K-12Plus App

Current Pain

There are 260 million children globally not enrolled in elementary or secondary education. A lack of educational resources, COVID-19, pregnancy, climate change, starvation, distance to school, natural disasters, menstruation, and violence have all caused children to not enroll or drop out of school. Millions more who are in school are deprived of quality education. Without immediate action, in a decade, 825 million children, half of the world's youth, would lack the most fundamental skills required for future employment.

Disabilities

There are 240 million children living with disabilities in the world today. The majority of them are out of school. Many are invisible, hidden by their families, and abandoned by their governments. All children have the right to reach their full potential, regardless of ability. Throughout Africa, less than 10% of children with a disability are in primary education. In some countries, only 13% receive any form of education. Being disabled doubles the chance of never enrolling in school due to accessibility, inadequate teacher training and support, inflexible curriculum and materials, and poor policies and plans. Education can help children with disabilities get increased access to employment, health, and other services, and develop a better awareness of their rights.

Education System

The current K–12 education system is antiquated, and few will argue that it requires a major overhaul; it does not prepare children for "21st Century Technology Literacy," and it lacks automation technologies that reduce paperwork and minimize human intervention, enabling teachers to devote more time to learners.

Schools lack essential technological tools to merge education with technology, making it difficult to maintain learners' interests and attention long enough to adequately teach new topics. Due to a dearth of efficient K-12 EdTech, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on schools. Learners must have a basic understanding of computers since computers are the future of all industries and today's occupations necessitate the use of computers to execute daily tasks. These are the most serious challenges, as perceived by both teachers and learners:

       1. Educational Technologies

Schools lack educational software that makes learning simple and enjoyable. The vast majority of e-learning platforms on the market are incompatible with K-12 education, and their user interfaces are sluggish and complicated, eventually throwing teachers and learners off. Nowadays, children are tech-savvy, and they lose their learning curiosity when traditional teaching methods are employed solely.

       2. Internet

Online learning remains ineffective due to the internet's not yet being a human right, and most e-learning applications are scaled down due to a dearth of internet connectivity. The available K-12 apps require high bandwidth and a constant internet connection to function. Governments bear a significant financial burden in providing internet access to all learners, particularly in rural and remote areas where access is patchy, if available at all.

       3. Financial Crises

Budget cuts have caused havoc on schools in recent years. Less funding means fewer teachers, fewer resources, and poor educational services. A number of schools encourage learners to purchase their own textbooks, and there are occasions when a textbook is shared by more than four learners and there is no lab equipment for experiments. Teaching becomes challenging when you don't have the necessary tools. Schools' inability to provide learners with contemporary textbooks results in a lack of knowledge of some of the world's most significant advancements and inventions.

       4. Manual Processes

Schools lack results-based monitoring tools and are clogged with paperwork. Educators struggle to monitor learners’ academic performance, weaknesses, attendance, discipline, and other school activities. Assessing learners is challenging for teachers.  

       5. Communication

Educators, parents, learners, and school administrators desire a platform that enables effective communication and collaboration. Learners' academic performance in school must be automatically communicated to their parents. Through communication between home and school, teachers can gain a better understanding of learners' weaknesses and allow them to be edified more effectively. Academic success rises when parents are involved in their child's education. Parents may not have time to visit their children's schools when it comes to parental participation in their children's education. It is critical to adopt effective tools to enhance parental involvement by enabling them to virtually visit their children’s schools.

Demo

An educational application software with artificial intelligence at its heart that delivers asynchronous and synchronous K-12 education via teaching bots and automates pedagogical tasks, school administration, and management to deliver high-quality universal K-12 education globally.

Children nowadays are well-versed in technology. To solve the global education crisis and unleash the potential of the next generation, the K-12Plus App employs the following technologies:

1. Offline-first

The app is completely independent of the internet. It does not require constant internet to function and syncs properly on a 0.5 Mbps connection. Educational resources are accessible offline and designed to replicate face-to-face educational settings; the main difference is that education takes place on computers, tablets, and phones. The K-12Plus App is designed exclusively for K-12 education, and features an intuitive, dynamic, and engaging user interface, making learning more fun and entertaining.

