e-learning startup Quipper launches in Cebu, eyes partnerships with schools transitioning to K-12

With the full implementation of the K-12 program this June with onset of the additional 2-year senior high school program, an education technology company out to improve the teaching and learning experience is now offering its services in Cebu. 

Yuki Naotori, Country Manager of Quipper, said the launching at Tisa Elementary School, which is plagued by many of the same challenges besetting high schools nationwide, exemplifies the company’s vision for a world where everyone has easy access to quality education. 

“This year is a pivotal one for Philippine education, with an estimated 1.2 to 1.6 million students beginning grade 11 in June. By providing excellent, K-12 aligned content on a platform that helps teachers streamline their teaching methods and class management while simultaneously providing students with an engaging yet effective learning experience, we hope to make this transition easier for both public and private schools in Cebu and the rest of the country,” said Naotori. 

To access the platform and content, teachers need to sign up at school.quipper.com, register their school, then invite their students to create accounts and join their class. Once students have signed-in, teachers can send assignments or exams and communicate with students via the platform’s messaging system. Educators are also able to upload their own content and access analytics on their students’ performance. The platform is gamified, so students get instant feedback upon answering, and earn ‘coins’ for correct answers, which they can use to ‘buy’ desktop wallpaper for their Quipper account. The use of Quipper School and all its features is free of charge. 

Founded by Masayuki Watanabe in London in 2010, Quipper is a member of the global conglomerate Recruit Holdings, which consists of 162 consolidated subsidiaries and generates $13 billion in annual sales. It opened its Makati office in the Philippines in 2014. 

Today, Quipper is eyeing local partnerships with schools in Cebu City and Cebu Province. “We are currently partnered with 33 DepEd divisions and 310 schools nationwide. Through these partnerships, we’ve provided much-needed assistance to schools aiming to create the most effective learning environment for 21st century learners,” said Quipper’s Country Manager. 

Quipper’s efforts are bolstered by the preliminary research findings of a commissioned study suggesting that students with consistent or even intermittent exposure to Quipper School are more likely to gain better scores, higher passing rates, and higher attendance rates. 

Dr. Ferdinand Pitagan of the University of the Philippines conducted the said research in a sample of 4 schools representing each DepEd district in the National Capital Region (NCR). Three Grade 7 Math classes for each school with different levels of exposure to Quipper School took part in the study. 

To help schools implement Senior High School, Quipper will be offering the following content for Grade 11 starting June 2016: Oral Communication, Reading and Writing, 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Filipino, Pagbasa at Pagsusuri ng Iba’t Ibang Teksto Tungo sa Pananaliksik, General Mathematics, Statistics and Probability, Earth and Life Science, Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics. 

As part of its preparations for senior high school, Quipper is also planning to launch a premium video service at the beginning of school year 2016-2017 to provide more comprehensive content and an improved learning experience for Grade 10 and 11 students. 

As of September 2015, almost one million students in the Philippines, majority of which are from public high schools in the NCR, are registered with Quipper School. 

Over 1,400 schools from 165 divisions nationwide are using Quipper, including Dagupan City, Legazpi City, Lucena City, Cavite, Mountain Province, and Nueva Vizcaya outside of the NCR as well as Bacolod, Dumaguete, and Silay City in the Visayas, and Tandag, Iligan and Zamboanga in Mindanao.