{"id":6161,"date":"2016-07-21T12:30:57","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T10:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/OEB_Newsportal\/?p=6161"},"modified":"2017-06-13T17:45:47","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T15:45:47","slug":"new-ideas-driving-the-global-edtech-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/oeb-insights\/new-ideas-driving-the-global-edtech-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"New ideas driving the global edtech boom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Virtual<\/a>By the OEB News Team<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Innovative start-ups, technological advancements and the demand for additional skills continue to fuel the growth of the global edtech industry. According to a whitepaper by Ambient Insight<\/a>, investments in learning and technology companies hit record-breaking levels in 2015, spiking at $US6.54 billion, a significant increase from $US2.42 billion\u00a0the previous year, and $US1.64 billion\u00a0in 2013.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In December 2015, six fledgling companies riding this wave of growth took part in OEB, the global, cross-sector conference on technology supported learning and training.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Exhibiting in the dedicated OEB Startup Lounge, as part of the extensive OEB exhibition of international and established service providers, and taking part in a grueling pitching session, each of the six had the opportunity to promote their unique solutions and test out their ideas on a discerning audience of international digital education experts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NoteBowl, USA<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NoteBowl<\/a>, the \u201cnext-generation social learning platform\u201d for university students, professors and administrators is like a Facebook for academia. Launched by former University of Arizona students Andrew Chaifetz and Alex Slaughter\u00a0soon after graduation, the pair was driven by the aim to make university life more efficient by bringing it online.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Using NoteBowl, you can create friend lists, organise groups, send private messages, and read the latest student and faculty news on the virtual bulletin board. Students can access course catalogues and planners; professors can create online quizzes and broadcast lectures with live Q&A.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe social interaction and engagement on NoteBowl is completely unique,\u201d Chaifetz says. \u201cBeing able to have organic and natural conversations online while sharing resources, videos, posts or comments makes for a wonderful social learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to CrunchBase<\/a>, NoteBowl has received $US 900,000 in equity funding to date. Chaifetz says the vision for the year ahead is to further develop functionality for course management and grow the platform beyond the classroom to create campus communities. \u201cWe are also looking forward to expanding into the international market and creating partnerships along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

H5P, Norway <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Described as \u201cnot your average WordPress plugin\u201d, H5P<\/a> breaks down accessibility barriers to enable rich content like interactive videos, presentations, quizzes, timelines, and more to be easily created, shared, and reused.<\/p>\n

An example given by edtech blog GoOpen<\/a> explains how a group of educators from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were able to take an interactive OER timeline it had created, translate it into Amharic, and share it with their community. H5P is supported by a variety of existing content and learning management systems such as Drupal, WordPress, and Moodle, which made it possible to import the content straight to their existing site and edit it as necessary.<\/p>\n

With its innovative approach to sharing and embedding rich HTML5 content, H5P is paving the way for a new era in the world of OER.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Potential.ly, UK<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Potential.ly<\/a> creates personality tests that take users on \u201ca journey of self-discovery.\u201d According to its makers, if individuals understand themselves better, they\u2019re more able to \u201cunlock their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea came from the platform\u2019s founder, Norbert Morawetz, a digital entrepreneur and lecturer at the Henley Business School, UK. In his teaching role, when working with students to improve their employability skills, he realised that they often lacked self-awareness, especially in regard to their strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n

After experimenting with different solutions, the \u201cpsychometric engine\u201d was borne. The free fifteen-minute personality test not only benefits individuals, but helps companies understand their talent and improve team performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are championing insight and collaboration because we believe understanding is the cornerstone of individual growth and good teamwork is the cornerstone of successful working environments,\u201d the company says.<\/p>\n

In 2014, the concept caught the attention of Telefonica and became part of its accelerator programme Wayra<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Potential.ly\u2019s Co-Founder Trevor Bezzina said taking part in OEB provided an opportunity for the company to gain extra exposure. \u201cIt was a great outlet for our start-up; it allowed us to present our solution to all sorts of people, including educators, providers and suppliers.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Revisely, The Netherlands<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Revisely<\/a> is an online correction tool that makes grading writing tasks faster and more efficient. When students upload writing assignments to Revisely, it makes comments, corrections, and suggestions before the text is sent to the teacher for additional notes. Grammar and spelling mistakes are already marked by Revisely, so the grading time for teachers is cut in half.<\/p>\n

The feedback students receive is clear, legible and transparent. And as the whole process takes place on the same digital platform, teachers have access to a collection of the students\u2019 work and can easily track an individual\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In June 2014, Revisely won access to incubator UtrechtInc<\/a>, which included \u20ac68,000 (approx. $US 74,000) growth capital.\u00a0And in December 2014, it was awarded \u20ac100,000 (approx. $US 109,000) financing by European accelerator Impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Quizzer\u00ae, Germany <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With Quizzer\u00ae,<\/a> Mobile Learning Labs GmbH makes corporate e-learning fun. In addition to providing a mobile platform for companies to post Q&As, explain concepts, and link to further information, employees can train their knowledge using the Leitner System<\/a> or play games against their colleagues. It creates a friendly, competitive environment that motivates employees to learn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe quizzes are created by the companies through an easy-to-use\u00a0web-based administration, imported from other systems or even suggested by the users through the Quizzer\u00ae App,\u201d says \u00a0CEO Christian Kiefer.<\/p>\n

In 2008, Kiefer won the Deutschen E-Learning Innovations- und Nachwuchs-Award (the junior German e-learning innovation award) for the Quizzer\u00ae concept. But things really started to take shape with the support of Mobile Learning Labs GmbH, which Kiefer launched together with Dietmar Kiefer, Stefan Havenstein and Michael Schmitt in February 2015.<\/p>\n

Currently Quizzer\u00ae is being tested by several large companies. Kiefer says, \u201cThe feedback is very positive and we are discussing the details for further cooperation after the pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AltusForge, Switzerland<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Altus Forge<\/a> designs and builds gamified platforms and serious games. The company says its \u201csolutions are recognised because they bend reality and are fun to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altus Forge recently launched the educational tool Elever<\/a>, which maximises student engagement with interactive games. Teachers can curate the app\u2019s content so it uses course material. The quizzes and games run parallel with what\u2019s being taught in class, providing an entertaining way for students to study.<\/p>\n

Elever also includes performance statistics for students and teachers to identify areas that need extra attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the OEB News Team   Innovative start-ups, technological advancements and the demand for additional skills continue to fuel the growth of the global edtech industry. According to a whitepaper by Ambient Insight, investments in learning and technology companies hit record-breaking levels in 2015, spiking at $US6.54 billion, a significant increase from $US2.42 billion\u00a0the previous […]<\/p>\n

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