Hardware/Software DevelopmentNews & Analysis

5 Ed-tech Startups That Are Disrupting Education

Disrupting Education

Blended learning is emerging as one of the hottest trends in education. It an educational approach which combines aspects of both- the traditional education as well as online learning. Blended learning is an attempt to deliver “the best of both worlds”. When compared to other models of learning, blended learning appears to be disruptive as it offers an innovative way of education which is replacing the conventional classroom with a student-centric design.

Clayton Christensen rightly considers blended learning as the next disruptive innovation. A purely online learning approach has considerably failed in Europe and the USA, making them shift towards blended learning. India, on the other hand, is still coping with the inefficiency of a completely digital learning approach. Both in-school and after-school learning in India has started witnessing the transformation through blended learning. The hybrid platforms are gradually gaining popularity and innovative EdTech enterprises have started emerging as the future-proof learning solution. Some of the remarkable blended learning platforms blooming in India are;

GreatLearning –  Founded by Mohan Lakhamraju in 2013, Gurgaon-based GreatLearning is an ed-tech enterprise which delivers high-quality learning outcomes by using technology and innovation around curriculum design and delivery. Identifying the dark spot in a completely online model, GreatLearning has developed a blended platform where the online elements are integrated with the depth and rigor of a traditional classroom for deeper learning outcomes. Realizing the fact that learners need support beyond content, this professional development platform has developed an assisted/mentored model of learning which makes it stand ahead in the competition. 

GreatLearning currently offers courses in business analytics, AI, cloud computing, machine learning, and data science. Bootstrapped and profitable, the start-up already has about 5,000 students onboard for its paid programmes and plans to tap the overseas markets in the future.

PlanetSpark – Drawing its inspiration from child cognitive psychology, and learning pedagogy, PlanetSpark is making students fall in love with academics in an engaging and gamified fashion. Founded in 2016, Gurgaon-based PlanetSpark is the brainchild of Maneesh Dhooper and Kunal Malik which connect parents and qualified tutors through a full stack platform. Identifying the future of primary education in the blended approach, the startup is leading the way of making traditional tuition classes obsolete through it’s powerful and gamified learn-tech products and highly qualified teachers. The Edtech platform is revolutionizing the K8 tuitions by leveraging the hyper-casual games to help children learn.

Seed funded by India’s leading test prep firm FIITJEE, PlanetSpark has already reached the inflexion point and is ready for the exponential growth. PlanetSpark holds over 7.5K classes per month and receives about 6K applications from tutors per month on an average.  With over 250 tuition centers, Planet Spark is growing at the pace of 30% month on month and aims to impact 50K students and a million users by the end of 2019.

Avanti – Started by IIT duo, Krishna Ramkumar and Akshay Saxena,  Avanti, the Smart Gurukul combines the best teaching methods in the world with classroom technology to deliver an effective Science and Mathematics education to students across the country. With the help of technology, video contents, and detailed instructional design, Avanti learning centers aim at bringing a revolutionary change in the education system of India. Avanti is one of India’s fastest growing and best-funded education start-ups and its programs focus on competitive exam preparation (IIT JEE, CET, NEET). This modern Gurukul infuses the learning environment with technology to help students study efficiently and in a manner which is best suited to their strengths and weaknesses.

Recognized by national and international organizations and featured in the news media including awards by Ashoka, Echoing Green, and Forbes 30 under 30, Avanati has over 200 full-time employees and support over 4000 students in about 25 locations across India. 

IITBombayX: IITBombayX is an online platform developed by IIT Bombay which offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for individuals from varying backgrounds. It specializes in Hybrid MOOCs which captures the benefits of flipped classrooms, online lectures, and live interactions with the IITBombayX course instructors. It offers infinite learning opportunities through the MOOCs to meet personalized requirements of scholars in different phases of their lives. In order to provide maximum flexibility to the learners, the courses are available in any of the selected modes of delivery such as instructor-led (Instructor-paced MOOC), instructor-paced with face-to-face interactions (Hybrid MOOC) and at learner’s pace with flexibility to join and complete the course (Self-paced MOOC).

Kunscapscholen– The Sweden-based Kunskapsskolan Education (KED) is is a Swedish group of independent schools which acknowledges that not all students learn at the same pace, thus allowing students to set goals based on their capability. Operational since 2013, Kunskapsskolan in India is a joint venture between Kunskapsskolan Education and Gyandarshan Eduventures. KED teachers are subject matter experts and the system enables teaching happens through multiple platforms. The complete curriculum along with the study material is available on the learning portal. Students only carry their workbooks in which they write and practice. The learning portal also gives students access to international boards followed by students in the UK, US, and Sweden.

Leave a Response