringing many of these and other important elements together.
Even as the previous government tried to bridge the digital divide, Modi’s masterstroke offers a lot of
positivity for the Indian education market which is estimated to be worth Rs 5.9 rillion in 2014-15
against Rs. 3.33 trillion in 2011-12. With nearly half the population of India below the age of 25 and
increasing penetration of Internet and mobile devices in this demography which is expected to reach
250 million soon, rivaling the US and second
only to China, India’s potential as a huge market for e-learning is enormous. Indian corporate sector
having hold on tech world such as Intel, Qualcomm and Tata are also making strides in this direction.
Intel recently launched ‘Digital Skills for India’ initiative under which it
introduced Digital Skills Training Application that is comprised of modules on Digital Literacy,
Financial Inclusion, Healthcare and Cleanliness in five Indian languages. Qualcomm has launched Play
‘n’ Learn program for school children ages 5-8. It is providing
3G tablets under the Qualcomm wireless Reach initiative. Similarly, Samsung recently started on a
Smart Learning initiative to provide interactive study materials to students.
Likewise, Tata, Reliance and BSNL are among the prominent Indian names that are going big on this
sector. While Tata is expanding its school education solution, ‘Classedg’, Reliance has picked up over
38.5 per cent stake in digital education company, Extra marks Education Private Limited, through its
subsidiary, Infotel Broadband Services Limited. Government owned enterprise BSNL has tied up with
Grey cell 18 Media Private Limited, to launch its
online education service ‘Topper Education’. Other noteworthy names in this segment include the likes
of Data Wind, Merit nation, and Class teacher. Even some of the
e-commerce players have expressed their willingness in this segment. Needless to say, if
the e-learning/education market takes root in the country, it will definitely improve the education
scenario which desperately needs a shakeup.Even the government is in strong supporter of e-learning
and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (Deity) has been actively developing
tools and technologies to promote it,what we need is more devices and an ecosystem.There is a need
for a greater participation from the industry and stakeholders. For this to happen, the tech companies
have to take the lead and help enable a strong ecosystem. We also need more applications and services
to strengthen the ecosystem. The developers and content providers are going to be encouraged only

34
when there is a plenty of devices, more importantly interest of tech companies. Apparently, there is a
huge opportunity yet to be tapped, even as infrastructure and regulation issues might be slowing down
the otherwise accelerating education space in India. Digital India (DI) programme is a GoI initiative to
electronically integrate the government departments and the people of India. This move aims at
ensuring that overnment services are made available to citizens electronically. It also includes a
massive plan to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks. Digital India has three core
omponents.These include: Digital infrastructure, Digital service delivery and Digital literacy
The project was officially launched on July 01, 2015 and is slated for completion by 2019. The scheme
will be monitored and controlled by the Digital India Advisory group which will be chaired by the
Ministry of Communications and IT. It will be an inter ministerial initiative where all ministries and
departments shall offer their own services to the public Healthcare, Education, Judicial services etc .
The initiative is commendable and demands full support and confidence of all stakeholders. However,
it has scope for improvements regarding many crucial components like a legal framework, privacy and
data protection laws, insecure Indian cyberspace, etc. So these issues will have to be managed
simultaneously. But despite its hortcomings Digital
India project is worth exploring and implementation and will raise India to newer heights on the
international scene. The availability of high-speed internet to every citizen , easy access to government
services through CSCs and allocation of private space on public cloud are some the DI features that
will revolutionize the lives of rural populations pan India While the government’s aggressive National
Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is all set to be spine of the Digital India drive, spreading out of
broadband connectivity is going to aid growth of e-learning. There are three components of
technology-enabled modern education; Digital Content, Technology platform and delivery
infrastructure, or say the Internet. But there is a scarcity of internet infrastructure. Availability of high
quality wireless internet speed is still a
challenge. Penetration is also an issue. A correct ecosystem can be created when we will be able to
empower better quality mobile based Internet. Increasing internet footprint will also help to create the
right ecosystem which can be easy achieved through Gi – Fi technology as it provide high speed data
transfer, low power consumption, high security, low cost and High level of frequency re-use enabled. It
can be used to meet communication needs of multiple customers within a small geographic region can
be satisfied thus making it useful to rural India where still there are issues of power supply, private
telecom company are reluctant to provide competitive services.

