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Online Education Vs Traditional Degrees: Students Armed With #AI / ML Skills Have An Edge Over The Others #edtech $BTRU.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:41 AM on Thursday, November 8th, 2018

  • In the last few years, India has witnessed rapid changes in the educational technology landscape
  • The spurt of jobs in emerging technologies
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning has spurred the growth of EdTech companies which are at the forefront of providing cutting-edge skills to young college professionals and undergraduates keen to upskill and re-learn

Bharat Adibhatla

In the last few years, India has witnessed rapid changes in the educational technology landscape. The spurt of jobs in emerging technologies — artificial intelligence and machine learning has spurred the growth of EdTech companies which are at the forefront of providing cutting-edge skills to young college professionals and undergraduates keen to upskill and re-learn. In addition to this, India is also implementing a strategic approach to skills development, aimed for the digital era. There is an increased emphasis on strengthening core competencies in 21st-century skills, digital skills and robotics

So, where does this leave the standard University education which is increasingly being challenged with the rise of MOOCs from EdTech platform? Besides, enterprises have taken it upon themselves to bridge the skill-gap with industry-created programs targeted at programmers and graduates to level up keeping in view the current industry’s demands.

In the face of this ever-changing digital transformation in India, is University education playing catch-up and churning out job-ready students who can compete on the global stage. Currently, India needs to implement skills development plan in a wide range of industry-demand topics such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, robotics, material sciences, semiconductors, smart cities/societies, digital competencies, open source learning and intellectual property rights, et al.

In this article, we list down how traditional University education differs from online schools which focus on imparting the digital skills of the future.

Outdated Curriculum

It is not just that the curricula isn’t keeping up with the skills required for the students to be job-ready, many institutes in India are still dependent on the old school, theory-based syllabus. This is one of the key reasons why the freshers’ status quo is a poor match given how certain job types and industries will soon be made redundant by automation.

Budding Technologies

At this moment we are at the pinnacle of technology, we are modelling, building and inventing things which are leaving the past generations spellbound. Technologies such as data analytics, machine learning, user experience designs and artificial intelligence, which were in the sci-fi relm a few decades ago, have actually become a part of our life. But they have not become a part of our education system yet.

Lack of Mentorship

In an earlier article, we spoke about the need for mentorship and its role in shaping life and career of a new data scientist or a budding AI expert. In contrast, traditional university education focuses on merit, grades and bookish knowledge. More modern methods of education, on the other hand, focus on reasoning, questioning and analysing skills — which are much needed in the current scenario.

Transform, Don’t Reform

When there is change, there is only a slim chance where everyone can emerge as a winner. Many jobs in the IT sector are becoming obsolete and so are numerous technologies. On the brighter side, scores of career options are being created in the fields of big data, machine learning, artificial learning and other new tech, and the demand for people with the knowledge of these technologies is only increasing.

Students Lean Towards Byte-Sized Learning Models And Upskilling

For most learners, it is now possible to download smartphone apps that turn complicated subjects into games or squeeze zettabyte-sized lessons in everything from rhymes to coding into ten-minute talks or even quantify various non-curriculum activities as work-related training. Applications and programmes such as Coursera, Udemy, Lynda, Alison, Bright storm, Howcast, Code Academy, TED, Big think, Open education Consortium and Edx, among others, are the leading platforms for online learning.

These websites and programmes give a scope for a wide range of subjects, technologies and career options for the people who are having the zeal to learn through digital mode. While these technologies are effective tools to acquire specific skills, there’s another pressing and universal issue: The future is digital, and anyone whose skills are outmoded, will be left behind. In a survey conducted by Deloitte US, the results showcased that 75 percent of school-going children wanted to learn outside the classroom. They preferred smartphones, tablets and personal computers to learn, rather than traditional methods.

Enterprises Forge Partnerships With Edtech Companies

Large global organisations are already struggling with the lack of talented employees with the right types of skills to keep up with the competition. At the same time, digitisation is affecting traditional teaching system in ways so rapid and profound that it could be described as an extinction event. Daphne Koller, one of the founders of Coursera, stressed this point in one of her TED talk. She highlighted how Coursera gave chance to millions around the world a platform to learn technologies from their home and brought a great success in their lives and transformed their careers. These drastic changes in the educational system are hollowing out the middle class and creating a need that cannot be filled by our current systems of learning. Instead, we must work together to address them at a systemic level.

For the last 3 decades, India has been a land of engineers, with budding technical colleges and demand for the service sector. In total india has around 6,300 technical institutions which are approved by AICTE. But the question that most employers till face is: Are these engineers prepared for future challenges?

MOOCs allow the ease of customising education

The biggest advantage of online learning is that it gives us choices to pick a course that interests or impress us. Rather than confining to only one or two, this makes one to use their capabilities of understanding and decision making.

Source: https://www.analyticsindiamag.com/online-education-vs-traditional-university-degrees-ai-ml/

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UpGrad acquires job skilling startup Acadview #India #edtech $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:22 PM on Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

UpGrad, promoted by entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, aims to extend its online learning platform to the undergraduate level through the Acadview acquisition

  • Acadview marks Upgrad’s second acquisition in two years
  • Recent transaction marks Upgrad’s second acquisition in two years. It is looking to capture a large chunk of the $20 billion education market in India
Ronnie Screvwala. Acadview marks Upgrad’s second acquisition in two years. It is looking to capture a large chunk of the $20 billion education market in India. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

New Delhi: Online education startup UpGrad has acquired job skilling platform Acadview Software Pvt. Ltd for an undisclosed sum, UpGrad said in a statement on Monday. UpGrad, promoted by entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala, aims to extend its online learning platform to the undergraduate level through the acquisition.

