MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

SkoolDesk

One-line solution summary:

intuitive virtual tutor

Pitch your solution.

SkoolDesk is an e-learning platform that is available online and offline through a mobile, web, and desktop application. The platform has learning materials that are interactive, fun, and engaging for various class levels. Using an A.I.-based virtual tutor that can answer student questions, combining both aspects of a traditional and modern learning virtual environment. A robust analytics engine enables parents and teachers to track student performance at the subject and topic levels e.g. English >> (Comprehension, Grammar, Graphic Stimulus, Reading, Writing) Math >> (Algebra, Arithmetic, Calculus)
Once the solution is scaled it can improve learning outcomes of children globally ensuring every child can fulfill and attain their maximum potential.

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

In 1950, the average adult in a developing country had about 2 years of schooling. By 2010, that had more than tripled, to more than 7 years of schooling. But the quality is so poor that children aren’t learning and overall levels of literacy and numeracy remain desperately low. According to

one recent study of literacy in 51 developing countries, about 50% of women who reached Grade 6 left school unable to read a single, basic sentence. Few developing countries participate in the large cross-national assessments of learning outcomes that are routinely carried out in the world’s richest countries, but in those that do the inequality of learning outcomes between
children from different countries is shocking.

For example, in Zambia, just 2% of 15 year old schoolchildren achieve minimum proficiency in mathematics, compared to 77% in OECD countries, while in Senegal, just 9% achieve minimum proficiency in reading, compared to 80% in OECD countries. In short, getting out-of-school children into education is vital, but just pushing on access isn’t enough; this is what the World Bank has dubbed ‘the global learning crisis’.

Low literacy levels on the African continent are stopping Africa from realizing its full potential.

What is your solution?

SkoolDesk is an online learning platform that helps kids improve their learning outcomes in English, Maths, and Science through a combination of practice tests with automatic feedback, interactive learning materials that include games, puzzles, audio, video, and a robust analytics engine that identifies strengths and weaknesses at subject and topic level for each learner. The self-paced nature of the platform builds students' confidence as they can study without fear of being judged. Interactive learning materials are fun and engaging helping children to understand better. The real-time analytics reports help parents and teachers to identify and provide remedial help without waiting for the end-of-term reports. Teachers can spend less time marking paper-based scripts which enables them to concentrate on their core activities.

A virtual tutor that can answer questions using machine learning and artificial intelligence has been developed.

The platform has been developed with accessibility in mind to ensure users with visual and hearing disabilities are not left behind.

An Offline and a light weight version is available for users in low resource settings. The platform is multi lingual ensuring that it can be used by schools and students where English is not the main language of instruction.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

The solution serves students at Pre - primary, Primary and secondary levels whoose age range is 3-18. For marginalized children, the learning crisis is even more severe. One-half of the pre-primary school-aged population live in conflict-affected states; however, humanitarian aid investments in pre-primary are meager.

For the more than 93 million children with disabilities globally, learning

outcomes are even lower, as they are less likely to go to school and have accessible learning resources.

COVID-19 has further exacerbated the crisis, as millions more children worldwide have missed out on early childhood education (ECE) due to the closure of childcare and early education facilities. Sustainable Development Goal 4.2 aims to ensure all girls and boys have access to quality ECE as a

foundation for primary education. However, investment in pre-primary education is declining globally. Current ECE spending in low-income countries provides only 11 percent of the resources needed.

According to the World Bank, fewer than half of the world’s school-aged children are learning to read on grade level or gaining basic numeracy

skills. Since more than 85 percent of a child’s brain is already developed by age 6, investing in high-quality pre-primary education may be an effective way of addressing the learning crisis. Early learning opportunities can have a significant impact on children’s school readiness, the foundational academic and non-academic skills essential for supporting grade-level learning.
While the evidence on the importance of early learning opportunities is compelling, 175 million boys and girls globally are not enrolled in pre-primary education during these vital years of their lives. In low-income countries, nearly 8 in 10 children – 78 percent – are missing out on this
opportunity.

Technologists tend to build systems for academics, thus integrating several levels of functionality which is geared towards the teachers rather than the learner. In addition, they are not familiar with Human Computer Interaction heuristics and usability measurements. Intuition and experience have proved poor guides for design.A narrowed instructional teaching style and design is not efficient anymore for Neomillennial Learning as the following tenents are essential for systems design:

 Co-design by involvement of all stakeholders in the process of design (cross-disciplinarity);

 User-Centred Design (the learner as a user)

 Learner-Centred Design (the user as a learner)

 The learner as a consumer

 A socio-technical design

 Freedom and flexibility for creativity and imagination.

Using human centred design principles we engage users very early in the product development stage to ensure

(a) early focus on the users and tasks

(b) empirical measurement for evaluation

(c) iterative design

(d) integrated design.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Enable access to quality learning experiences in low-connectivity settings—including imaginative play, collaborative projects, and hands-on experiments.

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.

The platform was developed before the covid 19 pandemic however there was limited understanding of the benefits of e-learning. School closures and disruptions have forced schools to take another look at e-learning as an alternative method of instruction.
Schools have faced several challenges due to a lack of qualified personnel and teachers who understand the technology and how to deploy robust e-learning systems. As a result, schools have taken a liaise faire attitude adopting tools such as WhatsApp and others which are not suitable for delivering effective learning.
Our platform solves the above challenges.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Entebbe, Uganda

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth.

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.

The platform is already developed and is being used by more than 100 schools nationwide with more than 50,000 users.

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Cavin Mugarura