Pengala Learning Pvt. Ltd., a pioneer in developing learning technology for India, today launched a new learning system that helps students learn better and faster. The launch witnessed leading education companies in the Test Prep and K12 segments like Brilliant Tutorials, Aakash Institute, Pearson Education, and Future VISTA announcing partnerships with Pengala to take courses powered by Pengala to students nationwide.

The Pengala Learning System improves learning by combining the best elements of classroom and self-study –access to great teachers, full video lectures, engagement, tutor interactivity, assessments, personalized feedback, and peer learning –delivered in a way students study at their own pace and schedule. Pengala’s innovations include software, web services, and authoring tools used to create interactive multimedia “courses”. The solution is designed to work on any PC at home, or in a shared computer lab, with or without broadband Internet access.

Founded by a team of seasoned technology execs, the product has been launched after four years of R&D done in close collaboration with the education industry. The product takes a ‘platform approach’ that helps partners securely distribute courseware and scale their business while making it easy for students to learn.

Commenting on the launch, Pradeep Singh, founder and co-chairman, Pengala, said, “Pengala’s mission is to change the way India learns by making e-learning accessible to all. And we achieve this with our partners – trusted educational institutions who bring master teachers, comprehensive courseware, and the human element that makes our technology valuable to students”

Will Poole, founder and co-chairman, Pengala, said “Pengala’s software and web services are uniquely designed for India. With inconsistent Internet connectivity, students do not have the time to wait for downloads. Pengala uses a hybrid architecture that allows students to study and learn while online or offline, even with rich media content like full motion video lectures and animations. And with computer penetration being low, Pengala is designed to work at home as well as in shared computer labs with low-cost infrastructure”.

Navin Thangiah, CEO, Pengala said, “When education companies offer self-study, students stress the need for classroom guidance. When they offer classroom courses, students stress the need for self-study. With Pengala, our partners offer a third choice, which combines the best of both worlds in one solution. While courses for key exams like IITJEE, AIEEE, Medical, and boards are available today, other partners will soon be launching courses in vocational training and higher education”.

Education industry leaders adopting Pengala shared their perspective on the need for such a solution. Vasanti Neelakantan, MD, Brilliant Tutorials, who has been a close partner collaborating on industry needs for the product, said “Pengala helps us bridge the gap between distance education and live classroom instruction by making rich courseware including video lectures by the best faculty available at an affordable cost. ”Aakash Chaudhry, Director, Aakash Institute, said, “Our student focus groups have shown that Pengala is effective both as a standalone course and as a supplement that strengthens classroom study”. Srikanth Iyer, COO, Pearson Education (formerly Edurite), said “Pengala is addressing issues in the future of teaching and learning”. Krishna Rao Akula, CEO & Chairman, FutureVISTA said, “We have created courses on Pengala and made them mandatory to all our classroom students as it improves self-learning.”