Mindspark

Mindspark is a cloud based application for adaptive learning,[2] developed by Educational Initiatives, a leading Indian Education firm. The Mindspark software reflects over 10 years of product development; it has been used by over 400,000 students, has a database of over 45,000 test questions, and administers over a million questions across its users every day.

Mindspark- Online Adaptive Maths
FoundedJuly 2009 (2009-07)
FounderSridhar Rajagopalan
Location
ServicesE-learning, Education
MethodConstructivism, Behaviourism, Misconception based remediation
Official languages
English, Hindi, Gujarati
OwnerSridhar Rajagopalan, founder and Managing Director
Parent organisation
Educational Initiatives
Employees
350+[1]
Websitewww.mindspark.in

A key feature of the software is its ability to use these data to finely benchmark the learning level of every student and dynamically customize the material being delivered to match the level and rate of progress made by each individual student. A second noteworthy feature is its ability to analyze these data to identify patterns of student errors, and precisely target content to alleviate conceptual ‘bottlenecks’ that may be difficult for teachers to diagnose or address at the individual student level in a classroom setting. Mindspark can be delivered in a variety of settings (in schools, in after-school centers, or through self-guided study); it is platform-agnostic (can be deployed through computers, tablets, or smartphones); and it can be used both online and offline.[3][4]

Mindspark is currently available in English, Gujarati, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi, Kannada and Urdu languages. Mindspark has been used by children in India, and by a few students in the UAE and the United States.[5] Besides products for schools, Mindspark is also available for sale to individuals through its retail platform.

History

The development of Mindspark started in 2009. Bangalore, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad were the first major areas of product development. Mindspark during startup was sold to private schools. Later, Mindspark services were extended to Delhi in the slums as part of the Mindspark Centers Project.[6]

Philosophy

Mindspark was envisaged as a self-learning tool that would not require constant supervision of a teacher.[7] [8] It is based on the constructivism theory of learning, [3] [9] and strategies like gamification[10] and behaviourism.

Results

Mindspark currently has an annual usage of around 80,000 students across India (with around 172,000 students since 2009).[11][12] Mindspark remediates misconceptions identified through 10 years of ASSET tests with more than 2 million answer data points per day.[13] An independent impact evaluation of Mindspark by a third party (IDinsight) was done for two consecutive years (2012 and 2013), which showed an impact of 0.19 standard deviations.[14][15]

In a 2017 study over four and a half months, pupils in language and maths had achieved progress comparable or better compared to other similar education studies in poor countries, while also reducing cost.[3][16]

See also

References
  1. "Educational Initiatives at Glassdoor".
  2. "MINDSPARK innovative computer based self-learning programme for Maths". India Infoline News Service, Mumbai. IIFL. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  3. "Technology is transforming what happens when a child goes to school". The Economist. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  4. "Disrupting Education? Experimental Evidence on Technology-Aided Instruction in India" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  5. "Indian Mindspark to help US students learn maths". The Economic Times. The Times of India. Apr 15, 2011. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  6. Kumar, Karan (June 4, 2013). "Mindspark Learning Centres – Blending Technology with Tradition to Remedy Learning Gaps". Central Square Foundation. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  7. Venkatraman, Shai (May 14, 2013). "From textbooks to tablets". live mint. HT Media Ltd. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  8. Gupta, Anika (7 May 2014). "How technology is set to transform India's fragmented education system". Computing. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  9. "Principles in Mindspark | Educational Initiatives". Ei-india.com. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  10. "MindSpark Website Review". Indianmomsconnect.com. 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  11. "Sparking a change: Mindspark | Tehelka". Tehelka. 2013-08-15. Archived from the original on 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  12. "Sparking a change: Mindspark". YouTube. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  13. "Making a difference in education through personalized learning". Livemint. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  14. "Software tailored to student learning". IDinsight. 2013-06-16. Archived from the original on 2017-01-07. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  15. "Impact Evaluation of Mindspark" (PDF). Ei-india.com. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  16. "Disrupting Education? Experimental Evidence on Technology-Aided Instruction in India" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-07-27.
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