Founded in early 2015, Acadview seeks to upskill graduates with in-demand technologies through live online courses and industry projects, enabling better employment opportunities. It claims to have trained more than 3,000 students in 2017.

“UpGrad’s highly engaging online learning solution along with Acadview’s solid presence within the college space in India will allow us to deploy learning solution for college students at a massive scale,” said Screwvala and Mayank Kumar, co-founders at UpGrad, in a joint statement.

Gurugram-based Acadview had raised an undisclosed amount of funding from angel investors in India and the Silicon Valley. It has also partnered with over 80 universities and colleges in north India.

“Equipping students with engaging content, personalized coaching, hands-on experience with real world projects and guidance from subject matter experts in the industry can bring a step change in the quality of workforce available to employers.We believe in UpGrad’s vision, and feel that we have found a perfect cultural fit for our mission,” said Himanshu Batra, founder and chief executive at Acadview.

The recent transaction marks Upgrad’s second acquisition in two years. It is looking to capture a large chunk of the $20 billion education market in India.

Founded by Screwvala, Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh, UpGrad offers online courses in entrepreneurship, digital marketing and data analytics, among others, for working professionals.

UpGrad competes with foreign online education start-ups, including Coursera and Udacity, and home-grown ventures such as EduReka and Simplilearn.

Mint reported in October 2017 that UpGrad is also looking at to enter foreign markets in West Asia and South East Asia, and had committed ₹300 crore to fund the expansion. The corpus is three times the amount it had invested in the Indian market.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/Companies/If8GzLkcRMUwA5W0D0r1CL/UpGrad-acquires-job-skilling-startup-Acadview.html

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#Edtech Startup #Eupheus Learning Raises Investment From Sixth Sense Ventures #India $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:17 AM on Tuesday, October 30th, 2018

Edtech Market In India

  • According to a report by the India Didactics Association, the online education industry in India is projected to grow almost eight times to hit $1.96 Bn by 2021.
  • The industry is currently valued at $100 Bn.
  • Report also stated that the number of paid users in the segment is expected to grow six-fold to reach 9.6 Bn by 2021.

Mumbai-based venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures has reportedly invested an undisclosed amount in Delhi-based edtech startup Eupheus Learning.

According to reports, the venture capital firm had also invested in the startup earlier this year, in March. With this, Sixth Sense Ventures, which focuses on early-stage consumer-focused companies, has become the owner of an about 44% stake in the startup.

Including this investment, Sixth Sense’s total investment in Eupheus is at present pegged to be between $2.04 Mn and $2.45 Mn (INR 15 Cr–INR 18 Cr).

The startup is also aiming to expand over 4000 schools across India by March 2019.

Eupheus: Bridging The Classroom-Home Learning Gap

Eupheus Learning was founded in 2017 by Sarvesh Shrivastava, Rohit Dhar, Ved Prakash Khatri, and Amit Kapoor.

The company aims to close the gap between classroom and home learning by offering  technology-led solutions in the Pre-K to Class XII market.

According to reports, Eupheus has already partnered with publishers and edtech firms to provide differentiated tech-enabled solutions to more than 1,500 ICSE and CBSE board schools in India. Some of the schools it has been working with include the Narayana Group of Educational Institutions, the GD Goenka Group, and the Delhi Public School Society, among others.

While speaking with ET, Sixth Sense Ventures’ founder Nikhil Vora said that the startup is also planning to introduce global programmes in schools across boards and classes as it seeks to partner with  the board which administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination.

The platform had also raised an undisclosed amount of funding in March from Sixth Sense with an aim to expand its presence to south India.

Edtech Market In India

According to a report by the India Didactics Association, the online education industry in India is projected to grow almost eight times to hit $1.96 Bn by 2021. The industry is currently valued at $100 Bn.

The report also stated that the number of paid users in the segment is expected to grow six-fold to reach 9.6 Bn by 2021.

Edtech companies use technology to solve problems with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and big data. With the projected growth in this segment, several edtech startups have come up and are trying to make their presence felt in the space.

What makes Eupheus Learning different is the audience that it caters to. While most other such startups offer technical courses, Eupheus focuses on school students.

However, it is not the only player catering to the K-12 learning space. There are others such as LogicRoots, BYJU’s, IMAX Program, and Vedantu as well.

In March,  BYJU’S was announced as the 13th Indian startup to join the unicorn club. Further, BYJU’s was reportedly in talks with SoftBank and other investors to raise a funding of $200-250 Mn for global expansion.

As a part of its expansion plans, it also acquired maths learning startup, Math Adventures for an undisclosed amount, this year.

With an increasing number of startups developing technology-enabled offerings and looking to scale up their presence in India, one can expect positive growth in the edtech market in the coming years.

Source: https://inc42.com/buzz/eupheus-learning-raises-investment-from-sixth-sense-ventures/

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Emerging trends in #EdTech- A look at the EdTech landscape #betterU $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:07 AM on Friday, October 12th, 2018
  • EdTech market is expected to touch $1.96 Bn by 2021, with close to 9.6 Mn users, from $247 Mn and over 1.6 Mn users in 2016
  • New innovative technologies are triggering a wave of transformation in the Indian education and learning sector – both regarding the content and the delivery
By: Anushree Sharma

For long, learning has been administered by traditional pedagogical techniques. However, the continuous changes in technology have changed the entire paradigm of learning and development at corporates. The rapid integration of technology in learning has made the educational technology sector (EdTech) as a promising market not only in the world but India too. A recent report by KPMG and Google highlights that the EdTech market is expected to touch $1.96 Bn by 2021, with close to 9.6 Mn users, from $247 Mn and over 1.6 Mn users in 2016.

