The CMR Group of Institutions (CMRGI) is known for being a pioneer in the field of education. Technology is a large part of enabling and implementing quality education and making learning an enjoyable and efficient process. “The focus of technology across the group is on using technology intelligently and relevantly, thereby aiding the process of education. New technology is introduced only when there is a specific need or a compelling use case across our institutions. Technology is used to enhance the student learning process and make it easier for educators to teach better and make education more enriching. We also use data and analytics to enable customisation of the student learning processes. Furthermore, technology is used to ensure that the process of instruction and assessment are also made seamless and more effective,” says Dr Tristha Ramamurthy, Vice President, CMR Group of Institutions, Founder and Managing Director, Ekya Schools.
Technology is used to complement the process of enabling academic excellence across CMRGI. “It is also used to enable our students to have access to the best of resources to enable them to excel in everything they do,” remarks Dr Ramamurthy, giving detailed information about Ekya Schools, a part of the CMR Group of Institutions.
“At Ekya Schools, we have always believed in giving the best of tools and technology to our teachers and students with the sole intention of enhancing the overall learning experience. We also strongly believe that any technology intervention should complement the learning process and what the teacher teaches in an classroom. Hence, we introduce a technology solution only when there is a strong need and a compelling use-case,” mentions Dr Ramamurthy.
Ekya Schools was one of the earliest schools in the country to launch Google Suites (earlier known as Google Apps for Education) to all teachers and students. All students from Grade 1 onwards have an official school email address for themselves that they use for interacting and collaborating with peers and teachers. “Over the years we have partnered with few of the most progressive technology players in different facets of education spanning administration, curriculum development, and professional development. These are truly cutting edge solutions that have a proven track record globally,” affirms Dr Ramamurthy.
At Ekya Schools, the in-house curriculum developed by the curriculum development team is based on international practices. “We use an advanced technology platform to design and manage our curriculum. It is a great platform connecting our centralized curriculum team with the teachers seamlessly, for sharing curriculum plans, and seeking feedback on curriculum from the teachers,” she says. The new software facilitates a centralised instructional process for Ekya, bringing together student information system, assessment, learning and grading into a single unified platform.
Each of technology implementation complements the other and has been very effective in streamlining operations. “Google Suites products have allowed the interaction between the three main stakeholders, the school faculty, the student and the parent to be seamless. Communication and information sharing has been made easier and more effective through this platform,” mentions Dr Ramamurthy, adding that another key technology resource is a teacher training platform that aids school leadership in identifying key growth areas and best practices in a systematic manner. The analytics here make it easy to identify teachers’ growth needs so that leaders can provide data-driven professional development and timely support.
Ekya Schools is now focusing on data driven analytics to enable customisation of the learning process for each student. “Data is paramount in today’s world and Ekya Schools inherently uses this to understand each student’s individual learning pattern. Understanding individual student learning curves, class learning patterns and the areas of learning using data and analytics allows for teaching methodology and lesson plans to be tailored to perfection,” explains Dr Ramamurthy.
Technology is being used to understand impact and effectiveness of curriculum, instruction, assessment and learning patterns. Technology is also used to ensure that the processes of instruction and assessment are also streamlined and deliver the results that have been specified for the lesson delivery.