Home Education KULLABS Smart School: In support of digital education

KULLABS Smart School: In support of digital education

2383
0

Kathmandu, June 16, 2016: E-learning is a fruitful and smart learning technique since many youngsters now have access to the internet these days. After MiDas eCLASS which launched in March 2012, Nepali students have more access to e-learning through the KULLABS Smart School website developed by Kul Techno Lab and Research Center (KULLABS).

The idea behind KULLABS Smart School is to ‘replace bulky text books and heavy bags with light and resourceful digital devices like tablets and laptops,’ says CEO Sushil Dev Bhattarai.

The website makes it possible for students of classes eight to 10 to continue their learning online. Launched in February 2015, it has digitized components of the Nepali school curriculum as designed by the government. Unlike MiDas eCLASS which charges its courses, KULLABS is free for everyone.

“We focused on these specific classes because we felt these students are more likely to use digital devices and internet. We have started digitizing high school and bachelor-level courses in science and management, as well as for engineering students. So, we are working on a broader ground now,” says Bhattarai.

Students have the choice to register an account but they will still have complete access to the study materials even if they choose not to sign up. The materials have been prepared in accordance with the school syllabus which makes it useful for students. Excluding spelling mistakes, there are well prepared study materials for subjects like Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Nepali, Computer, and Health and Physical Education.

Apart from notes, there are important points, corresponding videos and exercises which make lessons easier for the students. Users can leave queries on the website which other students can answer if they wish to. Those interested can also upload from text books so that other users/students can have access to it.

The website is not limited to providing study materials alone. Teachers can use this platform to teach their students more effectively. It is also possible to form an educational community by connecting with teachers or other students or joining a study group. However, this is reserved for those with an account who will also be able to keep their studies up to date by creating a study plan.

It was in March 2014 that Bhattarai and Adhip Poudyal launched Kul Techno Lab and Research Center (KULLABS). CEO Bhattarai says, “We started with just a few laptops and a strong urge to upgrade the Nepali education system. After a little research, we came up with the idea of an e-learning platform which was considered to be too expensive then to use in small private and community schools. We kept it free of charge because we want e-learning to be accessible to every school, student and teacher in Nepal.”

KULLABS SmartSchool V2 app was released recently in May this year. Available for Android users, it has already been downloaded around 10,000 times. Students can take a break from their studies and enjoy four different games such as Hangman, Odd one out, Spot the differences, and Sequence Conundrum.

KULLABS now has a workforce of more than 35 people who research on topics like Student Psychology, Learning/Teaching Methodologies, and Content Development among others.

Outlining the company’s future plans, Bhattarai says, “Our big vision is to establish this website as Nepal’s first open online university. We have been in dialogue with the concerned departments of government and the results have been very positive. We have a plan to implement our product in more than 3,000 community and private schools in Nepal. The plan includes training community school teachers to use our website and app. We also have plans to release a tablet with our offline version of Smart School installed in it so that students can continue using our product even without internet connection.”