When the pandemic disrupted existing practices of imparting education and forced the world to rethink its medium of instruction, technology was the saving grace. Reliance on technology in the post-pandemic era has made education increasingly mobile, creating an opportunity to make quality school education accessible in the country’s most remote areas. Technological integration is poised as a critical catalyst in the field of education. The world has recognized that technology will inevitably be crucial to education for all. Countries worldwide have been developing national-level schemes to promote ICT usage, which the World Bank and UNESCO have also recognized. Most developed and developing countries are trying to leverage technology to address their country's challenges. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has emphasized that technology will play an essential role in improving educational outcomes, and the relationship between technology and education is bidirectional1. Outcome-based solutions should be implemented for school education to achieve the twin objectives of enabling access to quality education and improving learning outcomes. The solutions should address the challenges of implementing and scaling technology solutions in the country. Some challenges related to technology solutions in education are the lack of digital access for both digital devices, and the internet. As per AS ER 2021 report8, 68% of private and government school students have access to smartphones. Low digital literacy of teachers, support staff and parents is another bottleneck to leveraging technology. Computers are available in schools, but no one knows how to operate and use them. The digital content is not available in vernacular languages, and it is not always aligned with the school curriculum. As per the economic survey 2021-20229, education expenditure as a percentage of GDP and as a percentage of total expenditure has remained constant for the last few years. Technology platforms with high implementation costs may not be adopted or scaled up by the state governments. Technology can’t replace the teacher in the classroom. According to Ken taro Toyamak10, a computer scientist and an international development researcher, "The key challenge in education remains the long-term, directed motivation of the student – something which no technology today can deliver on its own, but which good teachers deliver regularly". Therefore, interventions should not intend to replace teachers in the classrooms.
Smart Classroom is a mechanism for combining traditional classroom teaching with digital learning. It can be implemented by installing a digital screen, or a Smart TV or a projector, thereby playing digital content in the classroom. The ‘blending’ of the conventional teaching methodology and modern-day technology creates an efficient learning environment. Course content can be made available either live or via recorded lecture videos delivered to teachers beforehand, which are then telecasted in front of larger groups of students on school premises on a daily basis. Digital content will help teachers introduce effective and innovative pedagogy methods and use technology as a tool. Complex concepts can be explained to students by curating interactive digital videos. Engaging videos, and videos of eminent personalities for motivation, can be collected and played during the class to make the classroom sessions more exciting and attractive for the students. A smart classroom is an efficient12 and cost-effective intervention based on various research studies. According to the India Report on Digital Education by the Ministry of Education13, in Bihar, 3,304 schools have been provided with Smart TVs in one classroom under the Bihar14 Initiative. Inverters were also installed under the Bihar initiative to provide power backup for Smart TVs. The invention enabled the provision of uninterrupted electricity to support technology. Uttar Pradesh, through CS IR Funds, provided 2,487 Smart TVs in schools.
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