35
CURRENT STATE OF INTERNATIONAL E-LEARING:

The education sector in India is no longer bound to just classrooms. Thanks to new start-ups and
higher internet and smartphone penetration, the online learning space in India is growing manifold.
The e-learning market in India is estimated to be around $3 billion. The central government's efforts
to make digital learning available to students in every corner of the country is also aiding the sector.
Currently, online training in India focuses equally on both school and college-based courses as well
as mid-level professional courses. For instance, Bengaluru-based Entrance india provides practice
papers for all engineering and medical entrance tests in India. The company aims to help students
focus on the right subjects and contents rather than swim blindly in an ocean of study materials
available across different media. Also, they focus on convenience-based training because online
capability enables students to get access to subjects anytime and anywhere. According to studies,
India and China will lead the growth in project management roles, generating about 4 million and
8.1 million roles, respectively, by 2020. Hence, the business looks to grow from now on. Another
reason why online training will gain momentum is because of the need for re-skilling, For instance,
about a decade ago, all that a software professional was required to know were programming
languages. Now these professionals need to update themselves on other aspects like big data
analytics and cloud computing. Better salary hikes and promotions are also the reasons why people
undertake new courses. A lot of start-ups are already setting their foot in what they think will be the
next big thing in India after e-commerce. While some companies like Simplilearn and Intellipaat
look to generate content, especially aiming at mid-level professionals, others like Learnsocial plays
more of an aggregator role. These companies also offer blended classes, integrating both online and
offline experience, along with self-take courses. Bengaluru-based Simplilearn offers more than 200
certification courses in project management, information technology service management, Microsoft
certification, quality management and financial management. The company has over 300 courses
across 150 countries, with over 600 employees and has trained over 200,000 professionals across the
globe. Intellipaat, started in 2011, provides online training to IT professionals including corporate
training, and self-paced courses and offers over 80 technological courses across different domains.
According to chief executive officer DiwakarChittora, the company is witnessing almost a 1,000%
increment in terms of growth. The company caters to corporates like Genpact, Ericsson, Sony,
CISCO, TCS, Wipro, and Tata Communications among others. Hyderabad-based Learnsocial is a
six-month old company and works on an aggregator model. It aims to cater to both mid-level
professionals’ and students alike. “We want to become the Amazon of online learning. We want to
provide thousands of posts on learnsocial.com, aggregating content from various experts, content

36
houses or universities,” says founderRaju Vanapala. Learnsocial has close to 200,000 users and has
trained more than 1,100 learners.
The future of digital learning :

With the Digital India programme's vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and
knowledge economy, the education sector in India is poised to witness major growth in the years to
come. Technology-led reach and easy access will bring about a socio-economic difference in the
lives of Indian learners.

The growth of digital learning

Following are the main reasons for the growth of online education in India:
 With nearly a billion people on mobile phones and over 200 million mobiles connected to the
internet, there has been a considerable rise in digital learning
 The use of best-in-class content, real-time learning and feedback methods, and personalised
instructions has encouraged online learning
 People are stepping towards digital learning as the edutech firms are providing them the
comfort of 'live and interactive' anywhere learning in digital format, through its online
programmes
 These online courses are affordable and easily accessible
 Digital learning aims to break the numerous barriers that are preventing people from
receiving quality education in the physically bound classrooms
Main reasons for the growth of digital learning:

 With nearly a billion people on mobile phones and over 200 million mobiles connected to the
internet, there has been a considerable rise in digital learning

 The use of best-in-class content, real-time learning and feedback methods, and personalised
instructions has encouraged online learning

 People are stepping towards digital learning as the ed-tech firms are providing them the
comfort of 'live and interactive' anywhere learning in digital format, through its online
programmes

 These online courses are affordable and easily accessible

 Digital learning aims to break the numerous barriers that are preventing people from receiving
quality education in the physically bound classrooms
37
CHAPTER – 5
CHALLENGES

38
What are the common challenges of education in rural areas?

Around half of America’s school boards are in rural areas, with so much of our country's future
educated in rural areas it can be shocking that these areas are so under-served.

Problems of Education in Rural Areas Include:

 Physical distance of students to school

 Difficulty finding teachers interested in relocating
 Poor internet connection
 Poverty
 Educators required to be entrepreneurial

Physical distance of Students to School

City dwellers may reasonably expect to be able to walk their kids to school (or for their older kids to
walk themselves), but in rural areas this is frequently impossible.

