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1. Solution name
2. One line Summary:
3. What specific problem you are solving?
4. Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
5. Which dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address?
6. A video of your elevator pitch of min 30 sec and max 2 min. Share the link in your post here.

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How to Write an Elevator Pitch with Examples (Airbnb, WeWork, Slack)

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EMQ TOOL written submission

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Video Pitch

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Solution name
NTPCKY
(Pronounced "nitpicky")

One-line solution summary
With NTPCKY, secondary school students won’t have teachers they hate anymore, because they now have the power to choose their own teachers (from anywhere in the world) for their online lessons — and be rewarded with cryptocurrency every time they get good grades for a test or exam.

What specific problem are you solving?
There are several problems that would be solved with this solution:

1. Inconsistent engagement levels of learners in remote, hybrid and physical environments.
Every secondary school student has a different learning style, so there's no one-size-fits-all teaching style that works on everyone — especially for kids with learning disabilities. When students have the ability to choose any teacher in the world according to their own needs and preferences for their online classes, they'll definitely be more interested in studying because of this personalized approach.

2. Lack of visibility and collaborative opportunities for parents in most teaching environments.
My previous experience as an English teacher in a secondary school has taught me that a lot of parents actually want to see what happens in the classroom. Few have also  expressed interest in the desire to contribiute to lessons, especially when they're subject matter experts — like bankers (for Math), journalists (for English), etc. NTPCK would allow parents to see which teachers their children are  choosing and also help their kids select them as well — whether they're in the office, at home or out of  the country.

3. The boredom of being stuck with the same classmates for a year/years.
By picking different teachers, students won't always end up in the same virtual classrooms, keeping things fresh and exciting. It also allows for an opportunity for students to meet and work together  with other students for assignments, as well as an opportunity to escape from "bullies" in the same class.

What is your solution?
Imagine if Tinder, MasterClass and Lolli had a baby. NTPCKY is an app that uses AI, machine learning, big data and blockchain to:

Allow secondary school students (who are learning remotely) to learn subjects by watching interactive videos of teachers from all over the world — like MasterClass.

Let students (or even their parents) swipe right or left on teachers based on their expertise, what subjects they teach, qualifications, teaching styles, traits, personalities, ratings, etc — like an educational version of Tinder.

Reward students who get an A or B in their assignments, tests or exams, with cryptocurrency  — like Lolli — that they can invest, trade or spend on anything they want. Teachers who are ranked highly will also be rewarded.

Reassign students to teachers that might be a better match for them after getting Cs and below after 2 attempts.

Make it easy for teachers to create polished interactive videos  and slides (like Canva) so that they can focus on lesson planning. Most marking will also be done by AI.

Show and allow parents to view  the same virtual lessons their kids have seen, while including comments and tips on what could  be done better in the future — opening up communication.

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

1. Students
NTPCKY puts the power of choice in the hands of secondary school students and makes learning fun in a completely personalised way. It will allow students to tap onto the brilliant minds of teachers all over the world, to find someone who truly resonates with them and makes complicated concepts easy and digestible. It also keeps things fresh during a pandemic, when students are bored and missing their classmates.

2. Teachers
NTPCKY gives teachers the advantage of truly focusing on educating young minds. Instead of worrying about controlling a class, performing live when they're not  feeling 100%, marking, etc — they can record or create virtual lessons, assignments, tests or exams at their own time.

3. Parents
NTPCKY empowers parents by letting them see what their kids are taught. This provides more visibility and ownership when it comes to their children's learning.

Which dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address?
I believe that NTPCKY ultimately makes learning fun for every student — which is incredibly hard to do in a normal school setting. This idea reinvents what school  and education looks like,  while increasing engagement of learners anywhere.

Personally, I am someone who enjoys attending on-campus sessions, and some former students I spoke to said the same thing. What was interesting was that we all didn't like going to school because it was necessarily better for our learning, but because we like interacting with our friends.

I believe this issue  can  be tackled easily. When schools everywhere reopen, students can choose to go to school remotely, or in physical environments. However, "learning" would happen virtually. After classes that cover "theoretical" aspects of  the subject, students can have on-campus learning experiences that include hands-on experiments or imaginative play.

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SOLUTION NAME: JamUP

One line solution summary:
To provide a safe and collaborative learning environment to young learners aged between 5 years old to 12 years old in Sri Lanka - using a hybrid model using an app (with online and offline features) and the local village/town community network.

What specific problem you are solving?
During the Covid 19 period, Sri Lanka went into lockdown. In order to curb the spread, the Sri Lankan government has ordered schools to be closed.  Based on Sri Lankan Government Statistics, there were 10,165 functioning government schools and some 4, 061,653 students of various ages being affected.  Although the schools subsequently adopted online learning, there were still many children who were unable to take up online learning due to (1) lack of resources such as laptop, mobile devices and (2) WIFI is limited and expensive. This especially impacted majority of the lower and poor income families. The key JTBD is for the learners to be able to continue with their main education curriculum so that they can successfully complete their primary school education syllabus.

What this solution hopes to achieve is to create a local community where different players such as village associations, retired school teachers and etc can participate to help learners continue with learning through an app (offline and online)

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

Learners from 5 years to 12 years  - Able to access learning
Retired teacher community - Allow retired teachers to continue gainful employment and/or meaningful interactions with young children
Local families - Allow families with support and resources to enable their children to learn
Village Associations - Allow community network to include and tap on resources from partners (retired teacher community, volunteers) and young learners.