 

 

For several years now, innovations in EdTech have impacted how business professionals want to learn. EdTechs such as virtual classrooms, mobile devices, digital readers, on-demand video, online gaming, and cloud-based LMSs have fed the market that has been, and continues to be hungry for innovation. Traditionally, most investments for product innovation in EdTech were focused on the higher education market. But recently, investors have looked across the traditional market boundaries beyond higher education and toward corporate training.  In fact, according to a study, the global investments in educational EdTech in 2017 crossed $9 Bn, a 30 percent jump from 2016. It was also reported that 813 different EdTech companies received funding last in 2017. One of the critical drivers for rising interest in EdTech can be the adoption rate of new technologies by the millennial community. Millennials entering the job market bring a new set of expectations on how to learn and collaborate. Hence, investment is flowing into the EdTech market at an unprecedented level.

 

                                        According to Metaari advanced learning technology report 2017, over $3.79 Bn was invested in corporate-facing educational technology companies in 2017, trailing consumer-facing companies by $60 Mn. Corporate training and education buyers across the globe are migrating rapidly away from legacy products like self-paced courseware and are now avid buyers of psychometric Game-based Learning, AI-based Learning, Cognitive Learning, and Mixed Reality Learning (that includes both VR and AR-based products).

People Matters reached out to the leaders in the EdTech industry and understood the evolution, trends, and challenges in EdTech. Here are the key findings:

Evolution of Learning Technology

“Competency development and reskilling have become a way of life, not a stage in life.”

 

Raghav Gupta, Director – India and APAC at Coursera

Online learning has evolved significantly beyond its previous reputation for low-quality learning experiences from low tier institutions. The flexible, high quality and affordable nature of the content provided by online learning platforms today are changing the way people learn.

“From a one-for-all approach to the ability to construct one’s learning path.”

 

Nikhil Barshikar, Founder and MD at Imarticus Learning

Over the next few years, EdTech will experience a rapid change in its consumption pattern. From a one-for-all approach, EdTech is now on the brink of personalization to the extent where individual consumers will have the ability to construct their learning paths. AI and Machine Learning will play a significant role in defining this new approach with meaningful recommendations and customized learning journeys.

“EdTech has reinvented the way of delivering learning.”

 

Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, Simplilearn

Innovation in technology is changing the way we deliver online education. EdTech is not only making learning affordable and accessible to the deepest roots of the country but has also triggered the upskilling and reskilling phenomena among students and professionals. With the impact of online learning becoming evident, EdTech has gained credibility among the government, industry, and academia which is spurring further mass adoption of this medium of learning.

Emerging trends in EdTech Sector:

In an interview with Coursera, Imarticus Learning, and Simplilearn we found that new innovative technologies are triggering a wave of transformation in the Indian education and learning sector – both regarding the content and the delivery. Here are the key trends in the EdTech sector:

  • Use of emerging technologies like AI, ML, AR, VR:

AR/VR/AI and other emerging technologies will redefine the EdTech space and the online learning experience.

“With an emphasis on skill building across industries and professionals proactively upskilling themselves, trends like hands-on learning, byte-sized learning coupled with gamification, virtual reality, and AI are changing the online learning landscape. EdTech companies need to adopt these trends seamlessly into their learning programs to ensure learners are motivated and engaged to complete their courses targeted with specific outcomes,” says Kumar

Raghav shares, “With the integration of new age technologies like  AI, VR, ML, the learning experience will be more interactive and personalized; resulting in improved access and enhanced learner outcomes.”

  •  Bite-sized or micro-learning modules:

Nikhil shares, bite-sized or micro-learning modules which cater specifically to the content consumption habits of young digital consumers are increasingly gaining traction in the EdTech space. Also, mobile is the preferred channel among young students and professionals to consume online learning courses. Also, mobile is the favorite channel among young students and professionals to consume online learning courses. This is because it allows them the flexibility to access content anytime and anywhere through easy-to-use app interfaces.

  • Personalization: 

Personalization remains a top trend among EdTech firms offering their online learning platforms since it helps to drive maximum user engagement and deliver specially curated content to learners on a variety of subjects and topics.

No doubt, the EdTech industry is brimming with opportunities, but at the same, it is rife with challenges. The most common challenges faced by the EdTech companies and startups are:

Acquisition Cost – Since online training is not bound by geography, neither are its customers which means, the same set of training providers try to attract a specific set of candidates.  This increases the cost of acquiring leads, and therefore, acquisition becomes a significant challenge. “Maintaining a healthy bottom line is EdTech’s Holy Grail,” says Nikhil.

Engagement Rates – MOOCs typically have completion rates of less than 10%. A big challenge faced by all EdTech providers is keeping its learners engaged in the learning lifecycle. Several values added services like projects, coaching and mentoring and gamification techniques are used these days to ensure higher completion.

However, Raghav is of the view that the challenges with engagement rates are diminishing. Raghav says, “Introducing credible degrees continue to be the most transformative credential for career and economic mobility globally. Constantly broadening the portfolio to bring full-fledged online degrees in domains across Business, Data Science, Entrepreneurship, Public Health, and Computer Science would help in elevating the engagement among users.”

Kumar believes that this is the best time for players like them as EdTech is proliferating globally and in India. He shares that EdTech companies need to harness the potential of technology to close the skill gap by delivering training in the latest digital technologies with product excellence and a customer-centric approach.

