From Technology to Learning! Edtech in Nepal

Technology has revolutionized teaching and learning. Lectures no longer have to be confined to the classroom. Edtech (educational technology) means the use of technology to support the learning process. It is also known as e-learning facilitates student learning and improves performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. It can take many different forms inside or outside the classroom, including educational apps and games, podcasts, learning management systems (LMS), video conferencing software like Zoom, and online discussion forums, and so on. Edtech in Nepal is a growing sector as today’s people prefer online education. Several colleges and schools are now incorporating digital learning tools to enhance the student’s learning experience. The worth of the eLearning market is expected to grow to $320 billion by 2025.

The current state of Edtech in Nepal 

EdTech has been rapidly booming in Nepal after the covid-19 pandemic. The main reason for this is the shutdown of schools, colleges, and the overall educational sector. An educational institution has a hard time coping with this situation as the government has forced it to stop running physical classes. Covid -19 pandemic has been a transition period in the education sector from traditional learning to digital learning. Schools and colleges started to run online classes in Nepal where students and teachers experienced learning and teaching from home. Institution quickly enhanced their e-learning platforms (Microsoft teams, zoom, LMS, cloud systems, etc.) to create common distance learning Centre portals that provided students access to e-content and stored through mobile and laptop devices. But it is not the same for all students, the majority of students have almost no access to technology, the new measures by the government have capitalized on low-tech approaches, and also provide some e-learning platforms to those students who have access to technology. However, running online classes does not seem to be feasible for most rural schools in Nepal. This means, that the new strategies to weaken the impact of the COVID-19 should scale from hi-tech alternatives (such as real-time video classes conducted remotely) to lower-tech or a no-tech alternatives such as information through educational programming on television and radio. Different Telecommunication service providers also came with different data packages to support the online learning system. Currently, in Nepal learning process has been made more flexible due to approaches of online or distance learning. And also due to the ease made by dollar cards people are using a different international educational platforms like Udemy and Coursera for learning. We see different Edtech company has been established at the time of covid in Nepal such as Hamro academy which provides the best online classes in Nepal. 

Youths taking advantage of digital learning: 

Today’s generation is for Gen Z and Alfa and we can say that these people are the most into technology and devices. Alfa is considered that they are born to be digital. Small kids are taught through the digital platform by their parents and teachers. Today’s youth is taking advantage of digital learning in the various ways such as: 

1. By easily accessing the information for research works. 
2. Today most youths are working and through digital learning, they are taking advantage by balancing their education and work life. 
   
3. Through online lessons and learning games, students get to work together to solve problems.
   
4. Youth are selling their knowledge by making educational content related to mental health, nutrition, makeup, arts, digital marketing, language, coding, and so on.
   
5. Fun opportunity to practice what they have learned especially to kids through fun games. 
   
6. To explore the new subject and deepen their understanding of the difficult concept. 
   

Main benefits of using Edtech in the context of Nepal

Edtech offers various benefits for students, educators, administrators, and parents. For example, online courses are easily assessable from any part of the world which can have major advantages for international students, adult learners who travel frequently for work, or students who are practicing social distancing. According to the National Center for Educational Statist, women have a higher chance of enrolling in distance learning. Women are more likely to be a part of distance learning, with 17 percent of women choosing to enroll in distance learning, compared to men with 13 percent. Women as a housewife can learn new skills and explore their new interests through educational technology. Additional benefits of Edtech for people include:

1. By using edtech, students increase their level of technological literacy (Cloud-based apps let students upload their homework digitally).
2. Increase collaboration and tie-up with the national and international educational institutions.
3. 24/7 Access to Learning.
4. Edtech empowers students to learn from home.
5. Revising the class and knowledge retention.
6. Students can receive alerts and notifications to help keep them on track.
7. Students can set their own pace for learning, without impacting the rest of the class.

Challenge

We can see the readiness of Nepalese education institutions like teachers from the international affiliated school, private, government, and community-based schools are ready and willing to adapt to technological changes in the education system of Nepal. The major challenge is itself technical and technology adaptation which is not an easy task in educational institutions of developing countries like Nepal as they even lack local resources for teaching in most parts of the country. The education system in Nepal needs to be enhanced and upgraded. There are many parts of Nepal with no internet access which makes edtech difficult to reach. Training programs related to the online learning environment for old-age teachers were found to be difficult. There is also a challenge in technology infrastructure. 

In conclusion,

Edtech is considered the most desirable, effective, and cheaply available tool for learners, it’s more resourceful for learners as they can acquire more information by sitting in any part of the world through various means of devices. It is a booming industry in Nepal after the covid pandemic. Most educational institutions are running online classes in Nepal. We see today’s youth use education technology in various ways to ease their life. Edtech has various benefits as well as challenges in the context of Nepal. Changing technology advancement in the world, Nepal shows a slow but promising shift upward.