Check Out IIT Kharagpur’s Latest Achievement DEEKSHAK, an e-Learning Software

Prof. Raja Datta of the Electronics Department in IIT Kharagpur and his team of postgraduate students recently developed a software named DEEKSHAK, a learning app. It has been tested in the campus of IIT while conducting 40-hours worth of classes with around 300 students, during the initial days of lockdown in India.

DEEKSHAK is a low-bandwidth web-based software that can be accessed using any computer or even cell phone. Teachers can also record the attendance of the students on the platform.

Talking about DEEKSHAK, Prof. Datta said, “It is now a single session platform where the teacher would concentrate on the screen with the teaching materials while being able to view queries on a live chat box where each student can send in their queries. Students also have access to a doubt box where they can click to “raise their hand” and wait for the teacher to address it, as is done in a physical classroom. Teachers can also share documents with the students through the platform and even update notes on the documents in real-time.”

He added, “Further development of DEEKSHAK is also underway to improve its features and make it secure so that it can be made available for use in academia.” 

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The Union Minister of Education Ministry, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ acknowledged the effort and tweeted on the matter saying, “IIT Kharagpur has achieved another brilliant feat by developing low-bandwidth software, Deekshak, for teachers to conduct e-classes. #Deekhshak will cater to the problems of Indian academia in the wake of #Covid19. Kudos team!”

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