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

The solution most closely addresses the following:
a) Enhance learners’ engagement whether they are in remote, hybrid and physical environments
b) Enable direct access to quality learning experiences in low-connectivity settings through a series of guided activities suitable for the different age groups.
c) Provide an avenue for online mental and physical health; direct trigger to local authorities for support (if necessary) with the local community as "eyes" and "ears"

(*jamup.com.sg is not real!)

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A learning platform that draws on the power of community and incentivising both the learner and the mentor. WeightWatchers meet ClassDojo.

What specific problem you are solving?

How might we help teachers and long-distance parents, engage and motivate learners outside the classroom?

Children in rural areas are often raised by their grandparents while their parents find work in the city or overseas. Their learning is often limited to what is available within a classroom of 40 or more children and at this time of the pandemic, only via sheets of assignments or homework.

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

I took the point of view of Gonzales, a 13 year-old student based in islands of Philippines who is unable to attend classes because schools are closed, and given stacks of assignments by their school and teacher. Gonzales' parents are divorced and her mother is working in Singapore as a helper. She is raised by her 67 year old grandmother.

There are a few challenges for Gonzales to continue her learning.

1. No access to guidance - someone who could guide her learning and explain the concepts to solve her assignments

2. Lack of motivation - she does not see the point of completing her assignment and it feels daunting since it is a thick stack of paper

Even during pre-covid times, the odds of her learning are stacked against her as she is one out of 40 children in the class to 1 teacher. Outside of the classroom there is almost no other form of formal education or learning.

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

Increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments, including strategies and tools for parental support, peer interaction, and guided independent work.

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One line Summary:
Shine is a platform that helps students discover their strengths, not their weaknesses, and allows them to engage in study that is rewarding and enjoyable, guiding them to careers that are fulfilling and successful.
3. What specific problem you are solving?  Standardised testing of students, which began in the 1800's, is very prevalent today and is used to assess students and teachers performance. Highlighting individual weaknesses can stigmatise students and lead to disengagement from study. Teachers may try to raise average test scores by memorization and teaching to the test. This is not conducive to critical thinking, creativity and collaboration, skills that are needed for the 21st Century.  Shine unlocks and promotes students talents. It  encourages engagement in specific subjects and promotes learning with confidence and collaboration with like minded students.
4. Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives? Shine helps students aged 13-18 identify what they are really good at and  how to develop and nurture these talents.  It makes them aware of opportunities and careers where their talents will be appreciated and they can shine.  Gallup Consulting Services research claims that individuals who focus on being less well-rounded but more on developing their strengths are 6 x as likely to be engaged in their jobs and 3 x as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.
5. Which dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address?
Shine helps students discover their best selves, it gives them confidence they can achieve.  This leads to engagement in study, a sense of worth and purpose, allowing students the freedom to collaborate, be creative and nurture critical thinking.  It is intended to help students in remote, hybrid and physical environments.  It is a platform that seeks to open a world of opportunity to those less privileged, whether inner cities or in poorer low-connectivity settings. Many students from disadvantaged backgrounds are not aware of the opportunities the world offers and how to follow the right path to success..  Shine will help teachers change their pedagogy to focus on talents rather than uniformity of results, it will allow students to excel at what they are truly good at.

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A school digital community clubs that engage students on various activities outside the classroom such as sport, music, art or stage performance.

What specific problem you are solving?

How might we continue student engagements on the activities that’s beyond just the classroom while they are studying remotely?

There are many platforms out there that provide online learning experiences, but not many that support the communities and activities. School communities such as sports teams, music bands, and stage performances are a big part of the school experience that should not be stopped by the remote learning situation.

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

I took the point of view of Sam, a 12 year old, single child who lives with busy working parents who are constantly in meetings even when they work from home. As a 12 year old, Sam has a lot of energy and time. He is or used to be in a school music band and because of the pandemic, his band has to stop. He is getting depressed because he has more free time at home but not getting to spend time practising with the band like he used to. He also missed being part of the communities and spending time with friends.

This platform will help him get back with the band, friends and community. And enable him to spend his free time practising music, and reduce the chances of him getting depressed. Sam knows that he needs to practise and get better for the school performance.

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.

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Community Learners

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Alam - is knowing in Filipino.  Part of the word Kaalaman which is knowledge. Jollibee has a signature product called YUMBurger, the project name is a play on the burger variant and the idea of the program.

SUMMARY:
AlamBurger is an education-feeding program sponsored by Jollibee, the no. 1 fast food chain in the Philippines, through using their branches as centers for digital learning that will reward meals to street children who study the modules and the program can be sustained by purchased meals of paying customers.

PROBLEM:
This solves the literacy problem of homeless street children and giving them easy access to basic education wherever they may be.

SERVES:
2 entities are served.
First, the street children who have no access to education because they live in the streets, homeless, hungry and no money. The education gives them basic knowledge that can give them hope.  Alamburger also incentivizes the children to go to any Jollibee branch that has the digital device to learn and complete modules because they will be rewarded with meals. Street children usually hangs out outside Jollibee branches already bas they wait for scraps and when they beg from customers.  The program will just make the situation a winning situation for both Jollibee  and the children,
2 - Jollibee  can have Alamburger as a CSR project of the company and cement their image as truly the best fast food chain in the country. The offer of a meal may increase their profit/sales while it subsidizes the education program. The offer a meal will also increase the good image of Jollibee.

