Talk Think Do wins the 2021 UK Business Tech Transformation Through Technology Award

Earlier this month we were announced as the winner of the 2021 UK Business Tech Transformation Through Technology Award, recognising the work we have done with Explore Learning. The awards ceremony took place at the Montcalm Hotel on Wednesday 13th October, alongside other finalists which included Octopus Energy, EY, RAC and Experian.

Winning the award was a great moment as it shined a light on the hard work that both companies have put into the platform as Matt Hammond, our CEO said, “We are thrilled to have won this award alongside our client, Explore Learning. Between both companies we have poured blood, sweat and tears into responding to the challenges that the pandemic has presented and it is fantastic for the team to have these efforts recognised.”

UK Business Technology Awards shared that we had “An impressive submission with tangible, measurable benefits. The impact here from both technology transformation and human engagement / support perspectives really stood out to us. We liked the capability and personalisation of the platform – engagement for kids and support for parents and tutors alike.”

Who is Explore Learning and why did this opportunity come about?

At the start of the pandemic Explore Learning, an award-winning education provider delivering Maths and English tuition to children aged 4-14 across the UK, were forced to close their 145 easy-to-access centres. This required an online solution that would be able to replicate the same dynamic and engaging atmosphere that was so unique to their centres.

During this deeply turbulent time of great uncertainty, Talk Think Do helped Explore Learning continue their vital role in nurturing confidence and providing stability, as well as developing important skills and knowledge for children across the UK while they were forced to remain at home.

What did we do?

Deploying a Solution

We moved quickly to deploy ‘Compass at Home’ – a sophisticated online learning platform that provides interactive tuition to children at home. With a specially designed interface that integrates video and audio technology alongside customised real-time learning telemetry, it allows the tutor to see and control the child’s experience unlike any other off-the-shelf video platform.

The Team

To do this, we worked with Explore Learning’s data scientist and curriculum team to build complex logic and provide a state-of-the-art adaptive learning approach that rivals Explore Learning’s in-person offering – this adaptive tool analyses each student’s learning history, including the questions they’ve been set and the results, proving data that can be used to tailor their learning path to the correct level for their ability to keep them engaged.

The Challenges

Other important considerations were the ability for the solution to cope under extreme peaks in activity, as well as take into account bandwidth challenges. Running in Azure with an infrastructure that can scale to meet these traffic and network demands, the platform is able to perform seamlessly for users. With flexible packages for parents and the ability to expand internationally, we are proud to have delivered cutting-edge technology that will educate children for generations to come.

Over the past 18 months:

• Member retention increased from 65% to 95%
• There are 1.3 million questions being answered by children every week
• 190,000 new skills, as set by National Curriculum, are mastered each week
• 41,000 1-hour child sessions are delivered per week

The Result

The team reacted instantly and worked extremely hard to design and develop a solution that utilised ground breaking technology to fulfil the complex requirements and perform like nothing else that’s available off-the-shelf.

Talk Think Do created ‘Compass at Home’, which is a pioneering online learning platform designed and developed for award-winning education provider, Explore learning. Built with cutting-edge technology, at speed. It has delivered, real world impact for both the business and the children they serve. Explore Learning can now operate fully remotely, but they also have the potential to expand their business on a global scale and this platform has set them up for long-term growth and success with the ability to help their business to rapidly accelerate their transformation, using technology to set their business up for future growth. This could be a blueprint for education providers worldwide to support a blended/hybrid learning approach that could revolutionise the sector.

In response to the award win our CEO, Matt Hammond said, “Much has been written about the accelerated pace of transformation over the last year and a half and we have experienced that first-hand, with a multi-year technology roadmap accelerated and delivered in months.

The really exciting thing is that the world has now changed and now, having been through this accelerated transformation, Explore Learning are in a great place to capitalise upon a shifting marketplace. There has never been a greater need for extra tuition for children and the use of digital technology can make that more widely accessible and ultimately improve outcomes for many children.”

You can find the full list of 2021 winners across all categories here.

You can learn more about our work with Explore Learning here.