Offline-first benefits

• Learners don’t need an internet connection to learn.
• Complete tasks offline.
• The app runs smoothly (fast loading).

2. Teacher Bot

Teaching bots are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to virtually replicate teachers and deliver asynchronous education. Learners interact with teaching bots in real-time using text and voice commands, making learning as engaging as possible. They simplify education by assisting learners through their schoolwork since they possess inexhaustible knowledge. Teacher bots are conversant with learners' learning styles, preferences, ideal learning speeds, and what they've previously learned and mastered; moreover, they recommend what to learn to attain academic success. With teaching bots, learning is no longer limited to time, place, and pace.

Teacher Bot Benefits

• Available 24/7, making education more convenient.
• Depending on the learners' learning preferences, a teaching bot can be male or female, young or elderly, fun or serious. Teaching bots are always available, never on strike or ill, never sleeping or eating, never irritated or furious, and infinitely patient, understanding, and enthusiastic.
• Education happens in any language of choice.

3. Counseling Bot

A counseling bot is an AI-powered virtual bot that utilizes a webcam or camera to read facial and body language, as well as voice and text commands, to help psychotherapeutically counsel teachers, learners, parents, and the community with social and psychological problems and challenges. Educators and learners are under a great deal of mental pressure, which has an impact on productivity and impedes school performance.

Counseling bot benefits

•  No fear of being judged.
• There are no fees for consultations.
• Available 24/7.

4. Inclusive Learning Tools

The app incorporates voice recognition to enable disabled learners to control the app entirely by voice. Documents, tests, and exams can be dictated without spelling mistakes, and the need to extensively use the keyboard and mouse is significantly reduced. The app includes text-to-speech reading out aloud text that appears on the screen, immensely beneficial to the visually impaired and reading impaired, allowing them to listen to e-books in their preferred voice and accent, improving pronunciation and comprehension.

Inclusive learning benefits

•  Reads multiple languages.
• Helps kids to read.
• True comprehension, linguistic accuracy to read out correctly.

5. Virtual Reality and Argument Reality Integration

Learners grasp abstract concepts and gain hands-on experience in low-risk virtual settings. VR/AR enhances STEM subjects, medical simulations, arts and humanities materials, and technical education.

VR/AR benefits

• Learners comprehend complex phenomena more efficiently.
• Provides learners with more flexible and interesting learning environments.
• Increase willingness and motivation to learn.

6. Digital Library

The digital library provides free offline access to curriculum, fiction, and non-fiction e-books. It's a "global library" accessible across political, economic, and geographic borders. The library replicates printed books and is available 24/7, which is an extension of the physical library.

Digital library benefits

• Digital books do not deteriorate and can be easily updated. 
• e-books link to external resources.
• Free access to e-books.

7. Virtual Lab

The virtual lab is a three-dimensional immersive simulation that enables learners to perform laboratory experiments and comprehend concepts and theories without having to enter an actual lab. The virtual lab incorporates cutting-edge simulation technologies that enable learners to manipulate experiments in the same manner they would in a real-life lab. Due to expense or scarcity, virtual laboratories aid learners who do not have access to laboratories or equipment.

Virtual lab benefits

• Conduct experiments that are difficult to emulate in real laboratories due to safety concerns.
• Increased learning concentration by conducting all experiments in a virtual setting.
• Encourage learners to pursue a greater understanding of science.

8. Edutainment

Edutainment gamifies K-12 education through entertaining and engaging games. Educational games are an excellent way to learn the basics of a topic. Teachers can instantly assign a game that meets a certain educational goal or satisfies a learner’s quest for knowledge. Edutainment encourages learners to learn on their own. Learners are rewarded with coins to play more fun games after completing a task or quiz successfully. 

Edutainment benefits

• Enhances learning curiosity.
• Improves independent learning for learners of all ages.
• Enhances motivation, engagement, and concentration, giving the best of both worlds to learners.

9. Communication Tools

To communicate and exchange digital educational resources, schools utilize built-in communication technologies including video and audio calls, chat, virtual meetings, chatbots, and bulk SMS, enabling educators, learners, parents, stakeholders, and the community to interact at any time, bringing everyone closer together.

