iTeacher

SMART AI facilitator for complete academic success.

Due to liberal promotion policy of the government of Nepal, students are promoted to higher classes without meeting basic learning objectives of lower classes. As a result,  students are unprepared to embrace increasing difficulties of higher classes. There is a glaring gap of learning outcomes between top performing students and low performing students. Students lack ability to enjoy learning because they do not possess the understanding of the basics. Overtime, the learning gaps increases, leading to long term apathy towards pursuing knowledge.  

This is primarily the combined outcome of low resource allocation and capacity at pubic schools, unfavorable learning environment at homes as well as an implementation of liberal promotion policy from the government of Nepal. In most instances, under-qualified teachers are overburdened with too many students or difficult content areas.  As a result, there is an increased learning disparity leading to high dropout rates, failed Secondary Education Examination (SEE) and little to no understanding of subject matter. For instance, students at grade eight might be at levels of grade four or even lower.  

Our idea primarily is to take a two pronged approach: enhancing personal academic capacity of each student while reducing the burden on teachers. This will be done with a unique AI mobile application. This mobile app will  complement regular studies by setting baseline of learning levels of each student, dynamically identifying focus areas, and tackling the learning needs with its smart, interactive and dynamic platform, endowed with machine learning capacity. It will act like a highly smart teacher, with capacity to hit the weakest areas, and connect dots in getting to the desired level of academic proficiency, walking users step by step and dynamically evolving to meet individualized learning needs.   

To illustrate this with an example, consider a student who is in grade eight but displays competencies of grade four. Our AI enabled App will identify the learning backlogs through series of diagnostic assessments (based on the syllabus), then dynamically create and update a road-map of transition process to class eight competency level by helping students master linking concepts. The system will start at basic class four concepts and augment incremental content areas linking and leading to class eight through a series of intermediary learning targets. This way, the student will be able to rise, on a par with his/her peers in a short span of time.

Our solution will provide a smart "iTeacher" to each struggling student, throughout the globe. The AI in the form of mobile application will be able to understand the missing links in filling knowledge gaps, heal academic weaknesses and rebuild a ladder connecting students from where he/she stands to where he or she should be. The impact will be reduced learning gaps, enhanced interest in engaging in knowledge and universal access to smart facilitator. 

The most innovative aspect of our solution is that it uses AI to dynamically provide learning solutions to academically weak students. It blends cutting edge technology and education, to create a solution that will be useful for millions of children world wide, to feel academically competent, garner second chance to achieve intended competencies despite having backlogs, and to enjoy learning. 

Our system will understand the needs of students and dynamically update learning route to be taken to get to the intended levels using shortest steps possible in shortest time possible. Considering the fact that our idea will have to use sophisticated machine learning and a high performing artificial intelligence to identify and support human intelligence, this solution is an extreme application of some AI features we have been able to experience in the world today.

Over the next 12 months, we will have produced App for school level mathematics (Grade 1-10) applicable in Nepal, building upon CMU's Cognitive Tutors as the base. We will cover mathematics for classes 1 to 10, focusing strictly on syllabus and on Nepal. 

We will have created a unified App for all subjects areas (language, mathematics, sciences, social studies, etc). Through an App easily accessible online at Google Playstore, the impact of our solution will have an exponential increase over time. 

Over the next ten years or so, as we incorporate international curriculum, our App will spread worldwide.

We will develop the product and distribute via Google Playstore.

Bloom Nepal Foundation, at its Bloom Nepal School (180 students), has currently employed mechanism of matching one mentor per weak performing student. The mentors use learning ladders, which are set of sequential learnings to be done in meeting expected levels from the current levels.

With learning ladders, BNS has achieved 100% success in getting beneficiaries to perform above national averages in standard tests, irrespective of where the initial standing may have been.

We now plan to simulate learning ladders and utilization process, using machine learning, hence expanding our reach to a larger population in a short span of time.

We expect to be serving six thousand children in 2018/19. In three years, modest target would be to serve one million children in Nepal. We optimistically expect these outcomes as the reach will be efficient and effective with the use of internet technologies.

In 10 years, we hope to reach 50% of all schools in Nepal. 

The founder is an MIT alum. He enjoys wide network of developers and educators. 

The rest of team comprises of teachers, with collective teaching experience of more than sixty years. We are very familiar with the curriculum and can understand common academic challenges that students face, hence making it easier to design effective linking solutions to bridge the learning gaps. Consequently, we can design good content for the proposed mobile application. We also have good working network with App developers. Our team is further backed up by strong links with individuals from the finest universities across the globe. 

We will sell mobile application via Google Playstore for those who can afford the cost. The product will be distributed for free for children from low income families. If profit is generated, we will utilize the proceeds to build a better and more comprehensive system. 

Solve will be a crucial space to meet with like minded individuals who are committed to taking cutting edge technology to classrooms. 

Solve, through MIT, will connect us with developers with high aptitude for AI and its applications. 

Solve will expose us with community of investors and philanthropists who are looking to disrupt learning methods. 

Solve will connect us with companies who are working on similar ideas to combine efforts. The guidance from mentors, as well as the synergy among community members, will help achieve the target of eliminating gaps in learning outcomes. 

Our approach requires a heavy implementation of AI technologies. Development of a high-performing App might be a problem in Nepal, where not many people are equipped with high-level computing skills.

Solve can help us link with international professional App developers and programmers who can adapt Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools for Nepal and in mathematics to start with.