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BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – #EdTech startups can address shortage of #MachineLearning experts in #India $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:37 PM on Monday, November 4th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The Company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

EdTech startups can address shortage of machine learning experts in India

  • Edtech startup: Enhanced outreach of technology is resulting in industries and end users taking a leap of faith into the world of new concepts.
  • Machine learning (ML) is one such domain that has around 10x jobs at present as compared to the situation, five years ago.

By Ankush Singla

EdTech startup: Enhanced outreach of technology is resulting in industries and end users taking a leap of faith into the world of new concepts. Several industries have polished their approach in designing an outcome for the new generation to mould something new and relevant, according to the trends of the future. Machine learning (ML) is one such domain that has around 10x jobs at present as compared to the situation, five years ago.

This situation has shaped up due to various contributing factors including huge popularity of machine learning. Fortune 500 companies are integrating machine learning and artificial intelligence into their processes and Indian firms are following suit. Machine learning is responsible for shaping the business landscape. Business analytics and intelligence teams are able to analyse terabytes of data in seconds using different methods like recognition, diagnosis, regression, prediction and many more.

Machine learning focuses on the development of algorithms which helps those machines teach themselves grow, develop and respond to new data. The reason machine learning has become hugely popular is because it has helped all the companies (from various industrial sectors) get exact and real time insights and mitigate the strategy level risks, if any.

While on the one hand, we are amazed by these developments; there is a concern on the other hand too. Yes, machine learning is the most in-demand skill right now but is our talent pool really equipped with the required skills. The answer is “No”. Demand for machine learning experts will continue to increase in the coming years and will probably outpace the current supply of talent pool in the next three-four years.

According to the LinkedIn economic graph, the jobs in ML have been a turning point in the technological trends as compared to the other umbrella domains. The number of jobs which were five years ago is now 9.8 times, thus, helping to provide an asset to the industry. Educational institutions have always provided the industry with the required set of skills but with an increased demand in such a short time, they have been unable to come up with a solution on such a short notice. In order to cater to the current industry trends, EdTech startups have come with excellent “Industry-Vetted Course Curriculum”.

EdTech startups create a perfect amalgamation

EdTech startups don’t focus on just teaching theoretical concepts but rather provide an online learning which is no less than the offline classroom approach. There are online videos which can be accessed anytime and from anywhere. Since the videos are self-paced, it is made sure that they cater to the speed of every individual.

EdTech startups create a perfect amalgamation by getting industrial experts on board and creating a course curriculum as per the exact needs of the ML industry. In order to make sure that the student doesn’t deviate and follows the curriculum, virtual / physical assistance is provided which analyse the performance of each and every student on a daily basis and customised approach is recommended.

They are deploying algorithms to bring a personalised touch for every student, thus ensuring a better application-based learning. We have experienced and welcomed this new way of mobile teaching which takes care of every individual student’s needs, comforts and results at the same time.

EdTech companies have come up with the content which not only satisfies the need of the industry but can also be imparted to anyone in due amount of time; thus, fulfilling the requirement of the ML domain. Several factors which have enabled these startups develop skilled ML experts are: self-paced learning; industry-vetted content; regular industrial interaction through bootcamps and webinars; individual learning and development system; real-time actionable insights;  and industrial projects which can be deployed in companies.

Machine learning is one of the most promising technologies of the last decade and it is the perfect time to realise we have a companion since “Machines also Learn”.

Source: https://techobserver.in/2019/10/25/edtech-startups-can-address-shortage-of-machine-learning-experts-in-india/

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BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – How these #Edtech startups are disrupting education and teaching young #India $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:06 AM on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The Company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

How these edtech startups are disrupting education and teaching young India

  • According to a 2016 KPMG report, the Indian edtech market is pegged to touch $1.96 billion by 2021.

By Apurva P

Not just study material, the edtech sector is a career-shaping space that has all the tools to enhance skillsets. From teaching normal subjects to robotics or blockchain through technology, these startups are at the helm of an industry worth over $247B.

