The state government of Maharashtra and Google are partnering up to promote digital learning in one of the biggest state of India, using digital classroom services that will benefit millions of students. The initiative, which will offer blended learning to 23 million students, is being done as students remain home due to COVID-19 lockdowns and their studies get severely impacted.
Using G Suite and tools like Google Classrooms, Google Meet and more, the company plans to empower teachers and students with remote learning and revolutionize Indian education through tech based solutions. Thus, as a part of this partnership, every student and teacher will be given their own G Suite ID.
“Google is working toward a reality when every student — whether in a private school in Mumbai or a remote village in the Sahyadris — can get access to the same quality education. ” wrote Google in a blog post.
Using google classroom, educators will be able to easily create, review, and organize assignments, as well as communicate directly with students in the classroom or while distance learning.
The company also plans to change the way we approach exams, and use Google forms to conduct quizzes and tests, all online.
Moreover, Google Meet can be used to conduct classes, and can have 250 children in a meeting at one time.
All of these tools are available free of cost, and will make remote education a viable substitute for traditional learning methods.
This project will cover over “1.09 lakh government, private, aided, and unaided schools, and benefit over 22.03 million students,” said CM Uddhav Thackeray who launched the project on Thursday.
Dinkar Patil, director, Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training said that the training of the teachers will begin from August 7, and as many as 40,000 teachers will be the master trainers for the remaining 2 lakh teachers. He added that once the training is completed, students will be asked to register their mobile numbers, and will get notifications with details of each session.
“Teachers can make their audio or video presentations; students can clear their doubts, and upload homework and assignments. Even parents can submit their complaints or suggestions through the system,” he said.
While a change like this was already overdue, the process was fast-tracked due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With schools closed due to the fear of COVID 19, a remote learning solution became the need of the hour, and with this partnership, Maharashtra has become the first state to start such a project.
The company announced at the sixth Google for India event this year that it will be enabling over 1 million teachers across 22,000 schools in India to deliver blended learning by the end of 2020 in partnership with CBSE.
