Browsing by Author "Singh, Dhirendra"

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EdTech in Higher Education : Towards a Policy Framework
(National Law School of India University, Bangalore, 2021-12-21) Singh, Dhirendra
Pandemic has forced the fast adoption of EdTech in higher education. The unplanned integration of technology in education has produced several challenges, such as widening inequalities in learning opportunities due to the digital divide and poor engagement and interactivity causing subpar learning outcomes. The concerns related to excess datafication, privacy, data rights, predictive analytics, etc., are increasingly becoming widespread due to weak regulatory framework against private EdTech companies. The digital ecosystem driven by data complicates the understanding of market capture, dominant players, and applicability of traditional anti-trust and competitive laws. The study is based on un-structured interviews with various stakeholders, such as educators, education leaders, technology experts, policy practitioners and administrators to understand the above-mentioned complexities in the Indian context. Furthermore, the data from the case studies of policy documents, acts, circulars, reports and research papers are used as a framework and bring in the experience of other economies, to conduct systematic analysis and form a comprehensive understanding of the issues impacting the effective utilisation of EdTech. The study reveals that initiatives and efforts of government and higher education institutions have been primarily targeted at logistics, administrative and infrastructural issues, such as how to conduct digital learning, blending with the conventional educational model, and providing the necessary technology and digital resources. The concerns such as professional development of teachers for online teaching, re-configuration of curriculum, instructional design, pedagogy, assessment design, etc., are more important for imparting quality digital education with equity and inclusion. The dominance of private entities in EdTech and excess use of disruptive technologies such as AI, machine learning, blockchain and predictive analytics are increasingly creating challenges around data privacy, data protection, ethical and legal use of technologies. These concerns, if not handled appropriately at this stage, will in due course create huge regulatory challenges. EdTech in higher education has huge potential to provide affordable and quality learning opportunities to students. However, it needs to be preceded by redesigning curriculum and instructional design to align with technology, including provisions for students belonging to SEDGs and other vulnerable sections, bringing necessary policy to ensure legal and ethical use of technology, and government support for innovation and bridging the digital divide.