DataWind makes learning at home easy with 'UbiClass'

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Datawind has launched UbiClass, an educational software application that supports “flipped classroom” teaching, empowering students to learn from anywhere using DataWind tablets.

The increasingly popular flipped classroom teaching methodology changes the order of traditional education lecture and homework activities. Under traditional methods, students listen to lectures in the classroom during the day and then work on related assignments at home in the evening. In a flipped classroom, students study and review on-line educational materials at home, which prepares them for classroom sessions that are dedicated to hands-on group and individual learning activities, projects and discussions.

UbiClass provides comprehensive support for flipped classroom learning, delivering educational content along customized quizzes with real-time grading, as well as instant, personalized feedback regarding the student’s particular strengths and areas needing improvement.

The app will initially be deployed as a free download to students and teachers at select primary and higher educational institutions in India that currently utilize DataWind tablets. The software also includes a one-day instructional module for teachers and professors on how to best utilize the app.

“We believe our low cost tablets equipped with UbiClass will help close the gap of the existing ‘digital divide’ in classroom education between those that have access to technology and those that don’t, “said DataWind president and CEO, Suneet Singh Tuli. “The app reflects our focus on bringing the socio- economic and educational benefits of the Internet to emerging markets around the world.”

“We see this app helping to drive adoption of our technology by large educational organizations wishing to equip their students with unique Internet-based tools, and particularly those looking to support flipped classroom teaching methodology.”

Students using UbiClass have access to a full suite of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) approved reference materials, including a video and multimedia lecture suite, which is available in Hindi and English for grades 1 to 12. The CBSE is the governing board of education for more than 15,000 public and private schools in India.

UbiClass is powered by DataWind’s patented, cloud-based technology that reduces by up to 97 per cent the amount of data needed for web browsing, allowing for a more affordable, broadband-like Internet experience on any data network — even on 2G networks that remain prevalent in developing countries.