EDOOVO

What EDOOVO is

EDOOVO is a live online enrichment school for young children, teaching English, Chinese and Maths to preschoolers and lower primary pupils. The home page describes it as "Founded in Singapore," an "innovative edu-tech company that provides online learning to global students in the years of preschool and early primary school," and runs under EDOOVO Pte. Ltd. Its banner calls the product "Singapore's #1 LIVE Online Interactive Enrichment Classes Taught By Qualified and Experienced Teachers."

The classes are aimed at children "aged 3 to 8," and the FAQ says lessons suit children in preschool and lower primary school "(3 years and above)," with each child joining the level that fits their current proficiency in each subject. The stated aim is to develop students "into confident bilingual global citizens with critical thinking skills," and to give them "a smoother transition to primary school."

What a class looks like

Every class is live, taught in real time by a teacher, in a group of no more than 4 children. The FAQ sets out the format:

• Little Whiz Junior, Levels 1 to 4, runs 25 minutes per class.
• Little Whiz Senior, Levels 5 to 8, runs 50 minutes per class.
• Lessons are held once a week in each subject.
• The same teacher takes a class for the whole term, with a replacement only if the class teacher is on leave or unable to teach.

The home page explains why the group is small: a low teacher-child ratio "ensures each child receives ample attention and feedback from the teacher," while the children still learn from each other through group interaction. One parent quoted on the home page puts it from the other side: "I like how EDOOVO classes are held in a small class size of up to 4 students at 25 minutes, so that the teacher would be more focus on each student," adding that the short format suits her little boy's attention span.

Lessons are built around play. According to the Our Learning Model page, each lesson starts "with an immersive storytelling that students can enjoy, wonder, and question," introduces concepts through playful activities, and ends with students applying what they learned "in fun games" and relating it to the real world. Parent comments describe stars and virtual rewards for right answers, and mini-games and graphics for practicing writing and sentence forming. After each lesson, activity sheets are available to download to reinforce what was taught, and one parent mentions an after-class assignment uploaded to the platform before the class even began.

The three subjects

The FAQ lists the subjects as English, Maths and Chinese (simplified).

English includes phonics. The FAQ says children build "a strong foundation in letter, short and long vowel sounds, before learning how to blend consonants and create phonetic combinations."

Chinese uses what the site calls an immersion method, in which children learn "in the most authentic and natural way rather than through translation or rote memorisation of words or sentences." Han Yu Pin Yin is taught from Level 7 of the Chinese course. The learning model page argues that the "golden period" for bilingual ability is before 6-8 years old, which is the reasoning behind starting at 3.

Maths starts with concepts close to a child's life, such as counting, shapes, patterns, spatial relationships and colors, and then moves to more complex ideas and applying them to problems. The site frames it as Singapore maths, "well-known in the world for teaching students to learn concepts and skills, problem-solve and develop mathematical thinking instead of rote memorisation of rules and formulas." A parent of a child named Avery describes a Math trial covering "patterns, shapes, counting and number recognition."

The FAQ says the curriculum "is adapted from Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) syllabus," used as a guideline for the classes, and that lessons for each subject and level are designed to meet specific learning outcomes. The learning model page calls it "Based on the accredited Singapore M.O.E framework," and the home page holds up Singapore's bilingual and Maths education as a world model for young learners.

The teachers

The FAQ says "All our teachers hold a degree in the field of education or related disciplines, and are experienced in teaching children," and that they are also chosen for passion and personality. The Our Teachers page describes a selective hiring process, followed by onboarding training on the curriculum and learning system, specific training in teaching online, and "rounds of assessments before starting to teach." Experienced trainers then monitor and appraise teachers' performance, give feedback and follow up on improvement actions.

The company's recruitment page shows the teacher's side. Teachers work from home, get "a fixed monthly income even when you are on standy with no lessons assigned," earn more per lesson taught, and receive the curriculum and lesson plans in advance. Teacher Tricia says she has worked for the company since March 2019.

Prices, credits and enrollment

EDOOVO prices lessons in credits rather than per class. The FAQ sets the rates in credits:

• Each Little Whiz Junior class (25 minutes) costs 1 credit.
• Each Little Whiz Senior class (50 minutes) costs 2 credits.

Credits are bought in packages and sit in the family's account. They "can be used across all 3 subjects for up to 4 children under the same parent," and "are valid for 3 years from the date of payment." At the start of each term, credits for the whole term are deducted; if the balance is short, a family can top up or use up what remains. The money price of a package is not printed; the FAQ says to reach out to the education consultants "for our latest package offerings."

Enrollment starts with a free trial. "We offer 1 free trial class on a chosen subject," the FAQ says. An Education Consultant sets it up, the family then gets feedback on the child's performance and the recommended level, and enrollment follows once a credit package is paid and a time slot chosen.

Apps and devices

Children attend on a desktop or laptop through the online parent portal, or on a tablet through the EDOOVO Student App from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Supported browsers are Chrome 58 and above and Safari 11 and above, Chrome is recommended, and families are asked to pass a device test before class. The system requirements page lists Windows 7 or above, MacOS 10.14 or above, iOS 9.0 or above on iPads after the iPad 4, and Android 5.0 or above, with a minimum of 4G memory on computers and Android, a headset and camera on computers, and a connection of at least 50Mbps. A separate EDOOVO Parent App keeps parents "up to date on courses, lessons, and communications about your child's learning."

Awards and what parents say

The home page shows two awards: "Best in Multi-Subject Online Enrichment for Young Learners Award" and "Online Learning Platform of the Year 2021/22." Parent quotes are warm and concrete. The parents of Xiao Hong write that "My girl has been attending EDOOVO for 9 months now and she loves the online interaction with her teachers and friends," and the parents of Malcom say the teachers make the lessons "so lively and engaging."

Who it suits and who it does not

EDOOVO suits parents of 3 to 8 year olds who want a real teacher, a tiny group and a fixed weekly slot, especially families who want a child to build English and Chinese side by side or to arrive at primary school with Singapore-style maths foundations. The credit system is flexible for a family with more than one child, since one balance covers up to 4 children and all 3 subjects, and the free trial plus level feedback lowers the risk of starting.

It suits less well a family that wants self-paced lessons on demand, since every class is live and scheduled by term. Children past early primary are outside its range. The 50Mbps connection requirement is also high for some homes.