In a country like India where the participation of the IT sector in GDP is irreplaceable, the growth and relevance of the edtech sector is not surprising. According to a 2016 KPMG report, the Indian edtech market is pegged to touch $1.96 billion by 2021.

Today, it is a highly demanding sector for investors and entrepreneurs. While the edtech space in India has got a unicorn like Byju’s, there are also other players like Simplilearn, Toppr, Khan Academy and UpGrad among others leading the disruption.

Here are some edtech startups that are making technical education accessible, and are enabling talented personnel.

Learning Matters 

Having recognised the need for school education to be more engaging – especially in rural and semi-urban schools – three colleagues came together to launch Learning Matters, a technology-driven solution that not only makes learning more engaging but also helps teachers upgrade their skills.

Learning Matters Founders (L-R) Saras Ramamoorthy, Ramamoorthy G, and Gowri Mahesh are working on creating tech-driven solutions for the education sector.

This Bengaluru-based startup set up by Ramamoorthy G (aka Moorthy), Gowri Mahesh and Saras Ramamoorthy uses Alexa and videos to teach lessons.

Learning Matters offers four (related) products: The Star Teacher programme, the Star Teacher Tool Box, Tara (the cloud-based, NLP-powered virtual voice teacher), and Kengine, a curated library of learning videos from across the world, translated into Indian languages.

Great Learning

Gurugram-based edtech startup Great Learning aims to set professionals up for a “learning for life” with the high-quality and industry-relevant programmes. 

Its user base is mostly mid-career professionals who want to upskill to stay relevant with market requirements or are unsatisfied with the education they have received earlier.

Team Great Learning

Founded in 2013 by Mohan Lakhamraju, the edtech startup claims to have impacted more than 60,000 people so far by providing various opportunities for upskilling.

Great Learning offers courses in business analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science, cloud computing, etc. 

Extraclass

Launched by Persainjit Singh, Prakash Gupta, and Swati Gupta, Extraclass aims to motivate students with rewards for studying by measuring the effort and not the outcome. 

The Extraclass app, presently available for Android, helps students prepare for school, college, and competitive entrance exams, including engineering, medical, foreign university admission, management entrances and government jobs. 

Extraclass Team (L-R): Persainjit Singh (CEO), Swati Gupta (Head of Customer Delight), Prakash Gupta (COO), Divyansh Raj (CPO)

The startup provides free learning content to anyone between the ages of five and 25 years. With the app, students can start studying for free using animated videos and infographic study material, which aim to make learning more thought-provoking, accessible and enjoyable.

It offers video lectures, practice question banks, and adaptive assessment and test series. The company aims to make education more accessible, free while promoting self-study.

Source: https://yourstory.com/2019/09/edtech-startups-byjus-great-learning

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This #Edtech startup wants to become the #MakeMyTrip for India’s $2B online education market – SPONSOR: BetterU Education $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:28 AM on Tuesday, October 1st, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The Company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

This edtech startup wants to become the MakeMyTrip for India’s $2B online education market

  • In India, a whopping 9.6 million users will be paying for online courses by 2021. And that’s not all.
  • The online education market itself is expected to witness a huge surge, growing 8x since 2016 to reach the $1.96 billion mark in the next two years.

By Sutrishna Ghosh

In India, a whopping 9.6 million users will be paying for online courses by 2021. And that’s not all. The online education market itself is expected to witness a huge surge, growing 8x since 2016 to reach the $1.96 billion mark in the next two years.

While currently, the data – courtesy of a joint report by KPMG and Google – indicates that “reskilling and online certification courses” commands the major chunk of this market, the tables, however, are set to turn in the near future.

With an estimated 280 million students enrolling in schools, the demand will shift towards online primary and secondary supplemental education. Regardless of the category driving this market, one thing is certain: Indians are no longer taking upskilling or online learning lightly

But with the plethora of courses floating online, how does one find out which course is suitable for one’s career growth? Or which skills are in demand in the market and which trainer can be your ideal fit? Here’s where Get Me A Course comes into the picture.

