In this article, we will discuss Challenges Associated with EdTech. So, let’s get started.
Challenges Associated with EdTech
- Limited Practical Attachment to Learning: Subjects of Science and technology include hands-on laboratory sessions, dissertation projects and field trips to complement theoretical studies.
- This aspect of learning is severely limited in online education.
- Limited Social Skill Enhancement: Education is not just about subject knowledge but also about developing social skills and sportsmanship among the students, which is built over the years.
- Relying solely on online education may hinder the holistic development of children, and many may underperform later in their professional and personal lives.
- Lack of Digital Infrastructure: While India enjoys a wide geographic and cultural diversity, it also suffers from a huge socio-economic divide, including non-uniformity of digital infrastructure facilities.
- Interrupted power supply and weak or non-existent internet connectivity are major challenges hindering the percolation of online education at the grassroot.
- Widening Gender Inequality: Online education may lead to a wider gender gap.
- In a recent survey of 733 students studying in government schools in Bihar, only 28% of the girls had smartphones in their homes, in contrast to 36% of the boys.
- However, girls were found to spend a disproportionately longer time on household chores than boys, which often overlapped with the time of telecast of these lessons.
- Business Malpractice: With the growing market for digital education, Edtech companies are likely to engage in various forms of business malpractice to attract consumers.
- Most recently, issues of misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices have come to light.
- The Department of School Education and Literacy stated that ed-tech companies are luring parents in the garb of offering free services and getting the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Mandate signed or activating the auto-debit feature, especially targeting vulnerable families.
- Educator-Learner Adaptability Concern: Using the internet for entertainment is common, but for online lessons is a big challenge.
- Teachers may not be well-versed with creating digital content, and conveying it effectively online.
- Similarly, a sudden expectation from them to upgrade, and from students to adapt, is unfair.
