Vikas has worked in leadership positions for 20+ years across FMCG, Telecom & Real Estate sectors in India & Middle-East, in Marico, Coca-Cola & Aircel in India and Damac Properties & Scion International, Dubai.

Over wondered why we are all different? It’s not just physical appearance. What we eat? How we eat? Who we like? What we like? What we wear? How we wear? You name it. It is impossible to find someone else in this world that would be exactly like you in all aspects. That’s nature, one would say. Whether you believe in God or Science, you would agree to this.

With this insight, is it wrong to say that traditional classroom teaching defies nature where millions of children are taught in identical manner – same content, same tests, same speed of teaching, same expectations? The only reason why ‘group’ teaching became the norm in the 20th century was due to the advent of Industrialization, when a large number of people were required to know the same skill so that they can easily be replaced by others in offices and assembly lines, and the only way to place where one ‘trainer’ (or teacher) can train them the same stuff.

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A lot has changed over the last couple of decades especially with the now all pervasive and rapidly increasing penetration of high speed internet and high performance smartphones. Digitization, using these tools, offers the opportunity to align education yet again with the laws of nature.

Let’s look at the 7 key laws of the universe and see if digitizing educa­tion can help us align to each one of them.

1.The Law of Divine Oneness – Digitized learning connects us with the world. One can learn from any teacher from any corner of the plan­et giving a chance to everyone to be­come a global citizen.

2. The Law of Vibration – Digi­tized education allows us to acquire wholesome learning by connecting with multiple sources. We share our own learnings, opinions, belief with others and acquire theirs to have a 360 degree perspective.

3. The Law of Action – Through digitization, a student can get ex­posed to real application of the theo­retical learning into practical stuff. One can easily find others working in the same field with whom, one can give shape to one’s own ideas.

4. The Law of Correspondence – Through digitized content, a student can learn the concepts better as one can easily access the actual physical laws in effect through videos now and in future using AR/VR.

5. The Law of Cause and Effect – Classroom learning is predominant­ly one way with students expected to just listen and rote. Through digitized content one can see exactly what reaction is achieved by initiat­ing some action.

6. The Law of Relativity – Through a connected digital classroom, a stu­dent gets access to problems faced by others and can share his or he­rown problems with others to seek solutions.

7. The Law of Gender – Digital learning provides a balanced view of all aspects which can help student understand that both the genders not just in physical form but even figuratively are needed to create the harmony in the nature.

The shift from traditional to digital medium for education has changed gears now and is at the cusp of getting the nitrous boost. Over the last decade or so, devices have made inroads in the traditional edu­cation format while Google has sur­reptitiously become the global ‘guru’ to answer every query. The penetra­tion was earlier limited by access to computers which have given way to smartphones capable of doing eve­rything that a computer can. Today, 80 percent of internet in India is consumed using mobile phones. Just like it is difficult for any millennial to imagine a life without internet banking or online shopping, very soon it would be incomprehensible to think of how a group of diverse children could have been huddled together in a cramped classroom and taught the same thing by an uninterested teacher.

Drawing inspiration from Gu­rukuls during the era gone past, the digital gurukuls with teachers and trainers who have a passion for their art and skill and love of teaching can teach those who share the same pas­sion and need proper guidance and skill training. Someone who has the making of a poet need not be taught the level of mathematics which is required by someone else that has the knack of becoming an engineer. Someone who likes to study at night need not be dragged early morning to a school where he would doze off the moment teacher picks up the chalk. Someone who learns by watching will not be put through the agony of wading through tons of written text.

Finally, digital education offers the most important need of the hu­man race, i.e., freedom; freedom from years of trotting unwillingly to the school, freedom from be­ing incarcerated in four walls for so long, freedom from not being able to choose the teacher and fi­nally the freedom to study what you want to.