2024-08-17 04:00:00
Classavatar, a young Quebec SME, wants to implement its classroom management application across Quebec and dethrone its American competitor.
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“With our application, the classroom becomes a community,” explains Isabelle Lemieux, president of Classavatar and a trained teacher with 22 years of experience. “The application allows the teacher to establish classroom rules, a motivation and positive feedback system, a news feed that shares daily news with parents, and a messaging service. Soon, we will offer a digital portfolio of students’ achievements.”
In class, Classavatar works from the interactive whiteboard (IWB) and is controlled by the teacher. Parents create an account and visit a responsive website from their computer, phone or tablet. They can receive text notifications. Each child has their own avatar.
Positive dynamics
“At the start of the school year, the teacher can organize an avatar creation activity,” continues Ms. Lemieux. “The application stimulates the learning of expected behaviors through a virtual classroom projected on the screen. Each child appears with their avatar. Everything is focused on effort and behaviors, not academic results. A positive action/reaction dynamic is established.” The application establishes a rewards system. In a word, Classavatar replaces the little green stars in our old-fashioned notebooks.
“It’s a healthy use of technology, which uses gamification to encourage positive behaviors,” says Guillaume Germain, CEO of Agence Monolith, an SME in Old Montreal specializing in creative engineering and online technologies. Monolith is a partner in Classavatar. It distinguished itself for its avatars on the show In the eye of the dragona few years ago.
At a time when there is concern about children’s overexposure to screens, Classavatar’s leaders insist that students do not use phones or tablets in class. “Teachers have noticed a general lack of motivation among children in recent years,” continues Isabelle Lemieux. “We are using appropriate tools to stimulate a generation that was born and masters technology.”
She claims that she worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, whose educational practices she met several requirements. The Ministry did not approve her.
Business model
Classavatar is free for teachers and students. Parents will have to pay $2.99 per month. “The SME offers a sponsorship system, where parents can anonymously pay for those who cannot afford the bill. If they wish, a parent can even pay for an entire class, or even the entire school! It’s a form of philanthropy never seen before in education,” explains Guillaume Germain.
The company intends to establish itself at a time when its main competitor, ClassDojo, a San Francisco multinational valued at US$1.25 billion, was forced to withdraw from Quebec schools when Bill 25, which requires that parents’ personal information be stored on servers located in Canada, came into force in 2022.
ClassDojo entrusts its data to Amazon and denies wanting to sell it to third parties, as reported by the British newspaper The Guardian“We will never share our data with anyone. Our business model is socially oriented,” Guillaume Germain reiterates.
Classavatar is developing a phone application and plans to expand outside Quebec next year. More than fifteen people are working on its development. A crowdfunding campaign on La Ruche is planned for the fall.
“We attend learning fairs, talk to educational advisors and communicate with groups of teachers on social networks. Since the launch of our Beta version in 2023, we have been very well received by teachers, who are looking for solutions to create a sense of belonging around the class and the school, especially among parents,” concludes Isabelle Lemieux.
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