A web-based app developed by former students of the National Institute of Technology- Calicut (NIT-C) during the lockdown is slowly getting popular with presence in five countries, including the United States.
Offering immense possibilities in the digital world, Lesson21 (www.lesson21.com) provides a user-friendly interface with online classroom, laboratories and chat rooms all under one roof. “Unlike Moodle, which is a learning management system, Lesson21 uses its own tools, even customised versions, enabling teachers and students to interact in real-time and get a classroom-like experience,” Rahul Sebastian, one of the creators of the virtual e-learning platform, says.
The 26-year-old B.Tech mechanical production graduate says that an education technical platform was originally conceived along with his two friends Manhar Musafir and Hashtif Habeeb as a humble venture to assist a few teachers struggling to cope with the online teaching mode last year. “Now, after getting investments from a Canada-based firm, we secured an office at the Technopark in Thiruvananthauram,” Mr. Sebastian says.
At present, over 10,000 students in India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are using the e-learning application that facilitates coordination among teachers, students, and parents.
The salient features of the application are that it provides in-built facilities for assignments, discussions and examinations. Files and assessment of the students can be retained in the server. "The basic version is free in India," he says.
Apart from the basic features, Mr. Sebastian says that Lesson21 supports many other features including video classrooms exclusively for educational purposes. "The virtual labs are developed in such a way that students can perform science experiments in a game-like fashion. The platform also offers a curated content library that has a wide variety of e-books and personalised videos," he says.
A professional Kanban board (a tool to manage work at an organisational level), sharing of assignments, quizzes and large files are also part of this platform. "A white label platform that can be fully customised has also been integrated in the application." Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning recommendations are added to the platform which can demonstrate the functioning of a school e-pictorially or graphically," Mr. Sebastian says.