Catchment areas can be very large, making it absolutely essential to arrange a ride to school.

Time spent on school buses may easily be counted in the hours per day, while depending on those
buses can often mean limited access to after-school activities and sports.

Studies have linked long bus times to lowered educational outcomes.

But what can be done for education in rural areas? The most direct solution would be to build more
schools in order to shrink ride times, but in reality, rural schools are being shut down and bus rides are
getting even longer.

Not only do these drive times hurt grades and after-school activities, they also make it harder to get
extra help. Tutor Doctor offers in-home and online, one-on-one tutoring to combat this common
problem facing rural schools, but other sources of support can be difficult to access due to distance.

Teacher hiring

In many urban areas, there is a glut of talented teachers but not enough jobs available to employ them.
In rural areas, though, it can be extremely difficult to attract great teachers.

Indeed hiring in general is tougher in rural areas, for fields extending far beyond education.

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Rural life isn’t for everyone, and a life that’s simpler can seem to some people like a life that’s “less
than”.

Many services such as health care can be harder to obtain, there may be fewer cultural attractions
compared to big cities -- the list of reasons why teachers may be dissuaded from applying for
educational jobs in rural areas can be long.

In reality, rural life and rural teaching offer a great many benefits one can never find in big cities,
including an environment that’s cleaner (and safer), cheaper real estate plus a strong sense of
community.

Perceptions can be hard to fight, though, which can leave rural schools struggling to find staff. The
usual approach is to offer higher pay or better side benefits, but this can often be difficult to afford.

Spotty Internet access

People in big cities take broadband Internet access for granted. Not only is it fairly easy to sign up for
fast access, people in cities are frequently spoiled for choice. America, however, is still experiencing a
digital divide, with, by some measures, more than a third of rural residents lacking access to broadband
Internet.

Lack of broadband internet can drastically affect education in rural areas

Not only does it make it hard for many teachers to employ digital resources such as YouTube in the
classroom, but employing learning management systems (LMSs) such as Moodle can sometimes be
impossible.

Even accepting digital submissions of homework and assignments can be hard. Also rendered
unavailable by slow Internet access are the vast opportunities for digital learning, eBooks, and the
ability to collaborate online. Even basic software like Google Docs can be a struggle for rural schools
to take advantage of.

Efforts are still being made to expand access to broadband in rural areas, but progress is slow.

Poverty

Nowhere is free of poverty, but rates of unemployment, malnutrition and poverty are markedly higher
in rural areas than in urban areas.

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Unlike cities, though, where high population density tends to make poverty more visible, it can be
much harder to see in rural areas, which makes it harder to cope with.

Poverty is proven to affect educational outcomes, and frequently leads to increased absenteeism (or
early drop-outs).

Schools frequently have programs to help, for instance providing meals to children in need, but given
the large geographic areas in many rural school districts, it’s not unusual for teachers to not know how
their students are living.

Teachers need to be entrepreneurial

A little-known fact about rural areas in America: they have a much higher rate of entrepreneurialism.

Perhaps the result of a different mindset or the difficulty in obtaining services (or a combination of
these or more factors), many people in rural areas are just used to getting things done themselves. This
extends to education as well.

A teacher with a willingness to jump in and get things done will do far better in rural areas than
a teacher who is used to being hemmed-in by a bureaucracy.

In rural areas, it’s not unusual for a superintendent to also serve as a principal and even drive a school
bus. A “not my job” attitude can be a detriment in a community where everybody pitches in, and this
can make it difficult for teachers who are used to specializing.

If technologies can draw in otherwise disenfranchised students through the personalization of material
to a student’s interest or through gaming technology, they could benefit disengaged, poorly performing
students. However, these technologies often reduce oversight of students, which could be particularly
detrimental for children who are less motivated or who receive less structured educational supports at
home. It is also possible that these technologies will be less able to engage reluctant learners in the way
a dynamic and charismatic teacher can.
Moreover, approaches that forgo direct interpersonal interaction completely are unlikely to be able to
teach certain skills. Learning is an inherently social activity. While an intelligent tutor might be able to
help a student master specific math concepts, it may not be able to teach students to critically analyze a
work of literature or debate the ethics of new legislation.

