Google Partners With CBSE to Train 1 Million Teachers to Deliver 'Blended Learning'

Google has announced a partnership with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Skill Education and Training, to push education in India by helping teachers and institutions in digitising the experience. During the Google for India 2020 virtual event, it was announced that Google would enable 1 million teachers in 22,000 schools to deliver “blended learning,” a combination of online learning and a classroom approach, by the end of this year. Additionally, Google also announced a new grant for $1 million (roughly Rs. 7.51 crores) to train teachers in regard to virtual education.

As per a blog post by Google and the announcement by senior country marketing director at Google India, Sapna Chadha, during the livestream, the search giant has plans to deliver a “blended learning experience” across 22,000 schools the country by the end of 2020. This means Google will work with more than 1 million teachers using free tools like G Suite for Education, YouTube, Google Classroom, and more to train them in offering a blended learning experience.

It was also announced that the Kaivalya Education Foundation (KEF) will be receiving a grant of $1 million for lower-income households from Google.org. This grant will be used to empower over 700,000 teachers over the next year and train them in the space of virtual education so that students can continue learning from home. Indian households that do not have access to the internet or smartphones will be reached through TV, radio, and other such platforms. The investment by Google comes as part of a $10 billion (roughly Rs. 75,000 crores) investment plan in India over the next 5 to 7 years. This will be done through equity investments, operations, partnerships, ecosystem investments, and infrastructure.

This comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in all sectors, including education. India has also been hit hard with this never before seen situation and the education sector is trying to cope with the changes.

Notably, Facebook also recently announced its partnership with CBSE to launch a certified curriculum on online well-being and digital safety, as well as augmented reality (AR) for students and educators in India. It aims to teach at least a total of 40,000 students.

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