Bengaluru: Extramarks' to train students out of pressure-cooker' scenarios

Bengaluru: Making learning easy with the help of animators, designers and visualizers-and avoiding the ‘pressure cooker’ situation for students-has been the guiding philosophy at Extramarks, a digital education firm.

Digital education is fast catching up as the conventional coaching centres may often not cater to the needs of students. Ask Joseph K, a freelance school counsellor in the city about this and he says, “Students at a young age (in some instances even from Class 4), are forced to pick training courses to crack various admission tests till they complete their PU course. This has indeed affected their interest in studies and instigated an  acute fear of academics which has become their constant companion.” Corroborating his view,  Atul Kulshrestha, Founder & CMD of Extramarks, claims that his initiative to train students at Class-12 level for Engineering and Medical entrance exams avoids all that happens in the pressure cooker scenario. “At Extramarks, all concepts are explained through different media, making it easy for a student to learn visually and understand each concept in detail in a fun-filled and engaging way as opposed to rote learning,” he says.

Elaborating on how the modules are designed at the company, he adds that an outline is developed by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from which story boards and base learning frameworks are created, discussed and reviewed. The desired learning outcomes and the complexity of concepts determine the base design of the module to be created. “With the help of animators, designers and visualizers along with SMEs, rich media modules and practice modules including Higher Order Thinking Skills are also developed. Finally, various levels of assessment questions and exercises are created for teachers and for self-assessment,” he explains.

Bridging the gap between online methods and real classroom-based training, the firm will soon begin coaching centres in the city and across South India. “Named Extramarks Smart Coaching Centres, students will be exposed to the benefits of the ‘Total Learning’ concept which ensures the delivery of most effective education to students. Also, the learning content created by teachers will be available to fellow teachers and students,” adds Mr Kulshrestha.