The experience of Rocket ship, a well-known charter school network, illustrates this concern.
Developed in the Bay Area of California in 2006, Rocket ship’s instructional model revolves around a

41
blended learning approach in which students spend a considerable amount of each day engaged with
computer-aided learning technologies. The network received early praise for its innovative approach to
learning and, most importantly, for the high achievement scores posted by its mostly poor, nonwhite
student population. In 2012, however, researchers and educators raised concerns about graduates from
Rocket ship elementary schools, noting that they had good basic skills but were struggling with the
critical analysis required in middle school.

More broadly, it is important to realize that technologies can be either substitutes for or complements to
resources already in the school. To the extent that they are substitutes, they are inherently equalizing
forces. For example, well-designed and structured online content might provide critical support to a
novice teacher who is too overwhelmed to produce the same coherent and engaging materials that some
more experienced teachers can create.

However, in many cases it may be more appropriate to think of technologies as complements—e.g.,

when they require skilled teachers or students with strong prior skills to be implemented well. In these
cases, technologies must be accompanied with additional resources in order for them to benefit
traditionally underserved populations.

Perhaps most importantly, systems that blend computer-aided and face-to-face instruction are
notoriously difficult to implement well. In recent studies of the popular Cognitive Tutor math
programs, teachers reported trouble implementing the program’s instructional practices that revolve
around collaborative work, making strong connections between computer-based activities and
classroom instruction, and maintaining the expected learning pace with many students who lacked prior
math and reading skills.

Finally, even with the best implementation, digital learning is likely to benefit students differently
depending on their personal circumstances and those of their school. For instance, non-native English
speakers might benefit from online instruction that allows them to pause and look up unfamiliar words.
Likewise, we might expect an online course to be more advantageous for students attending a brick-
and-mortar school with very low-quality teachers.

Indeed, some recent research finds exactly this type of heterogeneity. A large IES-funded evaluation of
computer-aided instruction (CAI) released in 2007 found that students randomly assigned to teachers
using the leading CAI products fared no better than students in control classrooms. Several years later,
then graduate student Eric Taylor, decided to reanalyze the data from the study, focusing on whether
the impacts of these technologies varied across classrooms. His analysis suggests that the introduction
42
of computer-aided instruction had a positive impact on students in classrooms with less effective
teachers and a negative impact on students in classrooms with more effective teachers. In recent years,
the worlds of online learning and computer-aided instruction have converged to some extent, morphing
into what is often referred to as blended- or personalized-learning models. There are a number of
interesting projects underway across the country, including pilots supported by the Gates Foundation’s
Next Generation Learning Challenge, and the emergence of charter networks with a goal to provide
truly personalized learning for every student, such as Summit Public Schools in California and
Washington.

Major Challenges

1.Lack of Infrastructure and hardware facilities which hamper reliability of e learning

2. Lack of policies, strategies, schemes, monitoring and control that ensure cross-sectoral and multi
stakeholder involvement

3. Lack of awareness about E-learning material usage and services offered

4. Lack of citizen (user) focus in G2C2G initiatives. i.e. services which listen and change as er peoples
expectations. Products with a focus would develop a sense of “ownership” in local rural governance.

5. Problem in finding willing skilled manpower to training illiterate rural areas of India.

6. No computer based courses/skills taught to students in primary schools to increase their knowledge
about ICT importance in rural development.

7. Lack of skills in trainer or kiosk operators.

8. Community based participation (which fully understands and delivers the user needs) is not
encouraged.

9. Content development is not relevant and participatory.

10. Services delivered to rural areas are not available using local language and this will affect their long
term sustenance due to low interest in their usage

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11. Capabilities are not adequately transferred to end user. This prevents them from using the
applications independently.

12. Lack of Infrastructure and hardware facilities which hamper reliability of online learning
13. Problem in finding willing skilled manpower to training illiterate rural areas of India.
14. No or very less computer based courses/skills taught to students in government primary schools to
increase their knowledge about ICT importance in rural development.

7 Ways Digital Education Is Transforming Teaching Methods

How Digital Education Is Transforming Teaching Methods

Schools are slowly looking at technology as an opportunity to develop teaching methods and resonate
with students on a technology level. Regardless of age, almost everyone owns a smart phone. Google is
our library, and Wikipedia is our encyclopedia. Thesaurus is our dictionary, and Kindle is our textbook.
At a time like this, learning to change our teaching methods by incorporating technology is the only
way to bring light to the lives of our students. What are schools doing in order to bring about this
change?

