A virtual check indicates that technology is redefining the way children grow up. That's the reality of the digital age. We are not just talking about cool tech toys but also e-textbooks.

The latter stands out for making reading fun-filled and interactive, with multi touch pop-up columns, audio clips and attractive zoom-in features. The fact that reading can be a multimedia experience without burning a hole in one's pocket has urged players in this segment to make the reading experience downloadable on a platform of devices like PC/Laptop/Tablet/Mobile.

A case in point is Mumbai-based firm Attano, which launched over 150 titles for engineering and MBA students last month. More such additions are expected during the course of the year. Attano uses technology to digitize educational text for diverse age groups (Kindergarten, Class 1-12 and higher education) through its portal. The portal, titled Attano.com provides interactive supplementary education content. Probably interactive educational content for higher education has never been attempted before.

The content is sourced and delivered via the Attano Cloud to multiple channels like tablets, mobile devices and smart boards. The platform is 'agnostic,' as content can be accessed and downloaded on a Windows PC, Android Tablet or an iPad. "Attano has built an entire content curation and moderation system that allows it to harness the knowledge of teachers spread all across India. The system is designed with dashboards to view syllabus, map videos and moderate workflows," said Soumya Banerjee, CEO, Attano.

While most players create their own content, Attano brings the best educational content to students in a comfortable learning environment. Java, Spring, JSF, Flash and web services are among the web technologies used.

Attano has two education apps. The first, being the Attano eBook Reader, available for iPad, Android Tablets (2.2 and above) and Windows (WinXP and above). In the wake of emerging real and virtual interests of students, the app encourages students to read eBooks as well as search for text, highlight, bookmark and take notes, like the real world textbooks.

The other app EDU TV allows students, parents and educationists to browse educational videos mapped to Indian school curriculum in a seamless manner. EDU TV is available for Android Tablets (V2.2 and above). A national panel of teachers will select and curate the best videos available on the Net and compile them through EDU TV. A team of moderators rechecks the videos to ensure that students get the best video to address their learning need as subscribed by the Indian board.

The company scores for its innovative business model more than innovative technology. It's a combination of publisher integration, collaborative learning platforms, multi-channel delivery and integrated commerce. "As an education company we aim to understand how a student learns (children could be linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial-visual, musical-auditory or bodily-kinesthetic learners). We are investing in analytics for the Attano Reader for the system to understand how students learn best. This helps us recommend content that is optimal for a given student," explained Banerjee and added that this year, the company plans to work with various book publishers publishing educational content and provide it in various interactive forms.

This focused approach is quite understandable. Statistics indicate that there are over 60 million installed base of PCs in India, which is growing at approximately 15% Year-on-Year. There are over 300K tablets, with the iPad taking about 70% share. Aakash, other Android Tablets and Windows 8 are hoped to change the game in the coming months by being affordable and offer consumers options across price points.

We do live in an era of amazing computational power, blended seamlessly into the regular pattern of a student's life. Online education textbooks are affordable compared to offline versions. However, they may not fully erode the traditional textbook publishing model. At the most, digitized books appear to be an ideal choice for those students who are unable to pursue their higher studies for several reasons.


Edited: 16 May 2012 at 08:13 AM by Kavitha Srinivasa