Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), a constituent unit of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is a pioneer institution under the aegis of Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India. The institution has been working rigorously in the area of digitization of Education for all levels of school going learners and teachers. The institute develops and maintains various online education platforms and repositories that house thousands of e-resources based on the National Curriculum Framework and the textbooks of NCERT. With the infusion of ICT in Education, the scope for digitalization of Education in all its spheres has widened. CIET is constantly working towards realizing the goals of Digital India Campaign of the Govt. of India and the present National Policy of Education (NEP-2020) by emphasizing upon integration of ICT in content, pedagogy, assessment and continuous professional development of teachers. The recent epidemics and pandemics necessitate that alternative mode of quality education need to be leveraged and developed simultaneously so that learning is not affected. In this regard, the National Education Policy 2020 recognizes the importance of technology enabled, carefully designed and researched online/digital education. However, this must be done in a well-integrated and systematic way so that learning becomes more effective and enjoyable. CIET has developed some innovative ‘Digital Games’ for the Toyfair-2021. CIET has been constantly working towards innovation and integration of new and disruptive technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, block chains, smart boards, handheld computing devices, adaptive computer testing for student development, and other forms of educational software and hardware in education at all levels. This will not just change what students learn in the classroom but how they learn, and thus these areas and beyond will require extensive research both on the technological as well as educational fronts.
The Electronic Toys and Digital Games have been developed in CIET, NCERT keeping in mind the following objectives:
- Promote meaningful and joyful learning
- Acquisition of difficult concepts and terms related to various subjects
- Develop gamified assessment tools for learners
- Promote acquisition of digital learning skills and attributes
- Promote quality, equity and access in education
The Electronic Toys & Digital Games have been developed based on the following suggestive themes:
- Augmented reality application
- Virtual reality
- Simulations
- Artificial intelligence
- Virtual tours
- Robotics
- Age-appropriate STEM/STEAM toys (Science, Technology, Reading Engineering, Arts Math)
- Various indigenous board games in digital format
- Gamified assessment