Communication tools benefits

• Bridges the communication gap between home and school.
• Encourages parental involvement in their child's education.
• Seamless communication from far-flung locales.

10. School Automation

The app simplifies and automates school processes, including assessment, grading, monitoring, reporting, school administration, and management. Automating these tasks shifts the responsibilities of teachers and allows them to spend less time on routine tasks and more time with their learners.

School automation benefits

• Helps organization.
• Saves educators’ time.
• Increased productivity.

11. Document Management (School Drive)

A document management tool offers intelligent and automated document storing, tracking, organizing, securing, capturing, digitizing, tagging, approving, and version control. Document management organizes and categorizes school documents, making them easy to find, edit, and share. It manages and minimizes the massive volumes of paper generated by a K-12 school, as well as saves space by removing the need to file papers.

Document management benefits

• Easier document retrieval.
• Better collaboration.
• Better backup and disaster recovery.

12. Statistics

The statistics tool gathers data within the app and displays it in charts and graphs for quick data analysis and visualization. Educators utilize charts and graphs to assess the progress of schools, teachers, and learners across the country at any time of the year, assisting in the planning and identification of which schools, teachers, or learners are struggling and in which areas they require assistance in order to achieve exceptional results. Educators must spend more time analyzing data than collecting it, allowing them to implement solutions faster.

Statistics benefits

•  Improved analysis of data.
• Statistics aid in efficient and effective planning.
• Bulk data is presented in a clear and precise manner.

13. K-12 Job Board

The job board connects job seekers with job openings in the K–12 education profession. Job postings, online applications, and automated proactive applicant screening are all handled by the job board, eliminating human intervention and streamlining the application and recruiting processes in the K-12 education sector. Applicants, particularly those under the age of 40, prefer to communicate through a keyboard rather than a pen and paper.

K-12 Job board benefits

• Easier application tracking.
• Less corruption or bias in the recruitment process.
• Notifications of new job openings and applying anytime, anywhere.

14. Parents portal

The parent portal enhances parental awareness and updates parents on their children's academic progress. As a result, bridging the communication gap between home and school.

Parent portal benefits

• Schoolwork: Parents can easily find out what school activities are assigned to their children and assist them.
• Results: The portal provides parents with detailed information on their child's academic performance.
• Attendance: An overview of the child's school attendance. Parents see how many days their child has been absent from school.

15. Find a school

Find a school enables schools to advertise available learner space at their school. This makes it easy for learners to find schooling space and obtain an education, as it’s their fundamental human right.

 Find a school benefits

• Find a schooling space near you.
• Save time and money by not having to travel to school.
• Receive notifications when a learning space becomes available.

VISION

To connect K-12 schools globally to collaborate and share educational resources.

MISSION

To provide free access to high-quality universal K-12 education.

The K-12Plus App targets a global audience of over 3 billion people, including children, teachers, and communities.

Children

Public school learners, minority/marginalized children, and children with special needs face challenges in accessing quality education.

 These challenges include:

• Ineffective inclusive education.
• Educational resources are scarce.
• There is indeed a paucity of effective K-12 educational apps.

The K-12Plus app is here to radically overhaul the K-12 education system by providing universal quality education utilizing teaching bots since they possess inexhaustible knowledge to provide asynchronous learning. The digital library provides free offline access to K-12 curriculum e-books, including audiobooks, videos, and grammatical tools to aid learning. The app does not discriminate and incorporates voice recognition to enable disabled children to control the app entirely by voice. The built-in text-to-speech feature reads aloud text that appears on the screen, which is extremely useful for the visually impaired and reading impaired, allowing them to listen to e-books in their preferred voice and accent, improving pronunciation and comprehension.

Teachers

Teaching has gotten more challenging, and the success rate of learners has dropped dramatically.

Common challenges faced by teachers today:

• Excessive paperwork and extended working hours.
• Inadequate technological tools to merge education with technology.
• Teachers are technologically inept.
• Parental involvement in their child's schooling is non-existent.