CHALLENGE DIMENSION:
This project will enable access to basic quality learning experiences,  imaginative play, collaborative projects, and hands-on experiments to a community with not only having no-connectivity settings—but those with no access to education at all. Philippines, being a third world country still has the basics as its problem.  Alamburger is a project that will  help Philippines progress into answering the basic needs as it also moves forward with digitization.

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=Class. An equal learning environment for Raspberry Pi

Is it fair that in a global pandemic, some students have access to top of the line high end computers, while others have to do distance learning on their parent’s phone? Or that they struggle with emotional issues from home based learning? Currently, parents have to support their kids all the time, parents who may have their own challenges working from home – or even have difficulties earning a living.?

=Class is a digital and hybrid classroom platform that levels the field, gives students support throughout the studies, looks out for the child’s physical and mental health and helps teachers giving the kids the best possible education, even from home.

=Class will supply a Raspberry PI system, fully equipped with a camera, keyboard and mouse – and is preinstalled with =Class at less than $100. It can be hooked up to any HDMI screen, like a TV or a cheap monitor.

The =Class software has everything Zoom offers, but since it’s custom made for education, it has special features:

·      Integrated activity and exercise tools that allows teachers to give work and homework – all solved in the same platform. They can be collaborative or independent exercises.

·      An algorithm that assesses video-feeds in real time to discover when children are struggling, need a break or getting cyber bullied.

·      A time bar that counts down to next recess

·      A help function that allows the student to ask questions in private

·      Automatic recess sessions where kids can interact with their friends. No one will be left behind.

·      An “I need a video break” button, that allows students to turn off the video for up to a minute or two. The screen will count down until video is turned back on

We will create a homebased learning computer class for older students, that can assemble and install the platform for their younger school mates.

= Class is cheap, flexible, and purpose built for learning. Everyone will get the learning and help they need – and teachers can teach without worrying about the students not participating or feeling left out.

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Using an array of microphones, accelerometer, GPS, speakers and cameras (from mobile phone/ custom built devices), study buddy provides functionalities like voice AI using national language process and generation to help provide human-like interactions.

Emotional analysis – picking up surrounding chatter like arguments/ fights/ emotional distress to assess learner’s situation

Psychological support – by triaging situation based on emotional analysis – it can provide support/ advise/ therapy on less serious cases, with urgent cases like abuse, violence and bullying by transmitting those details automatically to professionals

Interactivity with the device – ask questions, receive recommendations or thought process instead of answers.

Collaboration – facilitate conversations with nearby classmates (using radio waves – walkie talkie “mesh”)

Learning support – accessing class calendar, study buddy reminds and prep student to be in the right mindset and away from distraction ahead of class.

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Platform  for Interactive Immersive Learning Legacy. - P.I.L.L

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Platform  for Interactive Immersive Learning Legacy. - P.I.L.L

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Enable immersive learning experience (Challenge)
-Mobile Vr Headset integration with smartphone / mobile devices.
-Vr headset allows the students / learners to immerse themselves in the subjects having the same experience of learning in actual environment.
Solving the issues of internet connectivity and addressing the concerns of students / learners who have low connectivity access.(Challenge)
-Digital platform that uses low band width allow the democratisation of access to the platform regardless of the connectivity , students still able to access the platform.(Solution)
Replicating  a real life experience of a real classroom environment(Challenge)
-Live chatbot allows students/learners can discuss , communicate  with each other realtime.

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One line Summary
Beyond the Books is a digital platform that allows students to collaborate and work on challenges to develop their soft skills.

What specific problem are you solving?

The lack of support and opportunities for growth beyond academic learning - with Covid-19, the school’s main priority will be to ensure that academic learning will proceed as per normal, but this might mean that extra academic activities and school events might be neglected. School events provide a lot of intangible growth to the students and should still be continued to build connections with other schoolmates, a sense of camaraderie and to develop leaders for the future.

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

Beyond the Books provides all students with the platform to host, organise and execute events based off the weekly challenges. Students will select from a range of varied challenges and self-organise to create a project pitch. The best pitches will be rewarded and executed for the school to participate in. Teachers will play supporting roles as mentors to guide students, and students will be able to cross-collaborate across different academic streams and potentially across varies schools.

Challenge topics can be aligned with school modules such as History or Literature, or they could revolve around other events, such as hosting a “Sports Day” for school students.

This allows students to continue to have a holistic development despite the limitations, to build friendships beyond their own classroom and to learn soft skills that can help them beyond as they progress as students and members of society. This gives students something more to be excited about for school, to encourage them to pursue their own interests and passions within the challenges.

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

My solution addresses the ENTIRE growth of a student in their schooling journey - not just focusing on their grades or the papers they study in class, but the many other skills that make great leaders and innovators in society. It is beneficial to support and grow the street smarts, to recognise their own set of talents and skills as they might not necessarily excel in an academic setting.

Additionally, Beyond The Books encourages...

- friendships beyond a classroom setting, to break barriers against being in different academic streams.
- hybrid learning between online and offline collaboration and communication.

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One line solution summary

A game-like platform that provides education to primary and secondary learners in a simulated virtual school environment that will increase their engagement in learning as they get incentivized with tokens by staying within the platform, completing quizzes, worksheets and providing mentor service.

What specific problem you are solving?

