With the shift in the education delivery paradigm, edtech and learning platforms are increasingly looking to create flexible and scalable applications that are data-driven, infused with inherent intelligence. . Today, edtech platforms are looking for scalable, cloud-native/serverless applications that can help them deliver a best-in-class experience to their learners.

To dig deeper into these elements, YourStory and Microsoft hosted a panel discussion titled “Reinventing edtech: innovating for scalable platforms”, with mohamed zeeshanco-founder and CEO, MyCaptain; Shivani Mehrotraco-founder and CEO, Edubuk; Sujeeth KanugantiFounder and CEO, AspectO; Vishal SunilCo-Founder and CTO, RocketLearning; Mohit Golechaco-founder and CEO, AnaStrat; Rohan SinhaCo-founder, Kohbee; Pratik Bajaj, Founder and CEO, Evaluation; and Dahnesh DilkhushCTO – Microsoft Azure, India.

Is automation the future of edtech?

Talking about gamification, hyper-personalization using AI and the use of AR and VR, Shivani said, “Gamification and stimulations are great when it comes to to teach learners to absorb things and react to new learning. We are also seeing hyper-personalization of content where data analytics and AI are used for adaptive learning. On top of that, the trend towards creating immersive learning experiences using AR, VR and mixed reality is truly disrupting education at all levels.”

Shivani added that the applications of these trends are already becoming more profitable and stable as the industry sees great use cases of their applicability in all segments of education and learning.

In addition to Shivani’s opinion, Sujeeth reiterated that current and upcoming technology trends will only be successful when they are integrated into the operating system of educational institutions, becoming an added value in their existing curriculum. “Educational institutions are now moving into hybrid mode. Bringing together offline and online students and engaging them on one platform becomes key,” he added.

Connection between the edtech sector and the creator economy

Citing the example of influencers such as Ankur Warikoo and YouTuber and teacher Khan Sir, Rohan spoke about the trend of popular educators moving from edtech platforms to creating their own brands. “Pre-recorded lessons are coming back because these YouTubers are now able to monetize their audience. One important thing to note is that these creators are great teachers because they are artists first and foremost,” he added, noting that edtechs will be led by content creators-educators, especially in niche segments.

He cited the example of crypto where creators have started putting educational material into it while edtechs are still catching up.

Personalized learning

Mohit pointed out how several edtech startup programs focus on specific skills that a learner wants to adapt. “The platforms offer specific engineering and MBA programs that allow many students to learn exactly what they want,” he added.

A few platforms also collaborate with other companies to provide practical and theoretical experience to their learners. “So the hybrid form isn’t just about online and offline, it’s also happening between practical and theoretical experiences, and that connection is changing drastically,” he joked.

Emphasizing the asynchronous learning model where children can learn at their own pace, Vishal said: “As we move forward, it will be more integrated, asynchronous and more focused on equitable learning outcomes rather than on a simple access”.

Learn from anywhere

There is a clear shift in learning patterns – from creating and consuming content to delivering content and attaching outcomes to content consumed by learners. “We need to ensure that content is always available and the experience of consuming it is consistent [irrespective of mobile or laptops]Considering security and privacy is equally important, and most importantly, making sure content distribution is agile so you can quickly create content based on the use case,” Dahnesh added.

He concluded by acknowledging that the opportunity in the edtech space is huge due to the diversity of ideas and use cases in this segment. He also reiterated the need to have the right tools, platform and talent to support a great idea.