Smarte educational platform: functionality and features of interactive learning

When Green Forest came up with an idea to create its own coursebooks Notes by Green Forest, an important question arose right away: “What kind of textbook will students receive? And how can we ensure that the textbook is always modern, accessible, and easy to use?” Here’s the story behind what is now called Smarte.

Contents

1. First Steps Towards Interactive Learning in the Green Forest Family
2. Smarte – an educational platform for interactive learning
   2.1 Smarte team and how we work 
   2.2. The Functionality of the Smarte Educational Platform
   2.3. Our Plans
3. FAQs About Learning Online on the Smarte Platform

First Steps Towards Interactive Learning in the Green Forest Family

In 2015, we came up with the idea to create an educational platform for interactive learning. While working with Project 12 — a school that combines group classes and self-study — we decided to develop an online platform where students could not only access learning materials but also complete tasks without having to use pen and paper and check their answers without a teacher’s assistance.

At that time, platforms like Coursera and Khan Academy were popular, offering courses across various disciplines and interactive, self-study materials. Other platforms, like Duolingo and Quizlet, used game-like elements for language learning.

However, English language schools had limited options for interactive online learning tools. Quite often, the only option was PDF versions of textbooks, which lacked true interactive touch. We needed an online platform that would not only provide students with information, but also give access to a great variety of tools required for studying (not just exercises and texts but also audio and video content). This was supposed to be an online course book which allowed students to complete tasks step-by-step, check answers automatically without flipping through paper pages for answer keys, redo tasks if necessary, and access audio and video content directly without trying to figure out where to find it and how to play it. 

By 2016, students at Project 12 tested the first interactive textbook. Soon, students at Green Forest English School, Green Country English School for Children, Yappi Business English School, and Yappi Corporate English School joined in using the online textbooks - the first version of the future Smarte Educational Platform. 

Students initially used online textbooks alongside paper versions, but online coursebooks quickly gained more popularity. How come? The reason is that online platform offers numerous advantages:

• Flexibility. Students can study at their own pace and whenever they want, which allows them to balance learning with work or other responsibilities.
• Accessibility. With a gadget and internet connection, students can access materials from anywhere in the world. Without the necessity to be physically present in class, not only can students have classes from whichever place they’re at, but also save time on commute. 
• Technological Tools. Interactive features like videos, quizzes, and tests boost engagement and prove to be more effective for memorizing information.
• Independent Learning. Students can set personal goals, select courses independently, and monitor their progress.
• Content Updates. Courses and textbooks are frequently updated to reflect the latest changes in the world, which ensures that our students have access to the most relevant information.
• Personalized Approach. Some educational platforms use algorithms to tailor the learning experience to the needs and preferences of individual students.

Smarte – an educational platform for interactive learning

Over the years, the Green Forest school has invested tens of millions of hryvnias into developing an interactive learning platform for its students. Does that sound like a bit too much? In fact, we believe that distance learning is the future, which is why we continuously invest in the platform’s development.

Thanks to this platform, which provided online access to coursebooks, not only Green Forest but also our partner schools were able to adjust the working process much faster first to the challenges presented by quarantine during the COVID pandemic and then during the full-scale invasion.

In its eight years of existence, the team working on the Green Forest online platform has twice radically redesigned its look and concept and created several additional products for teachers and students to meet the demands of modern interactive learning. Essentially, we started with online coursebooks but have grown into an educational platform that became an independent project with its own name and branding in 2024.

Meet Smarte /ˈsmɑːr.ti/ – an interactive educational platform developed by an English language school specifically for comfortable English learning and teaching.

We’re not afraid to say that Smarte is truly a unique development in the English language school market, not only in Ukraine but worldwide. It’s not the only platform, for sure, but it’s the most advanced in terms of functionality. It allows users to easily create and edit their own textbooks and personalized lessons.

As of today, the following schools have posted their textbooks and materials on our online platform:

• Green Forest (Notes by Green Forest)
• Project 12 (15 English Tracks)
• Yappi Corporate (Business English course by Yappi, Notes for Work and Life, English for IT)
• Green Country (Notes for Teens, Steps)

Additionally, the Booyya online courses marketplace and the TalkEn.Cloud online LMS platform operate on the Smarte educational platform.

Smarte team and how we work

Over the years, Smarte has provided interactive learning to more than 200,000 students not only in Ukraine but also abroad! It’s not surprising, for professional English teachers with many years of experience, under the guidance of Olha Yankova — the head of the Smarte educational platform — continue to drive its development.

How do we develop new features of our platform? First, we gather feedback and suggestions from various users:

• Students can share ideas and requests through their teachers and school managers or via a survey they complete at the end of the academic semester.
• Teachers and project administrators provide their suggestions directly to their project’s methodology specialists or to Smarte’s management.
• Content managers and methodology specialists connect directly with Smarte's head.

Due to the fact that we take feedback from all platform users into consideration, we manage to create a truly modern product, as ideas come from virtually unlimited resources—users genuinely motivated to learn the language or those who professionally teach it.

All these suggestions go into a shared idea pool, where they are prioritized based on importance and necessity for all projects. Updates and bug fixes are ongoing work. Future developments are discussed during monthly meetings with project leaders and R&D heads.

