Skooli taps into global tutor pool
ANALYSIS K-12 digital classroom next big ed tech wave
An explosion in global online learning has set the stage for a Vancouver tutoring company to leap further into the growing field of education technology. Skooli.com is the latest venture by CEO David Frey and his brother Rene Frey, a lecturer at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business.
You might say education is a family business with the Freys. Both parents were teachers and more than a decade ago, David held teaching positions with governments, international schools and companies abroad.
It now has about 50 employees and offices in Vancouver, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Brisbane, Australia.
TeachAway led to the creation of LearnKit, which works with post- secondary institutions, ministries of education, vocational institutes and corporations to develop e- learning courses and training. That system focuses on “asynchronistic” learning, in that it uses software to provide short bursts of learning that are “digestible for busy lives.” This type of learning is highly valued by its market because it can be personalized.
This thinking soon extended to other education needs. These primarily involved pure online education technology, a business field that has boomed in recent years with the appearance of internet- based communication and training.
Market research f i rm Global Industry Analysts, Inc. projected the global online tutoring market would surpass US$100 billion by 2018.
As younger students grow up to be more comfortable with digital learning over traditional classroom settings, Skooli hopes to tap into this market by giving students access to licensed public school teachers in the K-12 market, and Masterslevel tutors for university.
The self- funded, Vancouver- based platform enables students to undertake professional tutoring services online from verified professional tutors and certified teachers. Its digital classroom provides an environ- ment for face- to- face tutoring via video and audio chat, screen- sharing, and interactive whiteboards.
Skooli pre- selects and screens its tutors to ensure a quality experience and students and parents can create an account and immediately begin a tutoring session.
Further, the system lets parents get involved — an important factor in today’s hyper competitive world in which education is seen as the key to success. Parents can watch videos, see notes, and for all intents and purposes, learn along with their children while also providing them with adult perspectives.
“Skooli was created to enable student l earning through connection with professional teachers in a safe and secure digital classroom,” CEO David Frey said. “We strive to provide students with the opportunity to learn from the best teachers in the world from the comfort of their home.”
Skooli offers on- demand tutoring 24 hours a day with tutors who are vetted by education recruitment professionals. Skooli students can request any times that work for them and tutors have 24 hours to respond.
“With TeachAway, we worked with t housands of students in a more conventional way and we saw a need for connecting K-12 students with tutoring that was more accessible,” Frey added.
“It took us two years to develop a way to do it.”
Launched last September, Skooli has 75 employees and is on the hunt for more as it ramps up to take advantage of increasing global opportunities — especially outside North America where education is more highly prized as a way to advancement.
“In South Korea, education can be 20 per cent of the family spend and in India, seven per cent,” David Frey noted. The U. S. and Canada are lagging but as the global economy heats up, this may change.”
“Globalization is changing how education is viewed,” Rene Frey added. “You can look around the world for the best talent today, and that talent is educated.”
Together, these trends may lead to a more hospitable climate for ed tech in Canada. While Frey said ed tech is making some inroads, he added that with employers increasingly moving to the contractor model, demand for more specific and available education will grow.
IN SOUTH KOREA, EDUCATION CAN BE 20% OF THE FAMILY SPEND.