Source: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/pmlnd/emerging-trends-in-edtech-a-look-at-the-edtech-landscape-19411?utm_source=peoplematters&utm_medium=interstitial&utm_campaign=learnings-of-the-day

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This is how online education #edtech websites can make you learn ‘deeply’ $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:49 AM on Wednesday, October 10th, 2018
What is deep learning? This is how online education websites can make you learn ‘deeply’

Deep Learning has been hailed by businesses across the globe as the next big technology in the realm of data science and artificial intelligence, and rightly so.

Widely used to facilitate automated hearing, image recognition, speech translation and recognition, Deep Learning is the same technology that powers driverless cars, teaching them to recognise signs like ‘stop’ and ‘go’, or to distinguish between a pedestrian and a lamppost.

It also powers voice-controlled functions in electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, or smart televisions.

In an increasingly technology-driven ecosystem, Deep Learning systems can have massive implications for any business, enabling them to take advantage of the massive volume of data they possess to enhance their overall operational efficiency, as well as develop new monetisation models.

What is Deep Learning?

Deep Learning is a machine learning technique which instructs computer show to learn by example, almost exactly like humans do.

Benefits of deep learning:

  • Through Deep Learning models, a computer is taught how to collect and classify information directly from images, text, or sound; these models themselves are guided by neural network architectures and large data sets, which enable algorithms to learn new information through multi-layered processing
  • Although Deep Learning is a specialised subset of Machine Learning, unlike the latter, it can automatically extract relevant information from raw data and perform classifications without any manual intervention
  • Since Deep Learning models run on neural network architectures, they are also usually referred to as deep neural networks
  • The word ‘deep’ separates them from conventional neural networks, which have two to three hidden layers at most. On the other hand, deep neural networks can have as many as 150 layers
  • Deep Learning methods based on neural networks can also perform natural language tasks such as language modelling and processing, part-of-speech tagging, named entity recognition, sentiment analysis, and paraphrase detection, much more efficiently
  • Thus, a key advantage of a deep network is that it can perform tasks with only a single end-to-end model, and without traditional, task-specific feature engineering.

Deep Learning for online learning platforms:

For online education or skilling platforms which own massive databases of visual content, categorising and managing them efficiently is difficult, thereby making all the data unusable.

However, machine learning techniques like Deep Learning help solve this problem, allowing these platforms to organise and classify their database of images.

Thus, by eliminating the need to spend numerous hours on sorting and tagging data manually, deep learning models allow online educational platforms to monetise their visual content and develop comprehensive learning modules.

Considering its wide potential use cases, knowledge of Deep Learning is currently one of the most sought-after skills for digital businesses.

More importantly, though, the demand for this technology presents a massive opportunity for young graduates and professionals to upskill and enhance their career prospects through industry-backed data science courses.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/what-is-deep-learning-this-is-how-online-education-websites-can-make-you-learn-deeply-1157476-2018-01-30

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betterU Education Corporation $BTRU.ca Provides Update on $100M Investment in Progress of Completing $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:29 AM on Wednesday, September 26th, 2018

Betteru large

  • As part of these ongoing development efforts, TUC was required to provide betterU with validation that both their operating entity (TUC) and funding entity (GDS) had been established.
  • TUC has provided betterU with copies of their Articles of Incorporation and Certificates for both TU Capital Ltd. and GDS Holdings Ltd.
  • In addition, a copy of an HSBC bank statement was also provided to betterU validating that the Fund contributors had the capacity to support such an investment.
  • This statement, provided under confidentially, included the bank name, account number, name of the account holder and a US$9 billion account balance

OTTAWA, Sept. 26, 2018 — betterU Education Corp. (TSX-V:BTRU) (FRANKFURT:5OGA) (the “Corporation” or “betterU”) would like to provide an update on the investment progress.

Brad Loiselle, CEO of betterU travelled to Tokyo, Japan from August 29th to September 7th where he had a series of meetings, including discussions with the management of TU Capital Co. Ltd. (“TUC”) from North America. TUC confirmed that the delay in them receiving investment funds by GDS Holding Ltd. (the “Fund” or “GDS”) had to do with an amendment restricting GDS from investing in certain countries. While this does not affect TUC’s investments into Canadian companies, it was a step that was unforeseen and currently being executed on this week according to TUC. Both TUC with GDS are expected back in Tokyo this upcoming next week to complete the necessary amendment. According to TUC, upon execution of this amendment, the funds will be released to them for distribution to their Canadian investments. There was no exact date provided by TUC to betterU indicating when the funds would be received other then a window of 7 days after the funds have been released to them.

The Chairman of TU Capital Ltd., Mr. Kenny Ho, writes, “We also wanted to apologize for the ongoing delays and the impact it has created for betterU. We had unfortunately underestimated the amount of work and associated timelines for the closing over the last year due to the many investments we are making in Canada and abroad. The overall delays have been due to the time and effort placed in building the GDS fund structure, setting up TUC’s operations and working with their Canadian partners while we continued to work with our global ones. We are now on the last phase of this long process and our investment team is working hard to complete the release of funds to betterU. These delays will in no way affect the US$100M equity investment or the agreed purchase price of US$3.00/share. betterU is an exciting company that continues to advance their efforts globally and we truly believe has the potential to be a positive change for emerging markets and the world.”

As part of these ongoing development efforts, TUC was required to provide betterU with validation that both their operating entity (TUC) and funding entity (GDS) had been established. TUC has provided betterU with copies of their Articles of Incorporation and Certificates for both TU Capital Ltd. and GDS Holdings Ltd. In addition, a copy of an HSBC bank statement was also provided to betterU validating that the Fund contributors had the capacity to support such an investment. This statement, provided under confidentially, included the bank name, account number, name of the account holder and a US$9 billion account balance. TUC has also agreed to provide betterU with validation of funds received for distribution to betterU upon release from GDS.

