Budbeed is US based pure EdTech product company that delivers an interactive learning platform for students of all skill levels. The platform is a learner-led application (mobile and Web) providing study help to primary and secondary school students, with high school-level content still being added to make it a complete K-10 platform. It provides access to first-class, multimedia global content with partners like BBC, CNN, Rosen and more in an engaging format, mapped to the curriculum of the country where it operates, in the learner's language of choice. Currently it is available in English, Russian and Kazakh and is mapped to the national curriculum of Kazakhstan.
The app can be used as a platform to share ideas and to form a community of students and teachers (and parents), to improve engagement at all levels. Compelling videos from the most highly respected content providers makes learning come alive, and the local language ensures complete understanding of each topic.
The student/teacher can subscribe to the app through the Web or by downloading the mobile app. Teachers get access to all grades, while students get access to their respective grades as well as one grade above and below. The content, which includes articles, images, videos, and assessments, is entirely mapped to the curriculum by topic, which makes it easy for users to navigate and find the exact topic they are looking for. Parental access is free.
Since it is mapped to the curriculum, teachers can use it as a daily classroom in addition to a supplementary resource. It acts as a tool for teachers to better explain topics to the students and to make sure that the curriculum is covered—it saves teacher time and motivates students.
A pioneering technology, unique in Central Asia, Budbeed is an innovative learning platform where students and teachers share their thoughts and ideas and get access to rich global content mapped to the curriculum in their language in an entirely safe environment. In addition, the platform includes an integrated e-reader with a variety of relevant ebooks that they can access online or off.
Budbeed's main value proposition is to provide a platform that learners want to use, have fun using, and that offers the knowledge they need to succeed in the classroom and that they can apply to their daily lives.
We specifically looked at two crucial aspects to optimize to achieve our goal:
1) Engagement; and 2) Global learning.
1) We discovered that the main reason students are or are not engaged in their studies depends to a large degree on their study environment. Therefore, we sought to create a platform made with their specific interests in mind, one that would be an exciting place where they would want to spend time. If we succeeded in creating an attractive learning environment, students would spend more time on task; absorb more knowledge with less effort; and master topics more easily. By providing exciting interactive content aligned to the curriculum, the platform becomes a seamless tutor or guide and a perfect complement to their classroom studies. With a user-friendly platform for motivation and review, students get more out of their classroom study time—and enjoy it more.
2) “Global Learning"—providing every student access to the best material available from all over the world—means that the content needs to be completely translated in the student's language in order to provide all children the opportunity to read, view, and hear information and stories that were not available before, and at a cost that even the most economically challenged sections of the society can afford. One of Budbeed's main objectives is provide equal access to all knowledge to all children. In order for Budbeed to be useful for all students, it must be affordable.
Key Features and Functions of the Budbeed Platform
• Multilingual
Most of the best and up-to-date global content is available in English only and hence students from many countries where English is not the primary language do not have access to many high-quality resources. With Budbeed, students get access to the platform and content in the language of their choice (currently available in Russian, Kazakh, and English)—from such venerable content producers as the BBC, CNN, Rosen publishing Group, and others.
• Adaptive learning
Budbeed employs machine learning to understand the skill level of the student through interactive assessments, and accordingly suggests additional learning materials to help the student improve at their pace. In this way, neither the student nor the teacher needs to guess what areas a particular student needs to focus on; the platform does it for them.
• Collaborative learning
Budbeed allows students to connect with other learners as well as teachers, share ideas, ask questions, and communicate on topics of interest. Budbeed enables the building of a global community of students and teachers where, for example, a student in Latvia can interact and learn from a teacher in the UK. This functionality helps us make the platform a place to develop world citizens who understand and appreciate different points of views and to learn about other cultures and societies.
• Mapped to the curriculum
The content is mapped to the local state curriculum (currently mapped to the national curriculum of Kazakhstan), making it easier for the students and teachers to navigate and to pace learning objectives.
• Personalized content
Learners can highlight/bookmark/"like" text, take notes, and save the material to their personal library for later review. Learners can share the content they find the most useful with their community.
• Integrated e-reader
Budbeed has an integrated e-reader, where users can read books online or download texts for offline access.
• Parent App.
Parents can login free to the app to check the performance of their child. They can monitor how much time their child has spent on various subjects and track mastery. They can also go through the content and help their child with problems they are having in addition to using the social platform to interact with other parents and teachers and build their own global community of like-minded parents.
• Topic Assessments
Every topic has assessments which the students can take; they will also receive points based on their performance. These have been created by highly qualified teachers and academicians in an adaptive format. The assessments can also be monitored by parents.
Launched on May 1, 2019, Budbeed.com is available as an annual subscription and already has over 6000 paid subscribers.
To subscribe, the student/teacher needs either a phone number or email ID. The students can use their parents' phone number to register.
After downloading the mobile app or accessing the Web version, they enter required details (name, contact, grade, country/region), and complete the online payment. Registered users will get a username and password to the registered email and phone number. This can be used to login to the mobile apps or Web version of Budbeed.com.
The mobile app is available in both the Android and IOS operating systems. The Web version can be directly accessed through the web link www.budbeed.com and logging in using the Username and Password.
The mobile app needs to be downloaded and logged-in for the first time using the username and password. The app is simple to use and intuitive. An online helpdesk to help with any queries are also available.