Scaling Online Learning for Students and Teachers
As an entrepreneur, Wyatt Oren enjoys building products that make a difference. Wyatt co-founded Applejax to help teachers earn extra money and acquire classroom supplies while providing a helpful academic resource to families.
You could feel the excitement as the Friday bell rang. It was March 13th, 2020, and students from across San Diego county flooded the hallways. Things in the outside world were already intensifying as the uncertainty around COVID-has 19 grew. Little did we know that students would not be returning to school the next Monday or in the foreseeable future. This marked the day that may forever change how we approach education for both children and adults across the country. Parents and educators, along with students, must find solutions to creating a successfully blended learning environment that includes online and eventually in-person education.
For school districts, teachers, students, and parents, a platform that encompasses the quality standards of in-person education is critical to success. Schools have struggled to come up with alternatives that meet the needs of everyday students while parents are barely managing to keep up. But what if online education could emulate the traditional classroom experience and provide personalized training? How about an environment where teachers and students could collaborate through a simple, intuitive interface?
That is precisely why co-founders Wyatt Oren and Jim Matteo created Applejax. They created a platform where parents can hire credentialed teachers for online or in-person private tutoring. This has even become a portal to find teachers for pod-based instruction.
“Uncharted Territory” for School Districts
The transition from the traditional classroom setting to online learning represents uncharted territory for almost every school.
The educational landscape is ever-changing, and technology has been pivotal to the change. From growing curriculum demands in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education, to increased use of digital devices in classrooms, the symbiotic relationship between education and technology is a necessary acceptance for many educators” explains co-founder Jim Matteo.
In the classroom students and teachers are able to collaborate on projects and assignments. Finding an ideal virtual platform that blends those aspects of the conventional day-to-day social human interactions can be complicated. Platforms like Applejax provide new engaging ways of delivering education continuity with an integrated approach that incorporates live video, a virtual whiteboard, screen share and full-length recordings backed by multilayer security for data protection.
Interactive Platform for Parents and Students
There is a new ecosystem we are finding ourselves in. Co-founder Wyatt Oren explains, “We realized through our conversations with parents, that they want to be part of their children’s learning experience – especially in an online setting. That means having the freedom to access credentialed and qualified teachers and maintain continued visibility into academic progress.”
Through his research, Wyatt found they also wanted a platform that could facilitate one-on-one distance learning, personalized tutoring, curriculum plans, session recordings and most importantly, a reliable environment.
Wyatt adds, “Plus, we wanted to make it easy for students to learn online.”
A New Paradigm to Help Teachers Thrive with Confidence
While online learning can be challenging, for many teachers, it offers an avenue to bridge learning gaps. Distant learning platforms like Applejax provide opportunities for teachers to keep students academically engaged while earning supplemental income. With Applejax, tutors can accept sessions, interact directly with students, set hourly rates for after school tutoring, and even crowdfund for classroom supplies – all through the platform.
Samantha Jensen, a teacher at San Diego Unified School District, mentioned that Applejax is a gamechanger because various online tools lack many of these benefits, especially the crowdfunding aspect. “Teaching is a joy to me,” Jensen said. “Finding options of providing school supplies and classroom provisions for my students to provide is an added advantage that Applejax offers.”
Towards a Brighter Tomorrow
As schools and teachers continue to adapt, leverage and embrace e-learning, the possibilities of online education will only improve. Applejax is well-positioned to adapt and follow the same trajectory. This is why Applejax is exploring the growing segment of learning pod services for small groups of students (4-6 students) looking for credentialed teachers. This form of learning provides an alternative to in-person large classrooms and is designed to be social, interactive, and mimics several classroom elements. There are additional projects in the works to ensure seamless and easy onboarding of students and teachers on our platform.
Join us to make a difference for your school district, family, teacher(s), and student(s). Reach out to us at www.applejax.com because we are here to help.
Come hear from Wyatt at the RTE2020 Real-Time Engagement Event to learn how Applejax is leading the future of virtual learning and ways to get state funding for your schools.
