Classmint.com – Interactive Study Notes service based on Cornell Notes to the rescue of students

It’s always psychologically scary for a student to study from a chunky textbook. The small texts, large size and the picture-less attire certainly become a nightmare. They often rely on the study notes provided by teachers or seniors. These study notes present the content in a precise and concise manner. Classmint is a platform which integrates study notes on various subjects for the common benefit of students. It enables the students to refer study notes in a very simple and quick manner.

About classmint

During his college days, Rajan( one of the founders of classmint) relied on a seniors study notes since the idea of making his own software intrigued him more than reading the textbook. It turned out really well since he built over 10 software projects and scored a distinction throughout.With the perspective of providing easily available notes to students, Classmint was launched on July 31, 2013. Over 600 study notes were created within 6 week of its launch. Signups, notes-created and notes-viewed have been surging since then.

The founding team

Classmint has been founded by Amar Prabhu and Rajan Chandi . Amar has contributed 1000+ articles to Wikipedia and is highly technical with ability to build complex components fast. Rajan has earlier founded Hireplug, and has Highest 12th science grades in his CBSE school in last 10+ years.

Market research involved

A market research can be derailing so it is easier to rely on your instincts. The founders of Classmint knew that other platform for study notes on Internet were not much effective.The fact that over 1 million searches for study notes are made every month urged them to start the initiative. The founders used the Google keyword planner and realized that it will be a fruitful decision to launch Classmint.

The journey so far

Within the 6 months of launch, over 3500 study notes have been created. The site has seen about 40,000 uniques. Numerous tweets have been made by students and esteemed teachers. Classmint has been mentioned in many educational bolgs and publications such as Edtech and Educationworld.com. Notes have been created in over 7 major languages and are used in 100+ schools across the globe.

How does Classmint notes work?

The user is first required to sign up for Classmint website or sign in with a Google account. Classmint notes rely on the idea of Active Recall learning where you can spontaneously revise the study material along. Classmint notes are based on Cornell note system, where the notes are created in 2 margins. The left margin consists of the keywords and the right margin consists of the main content. When notes are being created or opened by student/teachers, It provides a special feature of folding the notes( even with your keyboard!).

Notes player, a special feature by Classmint, can be used by a student while studying. In this feature, the student clicks on a specific part of a diagram/picture and an audio-visual explanation appears. A student can easily understand a particular part of study notes by simply selecting the text and clicking on Explain in the context menu. A comprehensive annotation appears which can be referred to.

Competition and USP of Classmint

There are numerous flash card and note-taking companies in the mark today. Some of the competitors of classmint are- Evernote, Google drive, Notability. In the flash card zone,StudyBlue, Quizlet, Flashcards+ can be cited as competitons.

Though Mr. Rajan has a different perspective about competition, ” Our focus is on learning and ensuring that people find it easier to master educational content as compared to traditional means like books. We are very much focused on our purpose.Every feature that we built or product that we’ll launch will be focused on improving learning experience and helping people learn faster by various means”.

Challenges faced

Initially it was a bit risky to believe weather the students and teachers will prefer flash card products like Classmint. But it turned out pretty well since both students and teachers love Classmint. They are now demanding Mobile applications for android and iPhone.

“Initially, We felt that we are too theoretical and were a bit concerned whether people would like to use Study Notes or Flash Cards products like Classmint or not. It is because people do not like to study using existing means and studying isn’t a fun activity for most students. So, we were worried whether students will pay attention to Classmint or not. Later, we discovered that both teachers and students love Classmint” says Rajan Chandi.

Future plans

The plan is dynamic and will alter according to the needs of students and teachers. For now, Classmint intends to start Mobile applications very soon. “Our plans are open and we try use our time in a way that benefits”, says Rajan.

Thoughts on the Education Industry

The team feels that it is important for the teachers to be well-versed with technology. This will eliminate the fear that computer will replace the teachers. All they see is that teachers role will be changed with the introduction of computers.

“Education industry is great and very efficient. It’s the reason why EdTech startups find it hard to extract value out of it. We think it’s a good thing because you’re dealing with a smart people. Classmint is being used in India, US and around the globe. What we’re seeing is that Indian teachers are not computer literate and they should be given free computer education. Also, they’re not a user of Internet. We feel this will affect Indian students”, says Rajan.

TTP’s Take on Classmint

Classmint is indeed a wise initiative. This will make the learning process easier for students. Classmint’s journey so far has been pretty stable and it indicates a bright future. The fact that over 1 million searches for notes are made every month shows that the start-up is in the right direction. It remains to be seen, though, how Classmint will attract more students. We wish Classmint team all the very best!