The majority of math-based apps, software, and games are developed by adults, necessarily. Text-books are written by adults. Courses are taught by adults. While there is nothing wrong with that, Shooloo thinks incorporating students into the creation of these components helps the learning process. The Shooloo Team was kind enough to tell us about their product, as well as give us some insight into their approach. They also told us about a contest they are running where students and teachers can win hundreds of dollars.
Shooloo
What is Shooloo?
Shooloo provides an inquiry-based eLearning platform for students in K-12 to create their own real-life math problems, devise solutions, and get feedback from their peers. We start with math education first and plan to expand into ELA, science, social studies, and other subject areas.
What makes Shooloo different from other math apps and software?
Unlike other math apps that drill students on problems created by adults, Shooloo empowers students to create their own math problems based on their personal interest. The process of creation helps students to clarify their own mathematical understanding and apply math to real life situations. Students also get near-immediate feedback from our editors on how to improve to their own writing and mathematical reasoning.
Who uses Shooloo?
Our users are students and teachers in grades 3–12.
What’s next for you guys?
We are currently hosting a nationwide math story contest in which students and teachers in grades 3-12 submit their own word problems related to healthy-eating. 10 students will be selected as winners for submitting the highest number of qualified problems. 10 teachers will also be selected as winners for integrating nutrition education into their math classes.
Tell us about the founder
Robin Yang, founder and lead developers, is also an award-winning children’s book author. After leaving Wall Street in 2011, she learned software programming on her own and started Shooloo.org.
What initially pushed Robin towards education?
After the 2009 financial crisis, Robin Yang, set out to teach kids financial literacy education as a way to prevent future crises. She soon discovered that K-12 students often have trouble applying math they’ve learned in school to real life situations, such as balancing checkbooks or analyzing food labels. So she changed gears and created Shooloo to leverage the power of creativity and social interaction to help students apply math to real life.
We would like to thank the Shooloo team for answering our questions. Head over to Shooloo.org for more info, and check out their contest.
