This tool was designed to create, maintain, and distribute online courses, and it also includes a set of tools for implementing dynamic teaching methods in the classroom.
Flipped.uy, the project created by José Chiarino, Juan Felipe Coirolo, Mariano San Andrea, and Nicolás Saúl, has so far sparked great interest among Uruguayan students and teachers, and has even crossed borders.
So much so that it advanced to the second round of the 2014 Imagine Cup, a competition for young students worldwide that aims to foster innovation through technology development projects of social interest.
Chiarino describes its main uses and greatest strengths, and shares the team’s feelings after achieving this major recognition from Microsoft.
What motivated you to come up with the project?
We have experienced just how frustrating and inefficient traditional education can be.
On the one hand, we found it very interesting how Gastíon Mousqués began experimenting with interactive methodologies in the classroom.
On the other hand, we had already participated in several MOOCs (massive open online courses) and loved them, but we also felt that on their own they weren’t enough to fully cover the educational process.
We decided to take the best of both worlds by creating a platform to host online courses, so students can access them from home. We also combined this with a set of tools to implement interactive practices within the classroom.
What benefits do interactive classes bring to students and teachers?
Several studies show that the retention rate is very low (10–15%) when using traditional teaching methods, after the first 24 hours have passed. This percentage increases significantly when incorporating modern, interaction-based practices (75–90%).
Many university professors are trying to modernize their teaching methods but find it difficult due to a lack of tools.
We aim to help improve the quality of teaching by supporting various differentiating elements (see box).
What impact has it had so far? Have users found the platform beneficial?
We conducted tests in a real-world setting as part of a college course, in which the material was presented online and interactive classes were held via the platform. A total of 26 students participated.
The results and feedback received were very positive. All students stated that they would use the platform in another course or subject, and when asked to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, they gave it an average score of 9.1.
On the faculty side, the results were similar, as all indicated they would use it again to support courses and, overall, rated their satisfaction level as “Very Good.”
The tool is available on computers, laptops, cell phones, and tablets. Can it be accessed from all devices or only from certain models?
The tool (www.flipped.uy) can be accessed from any device using a web browser. As for cell phones, all brands and models can access it (at least smartphones). The experience adapts to the screen size.
We are also working to finalize the mobile apps. They will be released for the rest of the mobile operating systems shortly.
They are already available for Windows Phone and the Windows Store.
What does it mean to you to have advanced to the second round of the Imagine Cup?
It’s truly very rewarding. We worked incredibly hard to make sure everything went well. When you have the chance to be recognized for your work, and you also love what you do, it’s one of the best things that can happen to you. It confirms that everything you’ve worked for really does have value, and that’s why it’s so important to us.
Winning the competition would allow you to receive guidance on your tech project, as well as on business and marketing strategy. Have you thought about what steps to take if you win the Imagine Cup?
Winning the competition would be great from every perspective. Just participating in the event is great too. Along the way, we met people who are very committed and willing to help in every way. Winning would mean the opportunity to meet and receive support from excellent professionals in each of the different disciplines that a project of this type needs to be successful. Financial support would also be very helpful.
And if you don’t win, how will you continue developing the project?
We’re working hard to achieve good results, but the competition is very tough—there are excellent projects from all countries. If we don’t win, we plan to continue working to implement and improve the platform.
At Universidad ORT Uruguay teachers are highly interested in using it, and we have already scheduled meetings to demonstrate it to them.
Additionally, following the results from the Argentina & Uruguay national finals, we got in touch with many people at Microsoft, who showed genuine interest in the project.
The press coverage allowed people from other educational institutions to learn about our project and express interest in using it. Among those interested, we have been contacted by teachers from the University of the Republic (UdelaR), private high schools, and the University of Labor of Uruguay (UTU).