Learning Apps to help solve school lockdowns among Covid-19 fears

Nagpur: As schools shut down till March 31 as a preventive measure for coronavirus, learning apps seem to be getting a shot in the arm with some claiming spike in usage as they offer free sneak-peak offers.

Akhand Swaroop Pandit, CEO, and founder of the online learning platform Catalyst Group said, “Overall we have witnessed 30-40% in admissions in the last two to three days and also the number of students regularly attending the online classes has increased due to college and school shutdown. He added that screentime too is increasing. Daily screentime has almost doubled in the past two to three days as students are at home,” said Pandit.

Vamsi Krishna, CEO, and co-founder of Vedantu said, the shift towards learning apps during the current situation seems only natural. “We believe, online learning is a safe option in these risky and uncertain times. Students can study from the safety of their home and avoid travel and public places,” said Krishna.

According to Shobhit Bhatnagar, CEO, and co-founder of Gradeup, this could be a turning point for online education. “As schools and universities continue to go into lockdown mode around the world, the EdTech industry is gearing up for its biggest test — and an opportunity. The likes of Harvard have already begun the transition from offline to online, and I can see Indian universities and schools the following suit. The biggest benefit that the EdTech industry can offer, especially in times like these, is live online classes, which provide a safe, convenient study-from-home option,” said Bhatnagar.

For parents, online learning apps help keep kids engaged in a manner that provides productive screentime.

Parent Komal Domkundwar said the learning apps have an advantage as they help parents track the child’s progress. “These apps help me a lot in keeping track of my kid’s past and present knowledge and I can see the score graph rising high through online studies,” she said.

Another parent Ragini Sharma feels the way online learning resources are presented is very student-friendly. “I believe they enjoy it more because of the pictorial information that gets stored directly into their minds,” said Sharma.

All parents agreed that a balance needs to be maintained between online and offline learning resources. Maria Rangoonwala, a parent, said, “These apps are definitely a good way to keep them occupied for a certain duration, but I would not want to depend on them too much. These apps and videos also increase the screentime for my child, which can be much longer than the desired limit. ”

Parent Suvarna Ghosh says a balance of both online and offline study will lead to the best results. “Of course, the apps are fun and innovative. When traditional studying becomes mundane, online resources come to the rescue. But, as parents, we know that relying on learning apps completely is not a good idea. And most significantly, that screentime has to be a priority as well, ”said Ghosh.