Skoolbo LTD
Our dream is that every child learns to read and gains confidence with numbers... these are life's essentials. We believe technology can dramatically help and that the best way to do it is to make it lots of fun and to make it free! We are committed to making great learning resources accessible to every child.
Prior to founding Skoolbo in 2010, Shane Hill also founded Mathletics and World Math Day. These programs have seen millions of children from around the world participate in fun learning events and they have demonstrated highly rapid improvement.
Over the last three years Skoolbo has created the world's largest educational game. Our focus is literacy and numeracy for 4 to 10 year olds. Shortly we will be adding 26 languages to the Skoolbo platform.
Skoolbo was invited to be part of the Global Social Innovators Accelerator program, a sub-strand of the Global Social Innovators Forum 2012 (GSIF). GSIF is the foremost forum on social enterprise and innovation in Asia and it aims to create a community of change-makers for sustainable and meaningful impact. In 2012, Skoolbo organized an online educational event named Smartest Singapore for Singapore primary school children. The event partners were Samsung, Microsoft, Collins, and several regional and local businesses. Within one month, children from 118 primary schools correctly answered a total of 2,725,288 questions. There was an average improvement of 42.6% among children who played more than 100 games.
In February 2013, Shane Hill was honored with the Social Innovation Leadership Award at World CSR Congress and Awards 2013 in Mumbai, India. This is the most prestigious award an individual can receive for contribution in Corporate Social Responsibility. The World CSR Congress brings over 130 countries under one roof to unite and celebrate leadership in building a better society and making a better world.
In March 2013, Shane Hill was invited to speak at the Global Education & Skills Forum (GESF), Dubai. Shane co-presented with Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Zimbabwe and Dr. Matthew Kam, Senior Technology Strategist, American Institutes for Research, Washington D.C., in a session titled “Smarter Content, Better Learning”. The GESF aimed to explore how governments and the private sector can work together to create real, sustainable and scalable education change in developing countries at global and local levels. The GESF was keynoted by Bill Clinton and attended by more than fifty Heads of State / Education Ministers.
In September 2013 Skoolbo will be hosting FriendOurWorld.org which is a collaboration with Peace One Day and Microsoft. Children from across the world will unite and play friendship games of geography, languages and culture on the Skoolbo platform. We anticipate this will be one of the largest educational events ever held.
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- 2013 Grants Challenge
LA Kids Rock!
We want to end the cycle of under-achievement and prove that LA kids really can “ROCK” in their learning! LA Kids Rock! will be an online extravaganza for elementary students to come together in fun reading and math games. LA Kids Rock! will take place from 15 October to 15 December, 2013. We are passionate in our belief that every child can learn to read and gain confidence with numbers. We also believe firmly in the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” LA Kids Rock! will mobilize community role models and celebrities to help motivate the children. We need everyone to play their part to help children love learning and reach their potential. LA Kids Rock! will be completely free of charge for the more than 1.2 million elementary school children in the Greater Los Angeles Area (Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties). We expect more than 100,000 children will take part. LA Kids Rock! will be based on two fundamental premises: 1) Children do best when learning is fun. 2) Positive affirmation is essential. We will use a specially customized version of the Skoolbo eLearning platform. Skoolbo is the largest ever educational game and since its launch in June 2012, has been attracting both rapid growth and extremely high levels of improvement in reading and math. How will LA Kids Rock! work? • LAKidsRock! will be multi-platform and can be played on the web browser or as a downloadable app (iOS, Android, Windows 8). • Children will play fun reading and math games anywhere, anytime. • Every child will receive a personalized learning program based on individual needs. • Children will be encouraged to connect with their parents, grandparents and teachers. • LAKidsRock! will be fully compliant with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). How will LA Kids Rock! mobilize the entire LA community? • Throughout the two months we will have a total of 12 special live events at various venues around Los Angeles. These live events will complement the online event and will help take LA Kids Rock! to the whole community. The live events will involve local school children playing learning games with community leaders. • In addition to the live events, we will convert an old school bus into a mobile learning lab. This bus will be equipped with study desks and tablets. The bus will visit more than 100 schools, shopping malls and community centers over the two months. • Parents and Grandparents will share the experience. They will see their child’s results and be able to play with him or her. • We will work closely with teachers and help support them in their vital role. There will be a sub-section called LA Teachers Rock! where teachers will be honored. Teachers will be provided a special portal to view powerful learning analytics and reports. • We will invite community role models and celebrities to use their privileged position to encourage and motivate the children. What about children who do not have access to the internet at home? • We will work closely with schools (especially enrichment after school programs) and libraries to provide access to LA Kids Rock! outside of school hours. • Both the 12 live sites and the mobile learning lab school bus will play an important role in assisting children without internet access at home. • Children will also be able to use LA Kids Rock! at school. What about children from non-English backgrounds? • There will be a special section for the more than 30% of Los Angeles children who are English language learners. This will assist children in their vocabulary and speaking skills. How will the curriculum be chosen? • The reading and math content will be closely aligned to Common Core State Standards. How will LA Kids Rock! motivate children? • Children will find the actual learning games highly engaging. • There will be inbuilt game rewards designed to encourage optimal use. • Children and schools will be entered into a draw for “money can’t buy” prizes. We are planning for 20 children and accompanying parents to attend an LA Lakers game along with a “meet the players” afterwards. There will also be three school prizes where key LA sport franchises will visit the winning schools. • LA Kids Rock! will make it easy for parents, grandparents and teachers to say “Great Job!” to children. We know this to be one of the most important motivators of all. How will it impact the education indicator? • LA Kids Rock! will lift reading and math test scores • Children will be more engaged and positive in their learning • LA Kids Rock! will support teachers in their vital role • Lower high school dropout rates in years to come • Bring the community together to focus on supporting children’s learning • Decrease the disparity between the education “haves” and “have-nots.”