The app simplifies and automates school tasks, including assessment, grading, monitoring, reporting, school administration, and management, allowing teachers to devote more time to learners. The app integrates virtual and augmented reality to enable learners to grasp abstract concepts and gain hands-on experience in a virtual environment. The virtual lab incorporates cutting-edge simulation technologies that enable learners to manipulate experiments in the same manner they would in a real-life lab.

Mental health

The app includes a therapy bot for teachers, learners, and communities at large that are dealing with psychological and social issues on a regular basis, to help them overcome psychological and social obstacles.

Computing Skills

We live in a digital era. Computers play a significant role in our daily lives. Our dependence on computers is increasing. With the aid of a computer, we can shop from anywhere on the globe. Nearly every job now necessitates a basic grasp of computers, and many positions demand intermediate-to-advanced computer abilities.

The K-12Plus App offers a self-study International Computer Driving License (ICDL), an internationally recognized certification for computer literacy skills. The ICDL certificate validates that the bearer (learners, educators, parents, and communities) has a rudimentary understanding of information technology and is capable of using a computer and common computer applications at a recognized level of proficiency. The International Certificate of Digital Literacy (ICDL) should be adopted as the digital literacy standard for teachers.

 ICDL Benefits

• Improve ICT knowledge and skills.
• Lays the foundation for ICT courses at a higher level.
• Internationally recognized.

Founding Story

In 2012, a friend referred Loide to Paulus since she was experiencing issues with her laptop, and Paulus was the best tech guy on campus, fixing all types of software and hardware issues. Since then, Loide and Paulus became friends and have been brainstorming on possible business ventures. In 2016, Loide and Paulus concluded the education crisis is worth solving. Loide pursued a diploma in education while Paulus was researching high-tech as the only solution. In 2018, the K-12Plus App was born.

Loide Dawid (CEO & Founder) 

Paulus Indongo (CTO & Founder) 

Community story

In 2015, we founded an IT-based corporation with a focus on innovation while delivering IT-related services and solutions. In 2016, we received requests from over 40 schools in our community to develop the following system:

“The district schools are aiming for an intuitive web-based system to capture learners, teachers, and school results for the purpose of analyzing performance, monitoring and recommending improvement, monitoring progress, and reporting. We are interested in implementing a performance-based system based on monitored results as deliverables and benchmarking those against defined goals through a convenient system.” It went off without a hitch.

"The district schools are aiming for an intuitive web-based system to capture learners, teachers, and school results for the purpose of analyzing performance, monitoring and recommending improvement, monitoring progress, and reporting. We are interested in implementing a performance-based system based on monitored results as deliverables and benchmarking those against defined goals through a convenient system. It went off without a hitch."

Prototype Reviews

We have presented the K-12Plus App prototype to over 10 thousand "target audience" stakeholders, teachers, learners, and members of the public, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. All forms of feedback are gathered. This well-organized and useful input is reviewed and used to develop the app further. Based on the accumulated feedback, the review team discusses suggested changes and inputs to be incorporated into the app. Those changes are then implemented and again tested, and communities are invited for testing and reviews.

Communities' requests and inputs

Know your rights bot: Communities and learners requested a platform to learn about their fundamental human rights, stay informed, and support human rights directly on their mobile devices. Read and see videos, learn about rights, and share information with friends and family. Therefore, they are better equipped to assert their civil, political, social, and economic rights. This feature will enable communities to receive the latest human rights updates and make them aware of human rights violations taking place in their communities and the injustices that some people face in their daily lives. The bot is designed to make people aware of human rights opinions and policies. This feature is being designed, and we have engaged our government of the Republic of Namibia. After completion, it will go through the testing process, and communities will be engaged for reviews.

Job board for teachers: Teachers have requested a job board platform that connects job seekers with job openings in the K-12 education profession. Job postings, online applications, and automated proactive applicant screening are all streamlined by the job board, thus eliminating corruption in the recruitment processes and enabling easier application tracking, notification of new job openings, and applying anytime, anywhere. This module has been developed and most current and future job seekers in the education sector have proposed an immediate launch due to current paper processes taking time, money, and corruption in the recruitment processes.

