Educational technology in IndiaThe challenges facing students in low-income communities in the developing world are daunting. Children are born to impoverished parents, whose limited education has curbed their earning potential. For this reason, children are taught at an early age that school is the only way out of their stifling circumstances. Many parents spend a substantial percentage of their income to help their children attain an education that will lead to better quality of life.
In the face of these challenges, various education technology (ed-tech) innovations are presented as solutions. Ed-tech interventions include computer labs, smart classes, mobile phones, e-readers, and tablets. However, these proposed solutions typically enter an all too common cycle of failure to live up to their expectations.
This report seeks to understand how education technology solutions can be better designed to serve the needs of stakeholders in Affordable Private Schools (APS) in India. APS provide a low-cost private education to communities in India and throughout the developing world. The report’s research explores the trends and opportunities of education technology (ed-tech) in APS, with a special focus on technology users and educational tablets. Insights were garnered from surveys, interviews, and various human-centered design research methods conducted in 2012 and 2013 in Hyderabad, India