Internet-starved students in Kashmir get app that runs on 2G, courtesy IIT grads
Two graduates of IIT Bombay have developed an Android application to enable online learning on 2G service. The application is extremely user-friendly, completely free of cost and comes without any advertisements, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal tweeted
NEW DELHI: Bringing relief to students of Kashmir, two graduates of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay have developed a learning app that runs on 2G internet. Both the developers -- Mubeen Masudi and Bilal Abidi -- are 2011 IIT Mumbai graduates and have developed the application in two months. They have integrated features like those available in Zoom application into their app and embedded easy attendance and teacher control to reduce hassles.
Masudi has been preparing Kashmiri students for engineering and medical entrance exams for past eight years.
For last one year, post the division of the erstwhile state into two union territories, Kashmir valey has been struggling to get 4G internet as government has restricted some services citing security reasons. But due to Covid-19 and closure of educational institutions, the need for online education has gained momentum. However, the online education needs a high bandwidth which the Kashmir valley is not getting now impacting their education.
"Two graduates of IIT Bombay have developed an Android application 'Wise App' to enable online learning on the 2G service. The application is extremely user-friendly, completely free of cost and comes without any advertisements," education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal tweeted.
According to a report in news agency IANS, Masudi realized the challenges of conducting classes online while teaching on Zoom.
“I used to share meeting IDs/passwords through Whatsapp, assignments through mail and study material through Google Drive links. It was very chaotic and difficult to manage. My focus shifted from teaching to juggling across multiple apps. Consequently, this negatively affected the learning experience of my students. That is when I realised the need for a unified platform myself," the IANS report quoted Masudi as saying.
Abidi told the news agency that unlike the existing ones in the market, the app does not expect the teacher to be tech savvy.
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