Digital Class vs Smart Class: Explore Key Differences & Benefits

Choosing the right digital learning solution for your school can be overwhelming. What should you go for a Digital Class vs Smart Class? While both enhance learning with technology, they differ in approach, features, and impact. In this blog, we break down the key differences, supported by real case studies and the unique benefits of each. Read on to explore which solution best fits your school’s needs and how it can drive better learning outcomes!

In the education ecosystem, terms like digital class and smart class are often used interchangeably. However, having a clear understanding of what each term actually means is crucial when choosing the right digital learning solution.

Digital Class vs Smart Class: What is Actual Difference

A digital class is a broad concept that encompasses any form of digital learning integration in classrooms. This can include solutions such as tablets, Chromebooks, smart TVs, Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs), or any other digital tools that enhance learning. On the other hand, a smart class is a specific subset of a digital class, typically referring to a smart classroom setup that integrates technology with teaching pedagogy—such as an IFP, Smart TV or a smartboard.

Lets explore more key differences between a digital class and smart class, helping you make an informed decision about the most suitable solution for your Schools and Students

Basis	Digital Class	Smart Class
Learning Approach & Accessibility	Designed for both students and teachers, enabling self-paced learning for students and also includes teacher centric solutions	Primarily teacher-centric, used as a classroom solution to deliver lessons via digital content
Implementation Scope	Can be implemented in schools and extended for home learning	Limited to school settings
Devices	Tablets, Chromebook, Mobile apps, web platforms for Desktop, Smart TV, IFP, Projectors and more hardware devices you may wish to enable in your digital classroom project	Smart Class includes hardware such as projectors, smart TV, interactive flat panels, smart board and other hardware you may wish to implement in your smart classroom project
Focus	Digital Class is about empowering both students and the teachers	Smart Class is only about empowering the teachers
Motive	The motive is to enable personalized learning, involve students in remedial learning, increase student engagement, reduce dropout, cover learning gaps and see tangible improvement in learning outcomes	The motive is to increase student engagement and attendance, and perhaps to see some improvement in learning outcomes
Learning Management System	You can access a user-friendly and easily navigable LMS for all digital class solutions, ensuring seamless curriculum alignment	You can access a user-friendly and easily navigable LMS for all smart class solutions, ensuring seamless alignment with academic and lesson Plan

Both digital class and smart class solutions hold immense potential to enhance student engagement, bridge learning gaps, and improve overall learning outcomes.

This impact is clearly reflected in our implementations of both types of solutions in schools. However, to ensure tangible learning improvements, it is crucial to assess students’ learning levels before introducing smart class solutions. By doing so, we can design strategic interventions such as bridge courses that effectively address students’ learning gaps in a one-to-many classroom setup. A well-planned approach ensures that smart classrooms go beyond content delivery, actively contributing to meaningful learning progress for every student.

Digital Class vs Smart Class: Understanding the Benefits of Each Setup

Benefits of Digital Class

• One of the biggest advantages of a digital class is the flexibility it offers in planning and implementing digital solutions in your education project. Whether you aim to enhance in-school learning programs or extend education to at-home learning, digital class solutions empower you to create an anytime-anywhere learning initiative.
• Moreover, digital class solutions allow you to customize your project focus—whether student-centric, teacher-centric, or a balanced approach catering to both. This ensures maximum impact.
• With a wide range of solutions available, from tablets to smart classrooms, you can design your program based on your budget and target audience. The ability to choose the right combination of tools ensures that your initiative is not only cost-effective but also well-suited to the specific needs of students and teachers.
• Ultimately, a digital classroom provides a holistic learning solution, enabling program planners to align their goals with the needs of their audience. By integrating the right mix of digital class hardware and digital content, educational institutions and organizations can drive meaningful and sustainable learning outcomes.