Founding team of Get Me A Course

As the name implies, GMAC is an online aggregator of both online and classroom courses, curating courses from various learning platforms and bridging the gap between learners and trainers.

“The model is very similar to travel aggregation sites and apps that list all the different airlines, hotels, and travel service providers,” says Rohan Krishna, the CEO and Co-Founder of the Bengaluru-based startup. “GMAC is bringing the same efficiency to education and skilling,” he adds.

Source: https://yourstory.com/2019/09/bangalore-edtech-startup-aggregator-online-courses

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The Huge Opportunity Education Investors Are Missing – SPONSOR: #BetterU Education $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:16 AM on Monday, September 30th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The Company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

The Huge Opportunity Education Investors Are Missing

  • Of course, there’s no such thing as a sure investment but here’s why getting aboard the education train in India sure feels like it.
  • HolonIQ, KPMG and others relay the numbers – India has 260 million students studying at 1.5 million schools.

By: Derek Newton Contributor 

If you pay attention for more than even a few minutes, it’s easy to be dumbfounded by the decision-making of education and education technology investors as they routinely pour money into businesses and concepts that have no hope of working. They continually believe education ventures and education markets function like normal ventures in other markets and that what they hear from misinformed pundits is accurate. They don’t. And it’s probably not.

At the level of the individual decision and the particular funding round, there is a parade of examples. But the easiest example is at the macro, international level where investors and speculators have yet to move on what may be the greatest educational growth opportunity they will likely ever see – India.

To say the education and education investment opportunities in India are massive is to not understand the word massive.

As you review the statistics and projections about India, keep in mind that ed and edtech investment there is just 10% of the global total, behind China and the U.S. According to HolonIQ, just $700 million was invested in India edtech in 2018 and just one company, Byju’s, raked in $540 million of that. Every other investment in education in India shared a paltry $160 million. 

Of course, there’s no such thing as a sure investment but here’s why getting aboard the education train in India sure feels like it.  HolonIQ, KPMG and others relay the numbers – India has 260 million students studying at 1.5 million schools.

The country has 600 million people under the age of 25 and some 27 million undergraduate college students. That’s 4.5%. For comparison, the U.S. has about 17 million undergrads out of population of about 100 million in the under-25 bracket, obviously, that’s about 17%. The growth potential in higher ed alone should be obvious.

With 400 million smart phone users, it’s the second-largest connected country on the planet. And India’s projected economic growth is heavily tied to service and technology and dependent on education. If the country is going to continue to grow, its education system has to too. National leaders know this are likely to continue big investments and favorable policies.

Further, most education in India is done in English. All of higher education is. Which means that for U.S. investors and innovators especially, India ought to be a comparatively easy market to understand and reach. Even more significantly, India allows for 100% direct foreign investment in education.

The KPMG report predicts more than 50% annual growth in online learning in India, due to the rapid growth in young people and Internet connectivity. They expect that business in the reskilling and continuing credential market to grow 38% annually.

And like many young people, students and prospective students in India are highly responsive to educational quality as represented by brand.  In other words, known American and European education brands that get in India now could really clean up as the country’s warp-speed growth kicks in.  

Overall, the KMPG report is not subtle about the India education market, saying, “The education market in India … presents a lucrative opportunity for monetization.” HolonIQ says the environment there “translates into a huge opportunity as the target market for education and upskilling.”

It appears so.

Yes, education providers should not chase money, they should follow a more noble purpose. But that case is sitting in India too. With 30% of India’s population under the age of 14, the risk that India’s education won’t keep pace is a real, geopolitical threat. Helping them grow in size and quality is important on a number of fronts. And, if India’s education system can keep pace, the growth will dwarf anything in China and not even compare with anything in the U.S.  

And yet investors and education providers have been comparatively slow to move to and in India. In 2018, education funding in the U.S. was twice what it was in India and education investment in China was nearly seven times larger. To an observer, that makes little sense.

It feels that if you have a MOOC platform or a lab school or a random digital learning app – investments with little hope of financial return and even less hope of educational reform – venture capital flows like wine at a bacchanal.