Additionally, no insiders, including new appointments of betterU, will trade their shares until closing of this transaction.

The following transaction is still subject to shareholder and TSX-V approval.

Solving one of the world’s largest educational challenges and being able to provide those in need with access to global education is betterU’s core focus. ‘Access’ for people in emerging markets can improve the lives of millions of people helping lift them out of poverty. Over the last 5 years, betterU has focused on putting in place all the plans, partnerships and infrastructure to support such as vision. “As for the $100M investment, while this can and will be an important part of our business acceleration, it does not define us as a business, nor should it ever take away from what we are working to accomplish. Our purpose is to make a difference in the lives of millions and our focus remains locked on this vision,” said Brad Loiselle, President and CEO of betterU.

While revenue is a critical part of sustainability, it has not been part of the Company’s development priorities. The foundation of its platform, partnerships and technology was required to be completed to support the Company’s market security, vision and future revenue plans.  With only a small core team, betterU has had to focus on the bigger picture, which has required the ongoing support of investments as well. To understand the development scope and logic of betterU’s underlying plans on January 3rd, 2017 Mr. Loiselle wrote and published a white paper titled Equalizing Education for all – Building the future value of Ed-Tech which walks the reader through his strategies on how to build a stronger, more valuable Ed-Tech company that in the long-term, could become a market leader. “There are no short-cuts to solving this massive global problem and as with any business, there will continue to be ups and downs, delays, ongoing requirements for cash, turnover of staff and many other issues and opportunities. We are a team of leaders who continue to plan for our future and prepare for the unknown, but always moving forward,” said Mr. Loiselle.

No prior press releases have spoken about the Company’s revenue plans due to this very reason; however, betterU has now shifted its focus to revenue as a top priority since many of its key business pillars have been successfully put in place.

betterU has built a web of opportunities to grow our revenue potential including:

  • Over 30,000 courses from global educators ranging from KG-12, exam preparation, tutoring, higher education, skills development, job preparation and self-interest.
  • Delivery methods across online (self-paced, instructor-led), in-class and blended learning programs to support Tier 1, 2, 3 and rural villages.
  • Internships, job connections and international student recruitment services.
  • Signed agreements providing access to $40M of mass marketing from top media groups in India.
  • A technology platform (www.betterU.in) that provides access and commonality to educators from around the world.
  • A skilling platform that enables customization and individualized learning opportunities to support India’s mass skilling requirements.
  • Programs to support B2C, B2B and B2G training.
  • A Browser Extension platform that integrates into browsers to support learners as they navigate the world of educators through betterU.
  • A growing global leadership team, advisors and partners.
  • And much more coming.

About betterU

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 KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of education, to provide access to global educational opportunities 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.

www.betterU.ca and www.betterU.in

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.

 

For further information, please visit  https://ir.betteru.ca/investor-overview/press-releases/

 

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
better Education Corp.
Brad Loiselle, CEO

 

For further information:

 

Investor Relations
1-613-695-4100 Ext. 233
Email: [email protected]

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How Online education #edtech is beneficial for students from remote areas in #India $BTRU.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:41 PM on Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

  • A country’s growth is governed by many factors, and education is one of them.
  • While schools in the urban areas are complemented by state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilities, and teachers; schools in the rural areas struggle with necessary facilities like toilets and lack a proper teaching staff.
  • Needless to say, this results in a reduced sense of motivation among students and is a significant cause of poor quality of education in rural schools

Despite 85% of the government schools being in villages, students in rural areas rarely get the quality education that could benefit them. This leads to a loss of potential talent which could have contributed to the progress of the country. Keeping in mind the fact that numerous successful IAS aspirants are from rural areas, there are no limits to what these students could achieve if they are given access to quality education.

Non-Profit Organizations:

To battle this imminent problem, many non-profit organizations like eVidyaloka are now trying to improve the quality learning by bringing online education to rural classrooms. Their prime purpose is to bring about a knowledgeable and empowered rural India through the provision of quality education. The “each one, teach one” ideology encourages educated professionals to take time out of their schedules to deliver online lectures to students from rural areas.

The students thus not only get the quality education they lack, but they also get taught by teachers who are enthusiastic about teaching, which also goes a long way in boosting their morale. Online education enhances the learning outcome of students through learning modules that are focused on their classroom syllabus.

The language also poses a barrier when it comes to teaching in rural areas. NGOs, however, have overcome this barrier through an active tutor management program that focuses on taking on volunteers who are comfortable teaching in the local language, although it might not be their medium of instruction during their school days!

Government Initiatives:

The government has also played a significant role in bringing about an educational reform through online learning. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has recently launched three initiatives – Swayam, Swayam Prabha, and National Academic Depository, which aim to take the e-learning sector in India to the next level. At the inauguration of these initiatives, former President Pranab Mukherjee talked about how digital technology can enable excellent teachers to directly teach a large number of students who are not physically present in classes. The interactive learning experience will thus allow students in the remote parts of the country to benefit from lectures delivered by highly qualified teachers.

Swayam and Swayam Prabha are a rendition of digital classrooms that enable students from rural areas to connect either through the Internet or direct-to-home service and access educational content. Swayam offers courses through digital classes, and the study material is available online in the form of videos. Everything is available free of cost; however, students who want certificates will need to get registered.

