The current crisis in the world not only radically alters the economy and social lives of the people but has also brought about a drastic and irreversible change in the education system. While the biggest concerns of the pandemic seemed to be the fatality rates, the lockdown put into action in several nations has permanently halted the academic development of thousands of children across the globe. Lack of resources and classroom teaching has slowly turned into anticipatory dread as many come to terms with the academic and professional repercussions of being away from school for far too long. Even though a majority of institutions in the first world countries have successfully digitized their academic curriculum, India due to its lack of digital infrastructure has failed to do so. Online lectures and digitized course materials are a distant dream for several students residing in the remote corners of the country. EdJustice in its effort is not only trying to aid students to make the transition from classroom teaching to online classes but is also trying to make these digital learning platforms available to the students.
The following platforms serve a variety of purposes including topic wise instructions for school students as well as study materials to ace competitive examinations in any discipline of study:
· NPTEL OPEN ONLINE COURSE (NOC)
National Programming on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is an initiative of the seven Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc) for creating video and web course contents in engineering and science. NPTEL Open Online courses were initiated so that students anywhere can directly learn from faculty in top colleges. While enrollment and learning are free, students can also obtain a certificate from the IITs, based on successful completion of an exam, for which there is a nominal examination fee.
Link to the NPTEL Website: https://nptel.ac.in/
· KHAN ACADEMY
Khan Academy was founded by American educator Salman Khan who began the venture as a means to help his cousins. As an e-learning platform, Khan Academy acts as a supplement to the academic videos published on YouTube. The platform not only has features such as the progress tracking and practice exercises but also has videos with close to 20000 subtitle translations available. The material on this platform can be accessed both on the Khan Academy application as well as the website for the same. The course videos are free and are followed by sample exercise questions which makes the learning experience holistic.
Link to the Khan Academy Website: https://www.khanacademy.org/
· TOPPR
Toppr is an e-learning platform founded in 2013 by veteran entrepreneurs Zishaan Hayath and Hemanth Goteti. Toppr caters to the individual learning styles of students and provides over one million course combinations. This platform provides personalized learning plans for various school, board and competitive examinations. The basic plan which incorporates video lectures is freely available to students whereas added perks such as personal mentoring and practice questions are chargeable. The platform can be accessed with one’s mobile number both on the website as well as their application.
Link to the Toppr Website: https://www.toppr.com/
· NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY OF INDIA
The national digital library is a project under Ministry of Human Resource Development, India. As a digital repository, its main objective is to provide textbooks, articles, videos, audio books, lectures, simulations, fiction and all other kinds of learning media from various national and international digital libraries. Due to the corona virus outbreak the materials in the library can be accessed by non-registered users as well. The library can be accessed through the website as well as the mobile application of the same. Materials in the platform are available in ten different languages making it more accessible to its users. The library is updated and managed by IIT, Kharagpur.
Link to the Library Website: https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/
· E-Pathshala (CBSE)
E-Pathshala is a portal jointly initiated by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and National Council of Educational Research and Training. It hosts educational resources for teachers, students, parents, researchers and educators, which is available on Web, Android, IOS and windows platforms. The resources are available in English, Hindi and Urdu languages. The students can access all educational material, including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals and a variety of other print and non-print materials through this portal. These materials can be downloaded by the user for offline use with no limits on download by visiting.
Link to the E-Pathshala: http://epathshala.nic.in/
The authors, Kanchana Chakravarty and Vasudha Rohatgi, are volunteers at EdJustice People’s Campaign.