Singapore parents share how a popular e-learning tool has motivated their children to learn and practise Math on their own, without any nagging.

Parenting has never been easy. Add home-based learning to the new normal, and today’s parents face a unique set of challenges: How can they find ways to support their children’s learning journey and help them stay motivated beyond the traditional classroom setting?

Mother-of-one Amelia Lim shared how difficult it was to get her son Lincoln, 7, to enjoy learning Math. Despite trying out some educational resources and programmes when he was younger, Lincoln had trouble remaining focused and was not keen to continue those programmes. 

For working mothers like Mdm Aisha Jiffry, the challenge is having to carve out time to supervise her children’s studies while juggling her own workload.

Today, some parents like Mdm Lim and Mdm Aisha believe they have stumbled upon a tool that works to motivate their children to learn Math on their own – all without having to nag incessantly. 

The tool is KooBits – a Math e-learning platform that is targeted at Primary 1 to 6 children. Since Lincoln was introduced to KooBits in school last year, he has been diligently logging onto KooBits to practise Math on his own every day, Mdm Lim said.

“It’s good for Lincoln because it cultivates discipline. Sometimes I will forget and he will remind me that he wants to do the daily challenge on KooBits,” she said. “I’m happy to see him spending his time productively and practising his Math.”

As for Mdm Aisha, she shared that the e-learning platform has encouraged her children to learn more independently. KooBits comes with an accompanying app for parents, and this allows Mdm Aisha to track her children’s performance in real time.

“KooBits saves working parents time and gives them peace of mind. I don’t need to tell my children which pages to do and I don’t need to mark their work. That is helpful,” she said.

MAKING MATH FUN TO ENCOURAGE SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

Targeted at children from Primary 1 to Primary 6, KooBits infuses interactive, media-rich animations and personalised technology to help children master Math skills on their own, all within a safe digital environment.

According to KooBits’ chief executive officer Stanley Han, KooBits has been a partner of Ministry of Education (MOE) schools for the past six years and is being used by nearly half of Singapore primary schools. The Math problems, challenges and games on KooBits are aligned with what children are learning in school, as they are based on the latest MOE syllabus.

Winner of the 2015 Bett Asia and IDA: EdTech Excellence Award, KooBits currently has the largest user base of primary school students in Singapore compared to other e-learning solutions here, Mr Han shared.

Mr Han said: “We strongly believe that every child can become a confident, self-directed learner and an independent thinker, given the right environment and guidance. At KooBits, we want to harness the power of technology to give every child the opportunity and environment to thrive and learn effectively.”

To encourage self-motivation and to cater to different learning styles, such as visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, KooBits uses animated explanations to transform complex concepts into easy-to-understand visual instructions.

Animated videos make learning more appealing, enabling children to quickly absorb knowledge, improve focus and remain engaged throughout the learning process.

Mdm Patricia Lua, a stay-home mother of two, said KooBits has become part of her family life as her children log on to practise Math on their own every day. Sharing how she had difficulty coaching her older daughter in her school work, Mdm Lua said she particularly likes the step-by-step animated videos on KooBits, which have been very helpful when she and her children are stumped by certain questions.

“They don’t need their parents to be seated next to them when they do their revision. When they don’t know how to solve a question, they can look at the videos, then go back and work on the question again,” she said.

ADAPTING TO THE UNIQUE ABILITIES OF EACH CHILD

KooBits also uses personalisation technology to track knowledge-decay patterns, such as when kids naturally lose touch of older or non-recent concepts taught to them. By converting these patterns into actionable information, in the form of proficiency reports for example, children can then proactively work on closing those knowledge gaps.  

One parent, Mdm Sandra Low, said KooBits provides a good overview of Mathematics.  As it makes available questions and content across all levels of Math from Primary 1 to 6, children are able to take charge of their learning by referring to older concepts.

“My daughter is in Primary 4, and whenever she faces any challenges with the concepts, she can always go back to the Primary 3 questions and video explanations to revise the concepts, and then come back to try again. She can also access the Primary 5 materials for the topics that she is strong in,” she explained.

KooBits also uses motivation techniques through gamification like points so that doing Math becomes a rewarding experience for children.

Mdm Lim said Lincoln especially loves doing the Daily Challenge and Spot the Differences activities, as well as the brain games on KooBits. “These activities capture his attention,” she said.  

KEEPING YOUR CHILD SAFE AND WITHIN HEALTHY SCREEN TIME LIMITS

One of the main concerns parents have regarding digital learning are issues like excessive screen time and exposure to inappropriate material online. To mitigate such risks, KooBits has incorporated tools such as auto-parental control features to manage screen time.

For example, there is a 25-minute daily limit for the Math games feature, and activities on the platform are until 10pm, in time for the child’s bedtime.

Initially concerned about her children’s exposure to excessive online activities and screen time, mother of three Estee Goh said she changed her mind about KooBits after learning more about it and seeing how it benefits her children.

Practising mathematics on KooBits is now part of the daily learning routine for Mdm Goh’s older children, aged eight and 10, since they were introduced to it in primary school. She especially likes the time limit feature that ensures screen time is kept at healthy levels.

“My children are very motivated to do the questions and challenges. Initially, I wasn’t in favour of having anything online for them but after looking at the questions on KooBits and seeing how KooBits benefits them, I have peace of mind and there is now one less subject for me to worry about,” she said. 

KooBits also verifies users to ensure they are real students, making it a safe online community. The platform is ad-free and all content is vetted by its educator team.

Since 2014, KooBits has engaged more than 200,000 students on its digital learning platform. Students from over 45 countries, such as the Philippines, Australia, United Kingdom and the United States, use KooBits every day.

For Mr Anupam Mukherjee, he is glad that his son, Anusmit, has developed a newfound interest in Math since he started using KooBits last year. The seven-year-old’s mental calculation skills have also improved.

“We didn’t have something like KooBits in our childhood. Math used to be something to be scared of. But learning Math in a fun way has been a major confidence booster for my child. He is loving Math now,” he said.

Learn more about KooBits and sign up for a free trial.