Company of the year
Online learning platforms are emerging as a recognized pathway to education opportunities as students are seeking for convenient, flexible and innovative learning methods. The modern teaching techniques are more activity-based and engage new learners to actively participate in the learning process through conversation, interaction and participation and help to build skills beyond academic curriculum.
Quality Online Education Group is one such e-learning platform, that is trying to provide a native English learning experience through a modern teaching approach that makes learning fun. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, QOEG is run by a results-driven team of executive strategists and seasoned experts in education, focusing on developing the confidence in students to be proficient at learning English. Edward Wu, Chief Executive Officer of Quality Online Education Group was with the CEOViews team to share details about how they are achieving their goals.
Inception
Quality Online Education Group (QOEG) was founded in August 2018 with a single believe that high-quality education can change the world. The best motivation for the development and application of technological innovation is when it is for the betterment of society, to help people in ways that were previously impossible. The latest advances in connectivity and cutting-edge analytics provided the ideal technological bedrock for Quality Online Education Group to build its rapidly growing Online Education program throughout Southeast Asia – a region that has an incredible hunger for English Education. K-12 online English program is their first product, targeting non-native English-speaking countries.
Vision to provide native English learning experience
The further one moves from affluent city centers, the higher the difficulty arises to find a quality native English tutor. Through high-speed online access, Quality Online Education Group connects highly qualified, experienced teachers directly from North America, all having proper teaching credentials and certifications, into the homes of students and their families.
Encouraging students to ‘converse to learn’
Being able to read and write a language doesn’t necessarily contribute in effective personal development, unless one is using it to communicate. In academic institutes, English is taught as a ‘language subject’ and students learn the technicalities of the language, through memorization and passing examinations. This mindset is obviously deeply ingrained in the psyche, and oft-times even the student and their family don’t realize that this is what is holding back their immense potential to express themselves in English. Quality Online Education Group endeavors to encourage students to speak up and learn through practice.
Approach that combines Education and Entertainment
One of the finest teaching methods is to make learning fun and engaging. Based on the English curriculum structure, QOEG follows an ‘Edu-tainment’ approach that blends education with entertainment to provide students a fun learning experience. The platform encourages students to learn English by conversing in English, through gamification. Students are invited into a fun learning environment where they use English to participate in games and compete to win, interact in English with original animated characters and settings, and collaborate with fellow students and tutors in English. As the cherry on top, QOEG prepares students before each session and reviews with them after each session, with the aim to increase their frequency of language usage and the effects of their learning experience.
Use of Artificial Intelligence to improve skills
Lack of opportunities to practice English communication skills hold back students from developing language proficiency. QOEG uses artificial intelligence to improve their listening and speaking skills. For instance, in a fun-to-play exercise, the system plays a recording of a phrase, and the student uses a smartphone to repeat that phrase. The system will provide a score and identify which word they can improve on, with a color system to identify specific areas for improvement. Through such activities, students can practice anytime and anywhere they want. But, unlike just another mobile app, the student’s practice activity is collected, and the data is analyzed and supervised by the student’s tutor for assisted guidance. In terms of accessibility, these activities, as well as the classroom sessions, can be accessed on the computer and smart devices.
Quality Online Education Group is one such e-learning platform, that is trying to provide a native English learning experience through a modern teach- ing approach that makes learning fun.
Evolving technological trends
Since past two years, online education has traditionally evolved as an alternative pathway. QOEG have embraced and integrated innovative technologies in providing a cutting-edge virtual English-based learning environment to the other side of the world, especially being able to reach as far and as deep into the more remote regions. Additionally, with a passion for innovation, they have incorporated Artificial Intelligence and Big Data to improve each student’s learning experience, and consequently the student’s results. Through predictive analysis and behavior learning analysis, they personalize the curriculum package for an individual student, to provide optimal learning results. Lastly, the maturity of listening and speaking AI algorithms that is able to take different accents and tones into account, will support in international expansion.
Driving innovation with products
QOEG provides a complete package and not just real time online tutoring sessions. They provide pre and post exercise options through custom-built mobile solutions supported by teaching assistant.
AI Tutoring- AI based tutor assists students across multiple learning contexts and helps in evaluating coursework. A pre-class exercise leverages AI technology of voice recognition. The student can follow the recorded phases by tutors and can keep practicing using the mobile device. The AI system will provide a score of the pronunciation and highlight exactly the words needed to be improved. Other than that, academic materials, pre-reading, picture books, videos and songs are also provided for the students.
1:4 Tutoring- It offers a 25 minutes tutoring session where no more than 4 students in a class participate in the real time online session. With a few students together in a class, students are engaged more during the learning process.
Learning management system- A custom built learning management system helps to capture students’ learning behavior to target the areas of improvement.
Google glass- QOEG have developed a marketing tool for online English learning using VR technology where a student can wear a google glass to go into a virtual campus, talk to different avatars in the campus and can enter different grade classrooms to attend class.
What’s different
Speaking about how, from a business operations strategy perspective, QOEG stands out in a competitive market, Edward Wu said, “We have a successful and proven business model with very low marketing expenses and sales costs, compared to other major players in the industry, and yet our model allows us to easily replicate our operations to other regions or countries.”
QOEG have three major tutor bases worldwide, in North America, Philippines, and South Africa. In addition to the tutors, these bases also include teams of teaching assistants, who support students during the pre-class and post-class sessions.
Client Testimonials
Client testimonials are valuable for business to accumulate. An eight-year-old student who has been studying with QOEG for over two years, was initially enrolled when he almost lost interest in learning English, because of having difficulties in memorizing new vocabulary and refused to practice phonics. But last December, he passed the PET (Preliminary English Test) exam with Grade A, attaining a full score of 170 in Speaking. Speaking about how he get from there to here, Edward Wu said, “After he enrolled with us, we put our behavior analysis technology to work, and analyzing his learning
style, we found that he was more of a “kinesthetic learner”, which meant that he learned better when engaging all of his senses!
In pre-class, he was assigned to read-along tasks of cartoons and books that interested him, as per the recommendations provided by historical data. Also, by using AI speaking and recording features in mobile app we collect- ed and provided data to teachers to support him in practicing and thinking in English. In-class, the teachers used tailored materials to carry real-life conversations with him, to help him regain interest in learning English, and to build his self-confidence.
In stark contrast to his previous struggles with dry, technical instruction, he found that learning English is fun, it is more like learning by doing, rather than by memorizing. In post-class, he was assigned reading, listening, and writing tasks to help review and reflect on his growing command. That’s how he succeeded.”
Future Roadmap
QOEG is focusing on four main areas of development. On the technology side, a key initiative in enhancing the platform is to further leverage big data and artificial intelligence. This will improve the ability to identify students’ learning behaviors, with consequential benefits in the personalization of the learning experience, ultimately maximizing the student’s learning results. Second, with the aim of international expansion, they are focusing to expand the market to Europe and Southeast Asia. Adding new product line is another way to gain momentum. QOEG has recently launched Mathematics program and plans to expand the product line to non-English subjects. Lastly, they focus on mergers and acquisition. They have successfully acquired an online education company in 2020 and will be looking for the right opportunity to expand.
Quality Online Education Group has the leading-edge programs that are strategically designed to build confidence and enthusiasm for learning English.
Public education system often fails to teach children how to confidently communicate in foreign language. Quality Online Education Group has the leading-edge programs that are strategically designed to build confidence and enthusiasm for learning English.
