Meet Badal Kumar, a 15 years old Class X student from Chandilla village in Bihar.
Every weekday, Badal wakes up at 5 am, revises what he studied in school and cooks breakfast, before leaving for school at 8 am. Badal attends a private school where tuition fees are Rs. 1,000 per month. He says that he studies religiously to avoid punishment at school.
His mother passed away when he was little, and his father works in Rajasthan. Badal and his younger sister Riddhi, live with their aunt, largely responsible for themselves.
Who helps Badal study? The internet!
Badal has a 4G enabled smartphone. He searches for resources and bookmarks good sites. He likes videos that explain concepts. When he is looking for solutions to specific problems from his textbook or explanations of whole chapters, the internet is always up to the task.
Recently, Badal started using QuizNext, a gamified revision app that allows CBSE and ICSE students revise any concept in Maths & Science. Badal uses QuizNext to check his understanding. As soon as he finishes studying a chapter, he takes a quiz to assess his gaps.
When he discovered the benefits of this revision app, he asked Riddhi to join too. For every quiz they attempted they earned points. Badal and Riddhi became such avid QuizNexters that they both earned spots in our top 10 players!
“Quizzing helps me revise what is taught in school and assesses my understanding of a chapter.”
Tier II and Tier III cities
Badal and Riddhi’s story is not unique. About 64.09 percent of QuizNext users are from tier II and smaller cities and towns in India. As the Indian 4G internet boom has grown, tier II and tier III cities are being connected. As of June 2018, according to Telecom Lead and TRAI, 51.6 CR users or 44.16% of 4G subscribers were from outside urban metros.
Nearly 82% of QuizNext users are on a 4G network and do not have a WiFi connection. It is exciting to see users from Bulandshehar, Rajapalayam, Muzaffarnagar, Kolar and other smaller towns. The Indian 4G internet boom has helped us reach a demographic we never thought possible!
“About 64.09 percent of QuizNext users are from tier II and other smaller towns; nearly 82% of our users do not have a WiFi connection”
Children Today have Increased Agency
Students today do not rely just on textbooks or refreshers at a bookstore. With the average number of mobile phones in a household increasing to 2, they have more access to mobile phones. Secondary devices at home is helping students to use technology for study needs.
Nearly 72.5% of QuizNext users have the app installed on their mother’s phone or a secondary device at home.
Further, instead of looking to their parents to download apps and search for useful educational resources, students proactively scour the internet for solutions and solved question papers.
About 65 percent of times, students themselves discovered the app and downloaded it, while in other cases it was downloaded either by their parents or siblings.
Feedback
We found, in school delayed feedback and its lack of personalization decelerates student progress. Exam results are only known after few weeks. By which time, students have moved on to another chapter in their course or have forgotten what they studied. As for parents, a term-wise report card is a simplistic reflection of marks the student scored with very little feedback on how to improve.
For students and parents, QuizNext has broken this cycle. QuizNext’s instant feedback helps students self-assess. It shows them which chapters need more practice. Our monthly leaderboard is very popular among our users. Students can match their progress with those across the country.
“Practice” and “Challenge” are the two ways in which students can take a quiz on the app. Challenges, where students can add their friends or play with a random opponent is the preferred option showing us that social learning added an element of fun to revision. Game elements within the app has hooked users on to QuizNext, as students prefer Challenge quizzes over solo Practice quizzes. In addition, QuizNext’s instant feedback helps students self-assess. It shows them which chapters need more practice. Plus, when doing challenges, it shows each students’ ranking and competitive performance.
Game elements within the app has hooked students on to revising chapters with QuizNext. Nearly 68.5% of quizzes taken are challenges quizzes against random opponents.
In school, the study goals are spaced out over months, making it difficult for students to remain focused throughout the year. QuizNext’s 5 minute quiz helps them channel energy and focus on a goal that is time bound and placed in a short time span.
There are currently no apps or solutions in the market that help students revise effectively. We are happy to be building something that is pioneering the way in helping students’ study through revision.
Authored by Chaiitanya Naik, a Product Manager at QuizNext and is passionate about using behavioral economics to drive effective learning.