To onboard all primary and secondary learners to a platform that extends learning beyond physical classrooms. By integrating some gamification, learners acquire new knowledge at the same time staying engaged with fun and educational activities within Vschool.

In low connectivity environment:

Learners would have the option to download the videos, quizzes and worksheets in nearby places with better connectivity in order to work better in offline mode. They would upload their work upon completion and receive results upon their next download.

To help teachers with grading:

Teachers can make use of smart contract in the blockchain technology to write the exam questions in the blockchain with the correct answers and scoring parameters. Blockchain would then handle the grading upon students’ submissions and reward them with V tokens based on results accordingly.

To manage the massive amount of storage space:

Since the platform is going to handle a massive amount of data from videos, students’ submission, regularly updated contents and so on, VSchool will incorporate a decentralized file-storage system built on top of Filecoin for a better cost saving option and a better prevention to data loss as the storage is distributed.

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

Primary and secondary learners:
To receive learning beyond physical classroom environment. In a hybrid environment, learners may do solo/group activities in physical classrooms and then upload their work to share in Vschool. By constantly receiving new information through sharing will help learners to expand their knowledge and widen their perspectives. Secondary learners also develop leadership skills as they provide mentor services to other learners within the platform.

Parents:
Parents collaborate with their children to complete certain activities in Vschool to improve bonding. Parents will have access to the parents portal where they will get information on their child’s completed activities, overall performance and receive notifications from the teachers. This way, parents will be able to monitor their progress and help to improve on the areas that the child is not so good at.

Teachers:
Teachers will create tutorial videos, quizzes and worksheets for the learners and upload them into Vschool. All materials will be blockchained to ensure that only the user with their own private key can decrypt them. They will also provide online consultations or phonecalls to students who need their help.  Teachers will try their best to make Vschool a good reputable school to attract more students to enrol into the platform.

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

Increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments, including strategies and tools for parental support, peer interaction, and guided independent work by:

·       Integrating gamification features and rewarding users with tokens to increase engagement through a fun learning environment.

·       Sharing of work done in physical classrooms through uploading to Vschool and connecting with the remotees via video conferencing in a hybrid environment.

·       Using a parents portal to monitor child’s performance and progress.

·       Forming communities of common interests groups, doing group activities and through mentorship services to enhance peer interaction.

·       Teachers offering online consultation services to the students.

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1. Solution name:

Keep Me Safe mobile application.

2. One line Summary

An app that empowers children to seek help when they suffer from domestic violence and sexual abuse.

3. What specific problem you are solving?

The suspension of schools during the lockdowns in the pandemic times have escalated cases of child abuse.  Victims are forced to stay in the same households as their abusers.

Also, because of  children’s increased exposure to digital technology has given rise to technology-facilitated violence.  Children are groomed at the mercy of online sexual predators.

Victims often fear the repercussions of telling the truth of what happened to them.  In their mind, there is no way out of the bad situation for them.  Nothing’s worse than having to live with the abuser under the same roof or having to face the abuser on regular basis.

There is the sense of helplessness and not knowing who they could turn to.

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

Children.  I want to empower children and teens with the tool that they can use if they sense any danger or have suffered abuse.    This app will be their lifeline.

Parents. Parents are very good at telling their kids about stranger danger.  However, abusers are usually someone their children know.  Mainstream media hardly put a spotlight on child abuse.  This app will be a tool that facilitates parent-child conversation on sexuality and sexual abuse.

Keep Me Safe app - has the following features
- Direct access to help with press of the button
- Location tracing
- Tips on body safety skills. To learn about sexuality and sexual abuse.

5. Which dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address.

Ensure the physical safety and mental health of learners —for example, through tools for crisis support, reporting violence, and mitigating cyberbullying.

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One Line Summary
Pill3rs is an education platform that helps students (aged 12-16) develop key skills to thrive in the 21st century.

Specific Problem to Solve
Accessibility to good teachers and education, regardless of location
+ a more holistic view of education and growth - to better prepare students for the future

Who Does The Solution Serve + Impact

I chose the ages 12-16, because it's generally a time of change and vulnerability, when students might need extra focused support.

By being a digital only platform - it also allows us access to a wider pool of educators and gives them flexibility as well.

What Dimension of Challenge Does Solution Address?

It's primarily focused on increasing engagement of learners, although it touches on all of the dimensions listed - with considerations to accessibility, mental health, and personalised learning.

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One line Summary:   - A Social Emotional + Health Experiential Learning App for kids, with different learning needs (eg with ADHD, sensory processing disorder), in support of UN World Food Program feeding 73 million vulnerable school children.

What specific problem you are solving?   Create a better daily remote & physical learning environment, for kids with difficulties sustaining attention and focus, and create the space for them to flourish in a holistic manner .

JTBD include provide the tools and skills for optimising learning experience, reduce friction to learning, and reduce drop-out rates.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives? Students, Parents, Educators and UN World Food Program. Happy kid means a happier parent.

The users comprise:
1. Children (aged 6-12 years) who have difficulties sustaining attention and focus, with ADHD, or Sensory Processing Disorder, and their parents.
2. Educators who are faced with constant challenges on how to better design their Learning packages.
3. Adult Lifelong learners

We create a playful and interactive learning online environment with the tools and resources needed to support the students experiencing learning and attention issues, setting them up for success.

