Surround School is a Mumbai based startup in the e-learning space. Surround School is focused towards visualization based learning of science and technology topics targeting the 15+ age group. Some of the courses they currently offer are on Astronomy, Robotics, AeroModelling etc. 
For each topic they collect a comprehensive set of text, videos, graphics and structure it like a proper course. At the end the each course you can opt to take quizzes. They do not create the content but only aggregate it in a structured manner. If you are passionate about a topic than this is sure a great beginning tool. All content is free for now.
Surround School is not meant as a substitute for regular academic studies but is an add-on learning…. We are currently working on an innovative visualisation tool and content delivery engine based on the principle of concept maps that is going to give learning a whole new dimension.
If content aggregation is their focus then they are doing a good job for now. But if e-learning is all about making the process of learning more interactive/intuitive/non-boring then they should certainly work on their UI.
Do you think e-learning is a platform play or is it about content?
Do give Surround School a spin and let us know your views!
Also see: The Khan Academy – Changing the way Education is Delivered
[Naman is a startup enthusiast and has worked with couple of Indian startups as Product Manager. He writes at The Inspire Blog]
Am curious to know what their business model is. From their website it looks like it might me customized solutions for schools but am not sure what that customization might be.
“Schools and Institutions: Please email or call us for a proposal to get a customized solution for your school. “
they also already have ads and http://www.surroundschool.com/partners.php looks like a paid listing for kit and equipment providers.
Agree. It has a terrible interface.
I like Scratch. Good programming learning tool for kids…you can even call it intuitive thinking guide.
I donno why people think of platform for education…we already have platforms and they are called Universities.
Khan acadamy is a fantastic initiative…why people can’t think of 10-member Khan academy than looking platform and then eco-system.
Learning never works like that. You need manual interaction…you can’t just create YouTube and people will learn.
That is my humble opinion.
I can’t access the website of surround school.
I have always liked these “online education” projects especially when they do this for free and aggregate content from various sources. This gives people who can not afford a university degree due to money and time constraints a chance at enhancing their skills.
MIT, Yale, Harward like universities have already opened their courseware to general public, and websites like academicearth.org, nalandau.com are aggregating this content and structuring it to provide easy access.
You can not replace regular university education, but not everybody has time or money for it. some people just want to focus one single skill and learn it from the comfort of their home.
Surround School has relaunched itself in a new avatar. Instead of offering the course content as we used to previously we have created a visualisation tool and deilvery engine that allows “teachers” to create their own course outlines. They can then attach digital learning objects from open source repositories on the web (Wikipedia, YouTube, Khan Academy, TED conferences, MIT OCW) or their own repositories.
BTW, the comments here are a nice study in contrast. Both views are correct in their own way. Why do we need an online platform when we have universities? Because everyone does not have access to schools let alone universities. On the other hand they may not have access to the Internet either. Either way, improving delivery channels for education, both in terms of reach and quality is a long journey for us in India and these are but baby steps.
About our business model: the primary goal is to create a social impact and generate sufficient revenue to make it a self-sustaining initiative through online ads and premium content partnerships. No 10x valuations in a few years and no VC funding, unless it’s with a social cause.