Maybe that’s overstated. What’s probably not overstated is what’s coming in the education space in India. That feels very real. Let’s see if the wizards of Wall Street and the sultans of Silicon Valley recognize it.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2019/09/28/the-huge-opportunity-education-investors-are-missing/#7b006c0152d0

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betterU Education Corp $BTRU.ca provides update on B2B efforts – completed first online course and instructor-led classroom program with McDonald’s $MCD #India $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:10 AM on Thursday, September 26th, 2019
  • Announced that it has completed its first online course and instructor-led classroom program with McDonald’s India.
  • McDonald’s India has since awarded betterU with additional programs to develop

OTTAWA, Sept. 26, 2019 — betterU Education Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BTRU, Frankfurt: 5OGA) (the “Company” or “betterU”) is pleased to announce that it has completed its first online course and instructor-led classroom program with McDonald’s India. McDonald’s India has since awarded betterU with additional programs to develop. While these are smaller programs to start with, the Company is focused on building a longer-term relationship and providing more support programs under development.

betterU has created a database of hundreds of corporate accounts within India alone and is working to roll out a manageable schedule of corporate pitches based on their newly developed corporate offering and strategy.  After meeting with many corporates on betterU’s last trip to India back in July 2019, it became clearer that in order to support national corporate programs betterU would be required to provide a simplified solution that can support both a larger core offering with variable off the shelf adhoc courses. The Company’s core program needed to:

  1. provide a base of courses to support a standardized Corporate offering (see below);
  2. implement a Learning Management System that any corporate could use to track employee progress.
  3. provide content that was scalable across multiple departments, affordable, relevant and customizable.

betterU also had to look at how to address access to more comprehensive solutions for corporates including such considerations as a talent management and HR system, talent management consultants and coaches, applicant tracking and onboarding systems, employee survey providers, 360s / multi-rate feedback and career development systems.

As betterU’s business model has been developed for ease of growth through sourcing and collaboration, betterU was able to locate and partner with the USA based firm Vado Inc., who met the requirements for all that was needed to support Corporate India.

In August 2019, betterU partnered with Vado Inc. and has been developing promotional materials to support the offering of over 295 corporate core courses through betterU which support for instance career development, coaching and work relationships. Combined with all other courses available through betterU such as AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, Finance and much more, the Company now has a more robust solution for corporates and will begin further efforts with corporate India in the upcoming weeks.  

“Many Corporates that betterU has met with have described their current challenges to include having to work with multiple educators, each providing only part of the learning solutions, while trying to integrate technologies and delivery that are not aligned for simple employee management. betterU is now able to offer a one-stop-shop-solution to solve the needs of a Corporate across all aspects of their challenges. We have the right partners with quality content across multiple subjects, affordability, relevance and integrated supporting systems. We are looking forward to update the market about further progress in due course,” said Brad Loiselle, CEO of betterU.

About betterU Education Corp.

betterU, a global education to employment platform, aims to provide access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated education to employment ecosystem.

betterU’s offerings can be categorized into several broad functions: to compliment school programs with flexible preschool, KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global and localized educational programs from leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job opportunities.

betterU today has partnered with over 75 global educators, representing access to over 53,000 programs. It is developing technology and ongoing more partners required to support the growing education needs of the world.  

For more information, please visit www.betterU.in

Contact:

Brad Loiselle, CEO

better Education Corp.
Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100
Email: [email protected]

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with betterU’s growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Further information on betterU’s public filings, including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements, are available at www.sedar.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee482d35-0de8-4326-b820-e86beb229fb3 

B2B Model

This Model is a high-level B2B Core / adhoc offering

Source: GlobeNewswire (September 26, 2019 – 10:00 AM EDT)

News by QuoteMedia
www.quotemedia.com

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BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – #Edtech space #AttainU raises an undisclosed sum from former head of #Google #India, others $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:19 PM on Thursday, September 19th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The Company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

Edtech space AttainU raises an undisclosed sum from former head of Google India, others

  • AttainU, an edtech startup, has raised an undisclosed capital in angel funding from a clutch of investors including Shailesh Rao, former head of Google India.
  • Bengaluru-based platform said that the raised funding will be used to further strengthen faculty, development of courses, counselling teams, and build a semi-automated platform to cater to the huge inbound student demand AttainU is receiving.

