The startups of the SEL Challenge!

SpeakingPal is an Israeli EdTech company that focuses on the field of spoken English. Our vision is to promote English as a main means of connecting people in the age of globalization. We focus on the skill of speaking, as it is the leading and natural skill necessary for connecting with people.

The company has developed a video-based dialog simulator powered by speech recognition which provides a natural user- experience when speaking with another person. The need to analyze the conversation is integrated using unique speech recognition technology, with which the user receives real-time feedback and suggestions for improvement. The virtual experience is similar to having a conversation with a human being, similar to a Zoom call. Learning by simulating a conversation with a person, highlights the importance of the social and emotional connection that is part of communication and language. It builds confidence both in speaking English and in conducting a conversation in general.

This approach, and the unique technology at its core, have helped the company win many international awards. The company’s clients include education ministries, educational organizations, commercial companies and private individuals.

For the Challenges’ pilots, social emotional content will be added to the product, to enable learning and practicing skills related to this domain. Exercises in pairs and groups will connect between the virtual and the real world. In addition, a visual control panel will allow teachers to be updated on personal progress, lead the learning process, and provide human and personal attention when required.

To the website

Milgo is a digital personal assistant for teachers, focusing on improving the social emotional experience of their students. It guides them through 4 simple steps in weekly measurement & improvement cycles:
1. The teacher measures the students’ social-emotional experience using friendly surveys validated by experts.
2. Milgo provides immediate feedback by sending a full update to the teacher, including insights and personalized recommendations.
3. The teacher chooses recommendations and implements them in class.
4. Milgo analyzes the actual improvement and suggests a new improvement cycle.

Our improvement cycles are based on Social Determination Theory, which shows how intrinsic motivation for learning among students is dependent upon meeting four foundational psychological needs in the school environment: relatedness and emotional safety; self-efficacy for academic challenges; a sense of autonomy in the learning process; and a sense of meaning and relevance of the content to the learner’s life in & beyond school.

Milgo helps teachers map the gaps in students’ needs, and suggests simple and effective pedagogical actions to bridge them.

The personal assistant was developed by a partnership between the Sagol Center for Brain and Mind at Reichman University and Kayma. Prior to the 2022-2023 academic year, the team focused on developing content tailored to science teachers at Israeli middle schools.

Demo

Leminda is an AI-based platform for the learning workspace, using AI to analyze complex academic texts and simplify texts so that less experienced readers can understand and be interested in the content.

This way, texts at different levels can be made accessible to students at various skill levels, who can gradually improve their level of English, reading strategies, awareness, self-management, and their  abilities, by setting objectives and raising the complexity of the text from week to week. Based on the student’s personal progress, Leminda automatically generates comprehension and practice questions.

This personalized adjustment creates a different, more effective learning experience when reading and listening in English and helps students improve their English level, develop reading strategies, and expand their vocabulary.

Aspects of social-emotional learning are addressed in several ways. Students can set themselves weekly goals, such as reading minutes, reading complexity, vocabulary level, and answering text-based questions, managing the learning process, and monitoring achievement goals.

Additionally, students can have conversations, solve texts together, and share texts and questions. Teachers and students can receive feedback on their teamwork processes (e.g., based on each student’s activity monitoring).

Website

Classit is a ground-breaking, Big Data- based personalized learning platform geared towards the teaching of math and physics and its assessment.

The platform is comprised of step-by-step learning modules that are automatically adapted to the student’s progress. It provides the student with immediate feedback, progress tracking, and personal goal setting. For the teacher, Classit provides an in-depth assessment of the class progress.

Classit is a true breakthrough in personal studies, since it combines emotional and metacognitive elements as an integral part of learning. In addition to referencing his mastery of the material, the student receives detailed feedback about his level of confidence, anxiety, recklessness, regulation, accuracy, and self-awareness.
The teacher can follow the individual development of each student in a comprehensive and detailed way.

In 2018, the company was founded as part of the PIE Challenge, and it currently serves hundreds of schools across the country as well as pre-academic colleges. A number of successful pilots have been conducted in France, Belgium, and Brazil. Students and teachers who use Classit have expressed great enthusiasm, and academic studies have indicated that academic achievement and SEL skills have significantly improved.

