RoboTutor Team Led By Carnegie Mellon's Mostow Wins $1 Million as Global Learning XPRIZE Finalist

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- RoboTutor LLC, a Carnegie Mellon University spinoff created by Professor Jack Mostow, was named one of five Global Learning XPRIZE finalists for its RoboTutor software, educational technology that teaches children basic math and reading skills.

The XPRIZE competition is attempting to address the acute shortage of teachers in developing countries by funding an international competition to create open-source Android tablet apps that enable children between the ages 7 and 10 to learn basic reading, writing and math skills without requiring adult assistance.

Each finalist team receives $1 million. XPRIZE will now conduct an independent 15-month, large-scale study to field-test the finalists' Swahili apps, pre- and post-testing thousands of children in nearly 200 Tanzanian villages on literacy and numeracy. A $10 million grand prize will be awarded to the team whose app achieves the highest learning gains.

The educational apps were created in both English and Swahili and have the potential to help an estimated 250 million children around the world who cannot read, write or do fundamental arithmetic.

"I've said it before, but it bears repeating — Jack Mostow's work is the perfect example of CMU's evidence-based approach to carefully integrating technology and using data to continuously refine and improve instruction, leading to better student learning while supporting new discoveries in the learning sciences," said Richard Scheines, dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and leader of the Simon Initiative. "This is incredibly exciting for Jack and all of Carnegie Mellon, and I would not be surprised at all if they ended up winning the entire competition."

Mostow is a professor emeritus in the School of Computer Science's Robotics Institute whose research focuses on applying artificial intelligence to educational technology, particularly for teaching children to read.

The RoboTutor software is based on scientific learning principles in order to engage students so that they learn the material and can then use it in other contexts. It is powered by advanced technologies, including speech and handwriting recognition, facial analysis and machine learning.

For more information, video and a photo: http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2017/september/xprize-finalist.html

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University

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