By suviral shukla

Bengaluru-based platform said that the raised funding will be used to further strengthen faculty, development of courses, counselling teams, and build a semi-automated platform to cater to the huge inbound student demand AttainU is receiving.

Divyam Goel, CEO & Co-founder, AttainU, said, â€œFor us, the goal has always been about solving higher education in a systematic, scalable way. From the beginning, we have had a very strong focus on maintaining our high-quality learning outcomes as we scale. Over the last 10 months, we have been able to figure out many processes, complementing human psychology, to facilitate deep-rooted learning.”

AttainU was founded by Divyam Goel and Vaibhav Bajpai in 2018. It provides live online courses as college alternative to individuals. Currently, it offers full-time, online seven-month-long software engineering courses for users.

The startup also provides career counselling as part of their student assessment process and connects graduates to industry partners for placement upon completion of the course.

The edtech space aims to serve students who have a college education but don’t have a job or a satisfactory job and more importantly, don’t need to have prior coding experience.

The company said its courses are focussed on industry-aligned practical skills and professionally required life skills and follow a deferred fee payment model conditional to employment aka Income Share Agreement (ISA).

“At this point, we are receiving double-digit thousand student applications every month and are very excited about the scale of impact we will be able to deliver through our tech-first approach,” Goel added.

Furthermore, according to AttainU, every year approximately nine million students graduate from colleges, out of which 85 percent don’t make it to well paying, white collar jobs.

Data states that 50 percent of all BE/Btech graduates and 60 percent of all MBA (including PG Diploma) graduates are still considered not employable by tech first organisations, the company added.

Besides, some of the well known and emerging edtech platforms in India include BYJU’s, Unacademy, MyMBACircle, Scholr, Memory Trix, Clap Global, among many more.

Source: https://www.theindianwire.com/startups/edtech-space-attainu-raises-undisclosed-sum-former-head-google-india-others-183503/

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How #Amazon $AMZN Web Service EdStart is powering Indian #Edtech startups – SPONSOR: BetterU Education $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:45 AM on Tuesday, September 17th, 2019

SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. The Only Education Marketplace In India Serving 1.3 Billion Potential Customers Click here for more information.

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How Amazon Web Service EdStart is powering Indian edtech startups

Nandita Mathur

  • AWS EdStart is focused on innovative teaching and learning technologies that create positive student outcomes
  • India is the third largest country in terms of investment in education technology, after China and the US, for EdStart

New Delhi: Amazon Web Services (AWS) EdStart, AWS’s educational technology startup accelerator, was launched in India in June 2018 and focuses on addressing education problems unique to India. On a visit to India last week, Vincent Quah, Regional Head, Education, Research, Healthcare and Not-for-Profit Organizations, Worldwide Public Sector, Asia Pacific and Japan, Amazon Web Services talks about how EdStart is powering Indian edtech start ups. Edited excerpts:

What is the EdStart programme all about?

EdStart is a global programme designed to help entrepreneurs build the next generation of online learning, analytics, and campus management solutions on the AWS Cloud. The programme is designed to enable educational technology (edtech) startups to move faster with specially tailored benefits. Right now, we have two tiers in this programme. The first is the innovator tier, and the second is the member tier. They are primarily differentiated by how early start-ups are in their journey to become an edtech company. The Innovators Tier supports the earliest stage edtech start-ups and provides them with resources, technical assistance and exposure to a large community of fellow entrepreneurs besides giving them AWS promotional credits valued at $500. The members tier is for entrepreneurs to advance their business, driving further innovation and growing their footprint globally. AWS EdStart is focused on innovative teaching and learning technologies that create positive student outcomes.

What is the application criteria?

