Remember those last few precious moments before you had to enter the exam hall? Be it a Math equation or a concept in Physics, no matter how much your teacher tried to teach you, it was never more comprehensible than when your friend explained it to you. In fact, many of us owe our grades to those last minute saviours.
That was the idea behind nine-year-old V Siddharth's app e-xpert. Siddharth thought to himself, if peer mentorship could make such a big difference, why not create a proper platform where children can teach each other what they know. This application is by the kids and for the kids. It's a platform where kids can teach and learn from other kids. Siddharth's goal is to build a community of one million kids where everyone can be educated in whatever subject area they choose. The app development is complete and it will soon be available in Google's PlayStore.
Explaining the features of the app, Siddharth says, "Once you open the app, there's an introductory video. After that, you get to choose whether you want to be a mentor or a student. You can then choose from a wide variety of subjects to learn or teach. The subjects even include skills, other than mainstream academics." The app has another interesting feature where students can rate their teacher. Depending on the rating, the mentors will get rewards. In order to build the community, Siddharth will be launching the app in schools and also talking to other entrepreneurs to spread the word.
When asked how the app is different from other traditional online learning platforms, Siddharth says, "The advantage with this app is that these kids build friendships and impart knowledge as friends. Normally, kids are hesitant to ask teachers doubts and even if they do, it's not always explained at their level of understanding. With this app, children have complete freedom and can imbibe knowledge better. Students will find this very comfortable."
Siddharth was rewarded for his innovative idea with a mentorship programme by the founders of Zoho and Freshworks, which he will begin soon. Siddharth also has a YouTube channel called Kids Vlog, where he posts travel videos, videos of him exploring different places and reviewing the place, the hospitality, the food and the experience in general. He has travelled to about 14 countries and made 32 videos so far.
