12-word description of app/product:

Studytracks puts music to curriculum to drive student engagement, retention and achievement.

Formats:

App for Android and iOS devices

Website

U.S. site: http://www.studytracks.education/us/school/

What does it help with?

Using the "Earworm Effect," Studytracks takes curriculum and puts it to music to drive engagement, retention and achievement in and out of the classroom. Studytracks offers flexibility and convenience for both students and educators. Students can listen to tracks and take tests on their own schedule while educators can create their own playlists and tests within the platform and monitor their students' progress.

What grade and age range?

Grades 9-12 in the U.S.

Ages 14-19 years old

Is this core/supplemental/special needs/extracurricular/professional development or what?

Studytracks is intended for students and teachers to use in the classroom to enhance core subjects.

What subject, topic, what standards is it mapped to?

Studytracks covers many core subjects including: Biology, Chemistry, English Language – Arts, English Language - Writing, English Literature, Geography, Math - Foundations, Math – Level 1, Physics, U.S. History, and World History. Studytracks can also accommodate any school’s request and create tracks for a particular subject or topic.

What lesson time does it use?

Each lesson ranges from one to seven minutes long.

Tests are timed and can be customized by teachers.

What is the pricing model?

$29.99 per student/year

*Discounts available based on school district and volume of students.

Are there services around it?

Studytracks integrates easily into the classroom and most teachers are up and running within a few minutes.

When implementing the app into a classroom, school or district, the Studytracks team connects with the teachers to understand their needs and assess how Studytracks can best support their teaching practice. 

Created with accessibility in mind, the Studytracks app is very easy to use so the training focuses more on integration into a teacher’s teaching practice. Teacher training can take place via webchats, instructional videos or Studytracks can visit onsite to provide one on one training.

Studytracks is there for its customers from start to finish and beyond. Studytracks handles all of the on-boarding for students and teachers so the integration is seamless. Once implemented in a classroom, school or district, Studytracks continues to follow up with teachers on a regular basis until they feel comfortable and confident with the technology.

If desired, customers can schedule regular professional development classes for their teachers so they can ask questions, get feedback, etc.

What makes Studytracks unique?

Studytracks is unique because of its humble beginnings: award-winning songwriter and music producer George Hammond-Hagan started making educational music to help his son learn physics. After seeing the success with his son, Studytracks was created and in just over a year, the app’s popularity has skyrocketed as schools realize the positive learning outcomes for students who learn with music. Neuroscientists have found that music stimulates our long-term memory, affects how we feel and can increase concentration.

In addition, Studytracks produces all original content from esteemed collaborators including educational professionals, researchers and award-winning music songwriters and producers. With a team that understands neuroscience, best learning practices and how to produce musical hits, Studytracks’ content is unmatched in quality and learning effectiveness.

A description of the characteristics--how is it designed for user interface, user experience?

Learners select their subject from a swipe through screen. Once users tap into a subject, they can select their lesson. Lessons start basic and get more advanced as you continue.

Each lesson has a unique musical track set to its study notes, which are written out in bullet point format beneath the music controls for reference. After each series of lessons, premium account students can take timed tests on the material. Teachers also have the ability to customize tests.

To track progress, the Studytracks points system rewards learners for completed lessons, tests, above average test scores and subject completion. As learners accumulate points, they advance to the next level; the top level is for learners with the most points.

What instructional design principles are at work here?

Studytracks uses a combination of different modes known as multimodal learning. The success of this app is because it uses more than one mode: gesture, image, music, speech, and writing & reading.

Teacher reviews:

"One of the biggest things that we saw with Studytracks is the results. The kids would listen to the songs, the Studytracks, do the self quizzes, and it allowed them to retain a lot more information and it was kind of crazy because they would come in knowing words and concepts before we even got to it, before we even cracked the textbook or started a lecture about it."

- Shawn Duff, teacher at Monrovia High School

"Either used as a "flipping the class" strategy or used as supplemental material, the content put to music engages students in a unique and entertaining way."

- Zach Mercier, principal at Quartz Hill High School

“It’s great for our students because it’s an extra connection to their learning, it’s nice for our staff because there’s a sort of professional development element to it, and it’s nice to be involved with something that’s not just the straight old normal educational stuff.”

- Steve Gillespie, deputy head teacher at The Gregg School