Start-ups can apply to join AWS EdStart if they are less than five years old and generate less than $10 million in annual revenue. The application is online and very simple. We also have an innovators application criteria where those start-ups that have been founded within the past two years, with annual revenues not exceeding $1 million can apply. I believe that AWS EdStart’s launch in India can help edtechs grow and scale rapidly, and provide learning and teaching resources to even the remotest areas of the country.

Why did you think of launching EdStart in India?

India is the third largest country in terms of investment in education technology, after China and the US. So India is an important market that we want to make available our EdStart programme. We find that edtech companies here are actually spearheading innovation with cutting edge technology and what better way for us to catalyse this market than to bring about a programme like this.

What is your long-term plan in India?

The message that we want to send out is inviting all the education technology startups in India to come and join us. Innovation has always been part and parcel of our DNA so we are delivering more innovation and innovative services to our customer. You know, AWS is a technology company, so we can’t say that we actually understand education. And so the combination of us being the technology services provider, the cloud service provider, and collaborating with the education expert, is a perfect combination, to bring the best of the technology and cloud services, with the knowledge of the education domain and solve a problem. The Indian startup community is one of the most robust and exciting in the world and we want to be part of this.

Tell us about some of the Indian EdStart customers.

I’d like to mention three members — Eckovation, enGuru and PlayAblo — who are using AWS to transform the learning experience and grow their user base. Social learning platform Eckovation, for instance, uses more than 20+ services offered by AWS. These include machine learning tools like Amazon SageMaker, large scale image processing for OMR, face and emotion recognition (using Amazon Rekognition) in the classroom to judge effectiveness. enGuru which is an app that teaches English for employability uses Amazon Polly, that enables them to offer voice support in Indian accents on non-Android devices. Similarly, PlayAblo, a gamified learning platform has been part of the edStart programme since June 2019 and offers a seamless experience over AWS cloud to learners across various channels (mobiles, tablets, browsers, AmazonAlexa).

Source: https://www.livemint.com/

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8 Ways #Edtech Startups Are Setting Classroom-Innovation Trends – SPONSOR: betterU Education $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:07 AM on Monday, September 16th, 2019

SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. The Only Education Marketplace In India Serving 1.3 Billion Potential Customers Click here for more information.

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By: Devishobha Chandramouli

  • Change drives change.
  • Technology and digital footprints have altered the way businesses work, employees perceive work and even the way families function.
  • Classrooms were not to be left behind. In 2018, there was a marked increase in investor interest in learning startups, especially those that are AI-based.
  • According to a report by market-research firm Metaari titled “The Stunning 2018 Global Learning Technology Investment Patterns: The Rise of the Global Edtech Unicorns,” the investments made to EdTech companies soared past $16.34 billion, with China and the U.S. leading the way, followed by India and Israel.
  • More recently, UK education conglomerate  Pearson announced a commitment of  $50 million solely to fund next generation EdTech startups to keep up with changing trends.

With that in mind, here are eight ways in which EdTech is shaping the next generation’s skills through tech intervention.

1. Immersive Learning

Classroom learning is no longer relegated to the chalkboard. Today, students can participate in immersive experiences while learning about everything from specific timelines in history to climate change in Antarctica. EdTech companies like Early Adopter work with educators to create augmented-reality tutorials, including virtually transporting students to the surface of the moon while reading books about space. 

2. Industry-Specific Learning

Today’s fast-paced business sectors require that learners enter the workforce with a fundamental understanding of how an industry works. Companies like Yellowbrick and InternView create industry-specific online programs by partnering with major colleges, media outlets and organizations with a goal of helping learners get useful training in the industries they’re passionate about.

3. Seamless Classrooms

With limited resources and time-based pressures, it’s increasingly difficult for teachers to ensure 100 percent student comprehension. That’s why companies like Brainly and OneClass have decided to connect the whole world as one collaborative learning group that’s capable of adapting dynamically to global topics and trends. Theirs is a great example of using technology as a leveler while governments figure out how to invest more in the classroom experience. 

4. Big Data

As test scores and attendance persist as traditional metrics for classroom success, seemingly simplistic technologies are creating ripples. Companies like Peachjar promote parent-teacher collaboration and engagement in extracurricular activities using big-data analytics to discover new ideas, opportunities and resources available across the country.

