Starting Out with the Startups

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I am sure you have all heard of Pinterest, Dropbox, Airbnb, and Uber. What do these successful companies have in common? They are all startups and successful ones at that! A startup is a newly established business that offers a product or service to meet a marketplace need. Many of these ventures target educational technology and innovation. This is great news for teachers like me who are constantly seeking new and engaging techniques to enhance students’ learning.

Teachers and students use many tools and services from EdTech startup firms. Often users do not know (or maybe do not care) who developed the product and where. For months, I have used ThingLink in my library without knowing the corporation’s headquarters are in Helsinki, Finland. With ThingLink, you can turn any image into an interactive experience by embedding “targets” that take users directly to pre-selected websites and other rich media (i.e. music, video, images). You decide where on the image you would like each “target”, creating a layer of interactive links. Explore the ThingLink I created below by simply clicking on each “target”.

Lapland, Finland

Read more about ThinkLink on my Mister Librarian blog. 

As you can see, ThingLink is awesome! I was eager to make contact with them once I arrived in Finland. During my investigation online of the company and its contact information, I came across an article titled, “6 Finnish EdTech Startups you should know about.” I was surprised to learn that Finland has many startups focused on education. What’s more, many are mere kilometers from my apartment in Helsinki. It makes sense that Finland is home to so many educational ventures. Finns have developed and sustained one of the world's most successful education systems.

After stumbling upon the web page about Finnish startups, I found myself fervently hunting for more. What I found were the names of several companies in Helsinki that are reinventing learning. I immediately sent the enterprises emails explaining who I am and why I want to learn more about them. In no time at all, I heard back from many firms. During my very first week of the Fulbright in Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, I visited four organizations who specialize in educational technology and 21st century learning. The opportunity to discuss each firm’s philosophy, products, and services gave me a deeper insight into the changes occurring in schools.

Some things I learned from my week spent visiting Finnish startups:

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• Technology integration is a means to connect students with others and explore curiosities. 
• Learning can happen anywhere! Inside and outside of the classroom. 
• Social and emotional learning enhances students' ability to succeed.
• Students are spending less time studying theories and more time on real-world applications. 
• There is a focus on individual learning paths and developing students’ strengths.  

The four Finnish startups that got my Fulbright program started: 

Seppo: (educational games)
With Seppo, teachers create game tasks which students solve in teams using mobile devices. During the game the teacher monitors the game, assesses the answers submitted by the teams, and gives feedback. The “game board” can be a background image with embedded content or a map which directs students to specific GPS coordinates. Earning points and working together motivates the students to keep going.

Mightifier: (a tool for social and emotional learning)
Mightifer is a fun, simple, and effective app for mastering and measuring students' social skills in class. The peer communication software boosts social and emotional learning which is strongly connected to academic performance and vital to the success of the 21st century learners. Mightifer leads to improved class environment, less bullying, and a better focus on learning.

Fun Academy: (encouraging 21st century early-childhood education)
Fun Academy is a team of experts who develop fun learning environments, teaching methods, and gamified learning tools for teachers and for kids. The company has a complete kindergarten learning package that helps teachers give students the best start in life. They offer a rigorous professional development program that supports instruction based on collaboration, innovative thinking, and movement.

Mehackit: (a course where students design and build technology projects)
Mehackit high school courses give students across Finland and cities in the Nordics and UK the chance to experience coding through art, music and hardware! The course includes web materials, a human instructor, teacher's guide, and all classrooms need for a 38-hour creative technology course.

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I am thankful for the time these companies spent sharing their products and services with me. Each organization gave me suggestions for other firms and individuals to contact regarding technology and personalized learning. Do not let the innovation stop here. Go to Twitter, and follow each one of the startups in this blog post. Our professional journey is just getting started.