WHY DOES EdTech BRING MORE VALUES TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES' STUDENTS AND TEACHERS?

EdTech has revolutionized the catching-up game in developing nations, offering an innovative solution to some very traditional problems of the education sector. EdTech offers immense value to students and teachers alike in the form of e-content and new technological facilities, catering equally to opportunities for equity and quality in education.

1. Increased Accessibility and Inclusion

EdTech makes it highly affordable to access quality education in remote and less-privileged areas.

Online Learning Platforms: MOOCs through online platforms have acted as a bridge by providing access to world-class education.

Mobile Learning: Educational content is delivered through SMS to many countries worldwide that have less connectivity of the Internet.

These include offline solutions such as RACHEL, an acronym for Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning.

Bridging the Digital Divide: One Laptop per Child, among other initiatives, and coding boot camps like Andela, among others, do provide students with fundamental digital skills.

2. Personal Learning Experiences

EdTech offers personalized learning, responding directly to the students' needs.

Adaptive Learning Platforms: AI-supported systems, such as Knewton, automatically adapt content to progress and learning style for a student.

Gamification: These semi-interactive forums—primarily Kahoot!—make learning engaging and flexible for any level of skill.

Learning Analytics: Advanced analytics track the student's progress and provide individual recommendations on their improvement.

3. Teacher Empowerment and Capacity Building

EdTech offers a teacher the following supports and resources:

E-Learning: Some websites, like Teacher Training Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TTESSA), offer constant professional development.

Electronic Resources: Students are provided with a wide range of digital resources, lesson plans, and multimedia that add on depth and interest to lessons.

e-Coaching: Mentoring and observation tools that serve remotely to strengthen teaching practices.

4. Cost-Operational and Scalable

EdTech provides cost-effective education solutions to increase education's reach.

Free and Open Educational Resources: Free, openly-licensed resources reduce cost burdens to both schools and students.

Cloud-Based Solutions: eliminates the need to purchase expensive on-premise infrastructure.

E-Textbooks: Initiatives like World Reader provide e-books to under-resourced regions, therefore reducing some of the cost associated with hardcopy textbooks.

5. Beating Resource Constraints

EdTech addresses the lack of physical resources in most developing countries:

Virtual Labs: On sites like Labster, virtual labs in 3D make interactive amends for lost laboratory equipment.

Video Lessons: Supplemental video lessons are available for free through Khan Academy and other resources.

LAnguage Support: An AI powered translation tool, multilingual education software with mother tongue support for tuition in vernaculars.

6. Data-Informed Education Policy
EdTech facilitates making evidence-based decisions in education.

Education Management Information Systems, such as: a system to store and analyze school effectiveness information, attendance statistics, and resource allocations.

Learning Analytics Platforms: Providing insight into student trends and the outcomes of educational performances.

Digital Assessment Tools: Large-scale standardized testing may be conducted; results are analyzed quickly.

7. Promotes Lifelong Learning
 

EdTech supports continuous education beyond traditional schooling.

Microlearning Platforms: Apps like Duolingo offer bite-sized lessons for continuous improvement in one's skills. Online certification courses provide skills-based certificates in specific career development courses. Mobile Learning Apps: Allow busy adults and professionals to learn anywhere, anytime.

 8. Educational Assistance to Special Needs
EdTech can create personalized solutions for students with disabilities: Assistive Technologies: students with various learning disorders use text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and specialty software. Adaptive Hardware: Specialized input devices support students with physical disabilities to access digital learning resources.  

What EdTech does is democratize access to quality education, personalize student experiences, empower educators, and overcome resource constraints in developing countries. It offers the hope of less expensive, more scalable solutions to so many problems that are part and parcel of the educational systems in most of the rest of the world. In addition, the effective implementation of EdTech presents infrastructural challenges, specifically with respect to the availability of reliable electricity and internet access. Furthermore, a well-planned training program on how to use the technologies is important for teachers and students.

Better EdTech promises better prospects for implementation of more equitable, inclusive, and effective educational systems in developing countries. Countries stand to improve their human capital, boost economic growth, and prepare their population for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century by embracing innovations.