It’s time coding enters the post-pandemic K-12 EdTech sector

The overhaul in the EdTech sector post-pandemic demands that coding is imbued into the K-12 syllabus.

The projected 2022 EdTech market growth has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic from US$2.8-3.2 billion pre-COVID to US$3.5 billion during COVID. This growth isn’t surprising, considering almost every industry has gone from brick and mortar to digital in an attempt to keep functioning in a socially distanced society.

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This change, while difficult, is an opportunity for schools to finally make some much needed changes. Also, it reveals the need to prepare the K-12 population for future jobs that are imperatively going to entail digital aspects. It’s time we amped the K-12 syllabus to include coding.

The Tech Panda spoke to Sharad Bansal, CEO and Co-founder of Tinkerly, an EdTech startup promoting coding skills and STEM education in the K-12 segment. The startup has become the first EdTech to start coding courses in Hindi with the intent of capturing higher numbers in coding.

It is a necessity in this technology-driven world to know about coding, otherwise, it will be very difficult to keep up with the latest technology trends

“Coding as a part of school syllabi is a very good step. It provides students a chance to explore their creativity and bring out their true potential,” he says.

“Learning how to code is the most crucial skill that every young mind should be aware of. It is a necessity in this technology-driven world to know about coding, otherwise, it will be very difficult to keep up with the latest technology trends,” he adds.

“Coding is a crucial skill that translates into diverse career paths and makes an individual more versatile,” he says.

A Google and KPMG report, ‘Online education in India: 2021’, projects the market to grow around nine times to hit US$1.96 billion this year. That’s a market ripe for the taking.

Parents Seek a Mixture of Digital & Experiential Learning

Parents are already tuning into the demands of the times and are seeking that their children have some coding exposure before they face real life challenges.

As per a survey conducted by HP, parents in India believe that a mixture of digital and experiential learning is the best way to make their children future-ready.

Parents do not want to compromise on their children’s education and have even considered spending on neo-academic subjects like coding and robotics classes that go beyond the school curriculum and make their children future-ready

Bansal says the tremendous growth in the EdTech market is the result of increased awareness of online learning in addition to the ease of access to a large pool of useful Internet resources.

“Parents also realise the future possibilities of digital platforms. Thus, they are open to the idea of educating their children in a course curriculum that goes beyond academics.

“Parents do not want to compromise on their children’s education and have even considered spending on neo-academic subjects like coding and robotics classes that go beyond the school curriculum and make their children future-ready,” he says.

Make Coding Fun for K-12

While its good that Indian parents see the merit of adding coding to their children’s courseware, there is a chance that not every child would want to code or may find it dry as a subject. This is why Bansal says it’s imperative that the courses are tailor-made for different levels, and a little bit of fun is also added to the way the coding is taught.

A play-based course curriculum makes it easier for kids to understand how the technology functions and how they can use it to their advantage

“Recent studies have shown that young minds extensively use their senses to learn. Coding courses blended with STEM kits add the fun element to the live coding classes that enables young minds to engage more and get good information retention,” he explains.

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He says that a play-based course curriculum blended with STEM kits just like Tinkerly can engage students in fun-learning activities that teach them about the grade-wise concept of AI, IoT, and Robotics.

“A play-based course curriculum makes it easier for kids to understand how the technology functions and how they can use it to their advantage. Research shows that play-based learning plays a vital role in the cognitive development of the child,” he says.