School admission online application: Parents requested a platform that enables them to apply for their child’s school admission remotely. Sometimes learning spaces are scarce, so schools will be able to advertise available learner spaces at their school. This feature will enable learners to find a schooling space near them, saving them time and money by not having to travel to schools and enabling them to receive notifications when a learning space becomes available. This makes it easy for learners to find schooling space and obtain an education, as it’s their fundamental human right. The admission feature is incorporated into the app and is under testing before community reviews. 

Below is a breakdown of the comments and likes we've received from the target demographic based on the app's features:

App Feature: Teacher Bot

• Top Comment: “Here comes the future, education happening infinitely, WOW”
• Likes: 1059

 App Feature: Counselling Bot

• Top comment: “Millions of people are struggling with mental health issues and can't afford to see a specialist”
• Likes: 777 

App Feature: Live Classroom

• Top comment: “Decreased bullying at school”
• Likes: 1799

App Feature: Digital Library

• Top comment: “We can’t afford textbooks, so this is a lifesaver.”
• Likes: 2000

 App Feature: Virtual Lab AR/VR

• Top comment: “Increased learning concentration by conducting all experiments in a virtual setting”
• Likes: 509

 App Feature: School Automate

• Top comment: “Less paperwork and reliability”
• Likes: 743

 App Feature: Edutainment

• Top comment: “Enhances learning curiosity”
• Likes: 799

 App Feature: Communication

• Top comment: “Bridges the communication gap between home and school”
• Likes: 643

 App Feature: Inventory Management

• Top comment: “Superlative tracking of school assets”
• Likes: 947

 App Feature: School Drive (Document Management System)

• Top comment: “better backup and disaster recovery”
• Likes: 834

 App Feature: ICDL (International Computer Driving License)

• Top comment: “Improve ICT knowledge and skills”
• Likes: 1043

 Our Team

We are a heterogeneous team comprised of four core members with a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We embrace these distinctions because they help to foster creativity and innovation. At K-12 EdTech, we strive to be the best place to work for and employ thousands of individuals who share our passion globally.

Our intent in applying to MiT Solve is to connect, collaborate, partner, and reach out to other EduTech organizations (Solvers) and initiatives in the education sector with similar goals or that are serving similar populations. MiT Solve presents us with a tremendous opportunity to develop valuable partnerships that will increase our capacities and be a great recipe for our organizational growth. Participating in the MiT Solve program will provide us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to broaden our skill sets, get expertise in a range of functional areas, and take on a significant degree of responsibility, thus enabling us to serve our existing and target populations. Let us work together to address the global education crisis and make the world a better place to live.

Our aim is to achieve the following throughout the program:

• Mentorship
• Network with potential investors and stakeholders.
• Product validation in various regions.

Financial support

Financial support plays a bigger role in the success of the K-12Plus App. Here is a breakdown of the utilization of monetary support. 

• App Development: Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
• Testing: All the modules are brought together into a special testing environment, then checked for errors, bugs, and interoperability.
• Deployment and Hosting: This is the final stage of initial development, where the app is put into production and runs actual business.
• Marketing: social media, Google Ads, demo videos.

 The following are the technical talents that we hope to add to our team:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things IoT
• Cybersecurity
• Data Engineering
• Programming “Python, Java, Swift”

Offline-first

The K-12Plus App functions without an internet connection to deliver asynchronous and synchronous education and complete school automation. In areas with poor connectivity, such as the countryside or areas with limited WiFi access, the app is completely functional.

Google Classroom is our biggest rival. Below is a comparison of how the K12Plus App stands out:

Chatbots

They work as learners’ assistants round the clock to provide answers to their queries at any time. So, they don’t have to wait to see the teacher in the classroom. Traditionally, learners only get solutions to their problems when they meet with their teachers and have the chance to ask them questions in the classroom. Thankfully, they will not have to wait that long anymore.

Task automation

The app automates the most mundane of tasks, including administrative work, grading papers, assessing learning patterns, replying to general questions, and more. Teachers spend 31% of their time planning lessons, grading tests, and doing administrative work. Automating manual processes leaves more time to focus on teaching core competencies.

• Smart content creation: The app helps teachers create smart content that makes teaching and learning more comfortable for them and the learners, respectively. 
• Updates to learning content: Learning content is generated and updated regularly. This ensures that information is up-to-date.

