In Peques and Más we will interview Javier Arroyo already Daniel Gonzalez de Vega, founders of Smartick that are going to explain in detail their extraordinary educational project. We also contacted them because they have reminded us that it is very important practice math in summer to keep pace with learning and to remember the knowledge acquired during the course. Experts speak of a loss of almost three months of mental calculation and that it is a cumulative loss in primary and unrecoverable in secondary. Since Smartick recommend doing homework in a different way, avoiding conventional duties, trying to be creative and take advantage of the possibilities offered by new technologies. I think that Smartick is an ideal method for the summer and that can be tested during the holidays, although it is also very important to know the details of the project, the successes achieved and especially the challenges that arise, so we go with the interview with Javier and Daniel:
What is the Smartick pitch so that parents can understand it?
Smartick is an online method, unique in the world, that guarantees the understanding of mathematics, accelerates its learning and develops the student's skills to the maximum. The pillars of the method are daily short sessions, typically fifteen minutes, with maximum concentration, individualized and personalized content and immediate feedback to the student.
The idea is that students always work at the border of their maximum level of competence, achieving a very effective learning. Smartick has an expert pedagogical team that monitors the progress of all our students. Tutors, parents and / or teachers, receive detailed information on student progress daily.
What is Smartick's current situation regarding the company's development plan and how is the business plan being fulfilled?
Smartick is a 100% Spanish company, registered in Malaga and with the main office in Madrid (Aravaca). The initial investment was made by its two founding partners. We were developing the product for a year until we had the first beta version. Since then, every 5-6 weeks we update Smartick with continuous improvements. Smartick is fulfilling the milestones marked in the business plan very well. We have almost 3,000 active users and more than 10,000 have passed through our method. Growth, in customers and billing, is being exponential because our main route of growth is the word of mouth of our customers, who speak wonders of Smartick.
Currently, the team is made up of 25 people. It is a multidisciplinary team of engineers, programmers, mathematicians, teachers, psychologists, pedagogues, communication and customer service. Smartick has been making money for more than a year and reinvests all its benefits in the development and improvement of the project. In the coming months Smartick faces the important challenge of internationalization, more than 80% of the traffic to the page comes from outside Spain and we have clients in more than 36 countries. The challenge is to get out the same pace of growth that we are having in Spain.
With which companies, schools, associations are agreements being reached within the expansion plan?
More and more schools are calling us interested in the method, in Spain and outside Spain. We have some reference schools such as the European Lyceum or the Marist Chamberí College, which have been working with us for more than a year with very good results. This next year we expect significant growth in schools. Our experience in three public schools in the Community of Madrid is also remarkable, since the 2012-2013 academic year, with extraordinary results. Marketing, in general, we have done it ourselves. And we are open to strategic alliances that can accelerate our growth even more.
How many children have tried Smartick?
More than 10,000 students from 36 countries have gone through our method.
More than 10,000 students from 36 countries have gone through our method
What are Smartick's future plans?
For this year we expect to exceed one million euros in turnover and with an eye on internationalization. We are adapting Smartick to Latin American Spanish and preparing translations in English and Portuguese. The big goal for 2014 is the jump to America, Latin America and North America. From the point of view of product development, we will continue to give very positive surprises in the coming months, which will help make Smartick an even more special product than it already is.
How have you checked that Smartick works? Is there any scientific study that supports it?
According to the data collected among our students, 94% increase their ability to calculate and mental agility, 83% increase their grade in mathematics and 50% in other subjects.
In addition, we have the results of the Smartick project developed over three years in three public schools in the Community of Madrid: Father Coloma, Rosa de Luxemburg and Peralejo. More than half a thousand students perform the 15-minute session of online math exercises daily using tablets provided by the regional government.
The students of these schools get better average marks in the CDI tests (Knowledge and Essential Skills, made to sixth grade students) and LEA (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, in 2nd grade students) and improve more than the rest of the schools from the Community of Madrid. Last year there was a 30% improvement in the CDI tests and a 40% improvement in the LEA tests. This year we are beginning to analyze the results but they look even better.
All students have 15 days free to try Smartick without any commitment
How much does Smartick cost for schools and for families?
For the private market, the price range is between 19 euros per month per child and 39 euros per month per child depending on the form of payment, the number of children and the contracted period: monthly, quarterly or annual.
