'Ten minutes from Antarctica and 40,000 children from around the world joined us on livestream. It was amazing! The response we got from Twitter was incredibly positive and I realised that there was a lack of resources about Antarctica, specifically made for primary school children.'
Jenny Cooke is no stranger to winning awards. A founder of Oddizzi which won Bett Awards in 2012 and 2016, this was her first award for her new venture, as 2041 School - Champions of Antarctica topped the category for Primary – Free Digital Content, App or Open Educational Resource.
'The first round of films focused very much on the peninsula,' said Jenny, 'the icebergs, the penguins and the animals, whereas the second round offers a unique insight into the heart of Antarctica.' With its free resources, worksheets, lesson plans and above all, the films specially made for primary aged children, Champions of Antarctica was a natural winner. Not all entries have such a clear cut path to success. Perhaps they are in a crowded market, up against better known competitors; perhaps they do not have enthusiastic user-base they can draw on for testimonials.
Standing out in a crowded market
Learn, Play, Create are the watchwords of Mussila, an Icelandic EdTech company that has won Bett Awards for two years running. They have two apps: Mussila Music and Mussila WordPlay.
The company started with music but not the light-hearted singalong: 'Children love music. But too often, when they are introduced to music theory, they lose interest because of the way it has been taught,' said CEO Jon Gunnar. 'We wanted another angle so we turned to the learning through play methodology and introduce it via a game. The most difficult part becomes the most fun. We motivate children to learn the basics so they are then able to put what they learn into practice, play, create and compose.'