Teaching the teacher

Since the app is AI-powered, teachers have access to a wealth of information at their fingertips. This allows them to stay up-to-date on topics they didn't know about before or enhance their previous knowledge. They will be more well-rounded and have a deeper and broader knowledge base to share with 21st-century learners.

Inclusive Learning Tools

The app incorporates voice recognition to enable disabled learners to control the app entirely by voice. Documents, tests, and exams can be dictated without spelling mistakes, and the need to extensively use the keyboard and mouse is significantly reduced. The app includes text-to-speech reading out aloud text that appears on the screen, immensely beneficial to the visually impaired and reading impaired, allowing them to listen to e-books in their preferred voice and accent, improving pronunciation and comprehension.

Teaching Bot

Teaching bots provide a variety of purposes in K-12 education; they complete all of the teacher’s repetitive tasks, educate in different languages, and have inexhaustible knowledge to guide learners through their schoolwork, making education simple and enjoyable. Teacher bots are conversant with their learners' learning styles, preferences, and ideal learning speeds, as well as what they've previously learned and mastered; moreover, they recommend what to learn in order to attain exceptional results. Teaching bots are lifelong learning companions that accompany and support learners throughout their education in and beyond school. Depending on the learners' learning preferences, a teaching bot can be male or female, young or elderly, fun or serious. Teacher bots are always available, never on strike or ill, never sleeping or eating, never irritated or furious, and infinitely patient, understanding, and enthusiastic.

Counselling Bot

A counseling bot utilizes a webcam or camera to interpret facial and body language, as well as voice and text commands, to aid teachers, learners, parents, and the community with psychological and social problems and challenges. Educators are under a great deal of mental pressure, which affects their productivity and hinders school performance.

Digitalizing K-12 Education

The K12Plus App digitalizes K-12 education so learners don’t have to search for education; digital learning is delivered directly to them via computers, tablets, mobile phones, and e-readers.

Path: Learning is no longer restricted to the pedagogy used by the teacher. Teacher bots, a digital library, virtual labs, and educational games allow learners to learn in their own style, making learning personal and engaging.

Time: Learning is no longer limited to the hours of the school day or the calendar of the school year. The app gives learners the ability to learn anytime.

Place: Learning is no longer limited to the confines of the classroom. Learners may now learn anywhere and at any time thanks to the App.

Pace: Learning is no longer restricted to the pace of an entire classroom of learners. The availability of resources allows learners to learn at their own pace, spending more or less time on lessons or subjects to achieve the same level of learning.

In the next five years, we aspire to make an impact on a global population of 3 billion by:

• Make digital tools for inclusive learning available.
• Provide access to free educational resources.
• Enhance the quality of learning and teaching.
• Meet the learning style or needs of learners.
• Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of education.
• Improve user accessibility and time flexibility to engage learners in the learning process.
• Provide free computing skills to learners and communities.

The steps to accomplishing our impact goals

1. Clear, measurable objectives

 Collect and match all the associated departments' objectives with the project's goals. Although each department is likely to have its own set of goals, aligning these objectives is typically a very strategic exercise. Finance, for example, may aim for very precise goals in terms of investment, return on investment, training program savings, and so on. The IT department may set goals for how it uses its resources, how it uses its equipment, how it meets safety regulations, how much it spends on licensing, how it designs its technology, and how much bandwidth it consumes.

2. Plan of Execution

• Plan for the architecture of the server and database.
• Monitoring of server resources.
• Types of software to be installed and their versions.
• Plan for server upkeep.
• Plan for recovery in the event of a disaster.
• Plan for safety and contingency.
• Plan for Infrastructure Scaling.
• Bandwidth on the server and between nodes.
• Plan for end-user support.

 3. Team Leaders

Project manager: in charge of ensuring that the plan is implemented on schedule and within the agreed-upon resources and scope.

Technical team: collaborating with the IT team to determine what resources would be needed to install the program is crucial. The IT team is in charge of hardware and software preparation, as well as system integration, software safety, scalability, and bandwidth difficulties.