India’s Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian has also prepared a series of lectures on the Indian economy which can be accessed via Swayam and Swayam Prabha. The course structure of these online and digital classrooms will cover every aspect of education from class nine onwards, and will also include preparatory courses for competitive exams, including modules for preparation of IITs and IAS exams.

If not Internet, then DTH:

For the remote areas which still lack the facilities of a stable Internet connection, the Government will use alternative methods of communication. Swayam Prabha aims to tap into the potential utilization of Direct-to-Home (DTH) Service, and plans are already in place for setting up of a dish antenna that would give students access to 32 educational channels run by the HRD ministry. According to Dr. Pankaj Mittal, the Additional Secretary in UGC, these channels will broadcast new content of a duration of at least four hours, and this would be repeated five more times in a day, thus allowing students to view this content according to their convenience.

The online classrooms offered by government and non-profit organizations alike work towards one common goal: to provide equal quality of education to students in rural areas. These classroom programs are bridging the gap in quality education, and are thus empowering these students to do more with their lives. Thanks to these active initiatives, students in rural areas are also becoming aware of the variety of career paths they could follow, a privilege that they’d never had before.

Methods of teaching and learning processes make all the difference when it comes to education. These are also the main factors responsible for the stark contrast in the quality of education in the rural and urban areas. Online education can bridge this gap and bring to rural students the education they most rightly deserve.

Source: https://www.techgenyz.com/2018/09/03/online-education-for-remote-areas-in-india/

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#Digitization in the Education Sector: Five Best Online Educational Classes in #India #edtech $BTRU.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:49 PM on Monday, August 27th, 2018
  • Students no longer need to sit inside a classroom to gain knowledge, as they can do the same using their smartphones, tablets and computers
  • ‘The Future of the world is in my classroom today,’ says a wise quote by Ivan Welton Fitzwater, an American educator. The statement   indeed is true; nonetheless, with the emergence of digitization, the way one views a classroom has massively changed. Students no longer need to sit inside a classroom to gain knowledge, as they can do the same using their smartphones, tablets and computers.

One of the biggest sectors in the world that has been affected by digitization is the educational sector. Therefore, educational institutions have adapted themselves in order to keep up with the current digital world. As students are increasingly accessing devices to gain knowledge, leading educational institutions are developing apps and launching channels on YouTube so as to provide classes to their students online.

Google Classroom, which was probably one of the first online educational suites to be created, recently received new tweaks and updates to make it more efficient. The new updates include a classwork page, a comment bank to provide teachers with feedback, and the ability to copy and reuse previous classwork with other classes.

Indian institutions too have taken the initiative to move towards the evolving digital platform and are coming out with apps that are revolutionizing the way we parse information. Online education could save students time, energy and money as all they need to do is attend classes from the comfort of their homes. Here are five popular online educational classes in India :

NIIT

This app brings skills training from NIIT classrooms directly to every digitally connected Indian for free. NIIT claims that it has made over 20 skill-based training programs in IT, banking and finance, retail and management available through this platform. “Learners across India will have access to the proven cloud campus learning enablers such as cloud courseware, cloud lab, online assessment and collaborative learning,” says NIIT. Anybody who owns smartphones, tablets or computers and have access to WiFi/2G/3G/4G connections may download the NIIT app and start the classes immediately.

BYJU’s

BYJU’s claims to have around 16 million registered school students on its platform. Along with offering learning programs in mathematics and science for students between classes  4th to 12th, BYJU’s also has test preparatory courses for competitive exams like CAT, NEET & JEE, IAS, GRE and GMAT. BYJU’s Founder CEO, Byju Raveendran himself takes classes for students along with other teachers. BYJU’s also has tips and tricks for IAS aspirants from IAS toppers.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy, which was started by educator Salman Khan in 2006, was one of the first educational academies to take the online initiative. The organization first started producing short lessons in the form of YouTube videos and now has an app as well. The Khan Academy also won the 2018 Google Play Best Social Impact award. Students can take mathematics classes with quizzes, and after each assessment, a personalized recommendation on exercises to focus on will be provided to students.

Coursera

Along with offering courses in mathematics to music for students, Coursera also offers advanced courses like computer science (programming, mobile, and web development), data science (machine learning, statistics, probability), business (accounting, marketing, and entrepreneurship), sciences (robotics, chemistry, nutrition and medicine), and more. One can also earn a certificate from Coursera but that has to be paid for.

Unacademy

If you want Kiran Bedi as your educator, then Unacademy could be the place for you. Unacademy claims to have some top educators including Kiran Bedi, India’s first woman IPS officer and now the Governor of Pondicherry, on board. They also provide content for provide content for major competitive examinations like UPSC, SSC CGL, CAT, GRE, GATE, CA, JEE, Pre-Medical, Railways Examinations, etc. Unacademy was co-founded by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, Hemesh Singh, and Sachin Gupta. Unacademy’s YouTube channel apparently has over 1.5 million subscribers.

Source: https://www.dqindia.com/digitization-indian-education-sector-five-best-online-educational-classes-india/

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Jaro Education CEO asserts #India needs a dedicated framework for online #education $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:11 AM on Tuesday, August 21st, 2018
  • Online education made its debut in the early-to-mid-2000s
  • It is still evolving, as education technology companies are connecting schools and students from all over the country onto a single platform

by Sanjay Verma in Education News

The education sector of India is currently an amalgamation of maximas and minimas. Somewhere in a remote Indian village, a 10-year-old paathshala student is struggling to learn about the Mauryan Empire through tattered NCERT books. On the other hand, a private school student in Delhi has an encyclopedia and a projector at his disposal to look up the Mauryan Empire in-depth. These maximas and minimas can be normalized through online education. It is needed especially in higher studies, suggests Jaro Education CEO, Sanjay Salunkhe.