The (kid) individual is a whole person, and the solution will look into
1/ Health & Nutrition eg right nutritional meal plan
2/ Movement eg optimal physical activity
3/ Emotions eg storytelling, verbalisation techniques
4/ Mental Wellness eg tools for fidgeting.

(Pay it Forward) Prior to Covid, 1 in 2 or 388 million children receive a healthy and nutritious school meal everyday. Now with the disruption, the priority is to re-establish effective school feeding programs to feed 73million vulnerable children. With every subscription, we will match and fund the UN World Food Program, to expand the concept of education to address health and wellbeing and build back equitable health and nutrition for every schoolchild.

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

Most closely addresses increase engagement of learners in remote learning environments and enabler through proper nutrition for a better quality learning experience for those living in low-connectivity settings (assumption of rural areas)

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Gaming app with lesson plans and quizzes as challenges. Players create and build on avatars and own virtual homes. Create communities and neighbourhoods. Game currency that can be monetised into physical learning products eg. books, educational toys. Individual learning behaviours can be tracked to improve learning outcomes. Notifications to stakeholders ensures accountability for young and vulnerable learners .   Lessons and social activities can  be taken outside of the app though Virtual excursions, video meet rooms and chat rooms. Learning becomes play and blended learning methods keep things fresh and exciting.  Build and grow individuals and communities through play!

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One line solution summary
A curated education platform designed for the marginalised, where one accumulate points that will lead to scholarships in the future. It is interactive. It is purposeful.

Think of it as Leo Club’s ya-ya-kumbayah-like-minded-people spirit, meets disciple of Hell’s kitchen, combined with Masterclass – community edition. Masterclasses from people around your hood and within your larger community because we know relevance is key for students to keep at it. When a child see people from their own community thrive, the dream is a whole  lot more achievable.

What specific problem you are solving? Education inequalities is a systemic problem; minorities will always lose out - be it an African American in the US, or a teenager in rural areas of India.

Some scary facts:

Only 18% of African-American fourth-graders were proficient in reading and

only 19% scored as proficient in math

The number dips as they grow older  only 16 percent of African-American students proficient in reading and 13 percent proficient in math.

Source:  U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

YOUR HISTORY AND WHERE YOU COME FROM DOES NOT PREDICT YOUR FUTURE. Learning is lifelong and it should not discriminate. What the education system acknowledged, but fail to execute well is that everyone learn differently. A standard education system does not always work for everyone. And for students who are already marginalised, it repels more than it attracts.

What’s more is this group are also causing the govt. and economy billions annually in healthcare and in public welfare (for homeless and unemployment). There is a need to redirect investment to the future.

The JTBD is to make education more approachable and less intimidating by

1. Masking the academic rigour with ‘learning-by-doing’ (with like-minded friends),

2. Incentivising retention through gamification, and

3. Inspiring them via (varied) local mentorship programs

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

Students – flexibility to pick and match learning subjects with room to nurture (intrinsic skills), and room to explore (unearthing new interest). Gamification element keep them interested. Mentorship programs inspire them to dream bigger and to keep at it by breaking modules into bite-sizes.

Parents

Long-term: Incentivised to help and keep their children interested and work towards building a scholarship which will elevate the family’s finances.

Short-term incentive is to redeem groceries coupons with each completed subject his/her child complete.

Federal Government – Lower welfare cost in a long run, championing education for minorities  spending less taxpayer money, winning votes!

Corporate Companies and Sponsors - they get to vet out the best of the best through the system. Everything will be in blockchain – no way to fake the result. Investing in the future.

Mentors – contributing back to their society. These need not be academically sound or successful business owners. Mentors reflects everyday people and they could be a nurse to a reformed convict. There is nothing like learning through real life experience (of others).

HOW? A hybrid platform: Learning virtually through MINDTHEGAP platform, with one-on-one mentorship time and real-life-playtime with other students within the neighbourhood.

Smartphone penetration is the US is at 87%. We can work with Telco or corporate companies to donate credits/ data specifically to access MINDTHEGAP platform, giving every household assess to the education platform using their own devices.

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

It addresses 2 key dimension of the challenge, namely:

Increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments, including strategies and tools for parental support, peer interaction, and guided independent work.

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

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One line solution summary

An app that guides students with their homework and revisions through step-by-step instructions.

What specific problem you are solving?

When students face difficulties with their homework, they often have to turn to their friends, parents or tuition teachers to get help.

But what happens if their friends or parents are unable to help, or if they don’t have access to tuition?

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

Children from disadvantaged families receive less access to financial and social resources than their peers from other social economic status.

These gaps widen with each year, and their parents, who may be equally disadvantaged, struggle to understand their kids’ education needs and are unlikely to be able to provide them with access to expensive resources such as tuition.

If this persists, the children are likely to fall behind in their formal education, get discouraged and unable to enjoy their time in school.

This app will help provide students with clear explanations on how to navigate their homework.

Students just need to take a photo of the homework with the app, and the appropriate solution and step-by-step workings will be generated.

Essentially, it relieves the burden on less educated parents and provides an alternative to tuition teachers.

This hopefully levels the playing field between the haves and the have-nots, and reduces the gap between them.

In fact, this app will be useful to all students regardless of their family backgrounds.

To be financially viable and sustainable, the app will generate revenue from able-to-pay customers through a subscription model, in order to provide children from less privileged backgrounds with free access.

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

This solution will increase the engagement of the less privileged learners, to provide them with an easily accessible tool for independent work. More importantly, this will enable access to an equitable learning experience regardless of socio-economic class.

