Home ›› 26 Sep 2021 ›› Front
Packed with interactive visuals, graphics, animations and quizzes, local educational mobile apps have successfully gained the attention of young students by turning their smartphones into a medium of effective and engaging learning and self-development.
The popularity of these advanced apps gained ground after full-fledged physical classes in all educational institutions were halted for long time amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Industry insiders say the footprints of these apps increased almost five times after the pandemic hit the country in 2020.
With only a smartphone, learners can access a vast number of globally recognised apps available in Google Play or Apple apps store that can grant them access to general education materials and even advanced STEAM-based learning contents.
Some of these apps can be used free of charge and others require subscription to unlock all of its features.
Many users expressed their satisfaction with these local apps as they help them understand complicated topics in an easy and fun way in a remote manner.
However, most students said subscriptions to most apps have been a major barrier to this learning method.
“It is sometimes difficult to make my parents understand that I am studying on my phone, and not playing video games. If I ask for a subscription fee, they feel reluctant to invest in these virtual classes,” said Sahadat Hosen Sakib, a ninth-grader at Alowakhoa Tafshili School and College in Panchagarh.
The Business Post scrutinised some top apps related to education and learning created by home-grown apps developers.
Classroom
Mobile app ‘Classroom’ offers a comprehensive solution to curriculum-related problems from Grade VIII to Grade XII.
The app allows students to easily access learning material and to develop their core concept of any subject through live classes, exams, and digital learning analytics to inform students and parents where they need to improve.
Digital Shikkhok
Digital Shikkhok is another app-based E-learning platform. Users can register with this app as students, teachers, or Answer Hero as per their qualifications. This app allows students to ask questions and “Digital Teachers”can quickly solve any problem related to textbooks of Grade IX to Grade XII.
EshoShikhi
Founded in 2016, EshoShikhi works to ensure quality education for the students of SSC, HSC and university admission levels.
The app-based learning system has a good number of courses based on subjects for each level. The app also tracks users’ educational progress and checks how well they prepare for the exams.
Some of the courses are free while some need payment for access. Users can have access to the solution manual as well as model tests to better prepare themselves for the exams as well as admission tests.
Shikho
This app offers a structured course library for SSC students and works to flourish lessons for HSC students, which is designed and prepared by experts in respective subjects.
In the app, users can watch on-demand animated video lessons, attend live classes conducted by experts, find summarised digital notes, and practice questions using in-app testing features which allow for automated analysis and dashboards.
Shikho recently raised $1.3 million in seed money, the biggest among local EdTech startups.
Talking to The Business Post, Shahir Chowdhury, co-founder and CEO of the company, said: “We are working on ensuring an easy access to high-quality education.”
“We are also trying to ensure that our courses are available at an affordable price. Traditional offline coaching is currently priced at Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,000 per month per subject, whereas a Shikho course will have a similar cost with a lot more features for an entire year.”
10 Minutes School
Founded in 2014 by Ayman Sadiq, 10 Minutes School offers a range of course modules and solutions for curriculum-based studies.
It also offers modules of higher studies and various skill certification exams; making it an effective app for students of all ages.
MuktoPaath
Developed by the Bangladesh government’s Access to Information (a2i), MuktoPaath offers professional knowledge and skills in various subjects in general education, technical and vocational education, and also lifelong learning.
The app also provides vocational education and training along with certificates after completion of a course.
Prottoy-Visual Learning App
This app provides virtual private tutoring services for science students from a pool of Dhaka University, BUET, KUET, and DMCH students.
With a subscription fee, its premium version covers visual classes of the NCTB syllabus for HSC’s science department.
The key features of the app include more than 5,000 VFX videos, a large online question bank, HSC questions of the last five years with solutions, 25,000 practice questions and answers, over 600 hours of premium video content, admission test questions with solutions of more than 25 public universities.
Admission Assistant
This app facilitates preparation for university admission tests. The platform works to provide students with study materials, model tests, admission notices, and various other facilities.
The impact of mobile educational apps
Talking to The Business Post, Mohammad Mojibur Rahman, associate professor of the Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University, said: “Some of these apps have been effectively working to eradicate the quality education gap that exists between rural and urban areas.”
“However, the subscription fees they charge are way beyond the affordability of students from marginal backgrounds. Business should not be the sole purpose of education-based initiatives.”
He, however, raised concerns that although the development of these apps is a good initiative, most of their contents remain unregulated and unverified.
“These initiatives should be brought under a National Curriculum Commission or under a body of educationists to monitor and advise the initiators,” he added.
