In January, Khairul Anwar Mohamad Zaki launched the Pandai learning app with his team, unaware of the challenges that were about to come. Just a few months later, the pandemic spread throughout Malaysia and movement restrictions were imposed on the public.
Five days into the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March, Khairul and his team gathered in a meeting room to discuss how they could save their two-month-old product. Pandai is a mobile and web learning app that helps students study the national syllabus through interactive quizzes.
“Pandai is meant to complement school learning. But schools were closed due to the MCO. We thought of producing videos to teach students, but it was too hard to do in that time period,” says Khairul.
Eventually, they decided to use existing online education videos and arrange them according to the syllabus in Pandai. Students could watch the videos for free on the website and then test their knowledge with the Pandai app.
This approach became a success. The videos attracted 1.9 million unique visitors in only a few days, and the number of registered Pandai app users increased tenfold in less than two weeks.
“Nobody had launched anything like this at that time. Students could watch the videos without logging in, but after watching them, they could register for Pandai’s services,” says Khairul.
Since then, Pandai has attracted more than 100,000 paying users. During school closures, parents searched for ways to keep their children engaged, and the app helped fill that gap.
Pandai follows the KSSM (secondary) and KSSR (primary) curriculum set by the Ministry of Education. It is available for students from Year 1 to Form 5.
The primary school subjects available include mathematics, science, English, and Bahasa Melayu. Form 1 to Form 3 students can use Pandai for mathematics and science, while Form 4 and Form 5 students have access to mathematics, additional mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and science.
By paying RM9 to RM39 per month, users can access daily quizzes, topical tests, and term exams. They can also review their results and read detailed explanations for each question.
Before launching Pandai, Khairul worked on educational programmes in Malaysia through Ardent Educational Sdn Bhd. The company organised competitions such as the Kangaroo Math Competition, Malaysian Junior Science Olympiad, and Malaysian Astronomy Olympiad. Most of these programmes were paper-based and conducted in person.
“But we realised that we could reach more students with a digital platform. The impact can be continuous and we can upload new content daily. We can also add personalised elements,” says Khairul.
Reacting Quickly to the Situation
Pandai’s rapid growth in 2020 showed the strong demand for alternative learning platforms, especially when schools were closed. It also highlighted the team’s agility and resourcefulness.
In addition to launching the video series early, the team quickly introduced new programmes in response to user needs. For example, Pandai created a stir when it launched free online tests called UPSRx and PT3x in September.
Khairul emphasises that these tests were meant to help students recall what they had learned. They were not meant to replace the actual UPSR and PT3 exams, which were cancelled due to the MCO.
“We launched this because students had prepared so hard for these exams. Without a test, they may forget what they learned by next year, so we wanted to create a solution,” he says.
Students who took these tests received a digital certificate, transcript, and performance analysis. This helped them assess their strengths and weaknesses. Due to grading limitations, the tests covered only multiple-choice questions.
“We had thousands of participants from all over Malaysia,” says Khairul.
The Pandai team is also preparing to launch Pandai Guru. After the app launched, teachers requested tools to help them create quizzes and homework during remote learning.
“They told us that creating homework assignments is one of the most challenging tasks. Since we have a question bank, we can give teachers access to it. Pandai Guru will allow teachers to select a topic and generate random questions,” he explains.
Teachers can create custom quizzes for students on the Pandai app or other platforms like Kahoot!. They can also print the questions for offline use.
A New Way of Learning
Pandai entered the Malaysian market during a major shift in the education landscape caused by the pandemic. Students were expected to learn from home, and teachers had to adjust their methods.
However, many reports highlighted the challenges of learning from home. Not all students had devices or stable connectivity, and teachers struggled to engage students remotely, especially when parental supervision was limited.
“When children are at school, teachers supervise them for six hours. At home, they might only attend a one-hour class. Parents have to monitor them, but many do not understand the materials. I have three children, and even I find it difficult sometimes. It can be even more challenging for parents working from home,” says Khairul.
Pandai offers a solution by making learning more interactive. Students can test their knowledge through quizzes and competitions. The app also requires minimal bandwidth, and quizzes can be pre-loaded for offline use.
To further test Pandai in a school environment, Khairul enrolled the app in the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox. This will allow Pandai to be rolled out in five selected schools for six months next year.
“The students will receive devices and use the app for free. Forty primary school students from one class in each school will use Pandai in class. If the pandemic continues, the app will be used as part of their assignments. It is encouraging that this is now part of the national agenda,” says Khairul.
Next year, Pandai will launch Pandai Parent and Pandai School. Pandai Parent allows parents to monitor their children’s progress, while Pandai School provides a custom dashboard for schools.
“All countries are still looking for ways to move forward. I think no single entity can solve this. But the silver lining is that the digital learning process is accelerating, giving all students a chance to access the same resources if they have the right tools,” says Khairul.
Thank you The Edge Markets for the original article.
Learn more about Pandai at www.pandai.org.
Download Pandai on Google Play or the Apple App Store. Have fun!
Reference: The original article is available on The Edge Markets.