ET OnlineAfter being through the rigors of the education system, friends Karan Gupta, Shikhar Sethi and Abhimanyu Jhajharia felt a disconnect between what they had learnt and real life situations. Despite being from some of the best institutions in the country, the trio found it hard to relate to what they had studied.
"We felt like we learnt more outside of class than in it. In school, the emphasis was always about getting good marks or clearing an exam to get into a good college and keeping our parents happy. Even when we studied things about our immediate environment, the dry manner with which it was handled did not create interest. Classrooms were simply spaces where we consumed information fed to us by our teachers," says Gupta, 24.
Gupta was of the view that the process of creation is what gives us joy, not consumption. "The realization of our interests which should have happened in school came about much later," he adds.
To fill these gaps in learning, the trio made an online learning platform where everything would be connected to real life and classroom time would be used for creation. With Chalopadho, the founders were trying to ensure that education is not just about scores, but are more about understanding the world around and applying that knowledge to make it a better place.
"We called ourselves Chalopadho because it is a phrase that is commonly used by parents and teachers in India to tell their kids to go study. We want to change the feeling associated with this phrase for the kids. We want padhai (learning) to feel like an awesome experience that they look forward to," says Gupta.
The lessons:
Studying in school is boring, repetitive and is often a chore for children. Kids can not relate to what they are learning because of which there is inadequate understanding, lack of interest and poor performance. Moreover, with the primary focus still on scores, kids are unable to apply or use what they learn and hence find it tough to create anything new or take any initiative.
"Education has not yet evolved to take advantage of the easy access to information that exists today. There is still a focus on recollection which was important in the days when only books and libraries were the main repositories of knowledge - the time before the Internet. Today, education needs to be application oriented and schools must provide the space to their students to think outside the box, take initiative and create something," says Gupta.
The problem is accentuated as teachers do not have the time to cater to individual needs in a class of 40. Technology must step in to personalize learning and also put kids on a path where they can learn on their own.
The offering:
Investing about Rs. 10 lakh that the founders raised through various web development projects, the startup built their platform on the flipped classroom concept. Work on Chalopadho started in November 2012 and the pilot project started with Shiv Nadar School in August 2013.
The platform is unique because of several reasons. Most available learning material is made by simply digitizing the concepts in the book. Such content may help in visualizing the concept better, but it ignores three key aspects - connections, gamification and the social aspect. "Not only do we curate and make videos, games, questions, stories and treasure hunts to engage the kids, the content is full of connections to real-life, current events and their own knowledge. They get to interact with each other and express their opinions. It becomes an experience where they explore and express. It is more stimulating, gets them to ask more questions and look for their own answers. This has led to very high engagement," says Gupta.
The startup also provides detailed analytics to teachers and the school by giving insights into a child's behaviour, interests and performance in different subjects. Chalopadho is also ideally suited for flipped classes. "Every student gets personal access to engage and express. Combined with the special content and gamification, the engagement is high, so teachers get actionable data before the class begins where the suggested activities can be used and the final differentiated experience delivered to the students," says Gupta.
Chalopadho has also differentiated its product by making customized content according to every school's needs and facilitate the implementation of flipped classes. The startup works actively with the school and its teachers to come up with a solution that they need and suits their requirement. "We provide the teachers with data about their students and use their feedback to improve the experience for their students. We are not a technology company trying to transform education, we are an education company leveraging the power of technology to improve school education," says Gupta.
"Chalopadho has bought a big revolution in terms of teaching and learning process. The engagement of students in the classroom has gone up. Their inquisitiveness towards the concepts has increased a lot and they come up with queries, participate in discussions more often now. Some of the children who have been reticent, have come forward to share their experiences. Students love the Cryptic hunt part of Chalopadho and we have got positive feedback from them. Chalopadho has helped teachers because the children have started thinking beyond the textbooks," says Ashu Ratra, a teacher at Shiv Nadar School. "Some students who had difficulty in grasping the concept now understand it better and the next day when they come to the class they are more aware and conceptually more advanced," says Seema Sinha of Shiv Nadar School.
Road Ahead:
The startup charges schools a monthly fee per student with the per student cost varying with the total number of students. It is working with two Shiv Nadar Schools - Noida and Gurgaon, with about 260 students and 20 teachers. "We have been focusing on quality over quantity and it has paid off so far. The impact of introducing Chalopadho at the school has been significant. The average engagement in both schools is very high at about 70%. About 90% students prefer classes to be flipped through Chalopadho versus traditional classes and 86% students feel better prepared for classes after going through Chalopadho. The feedback from the students and teachers has been overwhelming," says Gupta.
Gupta says he expects to ink deals with about 5 big progressive schools during the year around Delhi/NCR and reach revenues of Rs. 50 lakh this fiscal. "The biggest problem we faced and still face is how schools feel about EdTech companies. It is difficult trying to convince schools that we are different. The change from traditional classrooms to flipped classrooms is sudden for some teachers. It requires regular support from us the change to be gradual and to find the best workflow," says Gupta.
