Digitalization already played a major role in Astrology, Vastu Shastra and other oriental education when COVID-19 forced, to a varying extent across the world, schools, colleges to close and education to go digital. COVID-19 initiated an unprecedented hastened experiment on School – College systems. Abruptly, the ongoing digital transformation was accelerated. This created new challenges and opportunities for users (teachers, students, administrators) as well as for suppliers of digital educational material and equipment, impacting demand and supply on the emerging EdTech market. Already before COVID-19, suppliers and buyers / users experienced tensions related to digital transformation in their interactions. The tensions emerging from the COVID -19 crisis resulted in actions and interactions in the Education & Technology market affecting future digitalization of education.
Digitalization of education and the shaping of an Education & Technology (EdTech) market:
The scale, scope and power of digital transformation as evidenced by phenomena such as connectivity, platforms, algorithmic power, and big data is vigorous. The strong interconnectedness and interdependence between technologies and markets are key features of this transformation.
In only a few months, the pandemic upended the daily lives of people around the world. Public education was among the sectors most affected as pedagogy went digital. For millions of school children, education became based on digital platforms and digital communication. Examples of early comments, referring to the demand side, about this disruption of an already started and ongoing digital transformation were:
“The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping education”.
“Real change takes place in deep crisis”.
“You will not stop the momentum (in the digital transformation of education) that will build from the crisis”.
There were also early comments about the effects on the supply side, such as “expansion of the emerging EdTech market” and “entry of new suppliers”.
Bengal Institute of Oriental Studies 