FARRAH Wahida Abd Wahid calls herself a maths geek, and her love for numbers has led her to create a mathematics learning application to help secondary school students excel in the subject.
Program Bijak Math, or Pro Math, is a virtual learning video aimed at helping students learn and solve complicated maths problems using easy-to-remember techniques.
The idea came to Farrah when she was teaching mathematics to school students six years ago.
The economics graduate took up an offer as a part-time mathematics tutor while she was still pursuing her studies at a local university.
She conducts intensive classes around her neighbourhood in Kajang and in Shah Alam, which can easily earn her RM2,000 a month, she says.
Most students do not have access to such classes owing to financial constraints as tuition fees are costly, she notes. That prompted her to develop a cheaper learning alternative.
“I conduct my classes in Taman Medan, Shah Alam, Kajang, Bangi and Kampung Baru. I receive a lot of requests from other areas in the Klang Valley but of course, I can’t commit myself to a lot of places. Hence, the birth of this virtual learning concept,” Farrah says.
“It’s a simple method — whatever maths topics I’m teaching, I will record and edit it using special software and the students can learn by watching the videos I have created. Whatever maths techniques I use in my classes, it’s the same in the videos.”
Farrah, 27, invested a lot of time and money to launch the virtual concept. She forked out RM60,000 from her savings to purchase a Wacom digitiser tablet; a powerful video editing software, Camtasia Studio; and reference books so she could share her maths expertise with students. The software enables her to create professional videos by recording her screen and handwriting movements.
Pro Math consists of 200 instructional videos covering topics taught in Forms 1 to 5. Each video provides a detailed step-by-step explanation to solve different equations.
Farrah took nearly two years to complete the videos, which required money, time, some drawing skills and the ability to be brisk and concise.
For now, the video application caters for secondary school students but she has plans to create videos that cover the primary school maths syllabus.
Available on two different platforms — online downloads and DVDs priced at RM60 each — Pro Math has chalked up 24,000 digital downloads and sold nearly 5,000 DVD copies since its launch.
Farrah hopes to hit more than 60,000 downloads and DVD copies by the end of the year.
However, she needs to push harder to meet the 5,000 target every month, including distributing the DVD copies to schools, tuition centres and selected bookstores. She will also engage with several non-governmental organisations and district education offices to promote her learning product.
Farrah describes the journey so far as difficult and stressful. She now tutors full time and finds it hard to juggle that with promoting her product.
On piracy and closed doors
A friend, Long Haffiz Long Hassan, handles the marketing and promotion for Pro Math.
Farrah had expressed concern that her online videos would be pirated so Haffiz suggested converting the videos into DVD format to track any suspicious downloads and make it more difficult to duplicate the content.
“I came up with the idea of having a download version of the video. Once customers make a purchase, they can download the link within three days. We can track the download links, we have a tracking system, and can monitor the IP address, so we can know who is illegally downloading it,” explains Haffiz.
“Around 80% to 85% of our sales come are from digital downloads. It’s easier and faster. Students can easily watch the videos on their PCs, laptops, tablets and even their smartphones, anytime, anywhere,” he says.
Although the demand for Pro Math has been encouraging, they lament that it is not easy to get the support of some parties. They often shut the door on the duo and sometimes hurl hurtful comments, saying they are too young and inexperienced.
Says Haffiz, “We often get negative feedback. They ask, ‘Can it work?’ and ‘Who will buy this product?’
“The profit margin will come later. We want people to do well in maths. We are not fully profit-motivated, we just want to cover our costs. We want the Malaysian community to excel in their studies and we are starting with maths because people use it in their daily lives — counting money, telling the time, basic stuff. That’s why we are pushing maths,” says Haffiz.
Moving forward, they plan to set up a motivational speaking business to conduct seminars in schools to help students succeed in their studies. Farrah feels that most students hate maths because they dislike anything complicated. Through Pro Math, she hopes they will be encouraged to love maths and think outside the box.
This article first appeared in #edGY, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 15 - 21, 2015. Read more here
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