BENEFITS FOR EDUCATION

Improveo’s first academic users were students of social entrepreneurship on a workshop organized by Sabine Chevé, a MakeSense full time member facilitating classes with design thinking methodology. We connected via Skype to help introduce the platform. Once the functionalities were explained, students divided into four groups to discuss Sabine's question: “How can collaborative digital tools help students achieve their objectives.”. The results of every group debate were added in French and Improveo immediately translated them into English. Having all opinions in one place helped students compare various approaches and think about the opinions of their own peers once the class is over.

The second part of the workshop focused on Improveo and the benefits it can bring to students, teachers and their universities. Students regarded Improveo as an excellent tool for improvement of their analytical skills or for crowdsourcing new practical knowledge. We at Improveo were amazed by the dynamics of their discussion, became inspired by new ideas and are continuously implementing them in practice.  Here are a few for you to consider:

How can students benefit from Improveo?

• Source of credible information: To improve a course, the teacher can post a question on Improveo (at the time of testing called Problemondo) and ask students to research and post answers. Students can look into discussions of other Universities registered on Improveo for their own intellectual enrichment.

• Source of inspiration: Solutions developed in one location can help students develop a systematic approach and help solve problems in another context.

• A tool for facilitating debates: Improveo can be used by informal student groups or debate clubs (helps teach foreign languages or solve entrepreneurial problems etc.).

How can teachers benefit from Improveo?

• Preparation kit: Teachers can prepare classes with the help of information on the platform, post opinions to share useful tips and information with their students.

• Source of inspiration: Launch a debate by asking students to respond to a certain specific question/topic and run a "healthy" competition among students or classes.

• Communication facilitator: Exchange information with students and other teachers about diverse extracurricular topics.