Website

Capish is a web-based learning environment developed in collaboration between Hilma and the Jerusalem Post.

With Capish, students develop in-depth reading skills and a comprehensive understanding of English texts while learning content based on their preferences and learning levels.

Based on the annual vocabulary requirements by the Ministry of Education, the platform offers a database of English texts at varying levels of difficulty and covering different areas of interest. By using Capish, the student can gain an in-depth understanding of the vocabulary while reflecting on their progress.

Capish also promotes intrapersonal and interpersonal SEL skills. Internally – by identifying and validating feelings and increasing self-awareness, and interpersonally – by acquiring tools for group learning that promote interpersonal communication. A teacher can also receive centralized data sheets to track a student’s performance and review his reflections on his learning experience.

Using Capish, students can quickly comprehend the ‘bottom line’ simply and easily.

Website

Singit is an innovative, empowering, and personalized learning experience that provides users with the ability to learn the world’s international language – English.

Singit is approved and recommended by the Ministry of Education and is at the forefront of pedagogical innovation in Israel. English studies are carried out through a dedicated and interactive application; and teachers receive a personalized management system that allows them to create lessons, share tasks, filter content, and more.

Offering a comprehensive song catalogue, Singit is a unique platform that builds and strengthens English skills through the most beloved songs. Using Singit, private users and teachers can make learning English a practical and comprehensive adventure.

Singit allows the teacher to build a curriculum that is based on the student’s preferences – using the songs he likes to hear and indicating the English skills the student needs to improve. The combination of his personal preferences and his English challenges allows flexibility and improves the student’s achievement. The variety of songs allows for a discourse regarding emotions, accepting those who are different and more.

Singit builds the users’ self-confidence and gives teachers time to empower students using a learning process based on their favorite music.

Singit provides a learning experience that does not feel like studies, an experience that is suitable for all ages, customized for users, and most importantly – brings the world to them.

Website

“Integrated Tools” is a solution for personalized social-emotional learning in the field of science for 7th graders, developed by pedagogy and technology experts from the Mimshak and Da-Li companies, two established and successful Ed-tech companies and digital content providers for the Ministry of Education.

Integrated Tools provides teachers with the tools to integrate SEL skills into teaching and learning;, and students are imparted with these skills to develop both professionally and emotionally.

This solution offers SEL-promoting teaching-learning sequences intended for continuous use throughout the year, with science study materials according to the curriculum of the Ministry of Education, along with enrichment materials that connect the study material to real life and practical applications. The sequences are spread out over several weeks and focus on a central topic (for example, the particle model, the cell, and energy). The sequence is built from building blocks that include individual work, classroom learning, group work, and SEL tools that integrate soft skills into the learning process.

As students participate in defining the goals and performing active learning, they strengthen the “muscles” of self and social awareness and aim for personal growth. As part of the solution, teachers are provided with data-driven recommendations and tools to manage teaching-learning sequences optimally, thereby intervening and personalizing learning for each student.

DaLi Website

Mimshak Website 

Eureka World has been developing the EurekaWorld metaverse since 2014. In Israel, the company operates study and educational programs in some 150 schools. More than 30,000 students have connected to Eureka World and hundreds of teachers have received instruction for Metaverse training and learning . The company focuses on cooperative learning based on creating and solving problems and integrating role-playing games into the curriculum.

“Survive and Sustainability” is a multiplayer 3D missions game that combines emotional & social skills with learning research and problem solving in the field of sciences. The game is played in Eureka World – an educational metaverse for creativity, socialization and learning.

The goal of the teams in the game is to create a new, sustainable culture in an underwater environment. The game is flexible in terms of  the range of solutions offered by the students and it assigns the teacher the role of  “Game Master”.

 The ability to survive and face the challenges posed by the underwater environment alongside building a thriving and evolving sustainable culture over time, simulate scientific challenges – such as the behavior of gases and liquids, energy sources, biodiversity, electricity generation and more. Dealing with these challenges requires the group to conduct research and learning, while delegating roles and learning to trust group members while their perform their tasks.

The social process that the group members undergo together as a group and in contrast to the other groups in the challenge constitutes the field of action and intervention for which the teacher must provide tools and guidance related to the social and emotional world of the participants.

Website