For universal use in the school and for teachers, the prices are other, smaller and depend on the size of the school and its educational project. Any school can contact us for more details. All students have 15 days free to try Smartick, without any commitment. To try it for free you can access Smartick or call 901 363 580.
For what ages of children does Smartick apply?
The Smartick method is designed for children from 4 to 14 years old, that is, the last year of Infant, complete elementary and first courses of Secondary.
Smartick serves both children who need reinforcement and those who seek to expand knowledge as each one advances at their own pace, in a totally personalized way.
How do you adapt to the use of Smartick by children: computer, tablet, mobile phone, etc.?
Children connect to Smartick through the Internet, using a computer or tablet, interactively and enjoyable.
To keep the child's motivation high we use gamification techniques. After the session students have access to the virtual world of Smartick where they can configure their avatar, visit their dormitory for which they can buy accessories with the tics they have won in the session, the social club, the school, the world of mathematics , the library, etc. In the virtual world, children can also play games for cognitive training and compete, causing more math problems, with other children.
How is the education of children changing. Will it be possible to see children managing their own educational process with the collaboration of teachers and / or parents?
It's possible. From Smartick we believe that an appropriate use of technology allows changing the current educational paradigm, making the student much more protagonist of their learning. The teacher will never cease to be an essential element, but his work must necessarily evolve, from the pure transmission of knowledge to the facilitation of the learning process. Knowledge, much better than ever, can be achieved through tools such as Smartick, but the teacher has a fundamental task to do motivating students, posing problems in the form of relevant challenges, educating in key values: persistence, discipline, work as a team, I respect the partner and better serving the needs of each child.
Teachers who know and use Smartick are delighted
How are teachers receiving the platform?
Teachers who know and use Smartick are delighted. We have many stories and testimonies in this regard with the schools we are working on. Smartick is not a burden for the teacher, on the contrary, it is a tool that allows you to attend the diversity of the class very accurately. Each student works on the concepts that have to work individually and that would be impossible if the teacher had to prepare the material for each student, this is particularly important in the area of problems and mathematical logical reasoning.
Beyond that, through Smartick, the teacher has extraordinarily detailed information about each student and their evolution. This information is available to the teacher to use whenever he wants and is very useful for detecting children with weak points in certain areas or, conversely, children with special mathematical talent.
How are parents and students using Smartick to track the educational process?
For parents, teachers and students Smartick is very useful in that it identifies in a very precise way the deficiencies of each child, making him work on them until making sure that the mathematical building is constructed with solid pillars. Smartick, as we said in the previous question, provides very detailed information, accessible to parents, teachers and students, which is very useful to see and analyze how each student evolves in the learning of mathematics, with a very detailed breakdown in concepts and subconcepts .
Children increasingly use the Internet and the resources it offers to study, how can Smartick help in this process?
Smartick, helps to familiarize children, parents and teachers with the use of online methods as a more valuable resource for student training. Using Smartick well, that value we discuss can be seen very quickly.
Is there a difference in how you are managing this application in schools in Latin America and Spain?
We have not yet entered any group of schools in Latinomérica, although we are talking with several. In Latin America, for now, all our clients are individuals who use Smartick as an extracurricular complement. In any case, we do not understand that there should be significant differences in use in schools in Latin America or Spain.
Where is Smartick being implemented in public or private education?
In both. We have thousands of private clients, as well as private, concerted and public schools.
What is the experience in integrating with Telefónica Learning Services and how new tools such as Infantium can add value to Smartick?
The experience with TLS has not been especially positive and we canceled the agreement with them. Smartick is a sophisticated product that needs to be told in detail and without haste, because it requires all the attention of the interlocutor in the school (Director, Head of Studies or ICT responsible). We know Infantium and we are in the process of understanding if a collaboration can be valuable for both parties.
And so far the interview with Javier and Daniel de Smartick. I thank you very much for the collaboration and attention explaining the project and we hope your best wishes are fulfilled. At home we tried the project with the little one and they also tested it at their school. The experience was quite good and I think it is relevant to strengthen and manage knowledge. further the reports it issues are quite complete and can provide a lot of information to the teacher and parents to know, at a glance, what lacks, progress and knowledge the little one has.