5. Future-Ready Design

With AI set to wipe out millions of repetitive tasks, experts predict that everything that can be automated will be automated in the future, sparking enormous demand for skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, ideation, creativity and, most importantly, empathy. EdTech startups such as Cartedo provide students with a future-readiness platform and design-thinking workshops to develop creative confidence. The foremost goal is to equip students to become agents of change in their own communities, even encouraging them to work on solutions to address subject matter as lofty as UN sustainability and development goals.

6. Gamification.

Classrooms are coming alive with personalized, adaptive learning through gamification. Platforms like Mangahigh are employing gamification to ease understanding of even serious subjects like math by encouraging participation, engagement and collaboration. Gamification also improves context-based comprehension through adaptive and personalized learning.

7. Digital Safety

Given kids’s increased engagement with the internet, there is a need for designing online spaces that are safe for young learners. One company leading the charge is AI-based platform Securly, which intuits risks of bullying and self-harm and innovates protections that meet modern needs.

8. Sustainability and Life Skills

The tendency to confine classroom instruction to solely academic goals is slowly but surely diminishing. Companies like Mindvalley collaborate with schools to impart online lessons on living a meaningful life. Topics include communication and negotiation, finding purpose, staying calm under stress and sustainability design. In other words, all the skills required in real life. 

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/334000

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What Drives the Engagement Factor in #Edtech? betterU Education $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:46 PM on Friday, September 13th, 2019

SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. The Only Education Marketplace In India Serving 1.3 Billion Potential Customers Click here for more information.

What Drives the Engagement Factor in Edtech?
  • Many edtech developers say that their products foster student engagement
  • Research supports the fact that many digital edtech products have the ‘new and shiny factor’—they boost student engagement by virtue of their novelty

By Henry Kronk

Many edtech developers say that their products foster student engagement. Research supports the fact that many digital edtech products have the ‘new and shiny factor’—they boost student engagement by virtue of their novelty. Others, meanwhile, aren’t flashy, but still promote engagement through their own unique functions and mechanisms. A white paper put out today by the L.A.-based edtech developer GoGuardian investigates student engagement in the classroom, what allows for it, what enhances it, and how it fits into current industry trends.

The first issue with studying engagement is that no one can say exactly what it is. GoGuardian researchers Mariana Aguilar and Kayla Sheldon write that, while there is no set definition, even among academic circles, “it is widely agreed that engagement is a metaconcept composed of multiple dimensions.”

Engagement Isn’t Easy to Define

To conduct their research, the authors reached 359 stakeholders—about 310 of whom were students—across K-12 levels at 19 districts in seven different states (Florida, California, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Washington). These districts were identified because they were existing GoGuardian customers, and that represents a potential limitation of the study. Besides students, the rest of the respondents were teachers, school leaders, and IT admins.

The authors took a qualitative approach to their research. They collected information via focus groups, interviews, and classroom observation. From these, they identified 43 different thematic elements that fall within four aspects of a conceptual framework surrounding engagement: 1) “contextual variables affecting engagement,” 2) “qualities of an engaging learning experience,” 3) “industry trends,” and 4) “indicators of engagement.”

To broadly summarize their findings, the authors found that, to boost engagement, both teachers and the edtech tools they use need to meet students where they are, and not the other way around.

In Edtech, ‘There Is No Silver Bullet’

The authors repeat the conclusion that many have come to before them: there is no silver bullet in edtech. In other words, there is no edtech solution or intervention that can effectively help all the students, all the time.

The authors identified numerous instances in which teachers created a more engaging learning experience with analogue technology compared to when digital entered the mix. For example, they sat in on one math class where the teacher got things started by asking students to do a short period of independent work on their Chromebooks at the beginning of class.

By contrast, as the authors describe a 10th grade history class, “in which students were instructed to work in groups to research the historic relationship between nationalism and violence in a given country and to collaboratively present their findings and perspective in a presentation. While both of these examples demonstrate the use of education technology, the methods of implementation resulted in significantly different levels of cognitive effort required from the students. These examples illustrate the importance of how the technology is used and its impact on student learning.”

