Crayonpedia

There three main problems we addressed:

1. Inequality in education where good education is a privilege for students of the top or elite schools 

2. Obstacles in the dissemination of knowledge to the non-connected areas

3. Incoherent software currently used for schools' distance learning preventing effective digital transformation

We design and implement the following solutions:

1. Building "Join School" system where quality lectures from select instructors can be accessed by common schools or students from rural areas. This way the gap between top/elite schools and the disadvantage ones can be minimized. 

2. Providing solutions to bridge connected and non connected areas by combining Disruptive Technology and Broadcasting Technology while empowering local TVs/Radios.

3. Providing solutions to distance learning problems with a single platform that integrates all digital learning features (streaming, vicon, on demand, social function, communication). 

The solution can help flattening education in the developing world.

Indonesia as the largest archipelago country in the world with more than 17,000 islands is facing education inequalities along wealth, linguistic and geographical lines. This has been exacerbated due to the ongoing pandemic. The digital learning technology has not been able to effectively solve the problem due to high number of internet non-users (more than 40% of population). The number accounts for those without internet connection, with internet connection but without gadgets, or within connected region and having gadgets but lack of internet voucher. 

In the first 3-6 months since established in July 2020, we have run a pilot program at KCD (Education District) no 13 in West Java province with more than 10,000 students. This is currently being scaled up to reach 400K students by the end of the year. The target is to help 20M students by the 5 year. 

We applied our integrated distance learning platform as part of supporting school's digital transformation. Meanwhile we successfully  implemented "Join School" program to close the gap between top and common school. Also we combined broadcasting technology to reach students in the non-connected areas. The overall setting is described in the following figure. 

Our mission is to provide integrated education platform enabling teachers and students to enjoy learning experience. Our innovative solution seamlessly combines digital learning features (streaming, vicon , video on-demand, social function, communication, project, exam) to fully support the school’s digital transformation. 

With our award winning technology, learners can access high quality materials within their finger tips anywhere and anytime. Crayonpedia’s solution can be readily enhanced by local Radio/TV broadcast to cover non connected areas thus supporting the vision of education for all. 

The interface of our platform can be distinguished into two parts: teaching and learning platforms. Their functionalities are illustrated in the following figure. 

We are focused on helping students in rural areas with low communication infrastructure or part of internet non-users (which is account for more than 40% of population). These include but are not limited to those living in remote islands, secluded mountains or areas without internet access. 

These students are underserved even before the pandemic era. Our solution helps them access quality education material through "Join School" program where they can learn from select instructors otherwise inaccessible. In the Join School program, lectures from leading teachers are streamed to many schools who are members of the program. For students from non-connected areas, they can still follow the lectures by listening to the broadcast version via the local radio. 

At present there exist no solution to enable distance learning program for non-connected areas in Indonesia. Our solution help increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments. The open and collaborative characteristic of our digital platform enables peer interaction including group project between students and peer teaching or collaborative teaching between teachers. The video on demand feature also enables the guided independent work. 

Our solution also enables access to quality learning experiences in low-connectivity settings. When bandwidth is limited, our platform can be set to only transmit audio and text. 

Currently we have an established platform and business model that have been successfully implemented in Education District No 13 in West Java province. The B2B model of our solution provides a platform for schools to support its digital transformation efficiently & effectively with a specific price (cost) agreement which is per student per month. There are more than 15K students currently use the platform for their distance education. 

The road map of solution development and deployment in the communities is described in the following figure

Our innovative solution covers all areas with various degrees of connectivity. Firstly, for well connected area, the users can benefit from all of our platform solutions (video conference, streaming & on demand - video, audio, doc). Secondly, for low connectivity area, they can opt to only use audio & doc and our compression solution. Thirdly, for non-connected area, they can use analog radio & TV solution. 

Currently serving: 15.000 students

Target until the end of this year : 400.000 students

Target in next 5 years : 20 million students

We are focused on two primary items in the UN Sustainable Development Goals: quality education and reduced inequality. We measure our success by the number of students we can assist in the digital transformation program. Also we measure the percentage of students from rural or non-connected areas from the total number of students in our program as indicator for how effectively we address the problem of the inequality in education in Indonesia. 

Full time employees: 20 people

Support employee from strategic partner: 40 people

Our Founder & Co-Founder have an extensive experience in many relevant industries including education sector. Overall our team members have different skills that complement each other. The president and co-founder of Crayonpedia was educated at MIT and has experience in working in one of its lab spin-off companies in early 2000s. 

The bird eye view of our core team member background is given in the following page. 

We build our team based on shared values of excellence, integrity, and mutual respect. Our team members are committed in creating impact to our society and promoting equity, openness and inclusive community. We select and screen our employees based on professionalism without regards to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

We strengthen our R&D with open innovation approach in which we actively build partnership with small and large companies. We also make alliances with university research center and relevant professional communities.

One of our current barriers is lack of funding support for business scale up. Through Solve Global Challenge Program we are seeking mutually beneficial partnership to support our dream in creating impact to democratization in learning in Indonesia and globally. 

Along the way, we hope to get connected through the program with an appropriate network of investors to overcome our financial barrier. 

Dr Justin Reich 

Director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab and assistant professor in Comparative Media Studies/Writing.

Dr Reich's research helps find the educational models that incorporate technology in ways that actually will increase quality of education and equity for students. This will amplify the impact of Crayonpedia's solution in creating equitable classrooms for underserved population globally. 

Our innovative solution is based on the latest technologies relevant to digital learning. With the help of AI for Humanity Prize, our team can advance our solution to create more active, engaged, inquiry-based collaborative learning. 

Our innovative solution is based on the latest technologies relevant to digital learning. With the help of AI for Humanity Prize, our team can advance our solution to create more active, engaged, inquiry-based collaborative learning.