Estonian company looks to change digital learning across the globe

KidED is a new learning app developed in Estonia that looks to be a game changer both literally and metaphorically.

The first app that is directly integrated into any other activity a child is engaged in on a tablet or smart phone, KidED gives kids the freedom to play the games they love while learning and giving parents the freedom not to have to try and force their kids to play a learning app rather than their favourite game. Estonian World spoke with KidED founder Alari Truuts about how he came up with the app and why this is the right time for it.

KidED is one of the newest learning-games apps for kids on the market. How does it work and how does it differ from older similar apps?

First of all, we’re unsure whether we can classify KidED as a learning game, it’s best to call it an application for parents that provides game-based learning for their kids.

However, KidED differs from every other learning application currently on the market because, unlike other learning apps, where a parent has to sit down with their child and do the educational activities side by side, KidED is an interval based learning application, where a parent just activates the app and educational quizzes will be brought up in specifically timed intervals, pausing the child’s current activity. After each quiz is solved, the game or other activity a child is engaged in will resume right where it was before it was paused.

We also provide the parents with statistics on how well their kid is performing and in what subjects they might need a little more help with.

What inspired you to design this app?

Well, frankly there was a need for this kind of solution. Our kids are always sitting on their tablets or our mobile phones and getting them to do something educational isn’t always easy, especially when you hope to leave them alone as they use a learning app – that just doesn’t work, somehow they always find their way to Angry Birds or something else more appealing to them. KidED solves this by allowing kids to use whatever game or other apps they enjoy using, then intimately pausing this so the kid can solve a quiz before returning back to their favourite games. It’s an app that gives children freedom to have fun and to parents freedom to be assured their kids will be learning without having to constantly remind their kids to “get off angry birds and use an educational app”.

What kind of kids will use the app?

KidED is intended for ages three to eight, although older kids can also benefit from our range of quizzes.

Which platforms will support the app?

Currently the application is only available for Android-based devices. We’ve looked into building it for iOS, but at this time this is not possible because of Apple’s restrictions for programmers.

Which countries are the primary target markets?

Initially we’re targeting our homeland – Estonia – and the UK, the US and Australian markets. But soon we will have versions for German, French and Spanish-speaking countries as well as the other Nordic and Scandinavian countries.

Is it available if different languages?

Yes. Every market gets the app in its own language.

Which subject areas are covered in the quizzes?

Right now we have: learning to read, letters, numbers, math, logic and learning to tell time. These are spread over 70 different quiz packages which contain a total of more than 700 questions. We intend to extend this list in further development, when we’ll also include new types of quizzes. Our goal is to add five to ten new packages each week. All of the quiz questions have been designed by leading pedagogues to ensure to most thorough and modern learning experience.

How can the app be integrated with other e-learning systems and concepts?

In addition to kids using KidED at home we hope to have primary schools integrate the app during various playtime activities.

Where is KidED based?

Tallinn.

Do you have plans to develop the app further?

Yes, we’re very excited about our future plans for KidED. There will be an even more thorough statistics system, we plan on making app-based activation available soon, where KidED is automatically activated when certain apps are used (a kids game) but not activated when parents are using one of their apps whether it be a finance app or let’s say Google Maps. We also plan to add even more types of quizzes and games. Also we intend to bring in voice guidance for kids who are not reading and a lot more.