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LISTN (Learning Is Some times Non-verbal/Noiseless)

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LISTN (Learning Is Some times Non-verbal/Noiseless)

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One line solution summary
Closing the mobile and EdTech gap for students with disabilities - by creating a cluster of innovative assistive technologies on a single app.

What specific problem are you solving?
15 per cent of the world’s population, (an estimated one billion people) are persons with disabilities. There needs to be a shift across the entire mobile value chain - from how mobile services are  designed - to innovating with and for students with disabilities. LISTN does just that - with a set of assistive mobile solutions for  students who are 1.hearing impaired and 2. on the spectrum, who with adequate support can be integrated into regular classes.

What is your solution?
1. Tools for Hearing Impaired Students (with a focus on interoperability with Video Conferencing tools)
Against the backdrop of the pandemic,  the world’s reliance on internet to access critical information is greater than ever, and classrooms have had to go virtual. Where does that leave highly hearing impaired students? According to research, they've fallen through the gap - "having a disability can be a greater obstacle to education than being poor*."(www.un.org/disabilities)

To close that gap, the first assistive tool we're going to create is a plug-in that acts as a 'Google translate' (from sound to words) for all video conferencing platforms.

The tool will also automatically take notes and create a slide show of the call so the student can focus on learning the material instead of worrying if they missed anything important.

2. Self-Regulation Tools for kids on the Spectrum
Sensory overload, inability to deal with stress and process emotions resulting in a total meltdown is a state most of us will never experience, but is common for kids on the spectrum - due to sensory overload. Our second assistive solution will help identify signs of stress through a mobile tool that detects increased heart rate, faster breathing and increased body temperature. As soon as signs of stress are detected, the app will immediately lower the lights in the room, turn off the screen, and alert a parent or caregiver.

3. A Voice for Non-Verbal Students
In a virtual classroom situation - if the student is non-verbal - all they have to do is type words and the tool will 'voice' what they've typed.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Digital Inequality isn't just an issue of inaccessibility to tech, low connectivity, wealth, and geography. It's also about helping differently abled students who hide in plain sight.

1. By empowering learning through tech.

2. Creating more diverse classrooms and a culture of innovation.

3. Increasing the chances of differently abled students to be successful learners by enabling access.

Impact
Today, over one billion people need at least one form of assistive technology (AT), but around 90 per cent do not have  access to the AT they require. Mobile-based ATs, have the potential to be an easy to implement and cost-effective tool for students with disabilities.

To measure long-term impact -

We will need to determine what effectiveness "looks like". A framework we can use is GSMA's Principles for Digital Inclusion.*

Keep data on which tools have worked. Start small and scale up after analysing data to see what's working.

Involve parents and teachers, and create a feedback loop so they can share the impact of our tools both inside and outside 'classrooms' - virtual or physical.

In Conclusion
Over a decade ago, the US created a charter so that 'no child gets left behind.' The initial focus was to ensure that children from low income groups got the same opportunities as those from higher income groups. Somewhere along the way, children with disabilities got ignored and left behind.

It's time to change that, and with today's technologies it's easier than ever to implement that change.

LISTN  has the potential to become a tidal wave of inclusion if 'you' back it. Will you? I guess that depends on how well you've been "LISTN -ING".

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Short form of Alfred, from Old English Aelfraed meaning ‘elf’ and ‘counsel’ or ‘wise’

Chosen for its gender neutrality and the hope that the program can serve as a guide for children through their social-emotional development.

One Line Solution Summary
How might we allow children that are separated from in-classroom socialization to learn emotional identification and management skills?

To be able to both identify conflict and basic skills to manage it. To learn to differentiate emotions from behavior, that there are no wrong or bad emotions but there are bad behaviors.

Pitch your solution
The post-Covid world has society more fragmented and physically apart. There are emotional costs on adults who are now isolated from co-workers and team members alike. This is heightened with children who are at the early years of their social and emotional development. Children need to learn how to interact both with each other and with themselves. We believe that a cornerstone to successful adulthood starts with knowing how to relate to others and the self. Developing self-monitoring and social awareness to help children navigate the dynamic and changing world we live in.

What specific problem you are solving?
The lack of social skills building is missed when children cannot work with each other face to face. They miss physical cues, verbal tonality changes, and group dynamics that are crucial in the world, in school, and outside.

What is your solution
Using animated personifications to serve as neutral entities that inhibit different scenarios. This will help us keep racial and gender elements from play.

Games will be scenario-based that aim to simulate a range of common events and conflicts that might occur.
- Party Invitation (Inclusion, Aloneness, Isolation)
- Exam Results! (Grades, Judgement, Competence)
- Performing on stage (Discussion, Arguments, Conflict)
- Exploration : Journey to the Safari (Curiosity, Wonder, Joy, Learning)

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The target audience for this are children between the K-4 (ages 6-10, Elementary School)
Corresponding to developmental stages
5 and 6 years of age:

Social skills: giving praise and apologizing for unintentional mistakes.

7 and 8 years of age: Moral development furthers, and he learns more complex coping skills.

Social skills: Conflict management and sense of self when peers test their beliefs.

9 and 10 years of age: Increasing independent decision-making and a growing need for independence from family.

Social Skills:
Negotiation - Earning time for personal activities by doing chores at home.

Relating with adults - Caregiver praise and affection while setting up a reasonable boundaries. Allowing for independence and responsibility to other. This builds self-confidence and self-assurance.

