Callido Learning is an educational technology start-up founded by young entrepreneurs from Brown University and the University of Warwick. Callido’s first product, the highly anticipated Callido Basecamp has now been launched.
Callido Basecamp is an online course for students aged 15-17 years which equips students with 21st Century skills like critical thinking, research and communication.
“Fifteen years ago, if I had told you that there will be a little box which you can carry around which delivers the world’s knowledge to your fingertips, replaces the telephone, the book, the watch, the alarm clock and the diary you would have laughed at me. But everyone uses a smartphone now. So can we really predict what the world will look like fifteen years from now, in 2030? But that’s precisely when today’s students will take up jobs! Are they being prepared for it?”, questions Mr. Umar Jaffar – a leading educator and a member of the founding team of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai, India.
Worldwide, high school students struggle with applying the skill or piece of knowledge that they obtain in their content-oriented curricula to problem solving and real-world application. However, the best universities around the world expect students to excel at conducting research, writing effectively and critically evaluating arguments.
Callido Basecamp offers an inquiry-based, interactive and engaging platform for students to learn the techniques students need to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real world problem solving. This provides students with the essential skills they need to thrive in any of the world’s best universities.
“Basecamp is structured in a very interactive way that will keep students engaged and will help them build critical skills through immersive scenarios and challenging exercises. The online platform makes it flexible – take it anywhere, anytime. Rewind, retry, and explore at your own pace. The data analytics and personalized reports will allow students and parents to track progress,” says co-founder Chinmaya Kulkarni, who takes pride in teaching 21st century skills with the fun and power of tech platforms. “It prepares students for careers that don’t even exist today”.
This view is echoed by Mike Nicholson – Director of Undergraduate Admission at the University of Oxford: “We are very keen on students who have been well supported through the online learning experience. Students who have been tutored, you know that’s actually very good proxy for the experience as when they come to Oxford.”
The initial version of Basecamp is aimed at students about to begin the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. By popular request, a version of the programme for a wider audience will be released later this year.
The subscriptions to the course are now open and interested students can visit the website for a demo http://www.callidolearning.com.