Luckily, online education made its debut in the early-to-mid-2000s. It is still evolving, as education technology companies are connecting schools and students from all over the country onto a single platform. Courses that you once had to enroll in a distant campus, in a different state, are now available online.

The Jaro Education CEO, and Sarvesh Agarwal (Internshala CEO) agree that it’s boosting higher studies the most. The cost of traditional education has gone up more than 175% of what it was in 2008. The costs of online courses are much lower and the curriculum is more expanded. In some of the courses, students get to question experts themselves.

There’s also the factor of flexibility. A working professional can opt for online classes on weekends that saves him/her time. In some cases, like Jaro Education’s International Executive MBA, students can join a course from a foreign university and avail its valuable degree. Skype sessions and online classrooms are helpful for the teachers as they have flexible teaching timings and can earn more per day than teaching in a classroom. Students who sign up for the online classes are serious about their education too.

Online education is still not widespread, majorly due to the attitude of both the students and parents. They see it as a risky channel for learning. You can blame it on the lack of infrastructure that poorly manages virtual classrooms and educative online platforms.

Although India has over 409 million internet users, the average bandwidth of India is only 6.5 Mbps. This is lower than the global average of 7.2 Mbps. Hence, students will always find problems streaming hour long videos. To compensate the video speed, low settings are applied, garbling information in the process.

Imagine management professionals from tribal areas of Chhattisgarh that are usually disconnected from the outside world. “Sure, the Digital India movement is making things easier, but the country needs a dedicated framework to push online learning”, suggests Sanjay Salunkhe. The government needs to take a special interest in establishing virtual classrooms and promoting online education. No village should be left behind.

Source: https://newshour.press/education-news/jaro-education-ceo-asserts-india-needs-dedicated-framework-online-education/

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26 Ways #Blockchain Will Transform (OK, May Improve) Education $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:07 AM on Monday, August 20th, 2018

  • Blockchain is a public ledger that automatically records and verifies transactions.
  • The distributed ledger technology (DLT) powers Bitcoin, Ethereum and other virtual currencies (which have taken a beating this month).
  • Less publicized are all the ways DLT could transform many industries. Use cases for a transparent, verifiable register of transaction data are numerous because DLT operates through a decentralized platform making it fraud resistant.

With assistance from Educause and CB Insights, we’ve identified 26 ways that DLT could be deployed by school districts, networks, postsecondary institutions and community-based organizations to improve learning opportunities.

1. Transcripts. Academic credentials must be universally recognized and verifiable. In K-12 and postsecondary, verifying academic credentials remains largely a manual process (heavy on paper documentation and case-by-case checking). DLT solutions could streamline verification procedures and reduce fraudulent claims of unearned educational credits.

Learning Machine, a 10-year-old software startup, has collaborated with MIT Media Lab to launch of the Blockcerts toolset, which provides an open infrastructure for creating, issuing, viewing and verifying blockchain-based certificates.

Matt Pittinsky, CEO of transcript service Parchment, said there’s a lot of design decisions to work out before widespread use of DLT transcripts. He thinks blockchain will store locations to systems that that record comprehensive records–a balance between permanence and portability.

2. Badges. Specific skill assertions can be verified and communicated with a digital badge. Multiple badges can be assembled into an open badge passport that students can share with prospective employers.

Indorse is using blockchain to verify e-portfolios. Users upload claims with a link to verification and other users verify that claim.

3. Student records. Sony Global Education developed a educational platform in partnership with IBM that uses blockchain to secure and share student records.

Storing an comprehensive learner record on a distributed ledger may prove computationally intensive and, as a result, prohibitively expensive. As Pittinsky predicted, DLT may just be used as a directory rather than a data warehouse.

4. Identity. With the proliferation of learning apps and services, identity management is a big problem in education. Platforms like Blockstack and uPort help users carry their identity with around the internet. On Blockstack, users will access apps on decentralized networks and have data portability.

6. Infrastructure security. As schools add more security cameras and sensors, they need to protect their networks from hackers. Companies like Xage are using blockchain’s tamper-proof ledgers to sharing security data across device networks.

7. Ridesharing. Blockchain could inject new options into the rideshare oligopoly. With a distributed ledger, drivers and riders could create a more user-driven, value-oriented marketplace. DLT rideshare startup Arcade City allows drivers to establish their rates (taking a percentage of rider fares) with the blockchain logging all interactions. Arcade City appeals to professional drivers, who want to build up their own businesses than be controlled from a corporate headquarters.

School districts could negotiate with a group of screened Arcade City drivers for hard to serve aspects of pupil transportation (e.g., special needs, isolated students, work-based learning).

13.Cloud storage. As learners and education institutions store more data, DLT cloud storage could offer safer and potentially cheaper alternatives. Dubbed the “Airbnb for file storage,” Filecoin is a high-profile crypto project that rewards the hosting of files.

14. Energy management. For educational institutions with renewable energy sources, DLT could reduce the need for intermediaries. Brooklyn startup Transactive Grid enables decentralized energy generation schemes allowing entities to generate, buy, and sell energy to their neighbors.

15. Prepaid cards. Blockchains can help retailers offer secure gift cards and loyalty programs without a middleman. Gyft, an online platform for buying, sending, and redeeming gift cards, partnered with blockchain infrastructure provider Chain to run gift cards for thousands of small businesses on the blockchain, in a program called Gyft Block. Loyyal makes loyalty incentives easily exchangeable across different sectors.