Once an idea is approved, it moves into development. We look for examples of similar tasks, think through how each task should function, which buttons students need to see and click, and what happens during each interaction with the platform.

When the mechanics of the functionality are designed, the full description and all possible examples from other resources go to a UI/UX designer. They create visuals for the new task and develop a prototype that shows how the new exercise type will function.

If everything checks out, the mechanics and design are sent to the programmers. Once the new task type is ready, we connect it to a test student to ensure everything works. After all bugs are fixed, the exercise appears in our online textbooks and teachers' resources.

The Functionality of the Smarte Educational Platform

Thanks to the approach described above, our online platform now boasts the following functionality:

• 24 types of tasks in the builder, allowing the creation of over 40 different types of exercises for online learning.
  Why so many? Because today, there is a big variety of language teaching methods, and combining them ensures the best results. Moreover, variety of tasks helps students maintain interest in the learning process and adjust the difficulty, moving from simple to complex tasks in an interactive learning environment.

• Flashcards with words and interactive tasks for engaging and effective learning.
  Flashcards have proven to be one of the most effective ways to memorize new words. Therefore, we offer flashcards to our students as part of lessons, while also giving them the opportunity to create their own and review them at any convenient time.

• Interactive tests that allow students to independently monitor their progress
  At the end of each lesson, students have the opportunity to check how well they have remembered the material. Our students are encouraged not only by a great result but also by funny and inspiring GIFs.

• A testing system that allows the teacher to monitor students' progress
  Teachers using the Smarte projects can assign tests to their group of students or individually. The student instantly receives a test score and can view the correct answers. The teacher also has access to the student's results and can leave comments on the test.

• Possibility for teachers to create interactive lessons in addition to the textbook for students
  All teachers in the Smarte projects can independently create additional materials on our online platform and share open links with their students. In these materials, teachers can use all types of exercises available for interactive learning. This feature is also offered by the TalkEn.Cloud service.

• Availability of own audio and video materials, as well as the ability to embed videos, posts, photos, and other content from external resources
  All projects not only actively create their own audio and video content but also use the latest and most popular media in interactive learning.

• Ability to instantly check your answers, view correct or suggested options, and reset answers to complete the task again
  This feature not only partially replaces the teacher or traditional answer keys in paper textbooks but also gives students the chance to reflect on the accuracy of their answers and redo tasks multiple times for better understanding of the material.

• Tracking Student Progress in Each Lesson
  Students can monitor their quantitative and qualitative progress in each lesson throughout their interactive learning experience. Progress is tracked across four categories: grammar, vocabulary, functional phrases, and skills development (reading, listening, writing, speaking). In each category, students see the number of available exercises, the number they have completed, and the mistakes they made. An overall score is also calculated based on all completed tasks.

• Video Instructions to Help Students Independently Cover Missed Lessons or Review Lesson Material
  Video instructions were initially a necessity we developed at the start of the pandemic. However, they have now become popular among students who, for various reasons, missed a lesson or are studying independently online with a textbook purchased from the Booyya marketplace.

• Integration of the Platform with the Student's Personal Account
  This feature enables students to save their answers in the textbook, track both lesson-by-lesson and overall progress, remember the last point of interaction with the textbook, and create personalized word lists for interactive learning and notes.

• Built-in Dictionary
  This service not only provides word definitions but also adds words to the student’s personal vocabulary list with audio and the option to leave a personal comment or translation.

• Smarte+
  This is a personalized online guide, notebook, and student trainer where students can save information and find more exercises and tasks for learning and improving their English (more here).

• Almost Daily Content Updates Across All Textbooks in All Projects
  The use of online textbooks allows for not only quick corrections of typos and minor errors but also continuous content updates. One example is the Hot Topic course, based on the latest news, allowing students to learn relevant vocabulary and discuss topics that they are concerned about.

We are really proud that our Ukrainian team of teachers and methodologists was able to create this product.

Our Plans

What’s next? As of today, we have an extensive list of development plans. The main ones include:

• updating the design of the educational platform, with options for customization and color adaptation; 
• enhancing the functionality of all exercises: we aim not only to improve the mechanics of the exercises but also to create interactive versions;
• adding extra settings like timers or dice;
• gamifying the learning process and creating game-based tasks that teachers can use in lessons or students can enjoy for independent practice and fun;
• a builder for creating personalized lessons upon request from teachers or students;
• enabling group activities for certain tasks;
• personal ranking, and much more.

Interested? Then choose Smarte and discover how engaging interactive learning can be with our online platform.

FAQs About Learning Online on the Smarte Platform

1. What does interactive learning involve?

Interactive learning keeps the student highly active and engaged in the process. Even without an instructor, students can learn and practice new topics using various materials and exercises, self-assess, and analyze their progress.

2. How do I start learning on the Smarte online platform?

Classes on our educational platform are available at all schools within the Green Forest family, so choose a suitable program and sign up for interactive learning! Additionally, you can purchase a mini-course on any topic of interest through the Booyya marketplace, which also operates on the Smarte platform.

3. Can I try your educational platform for free?

Absolutely! You can take a free introductory lesson and see how our online platform works by following the link.