I love getting feedback.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve written about beating procrastination, helping kids start a business, and working through perfectionism.  

Many of you have responded to tell me how you’ve applied some of these tactics with your kids.

I want to make sure I’m continuing to provide useful content:

Let’s dive into today’s research! 👇

In today’s issue:

1. Future Friday: Video games could shape the future of education.

2. Something to inspire you: This Turkish teen stopped at nothing to achieve her dream of coming to the United States.

3. Ivy’s takeaway: All kids are capable of remarkable things.

Microlearning meets video games — and the winners are your kids

What if your kids could learn critical academics the same way you’re brushing up on your French with Duolingo on the weekends?

We’re closer than you think.

Kids at our partner schools are already crushing their goals by using an app that covers all of their academic requirements in only 2-hours per day — giving them back the remaining time to focus on life skills.

And this is just the beginning.

What is microlearning?

Microlearning breaks down lessons into bite-sized portions, typically no more than 10-minutes per lesson.

Why is this good?

Because we, as humans, have a hellava time focusing — and our kids are no different.

Microlearning also has these benefits:

1. Higher efficacy 

2. Improved retention

3. Better learner satisfaction

And while the first two are amazing, the third is what excites me the most.

Kids hate school.

Well, hate is a strong word.

But they definitely lose enthusiasm quickly.

And while technology can solve a lot of problems in education, there is one elusive problem that educators continually struggle with: student motivation. 

How can we avoid kids mentally checking-out from the classroom because they simply lose interest? 

Even the most high-performing students experience a lack of motivation and engagement when they’re studying topics that don’t excite them on the surface.

Video games could hold the answer.

Prequel program director, JP Guerra, has an interesting solution.

He suggests that we look to video games, and what makes them so addicting compelling, to rethink how we educate kids.

“Why is it so fun to ‘level up’ our in-game character and how can we leverage that and apply that approach in real life?” JP questions.

He believes there are three main components we can pull from video games to apply to learning:

🎯 Clarifying objectives: In video games, it’s easy to understand the objectives, access the steps to complete the objectives, and be encouraged by a reward for completing the objectives.

✅ Reducing difficulty: This is where microlearning comes into play. By breaking up complex lessons into small bites, the learner can collect many small wins rather than facing a big, daunting task.

📈 Visualizing improvement: A skill progression system would provide students with a way to actually see themselves improve, while also offering a sense of accomplishment as they “level up”.

JP thinks all of this can be achieved through a simple mobile app, like this:

While it may be easier said than done, versions of this concept are already being implemented with great results.

The future of education is already here — sort of.

Parents just need to be willing to ask the right questions and “level up” their expectations. 🎮

This teen overcame crazy obstacles to achieve her goal

Gulbin Alti had one goal — to attend a top university in the United States.

“I am living in one of the underprivileged parts of Turkey,” she told me. “We don’t have many opportunities here.”

But rather than accepting her circumstances, Gulbin proved that with vision and hard work, even the loftiest goals are achievable.

First, she identified an opportunity.

Gulbin is a super tenacious teen.

She even woke up at 2 a.m. to participate in Prequel programs in the U.S. time zone, with no complaints.

While enrolled in BETA Camp and Alpha X through Prequel, Gulbin found solidarity among other committed teens in the program, and was inspired to seek out a clear path to achieve her goal of attending college in the United States.

That’s when she discovered the Rise for the World award.

The winner of this award would receive a full scholarship to any university they chose to attend — anywhere in the world.

Bingo.

Then, she got to work.

The award was reserved for students who had made a big impact on their community. Gulbin had already engineered a remarkable community project, so she was ready for the challenge. 

When it was time to determine a project for her application, she searched for a problem she could solve — and found it in her backyard.

“We couldn’t get productivity from an area in our garden,” says Gulbin. 

Pesticide use had decreased the productivity of their soil, and the only solution was to wait for it to go back to normal.

But Gulbin didn’t want to settle for waiting.

So she spent the next year constructing a device that could be integrated into drip irrigation systems (one of the most common irrigation systems in the world).

Gulbin’s device regulates pesticide dosage automatically, applying just the right amount to the soil, so there’s no excess. 

Overcoming challenges made her stronger.

To qualify for the first stage of the award application process, entrants were required to upload five videos and two essays about their project. 

Gulbin finished early.

But three days before the deadline, her computer broke. To fix it, the repair shop would have to delete everything inside — including all her hard work.

“I asked myself, ‘Do I need to give up right now, or do I need to continue to work?’”

She chose to work.

Starting over from scratch, Gulbin redid two months of hard work —  in three days.

And here’s the craziest part: On the day of the deadline, her old computer was fixed, with all her old work saved.

Still, Gulbin didn’t let it faze her: “If this situation happened, it should have a meaning.”

So she chose to send the new work rather than the old work.

And she was selected as a finalist for the award. 👊

The last hurdle was the toughest.

This final stretch in the award process included a new set of deliverables for Gulbin’s project, and she excitedly got to work.

Sadly, the day before the deadline, Gulbin lost her grandmother.

“I couldn’t sleep,” says Gulbin. “It was really tough.”

In the midst of sleeplessness and grief, Gulbin found the strength to finish her work on time.

And it was worth it — because she won the award. 🎉

In the hardest times, Gulbin reminded herself of her dream: to secure a better future for herself.

“I’m always thinking about that, and I get my strength from my dream,” she says.

I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. ⭐

It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish

I often highlight remarkable kids doing remarkable things.

But here’s a secret:

All kids are remarkable. They just need to have their genius unlocked.

At Prequel, we don’t cherry-pick high performing kids then boast about how great they are. That would be self-serving and counter-productive.

My mission is to prove that every-day kids are capable of extraordinary achievements.

For instance, at Alpha School, many students enter in the ~40th percentile for their grade level, and through app-based academic learning and a strong focus on life skills, rise to the ~90th percentile within one year.

When their potential is unlocked, their future is limitless.

Until next time,

Ivy

CEO Prequel, BETA Camp, Apollo

Follow my journey on LinkedIn