New remote-learning African ed-tech platform launches

Wingu, a new ed-tech platform has launched with help from The University of Pretoria’s (UP) TuksNovation incubator.

The University of Pretoria has seen another ed-tech start-up emerge out of its TuksNovation programme, the institution’s high-tech incubator and accelerator.

Wingu has been created by two ed-tech South African startups with assistance from the TuksNovation incubator

Wingu Academy is a remote-learning platform that offers educational support to schools, tutoring centres, and home-schoolers all over Africa, offering live classes and tutorials along with interactive online content.

The new ed-tech platform has been developed by teachers, UP alumni, and postgraduate students who are experts in their respective fields with additional collaboration with researchers from the Wits School of Education.

The platform was created out of a collaboration between two innovative startups, TutCo Tuition, and EduWingu Cloud Education Solutions.

Both of the startups are apart of the TuksNovation programme. TutCo Tuition emerged in response to the academic needs of students of the 2016 #FeesMustFall movement; fittingly, EduWingu arose in response to another crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the platform provides a continuous assessment for learners. The new platform offers an international curriculum that is globally relevant by contextualised for the African continent.

In line with implementing technology from the fourth industrial revolution, Wingu focuses on student-led learning, utilising gamification, implementing constructive feedback all in alignment with major international curriculum’s offering a global standard in educational learning.

Catering to learners between the ages of five and 19, Wingu provides a wide variety of choices to support individual learning at home along with alternative options of a supplement programme followed by a tutoring centre or school.

Isabel Schimper, a lecturer in Speech-language Pathology and Audiology at UP comments on the innovative ed-tech platform.

“This exceptional online platform presents children with the opportunity to engage with high-tech education innovation with the personal touch of face-to-face teaching. We joined the Wingu family in June 2020. As an academic and a lecturer, I have high expectations of educational content, systems, and facilitators or teachers. Our 11-year-old daughter has been homeschooled using the Cambridge curriculum for the past few years due to a health condition. We are truly impressed with the welcoming and supportive online community at Wingu.”

Qualifications obtained through Wingu allow for entrance into major international tertiary institutions, including Ivy League and Oxbridge universities. International external exams are written at centres closest to the candidate’s home and are overseen by UK-based examination bodies.

Since its soft launch in May 2020, the academy has seen rapid market adoption, with a vibrant community of schools, parents, students, and tutors collaborating.

The growth has largely been organic, with word of mouth through digital channels delivering unprecedented interest beyond South African borders. Neighbouring African countries including Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe have expressed interest.

“The Wingu teaching methodology is in line with 21st-century teaching principles, which will equip our children with critical and independent thinking, as well as tech skills for the fourth industrial revolution. The platform is intuitive and interactive, and encourages children to take responsibility by preparing for lessons in a fun way using simulations and secret missions to solve problems. During a face-to-face lesson, learners are provided the opportunity to engage with the content, a highly qualified facilitator, and peers. Consolidation of new content is then done through homework activities and online quizzes,” said Schimper.

How to apply to Wingu

Enrolments for international programmes are still open and include a course that allows students to catch up. Candidates transitioning from other local examination bodies are welcome to apply.

Registration for specially designed programmes in response to COVID-19 disruptions for the current year is also still open. Applications for January 2021 have also opened. There is limited space, so reach out soon.

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Featured image: Supplied