Last month the fledgling Russian online education industry saw the launch of a new, internationally-oriented project. Using both online and offline teaching methods, The Future Academy offers fully accredited secondary education programs to Russian kids 12 to 17 years of age.
The school has been backed at the seed stage by Russian venture fund Digital Ventures, but the details of the transaction have not been made public.
Inspired by successful US online education models, The Future Academy has designed an innovative learning mode. “The curriculum is fully available online 24/7; however, to make the educational experience even more efficient, the program is delivered in a blended learning environment whereby kids attend our learning center 2-3 times per week to take their online lessons,” school co-founder Julia Quinn explained to East-West Digital News.
This interactive and personalized online program includes mobile learning (e.g. test preparation), interactive games, virtual science labs, e-books, math labs and engaging videos. The learning content was provided by a public US company which Quinn did not name.
US-accepted diploma for Russian kids
The school delivers an international online high school diploma that is designed to be readily accepted by US, UK and Canadian universities. Moreover, The Future Academy offers online remedial English programs to prepare Russian youth for study abroad.
Quinn presents the school as “an alternative to a standard Russian education – a chance to ‘study abroad’ without leaving the country and at a fraction of the traditional cost.”
Online education is slowly gaining popularity in Russia, with several dozen programs available. “However, it is currently growing mostly in higher education and non-accredited degree subjects, individual online courses, language learning and various other skill areas,” Quinn noted.
Moreover, “the quality of online educational content in Russia is still very low and centers primarily around two major methods of teaching students: through videos and by scanning traditional textbooks. Very few online education projects offer specifically designed online teaching,” Quinn concluded.
A Russian secondary education project called Teleshkola offers an approach similar to that of The Future Academy. However, it is based on the Russian educational curriculum, targeting kids from neighboring countries who want to receive a Russian-accredited secondary education diploma.
East-West Digital News has reported no fewer than five funding deals involving Russian e-learning companies over the past six months.