‘Personalizing’ Learning

There’s a much-repeated term that describes conforming to students’ needs: personalized learning. While many edtech products seek to personalize learning, effective teachers who boost engagement also do it on their own. Other qualities of engagement identified by the authors include: positive emotional experiences, interactivity and gamification, the social aspect of learning, and validation from teachers and peers.

Another quality they pointed out was blended learning. “[W]e noted that many of the digital learning experiences were supplemented by the offline processing of information,” the authors write. “For example, when observing students complete math problems on a web application, the majority of students were entering the answers on the computer while solving the problems in a notebook. A few of the students were even counting on their fingers! Enabling students to process offline was also observed as a technique for fueling stronger engagement.”

While edtech works with various effectiveness to promote these variables and qualities of engagement, stakeholders also described a few challenges when putting them to use.

Most stakeholders realize the benefits of creating consistency with the edtech used in a given school, but in most, the products and tools used vary widely.

The Struggle to Streamline

As one IT Admin said, “It has been like the wild west at times. They [teachers] are buying different products. One might buy this program and the other buys that one, and there’s been some slipping through some cracks.”

There’s also a huge discrepancy among teachers regarding digital literacy. That impacts both the tools that can be put to use, along with the data that can be collected about how well they work.

One leader said, “We have some teachers that are using technology and others not that much. But when it comes to tracking that piece of information—that becomes part of the problem. Some may be using the technology more than others.”

While edtech works with different degrees of effectiveness, most were adamant about one fact: “Technology will never be able to replace a teacher.”

“This comment came up again and again by both school leaders and teachers,” the authors write, “and it reflects a level of apprehension about the role of education technology. One middle school leader shared, “The teacher still plays a crucial role. We’ve seen those extremes. Neither are good. The successful classrooms are just the right balance. The digital platform should be a tool rather than the teacher.”

Source: https://news.elearninginside.com/what-drives-the-engagement-factor-in-edtech/

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#3rdFlix secures $5 million in pre-series A round from #Exfinity Ventures, #Yournest, as funds flow into hot #Edtech sector #betterU $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:26 AM on Monday, September 9th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. The Only Education Marketplace In India Serving 1.3 Billion Potential Customers Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

3rdFlix Visual Effects secures $5M funding led by Exfinity Ventures

ETtech

  • Hyderabad-based educational technology startup 3rdFlix Visual Effects has raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Exfinity Ventures.
  • YourNest, IDFC Parampara and high net-worth individuals also participated in the funding round.
  • The startup plans to use the capital to expand the 6-12th grade segment and launch immersive and experiential content later this year

Founders (L-R) Subbarao Siddabattula, Charu Noheria and Ilangovel Thulasimani


Hyderabad-based educational technology startup 3rdFlix Visual Effects has raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Exfinity Ventures. YourNest, IDFC Parampara and high net-worth individuals also participated in the funding round.

The company plans to use the capital to expand the 6-12th grade segment and launch immersive and experiential content later this year. It also aims to launch in international markets, including the United States, Africa, UAE, and Southeast Asia, in the next 18 months.

“With amazing advancements in spatial computing, combined with artificial intelligence, we are looking at a new era of intelligent, interactive and immersive content that will change the way we learn,” said Subbarao Siddabattula, Founder and CEO of 3rdFlix.

The startup, founded in 2014 by Siddabattula, Ilangovel Thulasimani and Charu Noheria, uses VFX and technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality to create life-like intelligent shared experiences for enhanced learning. It focuses on interactive and experiential learning to increase retention and engagement levels among students.

The animation and VFX segment grew 18.7% in FY19, to reach Rs 87.7 billion, mostly driven by animation content on OTT platforms and rising demand from non-entertainment sectors such as education and healthcare.

The sector is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 16% between FY19 and FY24 and reach Rs 184 billion, according to a report by KPMG.

Source: https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/3rdflix-visual-effects-secures-5m-funding-led-by-exfinity-ventures/70977294

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