Why IFPDs and Smart TVs in Government Schools must be preloaded with Offline Digital Content and LMS?

As governments/CSR continue investing heavily in digital infrastructure for schools, it’s crucial to reflect on a common pitfall in EdTech implementations – the ‘Hardware-Only Trap’. Before we dive deeper, let’s understand what this really means and why it matters?

Since the release of the revised ICT policy in 2018 and with the push from COVID accelerating the need for digital learning to schools and students, there has been a rising wave in the procurement of digital devices like Interactive Flat Panel Displays, Smart TVs, tablets, Chromebooks and Laptops. These devices are entering into our classrooms under various education transformation initiatives, some led by the government and others through CSR funded programs. 

However, a crucial element is being overlooked. 

A concerning trend is emerging where these devices are delivered to schools and students without any preloaded content or a Learning Management system. This approach is putting at risk the very goal we had set out to achieve with digital learning – to achieve quality learning at scale. 

In this blog, we go deeper into Why hardware alone cannot drive digital learning and why preloading offline content and LMS on IFPDs and Smart TVs is not just necessary—but urgent.

Why Are Devices Being Sent Without Content?

Typically, the hardware procurement is very straightforward. The state publishes the technical specification, invites bids and awards the contract to the lowest bidder. On the other hand, the digital content, LMS procurement and integration requires a deeper evaluation.

There are several factors involved:

• Subjectivity in Evaluation: Unlike hardware, the evaluation of digital content involves qualitative judgment. Is the content aligned to the curriculum? Is it engaging? Is it localised in language and context? It takes time to establish quality and hence find a suitable content partner.
• Multiple Stakeholders: Choosing the right content needs collaboration among educators, subject matter experts, and IT departments. In a government setting, it is time consuming and also costly to get so many people together. For corporates and NGOs, they do not have the expertise to evaluate one content partner from the other.
• Time and Complexity: Unlike hardware procurement, evaluating and onboarding a content provider is a time-consuming and complex process. It involves thoroughly reviewing the content to ensure syllabus alignment, appropriate language, and that the visuals are neutral—avoiding any derogatory elements or alignment with political or religious ideologies.
• Extra budgets required: One also needs to accommodate for extra budgets, which if not accounted for properly ends up eating into the hardware margins, a situation that stakeholders tend to avoid.

To avoid these challenges, many initiatives opt to skip the content layer altogether, assuming teachers and students will ‘figure it out’ once the hardware is in place.

The Flawed Assumption: “They Will Figure It Out Online”

A common justification for leaving devices without preloaded content is the assumption that teachers can simply access online resources such as YouTube or Google. However, this overlooks several critical realities, particularly in government school ecosystems

Let’s Talk About the Students First

• When students receive tablets, Chromebooks, or laptops with internet access but no structured content, they are left to search for the resources they need online. But, how will we ever be sure what apps the student is downloading or which website they are browsing through. 
• Even YouTube, despite being a valuable educational resource, is not a safe platform for young children. A student might start with a topic like “Photosynthesis” but soon be flooded with unrelated or inappropriate recommendations.
• Lastly, there is no personalisation. Students receive no guidance as to what to watch and how to process. 

In such scenarios, the device may become more of a distraction than a learning tool.

What about the Teachers

While the idea of teachers curating educational content from the internet sounds empowering in theory, it often falls short in practice. Here are some reasons why?

• Time-Consuming: Teachers already have a packed schedule. Asking them to search, validate, and contextualise online videos adds to their burden
• Quality Assurance: Even well-meaning teachers might select content that’s misaligned with curriculum or portrays outdated, culturally insensitive, or gender-biased scenarios
• No Structure: A lack of structured content makes it impossible to track whether students are progressing or retaining what’s being taught

The Real Cost of Skipping Content

While it may appear cheaper and simpler to skip digital content procurement, the long-term cost is much higher:

• Wasted Infrastructure: Devices lie unused or underused because teachers don’t know how to use them effectively or do not find it useful enough.
• No Measurable Learning Impact: Without structured usage, there’s no data, no insight, and no outcomes
• Frustration and Fatigue: Teachers feel unsupported, and students get disengaged

Let us also remember that most government schools, especially in rural and remote India, suffer from limited or no internet connectivity. In such cases, an online-only model is anyways fundamentally flawed.

Because of the reasons mentioned above, we are very certain that an offline digital content and LMS first approach is a must for India’s schools. 

And if the program has to run offline, it becomes imperative to preload the hardware devices with curriculum aligned digital content and a LMS which can work without any internet dependence. 

Here are some points which make it abundantly clear why the hardware devices should be preloaded with digital content and LMS:

• Teachers and students get access to structured content aligned as per their curriculum and textbooks
• Delivering same content across schools under a project ensures standardisation in quality and context bringing equitable access to all learners
• With easy access to assessment questions, teachers can better understand the learning level of the students and design their lesson plans accordingly
• This saves a significant amount of time for the teachers. They do not have to search anything now. They get everything at the tip of their fingers. Plus, they can start using the hardware immediately since their school has already set it up.
• With multiple types of content available offline such as videos, books, activities and simulations, the teachers can use them as per their own pedagogical style while for the students, it enables them to create their unique learning paths based on their interest and learning level

With such ease of access, over time this drives better utilisation of the hardware as well, which was the purpose to begin with. 

A Matter of Learning Safely, Not Just Convenience

One cannot look at offline digital content and LMS as “nice to have” features anymore. In a world where internet and now AI can lead children down dangerous or distracting paths, structured offline digital content and LMS ensures:

• Safe Learning Boundaries
• Cultural Relevance and Inclusion
• Pedagogical Alignment with academic goals

It’s no longer about “can we do this?”—it’s about “must we do this?

Closing Thoughts

If the true goal of deploying IFPDs and Smart TVs in schools is to improve learning outcomes, then offline digital content and LMS  cannot be optional. It must be an integral part of the deployment plan. Let us collectively as an ecosystem move away from the checkbox approach to digital infrastructure and embrace a learner-first mindset. That means:

• Every device must come preloaded with content that is safe, structured, and curriculum-aligned
• Every classroom must have an LMS that empowers teachers and guides learners
• Every implementation must consider not just access to technology, but meaningful use of it

Let’s not give students screens instead give them learning devices. Let’s not hand teachers a blank device instead empower them with curriculum aligned teaching resources. Only then can we say we are truly digitising education in the right spirit.

If you’re looking to enhance your hardware implementation by integrating offline digital content and LMS, we can assist you. For details reach out to us at +91 7678265039. We’d be happy to support you with customized content tailored to specific grades, languages, and state/national curriculum through an intuitive LMS. You can also share your details here or write to us at [email protected] 

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