4. Quality Control Procedures

Teams must follow the set performance measures outlined in the requirements sheet, and quantifiable indicators must be monitored on a regular basis to assess and encourage responsibility. Additionally, each individual should have a clearly defined position, as well as duties and quality standards for output.

5. Guidelines for Risk Management

Nothing ever goes as planned or expected with technological initiatives, especially the first time they are implemented. As a result, in the face of possible risks at any stage throughout the software deployment process, having a risk monitoring, control, and management strategy is critical.

6. Strategy for Communication and Promotion

Although this is the be-all and end-all app, learners, educators, and communities will not necessarily come. Our strategy for spreading the word about the K-12Plus App is as follows:

• Leveraging social media channels, forums, and discussion boards to encourage excitement about the app.
• Games in which users are rewarded for completing a task or activity.

Our 12–24-month roadmap

Measuring progress is an important component of defining a successful goal since it allows you to prioritize activities and estimate how long each one will take. Here we outline the actions taken to successfully measure our progress.

 1. Long-term and short-term objectives

We decided what we wanted to achieve and what kind of result we wanted. We effectively evaluated and assessed the existing state of a component of the company's improvement strategy. Then, in relation to that information, define a specific aim. For example, we want to reach 3 billion users. The marketing team creates short-and long-term goals for attracting 3 billion end-users, such as launching an ad campaign that targets the desired demographic.

2. Setting deadlines

Setting a deadline for long-term goals might help fine-tune the technique for completing short-term projects. To make a complete plan, we write down each stage of the process, as well as the amount of time we intend to spend on each phase. We go over the procedures for anticipating difficulties and planning remedies. This aids in the development of time management skills, which may make meeting deadlines simpler. We've created a schedule by keeping track of when and how we'll finish each assignment. This allows us to analyze and enhance the strategies employed to perform activities that can aid in the achievement of long-term objectives.

3. Setting milestones

A milestone is a small accomplishment that tracks progress toward a larger objective. Milestones can help us concentrate by allowing us to visualize each phase of the plan and provide a sense of success when we reach them. We pick a modest objective, such as completing a task by a certain date or completing a collection of chores by a certain time, to create an effective milestone.

 4. Turning goals into SMART goals

Creating specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Identify if your goals are measurable. Establishing a timeline can help us determine how many tasks to complete. This helps us set realistic deadlines and update unrealistic ones. Determining whether goals are achievable can also help identify whether it's necessary to gain additional skills.

5. Document and review progress

Documenting progress is a good way to track your development. Keeping track of our general objectives, tasks, milestones, and deadlines then, using a calendar or planner to document our progress by ticking off activities as they are completed and milestones as they are reached, we can keep track of our progress. Our planner's data helps us figure out if we need to change our timeline or add a new activity.

We measure our progress with the help of a KPI software solution that automates the tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) and displays them in an easy-to-understand dashboard. This enables us to establish, manage, display, and evaluate KPIs to see how they compare to targets, strategic goals, and objectives.

We use the Scoro KPI dashboard to gather, group, organize, and visualize the company's key indicators. It gives a rapid snapshot of the company's performance, wellbeing, and future prospects. We can obtain success indicators in real-time and make educated decisions that help us achieve our long-term goals by using KPI dashboards.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) Virtual Reality, and Argument Reality (VR/AR) are the key drivers of the K-12Plus App. These technologies power and optimize both learning and teaching, helping the education sector evolve to better benefit learners, teachers, and communities alike. 

We believe that diverse thoughts, perspectives, and experiences can make each team member a value-add to our company. But we also know that we have a lot of work to do to attract, retain, and engage talent from diverse backgrounds. This is how we improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace to achieve our short-term and long-term goals.

1. Reveal relevant opportunities

Gaining awareness of the types of diversity within and across teams, and the context in which diversity, equity, and inclusion play out for individuals and the company as a whole.

2. Elevate equity

We express motivation, as well as acknowledge any barriers to countering inequity; set clear goals toward greater equity, and then take action. They signal a commitment that becomes the foundation of the company's diversity and inclusion efforts.

3. Activate diversity

We recognize and engage differences within the employee and customer base. It equips managers and teams to explore the impact of diversity on perspectives, assumptions, and approaches and identify ways to enhance the contributions of all.