Community Sense Ingroup vs outgroup mechanics (We vs I/Us) - Promoting supportive adult relationships and increasing opportunities to take part in positive community activities increases resilience.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Increasing engagement of learners in remote or hybrid environments. With an emphasis on holistic growth via emotional skilling in the service of mental health.

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One line solution summary

A unified learning platform that helps primary school students learn, interact and collaborate, by simplifying the way they access learning apps, to improve their home-based learning (HBL) or blended learning journeys.

What specific problem you are solving?

When HBL was implemented in Singapore in April 2020, primary school students and their parents grappled with the sudden change from their day-to-day learning. For most, it was a big pivot, and they were expected to know how to use the various learning apps, including Parents Gateway, the parents’ portal by MOE – all while juggling online work and submission of assignments.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives? SMART ALEC cuts through the clutter and provides a one-stop streamlined platform for our primary school students so they can focus on what truly matters – learning. Powered by an API that enables students and their parents to connect to the apps they’re already using, and machine learning to improve teacher efficiency with personalised content. With blended learning later in the year, this platform will further simplify how they learn, interact and collaborate with their peers and teachers.

Which dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address?
SMART ALEC is designed with the student in mind. While engagement of students is key, they are also able to access the platform for quality learning in low-connectivity settings or offline. Furthermore, we recognise parental engagement is significant to a student’s learning development and hence why parents can also access this platform. SMART ALEC also supports teachers by bringing pages from textbooks ‘come alive’ with AR and facilitates personalised instructions to students.

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One line summary:

A gamified, interactive and personalised fun-exercise platform that students (age 12-16) can use to move, dance, and keep fit. Think of it as a gamified Tik Tok but for exercise.

What specific problem are you solving?

Whenever an academic crisis strikes, the first lesson struck off the timetable is physical education. It has been argued that for students facing a digital screen so many hours a day, this sedentary lifestyle has stunted their physical development.

A new study found virtual education during the pandemic is linked with decreased physical activity and worsening emotional health for parents and their children: https://www.aappublications.org/news/2021/03/18/virtual-education-emotional-physical-health-031821

From the pandemic, the whole world is suffering what the NPR terms ‘the other Covid-19’ – the 19 pounds you’ve gain that you are struggling to lose. These experiences can be programmed for movement in a living room or movement via larger surrounding (park or trail)

Here are some possible jobs to be done:

1. Motivate people to move – instead of just sitting or facing the screen

2. Rediscover the joy in exercising - learning how to breathe, sweat a little and feeling good after

3. Having fun through movement in an age of loneliness and boredom

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

They mainly serve students aged 7 to 16 who are in one of the important stages of physical development ie puberty. However two other important groups that be included to join in the fun are teachers and parents. Such physical exercise will help with:

1. Physical and mental health

2. Social skills

3. Self-esteem and character development

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

Increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid and physical environments, including strategies and tools for parental support, peer interaction, and guided independent work.

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

Support teachers to adapt their pedagogy, facilitate personalised instruction, and communicate with students and their families in remote and hybrid settings.

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Rural School Pod - bringing classroom closer to you.

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Rural School Pod - bringing classroom closer to you.

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A quick to build, safe modular system that is equipped with a computer, satellite connection, solar panel and security features enabling children to access lessons digitally without the distance.

What specific problem are you solving?

How might we bring classrooms back to rural children during Covid-19 period when all the schools have stopped?

Accessibility and connectivity are the major challenges for children in rural areas even before Covid-19 started. Children need to travel a long distance for their learning and the pandemic makes it worse when schools stop abruptly - stopping learning altogether.

Rural School Pod is a space modular system. Easily assembled like a lego system, equipped with the necessary technology and equipment that enables children at appointed time to enter into the pod and attend preloaded video lessons and a short live class. Parents can also login to the system via school pods to see the progress of their children’s learning.

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

Very often, rural children neither have access to the internet nor their families have the ability to afford the necessary digital equipment. With school pods being built by charity organisations together with the local government in the villages, children will benefit from the allocated timings assigned to them for learning. The children's progress (such as homework submission, completed video or Zoom lessons) can then be updated into the main central education system.

What dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address?

Essentially, school pods are meant to be a mitigation during this period of pandemic as technology helps to bridge the gap on accessibility and connectivity without being limited by the distance or financial inequality. The teachers are still able to monitor the children’s learning through their login and guided lessons. Lessons are tailored by school teachers and preloaded to the school pods. School pods are powered by solar. Hence, there is no need for a power generator or electricity supply. Short live classes can still be arranged by appointed timings for all the students and their teacher to meet online to promote interaction and address problems beyond the classroom. Individual counselling session and Parent-Teacher-Meeting can also be arranged via the Rural School Pods.

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One line Summary: A gamified and personalised platform that allow teenagers to adults (anyone who is conversant with smartphones) to design and track the status of their mental wellness

What specific problem you are solving? Despite human beings entering 21st with the highest standard of living, humans are also entering a period where humans are faced with high rate of mental challenges.

Rather than being subjected to the peak and trough of emotions, how might we enable users to be aware and take ownership of their emotions, and understand that it is perfectly fine to accept the high and lows.

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

Tribe serves teenagers, young adults and adults. Through games and videos, the platform serves to strengthen the individual and community (tribe) mental well being.

