Zoho's Classes 2.0 suite uses AI to teach students better
What's the story
Zoho has launched Classes 2.0, an upgraded version of its learning management system (LMS) that was first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new platform comes with artificial intelligence (AI) integrated into almost every aspect of the product, including lesson planning and grading. It also features a subject-restricted AI tutor for students, making it more personalized and efficient than ever before.
Development journey
Platform evolved from simple assignment collection tool
Dev Anand Ramasamy, VP of product management at Zoho and head of the product's development, revealed that Classes 2.0 is the result of nearly five years of continuous work and discussions with teachers.
He said he would have personally met at least 1,000 teachers during this time.
The platform has evolved from a simple assignment-collection tool into a comprehensive learning platform used by state governments, universities, schools, and colleges across India.
Target audience
Addressing challenges faced by students, teachers, institutions
Ramasamy said Classes 2.0 is designed to address the challenges faced by three groups in the education system - students, teachers, and institutions.
He noted that today's "digital natives" tend to disengage quickly in a traditional classroom setting.
Teachers in India don't have administrative support like their US counterparts do with graduate assistants for grading and lesson uploads.
This often cuts into classroom time as they have to handle everything on their own.
AI impact
AI tutor for each subject
Ramasamy believes that integrating AI into the education system can help students learn better, free up teachers' time, and help institutions manage compliance.
This philosophy has guided the redesign of Zoho Classes.
The platform now comes with an AI tutor tailored to each student's enrolled subjects.
Unlike a general chatbot, this feature is designed specifically for the subjects allotted to students, ensuring focused learning.
New features
Micro-learning, career counseling, course generation
Classes 2.0 also comes with a Duolingo-style micro-learning feature that offers daily questions and streaks.
An AI-based career counseling tool has also been added to the platform, along with an AI course builder capable of generating a full course with description, learning outcomes, and thumbnail image in under 30 seconds.
This feature supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages and can be used by individual teachers for up to 100 students free of cost.
Teacher support
Automated grading can save teachers' time
For teachers, Classes 2.0 automates lesson planning and offers AI-assisted grading for computer science assignments.
Ramasamy said automated grading could save about 150 hours of manual grading work per teacher over a semester.
However, he clarified that AI-generated feedback isn't sent directly to students but is up to the teacher to edit before returning it back to them.
Institutional benefits
Supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages
For institutions, Classes 2.0 offers a course-outcome mapping tool to help colleges generate data for accreditation reports required by bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Ramasamy clarified that while the platform supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages, the interface translation was done through a separate process and not through AI features which rely on underlying language model's multilingual capabilities.
User experience
Students can't use it like their own personal chatbot
Ramasamy said the mobile app of Classes 2.0 can cache content for temporary offline viewing but doesn't support full downloads due to storage and hardware limitations on devices used by students.
He also stressed that the platform is designed to make students aware that their activity is visible to institutions, adding that they can't use it like their own personal chatbot.
Institutions can even disable AI access for students if they wish.