Gupta says there are around 50,000 private schools in India, catering to about 40 million students. "With the speed with which internet penetration is increasing in India, expected to reach 500 million by 2016, more and more of the students will get access. Also, schools are looking for innovative ways to use technology to improve learning experiences," says Gupta.
"We felt like we learnt more outside of class than in it. In school, the emphasis was always about getting good marks or clearing an exam to get into a good college and keeping our parents happy. Even when we studied things about our immediate environment, the dry manner with which it was handled did not create interest. Classrooms were simply spaces where we consumed information fed to us by our teachers," says Gupta, 24.
Gupta was of the view that the process of creation is what gives us joy, not consumption. "The realization of our interests which should have happened in school came about much later," he adds.
To fill these gaps in learning, the trio made an online learning platform where everything would be connected to real life and classroom time would be used for creation. With Chalopadho, the founders were trying to ensure that education is not just about scores, but are more about understanding the world around and applying that knowledge to make it a better place.
"We called ourselves Chalopadho because it is a phrase that is commonly used by parents and teachers in India to tell their kids to go study. We want to change the feeling associated with this phrase for the kids. We want padhai (learning) to feel like an awesome experience that they look forward to," says Gupta.
The lessons:
Studying in school is boring, repetitive and is often a chore for children. Kids can not relate to what they are learning because of which there is inadequate understanding, lack of interest and poor performance. Moreover, with the primary focus still on scores, kids are unable to apply or use what they learn and hence find it tough to create anything new or take any initiative.
"Education has not yet evolved to take advantage of the easy access to information that exists today. There is still a focus on recollection which was important in the days when only books and libraries were the main repositories of knowledge - the time before the Internet. Today, education needs to be application oriented and schools must provide the space to their students to think outside the box, take initiative and create something," says Gupta.
The problem is accentuated as teachers do not have the time to cater to individual needs in a class of 40. Technology must step in to personalize learning and also put kids on a path where they can learn on their own.
The offering:
Investing about Rs. 10 lakh that the founders raised through various web development projects, the startup built their platform on the flipped classroom concept. Work on Chalopadho started in November 2012 and the pilot project started with Shiv Nadar School in August 2013.
The platform is unique because of several reasons. Most available learning material is made by simply digitizing the concepts in the book. Such content may help in visualizing the concept better, but it ignores three key aspects - connections, gamification and the social aspect. "Not only do we curate and make videos, games, questions, stories and treasure hunts to engage the kids, the content is full of connections to real-life, current events and their own knowledge. They get to interact with each other and express their opinions. It becomes an experience where they explore and express. It is more stimulating, gets them to ask more questions and look for their own answers. This has led to very high engagement," says Gupta.
The startup also provides detailed analytics to teachers and the school by giving insights into a child's behaviour, interests and performance in different subjects. Chalopadho is also ideally suited for flipped classes. "Every student gets personal access to engage and express. Combined with the special content and gamification, the engagement is high, so teachers get actionable data before the class begins where the suggested activities can be used and the final differentiated experience delivered to the students," says Gupta.
Chalopadho has also differentiated its product by making customized content according to every school's needs and facilitate the implementation of flipped classes. The startup works actively with the school and its teachers to come up with a solution that they need and suits their requirement. "We provide the teachers with data about their students and use their feedback to improve the experience for their students. We are not a technology company trying to transform education, we are an education company leveraging the power of technology to improve school education," says Gupta.
"Chalopadho has bought a big revolution in terms of teaching and learning process. The engagement of students in the classroom has gone up. Their inquisitiveness towards the concepts has increased a lot and they come up with queries, participate in discussions more often now. Some of the children who have been reticent, have come forward to share their experiences. Students love the Cryptic hunt part of Chalopadho and we have got positive feedback from them. Chalopadho has helped teachers because the children have started thinking beyond the textbooks," says Ashu Ratra, a teacher at Shiv Nadar School. "Some students who had difficulty in grasping the concept now understand it better and the next day when they come to the class they are more aware and conceptually more advanced," says Seema Sinha of Shiv Nadar School.
Road Ahead:
The startup charges schools a monthly fee per student with the per student cost varying with the total number of students. It is working with two Shiv Nadar Schools - Noida and Gurgaon, with about 260 students and 20 teachers. "We have been focusing on quality over quantity and it has paid off so far. The impact of introducing Chalopadho at the school has been significant. The average engagement in both schools is very high at about 70%. About 90% students prefer classes to be flipped through Chalopadho versus traditional classes and 86% students feel better prepared for classes after going through Chalopadho. The feedback from the students and teachers has been overwhelming," says Gupta.
Gupta says he expects to ink deals with about 5 big progressive schools during the year around Delhi/NCR and reach revenues of Rs. 50 lakh this fiscal. "The biggest problem we faced and still face is how schools feel about EdTech companies. It is difficult trying to convince schools that we are different. The change from traditional classrooms to flipped classrooms is sudden for some teachers. It requires regular support from us the change to be gradual and to find the best workflow," says Gupta.
Gupta says there are around 50,000 private schools in India, catering to about 40 million students. "With the speed with which internet penetration is increasing in India, expected to reach 500 million by 2016, more and more of the students will get access. Also, schools are looking for innovative ways to use technology to improve learning experiences," says Gupta.
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