1. Create their desired mental wellness achievements/targets
2. Keeps track of their wellness (positive physical wellness affects mental wellness positively, and the cycle perpetuates)
3. Realign of their mental wellness and goals
4. Seek Internal (friends & families) and External (platform & professional) support where required
5. Being an internal support where available.

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

1. Enhancing the mental well-being and resilience of city dwellers (main target groups) through mediation / awareness / physical wellness
2. Leveraging on digital means to bring back the community spirit
3. Initiate group purchase of products and classes with Vendors and Suppliers. Sports equipments / books / Gym classes. Bring better value to users of the platform

A video of your elevator pitch of min 30 sec and max 2 min. Share the link in your post here.

In progress.

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1. Solution name

Nexus

2. One line Summary:

Nexus connects under-resourced communities by delivering quality learning experiences through a combination of Bluetooth mesh-network technology and hands-on projects.

3. What specific problem you are solving?

COVID-19 did not create the digital divide, but it is highlighting existing inequities in the education system. Even in highly urbanised countries like the United States of America and Singapore, there exists pockets of under-resourced learners who are unable to get online and connected to the “education grid”.

However, being digitally connected risks students missing out on opportunities to cultivate feelings of social connection. Furthermore, going online exposes young students to other negative experiences such as cyber-bullying and cyber-predation.

Hence, how might we enable safe access to quality learning experiences that builds social connection regardless of connectivity for students in under-resourced communities?

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

Nexus serves students, teachers as well as parents in under-resourced communities by:

1. Using Bluetooth mesh-networks to connect them

2. Providing hands-on projects for guided independent and collaborative work

3. Supporting under-resourced communities by tailoring the learning experiences to empower the youth to better their communities

In doing so, Nexus enables the following outcomes:

1. Students under-resourced communities are able to gain safe access to quality learning experiences remotely

2. Teachers are able to adapt their pedagogy, facilitate personalized instruction, and communicate with students and their families in remote and hybrid settings

3. Communities benefit from the students’ hands-on projects thus engendering trust for education as a sustainable means to a better quality of life.

5. Which dimension of the challenge does your solution most closely address?

1. Increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments, including strategies and tools for parental support, peer interaction, and guided independent work.

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

3. Ensure the physical safety and mental health of learners—for example, through tools for crisis support, reporting violence, and mitigating cyberbullying.

4. Support teachers to adapt their pedagogy, facilitate personalized instruction, and communicate with students and their families in remote and hybrid settings.

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NEXUS - Elevator Pitch for HI Exploring Innovation

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One-line Summary: KINDr is a school-based app that promotes creative expression and divergent thinking in children via a virtual mentorship programme between Young Learners (7-12 years old) and Young Mentors (13-16 years old).

What specific problem are you solving?
Children grow up learning in a linear environment. However, life is hardly linear and we are constantly learning from different experiences and ways of thinking. In Singapore especially, where homogeneity is status quo, learning to express yourself in a non-judgemental, non-restrictive manner could help to unlock unseen potential in a child.

Who does your solution serve and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
KINDr serves both the Young Learners and Young Mentors. For the Young Mentors, they are empowered to think out of the box and also get to experience what it feels like to take ownership over a project that they designed. On top of that, they may also feel affirmed from seeing people respond to their challenges. Child Learners are able to learn from older students in a positive way, as well as feel like their thoughts and expressions are celebrated without judgement. It also gives them a different dimension to mandatory education, one that is less serious and more fun.

What dimensions of the challenge does your solution most closely address?
KINDr helps to encourage creative expression, divergent thinking, as well as a sense of community for both sets of students. This mentorship programme can work in remote, physical or hybrid learning environments, and at the heart of it, enables a positive sense of community for students who may feel isolated.

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One line summary: Allowing students from remote villages access educational content digitally and earn food for their family whilst doing so.

What specific problem are you solving?
According to UNICEF, one third of the world’s child student population, or 463 million children, were unable to access remote learnings when COVID-19 shuttered their schools. Not only do many of these students find themselves unable to afford electronic devices, some are unable to pay for even the school fees itself, not to mention the pricey yet poor internet connectivity in these areas. The pandemic has exacerbated the economic woes of many families, which in turn led to parents requesting for their children to drop out of school altogether and help out in the farms instead to bring food to the table, which in the long run would negatively impact the children's earning capability.

Who does your solution serve and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
For these children from remote villages, we will be providing each of them with a digital device that comes pre-loaded with educational content, to reduce the need for them to travel to town for internet connectivity. For each assignment they complete, they will earn credits. Scoring well on tests gives them bonus credits, so does taking part in the weekly project challenges with friends, and having new team members on board. These credits are saved locally on the device and can be used to redeem for food and beverages at the local stores.

What dimensions of the challenge does your solution most closely address?
1. Enabling access to quality education and increasing engagement of students in remote areas by giving them the right tools - devices pre-loaded with curated educational materials for monitoring of content quality, with weekly projects that encourage learners to interact with fellow learners and form project groups. Being inclusive to other learners by having new team members on board will score them additional bonus credits.
2. Ensure the mental health of learners by removing baggage - Education will benefit the child in the long run, but it does not have to come at the expense of the child's potential to contribute to their family in the immediate term. Rather than being a cost to their parents in having to pay for their education, the more they study and participate in educational activities, the more food they earn for their family to enjoy, thus relieving their family of economic woes and worries of going hungry whilst the pandemic rages on.