4. Lead inclusively

As leaders, we use tools, resources, and support as they improve our ability to identify and mitigate bias, respect differences, build empathetic relationships, foster allyship, manage conflict, and bring out the best in others.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are beneficial to our employees’ mental health, but it also has downstream impacts that are good for business.

Meet our management team

1. Dawid Loide

• Gender: Female
• Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Result-oriented Chief Executive Officer with more than 6 years of experience leading and expanding businesses. Loide is focused on transforming how the company operates to take advantage of new growth opportunities created by digital transformation. She oversaw market acceleration, including development operations for the company's technology portfolio and strategic acquisitions, at Xylo Technologies, where she headed a team of more than 20 engineers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance Management and a post-graduate Diploma in Education from, the International University of Management.

2. Paulus Indongo

• Gender: Male
• Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Paulus is a Chief Technology Officer with over 8 years of technical experience and is a creative and strategic thinker. Paulus develops strong leadership and effective interdepartmental communication to effectively meet or exceed all project timelines and budgetary goals. Paulus is well-versed in artificial intelligence, virtual and argumentative reality, and IoT. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Digital Communication Technology Honours, from the International University of Management.

3. Winny Munekamba

• Gender: Female
• Project manager

Winny is a descendant of the zemba tribe, a marginalized indigenous group. A project manager with more than 7+ years of expertise in managing all stages of the project lifecycle, from inception through monitoring and completion, to execute projects on time and on budget. With a background in sales, marketing, and advertising, Winny is a driven project manager. Her specialties include marketing analysis, forecasting, and customer requirement assessments. She is a well-resourced and well-organized woman with a proven track record of leadership and team-building. She holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Namibia.

 4. Juuso Kadhila

• Gender: Male
• Software Engineer

Software engineer with 6+ years of experience who has demonstrated the ability to adapt in both self-starting and collaborative contexts while maintaining focus on delivering high-quality outcomes within tight deadlines. From customer demands, he established and managed wireframe designs. Juuso excels in all phases of the software development life cycle, including design, coding, debugging, testing, and maintenance. He is an expert in developing innovative and tailored solutions to help businesses achieve their objectives across a wide range of industries. He possesses advanced programming skills and knowledge, as well as a strong background in mathematics, algorithms, and data-processing logic. Juuso holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems from the International University of Management. 

We've earned money by reselling computer gear and software to schools, giving IT-related services to governments. Applying for financial support to global challenges such as MIT Solve, and Cisco Global Challenge, etc.

Freemium Business Model

The K-12Plus App is based on a freemium business model, with schools paying as little as $27 a month to use it. The app is freely available to learners, parents, and communities. This means that people on a daily income of less than $5 PPP or $2 PPP will be able to access the application for free.

Our plan to attain financial sustainability

1. Access to capital

It takes money to make money, and we need it to successfully run a business. Typically, we need ongoing working capital to maintain our day-to-day operations and investment capital to support growth.

2. Profitability

Our profitability has been too low, and it has had a negative impact on our cash flow and increased stress throughout the company. Low profits leave no room for revenue or expense fluctuations and limit our ability to reinvest, which ultimately compromises our financial sustainability.

3. Reporting

Taking the time to assess the staffing business is critical to healthy, sustained growth. Creating a plan to review finances on a regular basis allows us to adjust in time to reverse a negative trend or capture a unique positive opportunity.

4. Planning

"If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else." – Yogi Berra

It can be surprisingly easy to stray from your set path to sustainable growth if you do not have a personal business plan to keep you on course. Financial planning should be flexible enough to allow for market changes and unexpected opportunities, but strong enough to keep us from veering into dangerous, unsustainable territory.

Action Steps

Our long-term financial health action steps

• Review current and future capital needs to determine how to address our anticipated growth.
• Analyze and work to balance profitability.
• Evaluate and understand the purchase processes of customers and key prospects.

We took out a bank loan and have been self-sufficient ever since. We haven't been able to acquire any financing thus far because we simply started fundraising this year. Our application to Flipmax Fast in collaboration with Microsoft was accepted, coming with access to funding through Venture Capital.