1. Smart Class
Teaching with a whiteboard, chalk, and markers are now a thing of the past, and teachers have shifted
to making use of projectors, VCD, DVD players and e-Learning system to display tutorial videos and
short sessions online to help understand that learning can be fun too. Many schools now come with a
TV or a projector attached to their whiteboard where it is easy to shift from a normal classroom session
to an interactive digital session. This can make students pay more attention as we are now in the digital
era where Google is our go-to place.

2. Being Digitally Updated

In a tech-savvy world, education can become easily outdated, as there is always something new
happening. Equipping students to be updated with news and other subject-related topics is the best way
to teach students to grow as a person. Students spend most of their time on their laptops, their phones,
and their I Pads. Knowing what sources students can refer to, online, and knowing which websites offer
the best information can be a great way to guide students.

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3. Converting Books To PDFs
Books are now taken to Kindle and other Tabs. Sending them notes, references, and other information
in PDF formats that can be easily accessed on laptops, phones, and tabs is a good way to encourage
students to choose to study better.

4. Encouraging Online Tests

Training students on subjects by conducting fun online tests from time to time can create a good
learning environment for them. Students can be given online quizzes and assessments that they can
take from home, replacing general homework that they find excuses for.

5. Conducting Online Webinars

How attentive are students when there is only a one-way communication with the teacher standing in
front of a whiteboard? We find the classroom becoming noisy or students becoming easily disinterested
in the topic. Conducting online seminars and webinars, enabling all students to engage in commenting
and participating in questionnaires can help them stay alert. Keeping students interested throughout a
lecture is an art and a talent that teachers need to have, to benefit from the entire teaching-learning
process. It is very vital that students engage in seminars and the lectures involve two-way
communication.

6. Supporting Online Research

Similar to how a teacher is well prepared for a classroom session, encouraging students to be prepared
too, can drive students to be excited about taking up classes. Online research is trending and people
find exciting careers in Market Research and more. Asking students to find something online that is
difficult to find or encouraging online research by giving them a list of things to find before the next
class is a good way to keep students looking forward to more classes. It really does feel like a great
achievement knowing you’ve found something that no other student could find. Giving them rewards
or appreciating their online findings can encourage students to make the best use of the digital
resources they have.

7. Creating Communities
The interaction between a teacher and a student does not have to end at school, in a classroom. An
online community is where a group or a team stay connected online, submitting projects, discussing
topics or expressing ideas. Teachers can set a platform for students to communicate their ideas,
suggestions and subject-related queries, for them to solve any time. Being open to online activities like
these keep students more focused even outside of school, without realizing the fact that the learning
process continues even after classes are done.

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CHAPTER-6
CONCLUSION

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It is clear that India has gaps in the education sector. These cannot be solved by the system alone.
Entrepreneurship in education is vital to bringing inclusivity, reducing knowledge inequality and
ushering digital learning.

But maybe the answer to education will arise out of education itself? Outside of formal programs, it is
necessary to encourage entrepreneurship in schools and colleges. The spirit of creativity has been lost
in generations of rote learning. Only when teachers and the system alike encourage innovation, will we
see more progress in the education industry.

Conclusion:
Online Education has brought a positive impact in the lives of students and working professionals. It
has given an opportunity to take up additional courses along with their studies or job as per their
convenience. Online education has also helped the faculty in the institutions to ask students to study
some part of syllabus online which do not require much of classroom instructions. So the online study
helps the faculty to save time in which they can interact with the students more. The quality of
education has improved by online courses and even it has become easy for students to refer the content
as per their leisure. In the era of digitalization the scope of online education increase even more and
will be beneficial for students, professionals and also institutions.

Textbooks, homework, classroom notebooks, whiteboard, chalk, and markers are now history.
Smartboards are introduced where teachers can drag and drop shapes, bring in online calculators on the
board, measure with AR tools and voice out the text they want to see on the board. How practical is it
to be disconnected from the digital world when students are way faster in terms of technology? Schools
are now offering to provide free tablets and Kindle-like tabs for students to take notes in. It is time to
collaborate teaching methodology with technology and make India digital.

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 CHAPTER-7

BIBIOGRAPHY

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