Mumbai, October 11, 2019: ConnectEd Technologies, an edtech start-up that collaborates with governments, Corporates and social organisations towards large-scale digitisation of government schools, today announced its association with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) to convert government schools across Mumbai, Panvel and Raigad into ‘Smart Schools’ under SPN’s CSR programme, ‘YAY! Vidya’. As a result of this initiative, classrooms catering to over 50,000 school students will get equipped with ‘Smart Classroom Systems’ designed exclusively for government schools by ConnectEd Technologies.
The programme, which has already benefited BMC schools catering to around 12,000 students, observes each standard being provided with one ‘Smart Classroom System’, which allows teachers to integrate tailor-made educational content into conventional teaching practices on a daily basis, thereby improving the learning environment and academic performance. Unlike conventional technology solutions installed previously, these solutions are designed specifically for deployment government schools. The courseware is in coherence with the State Board curriculum, yet optimised for government school students, and the hardware is extremely robust, while still being easy to use for teachers who may not be very tech-savvy.
Speaking on the occasion of this announcement, Rajkumar Bidawatka, Head CSR, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), said, “At Sony Pictures Networks, it is our earnest endeavour to provide students equal opportunities to learn and grow. With YAY! Vidya, we are taking a step further towards building a better and smarter India while making learning a pleasant experience. Through the YAY! Vidya programme, our long-term vision is to give students access to top-notch technology.”
Lehar Tawde, Co-founder, ConnectEd Technologies, added, “With all these technological advancements around us, every child deserve to learn in an enjoyable and interesting manner. We are extremely glad to partner with the YAY! Vidya campaign initiated by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) to realise every student’s right to joyful learning. Our ‘Smart Classroom System’ has produced great results in rural schools, and we are confident that this large-scale deployment in municipal schools will yield similar results.”
The programme by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) is one of the largest independent edtech efforts aimed at municipal schools in this region, and all the parties involved are keen to observe the large-scale impact of these ‘Smart Classroom Systems’ on the learning environment and academic performance. Prior to this project, ConnectEd Technologies has worked extensively in rural areas where its ‘Smart Classroom System’ has benefited thousands of children and produced an annual improvement of 6.9 percent in understanding levels of key concepts versus children who were taught using conventional means. The device has also been accepted very well by teachers due to its user-friendly interface.