Benefits of Smart Class

• One of the biggest advantages of implementing smart classrooms is the flexibility they offer in choosing the right smart class hardware based on the specifications for your education program. 
• With Smart Class solutions, schools and education project planners can optimize their budgets by selecting hardware that meets the basic infrastructure requirements while ensuring teachers have the right tools to make learning engaging. This adaptability makes it easier to implement a smart classroom setup that aligns with the learning goals of students and teachers.
• Additionally, smart classrooms enable large-scale implementation by providing different ways of deployment. Schools can either set up dedicated smart classrooms for every grade or strategically install one or two smart classrooms that cater to multiple grades, allowing schools with budget constraints to still benefit from digital learning. This flexibility ensures that a large number of students get access to technology-enhanced education without the need for heavy investments in infrastructure.
• Another key benefit of smart classrooms is that digital learning happens primarily under teacher supervision. Smart classrooms ensure a guided and monitored learning experience, with teachers actively facilitating lessons, students remain engaged in a focused environment. This structured approach enhances the effectiveness of digital education while ensuring responsible technology use.
• For large-scale education programs, the ability to implement smart classrooms in a structured manner makes them a powerful tool for digital transformation. Whether integrated into a few classrooms or set up in schools across an entire district, smart classes ensure that every student gets exposure to 21st century learning technology.

Above are some key benefits of digital class vs smart class. However, based on our experience working with schools, both have their own advantages and unique challenges, depending on the needs of the target audience. 

Here, we share two examples showcasing the implementation and impact of digital class and smart class in different states

Digitalisation of 128 Classrooms in Army Goodwill Schools, Kashmir

The digitalisation of 128 classrooms in 10 Army Goodwill Schools, Kashmir, included the implementation of a tablet-based ICT Lab, projector-based smart classrooms, and the iPrep App for home learning. This initiative began just before the COVID-19 lockdown. When schools were closed, students were given access to iPrep for home learning. They downloaded the app on their parents’ devices, allowing them to continue education from home. Teachers supported this process by sharing homework and assignments with parents through common communication groups.

Upon returning to school, students found their classrooms converted into quarantine centers. To ensure uninterrupted learning, teachers took charged tablets from the charging and storage rack and conducted lessons under the shade of trees outside the school. 

Once everything returned to normal, teachers began using smart classrooms for interactive lessons and engaging classroom instruction, while the ICT Lab functioned as a shared tablet-based library for personalized learning. More than four years now, students and teachers continue to actively use these digital class solutions, with an average usage of over 6000 hours in six months

Smart Class in 166 Classrooms of East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya

As part of the digital education initiative led by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, “Project Ka Lawei”, 166 classrooms have been equipped with smart class hardware, including Smart TVs with pre-installed LMS and preloaded digital content, benefiting over 5,000 students.

To maximize the impact of this solution, technology-enabled assessments—baseline, monthly, and endline—have been conducted. The baseline assessment revealed learning gaps in 90% of students, leading to the development of a customized bridge course for teachers, aligned with lesson plans to help them address these gaps through smart classroom solutions.

With continuous assessments, regular visits, and ongoing guidance, the passing percentage of Class X improved significantly from 28% to 60% in the academic year 2023-2024. The smart class initiative is ongoing, enhancing classroom engagement, improving attendance, and driving better learning outcomes.

Every solution and program is unique, shaped by its target audience, objectives, and implementation strategy. At iDream Education, we co-create programs with our partners, empowering them to design customized digital education initiatives that drive tangible impact. Our collaborative approach includes hands-on involvement in objective setting, need assessment, on-ground activities, stakeholder engagement, assessments, and more.

Whether it’s a smart class or a digital class, we provide expert guidance, hardware, LMS, content, services, and ongoing support to ensure the success of your program.

Still unsure about digital class vs smart class? Contact us at +91 7678265039 to explore the best solution for your needs. You also share your details here or write to us [email protected] 

In case you would like to know more about Smart Classroom. Read Here

In case you would like to know about Step by Step Guide to Set up a Digital Class. Read Here

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