Zoho on Wednesday rolled out Classes 2.0, an overhauled version of the learning management system it first launched during the Covid pandemic, with artificial intelligence (AI) built into nearly every part of the product, from lesson planning and grading to a subject-restricted AI tutor for students.
Dev Anand Ramasamy, vice-president of product management at Zoho who led the product’s development, said the offering is the outcome of nearly five years of continuous work and conversations with teachers. “I would have personally met at least 1,000 teachers during this period,” he said, describing how the product evolved from a simple assignment-collection tool built in response to the pandemic into a full learning platform now used by state governments, universities, schools and colleges.
Solving three problems at a time
Ramasamy framed Classes 2.0 around three groups he said are struggling with the current education system—students, teachers, and institutions. He said today’s students are “digital natives” and tend to disengage quickly in a traditional classroom. Teachers, especially in India, lack the administrative support common in the US, where academic staff get graduate assistants to handle grading and lesson uploads. “Teachers have to do everything all by themselves,” he said, which cuts into classroom time.
Institutions, meanwhile, face growing compliance and reporting demands from regulatory bodies, with penalties for colleges that fall short. “If we put AI in the middle of this mix,” Ramasamy said, “it can help students learn better, free up teachers’ time, and help institutions manage compliance.” This is the philosophy behind the redesign of Zoho Classes.
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We StartupNews.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
