A simple problem that needed a solution: A lightbulb moment.
More than 15 years ago a team of young and smart researchers at University of Turku embarked on a journey that would lead them to discover a better way to teach and learn. They observed many failed attempts at applying digital tools to education. A key finding was that available tools did not substantially help teachers with their core tasks of giving feedback, checking tests and marking exams.
Without constant positive feedback, student motivation was low.
The research team decided to see if they could design a way to check assignments and mark tests and exams automatically. They also decided that this must be done in a way that fits existing teacher workflows, and help teachers spend more of their valuable time interacting with students. After all, they were teachers themselves and they wanted a tool they could use, too.
Very quickly they realised that the only way is to make students want to do their classwork through digital means. This approach would have potential to address the student motivation challenge as well.
Happy teachers + motivated students = a winning combination
On a mission
The PhD research team was now on a mission to fulfil this vision. They delved into the science of digital learning, feedback and how a maintained motivation makes learning naturally autonomous. The team also studied researched various attempts at gamification and neurology of concentration.
This research unearthed an “elephant in the room”: We still use the same traditional methods that do not leverage existing digital tools at all. The team decided that they can do better.
After absorbing computer science expertise the team set out to create software to deliver these new learning models, respond to 21st century pedagogical requirements and boost motivation for children to want to learn more. This was in 2005, when e-learning was only an futuristic vision.
Digital learning brings a motivation disruption
An Even Greater Realisation
After finishing the first version of their software they offered it for select primary schools in Finland. It was a runaway success from day one. Teacher’s and students liked it, and very quickly the researchers found it brought a large improvement to learning results.
The team started to iterate quickly to improve the software based on user feedback. They offered it to more and more Finnish schools and conducted dozens of scientific research studies of its impact. To date the team has published more than 70 papers, and over time they have garnered the interest of international pedagogical science community as well.
The team became aware of the full implications and potential of their system when they visited India to present some of their research results. One morning, on the way to one of the village schools, they saw a 10-year old Indian boy toiling in a rice paddy. They thought to themselves, “That poor boy can’t go to school because he needs to work to feed his family.” The team then knew that they wanted to help every child on the planet to have an opportunity to learn and become the best they can.
From this realisation arose Eduten Ltd. Eduten develops the technology and bringing its benefits everywhere. Eduten Playground offers the chance for children everywhere to reach their academic potential through a scalable and motivational digital learning path.
Helping teachers help students
The Story Continues…
Together with the university Eduten provides Eduten Playground for more than 50,000 students in Finnish schools. We also welcome research collaboration with international schools and universities. So far Eduten Playground has been used in India, UAE, Lithuania, Hong Kong, Sweden, UK, USA and Australia.
The research team continues their work at the Center for Learning Analytics at the University of Turku. A current research focus is to apply AI and machine learning algorithms to our data set of more than quarter of a billion completed student tasks to improve Eduten Playground even further.
Eduten is a Finnish edtech company with the mission to help students reach their academic potential.
Eduten Playground has started to spread across the globe and we can’t wait to see where it will take us next! Will you join us on our journey to discover the future of learning?