Prepaid cards could be used by cities, schools, and families to purchase out of school learning experiences (e.g., an LRNG card) and associated transportation (#7).

16. Smart contracts. DLT can be used to automatically execute agreements once a set of specified conditions are met. These “smart contracts” have the potential to reduce paperwork in many sector including education.

Woolf University, formed by Oxford professors, will use DLT to execute smart contracts. A series of student and teacher “check-ins” are key to executing a series of smart contracts that validate attendance and assignment completion. A check-in could be a simple as clicking a button on a phone app but it executes a smart contract that pays the teacher and provides micro-credits to the student.

DLT could facilitate distributed learning skemes. A state or institution could fund a student’s account using blockchain-based smart contracts and and provide all the funding up-front. The smart contracts would release it when certain criteria are met. (There’s obviously a lot of policy to figure out: desirable experiences and skill verifications, eligible providers, terms and conditions, etc.)

17. Learning marketplace. The core competency of DLT is eliminating the middleman. It will be deployed to create various learning marketplaces from test prep to surfing school.

TeachMePlease is Russian pilot on the Disciplina platform where teachers and students come together. It helps students find and pay for courses, registered by educational organizations or teachers. Woolf (#16) is an example of a new higher ed marketplace.

18. Records management. DLT could reduce paper-based processes, minimize fraud, and increase accountability between authorities and those they serve. An early example, the Delaware Blockchain Initiative, aims to create an appropriate legal infrastructure for distributed ledger shares, to increase efficiency and speed of incorporation services. Illinois, Vermont, and other states have since announced similar initiatives. Startups are assisting in the effort as well: in Eastern Europe, the BitFury Group is currently working with the Georgian government to secure and track government records.

19. Retail. DLT could securely connect buyers and sellers in marketplaces.For example,  OpenBazaar operates as an open-source, peer-to-peer network that connects buyers and sellers without a middleman. Customers purchase goods using any of 50 cryptocurrencies and sellers are paid in Bitcoin.

DLT could be used to power school stores and student businesses. In some cases, a global network would be attractive, but in others, a permissioned (private) ledger could limit the scope of a school economy.

20. Charity. For charitable donations, DLT provides the ability to precisely track donations and, in some cases, impact. For example, GiveTrack, from the BitGive Foundation, is a blockchain-based donation platform that provides the ability to transfer, track, and provide a permanent record of charitable financial transactions across the globe.

Donors to schools and NGOs may find accountability and transparency attractive.

21. Human resources. Conducting background checks and verifying employment histories can be time-consuming, highly manual tasks for HR professionals. If employment and criminal records were stored in DLT, HR professionals could streamline the vetting process and move hiring processes forward more quickly.

Chronobank is focused on improving short-term recruitment for on-demand jobs (e.g., cleaning, warehousing, e-commerce). The startup aims to use blockchain to make it easier for individuals to find work on the fly and be rewarded for their labor through a decentralized framework via cryptocurrency, without the involvement of traditional financial institutions.

Schools could use similar capabilities in substitute and driver management and for a marketplace of afterschool and summer activities.

22. Governance. The benefits of using blockchain for smart contracts and verifiable transactions can also be applied toward making business accounting more transparent. The Boardroom app, for example, provides a governance framework and app enabling companies to manage smart contracts on the public and permissioned Ethereum blockchains.

The app provides an administrative system for organizations to ensure smart contracts are executed according to rules encoded on the blockchain (or to update the rules themselves). Boards can also use the app for shareholder voting by proxy and collaborative proposal management.

23. Libraries. DLT could help libraries expand their services by building an enhanced metadata archive, developing a protocol for supporting community-based collections, and facilitating more effective management of digital rights. San Jose State’s School of Information received a $100K grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to fund a year-long project exploring the potential of blockchain technology for information services.

24. Publishing. Blockchain could have multiple applications in the publishing industry, from breaking into the industry to rights management to piracy. New platforms are emerging to level the playing field for writers and encourage collaboration among authors, editors, translators, and publishers. Educators, students, and NGOs may appreciate the benefits of expanded publishing options.

Authorship allows writers to publish their work on the platform. Readers can purchase the books from the platform using Authorship Tokens (ATS), an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency, and writers get 90% of royalties in ATS. Authors own the copyright to their work, so they have the freedom to publish and distribute it elsewhere.

PageMajik is a workflow management system designed to streamline the publishing process. The system provides a secure, centralized catalog of all files, which can be easily accessed by teams of writers, editors, and publishers. Each person’s roles, rights, and duties can be specified before they actually start using the platform to minimize errors. PageMajik is in the process of adding blockchain technology to the next version of its workflow system.

25. Public assistance. Blockchain could help streamline public assistance system for families and students. The UK began working with startup GovCoin Systems in 2016 to conduct trials for developing a blockchain-based solution for welfare payments. GovCoin divides money into separate stashes for different expenses. Recipients gain access to their benefits which are paid in cryptocurrency via a mobile app.

26. Bonds. The World Bank is using blockchain to sell a bond. Moving the process to the blockchain could cut costs and speed up trading for both bond issuers and investors. School districts could benefit from faster and cheaper bond sales.

Writing for Educause, David McArthur outlines the limitations and challenges of DLT solutions in education. He also lays out the benefits Permissioned Distributed Ledgers rather than public ledger. These smaller private networks could enhance security and achieve faster and cheaper transactions consensus.

“When it comes to educational innovation, blockchains and ledgers are likely to lead to evolutionary gains, rather than revolutionary reforms,” concludes McArthur.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanderark/2018/08/20/26-ways-blockchain-will-transform-ok-may-improve-education/#4f70a2b84ac9

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