lessonlane blog

One of the key concerns where startups meet education is the ability of those startups to meet the needs of schools and teachers on an ongoing basis. Will the next great idea make it to reality? Will it look like what the schools signed up for? Can the product change when we need to change. Basically, is it sustainable? Working with schools is a great responsibility. And that responsibility has been at the forefront of my mind whilst developing Lessonlane.  

Brace yourselves because this is about to get technical. Lessonlane is built on a full Javascript stack. We’re using Backbone on the front end, Node.js on the back end and a MongoDB database. That means (in short), that we’re using the same programming language on both the front end and the back end. 

Why is that an advantage? Because Lessonlane doesn’t have any front-end/back-end developer divide. This creates the flexibility for developers to work on a broad range of projects and share specialised knowledge on a wider plain. Traditional back-end developers often have a much better understanding of code optimisation, for example. These techniques can be shared with front-end developers to build a better product. 

                      Developer victory!  

But why is that better for the schools? I hear you ask. I have chosen to build Lessonlane on a developments structure that flexible enough to make it possible for us to really listen to the teachers and students we’re working with and build a learning platform they need. What’s more, the development process is faster. So when the needs of the class change, which they will, we can change too. And we can do so quickly.                 

In that way, sustainability is built into the DNA of Lessonlane development.

Mads Viktor,

Lessonlane Co-founder (mads@lessonlane.com).    

Building an online learning platform for the 21st century isn’t easy. There are the needs of students and parents to consider, not to mention the demands of administrators. It has to be well designed and functional, without being crowded with unnecessary graphics and features. 

We’ve told you that we think the future of online learning platforms is social. But now we’re asking the most important people, teachers, to tell us what you want from a learning platform. Which features of your current learning system could use a little tweaking? Which ones would you never (ever) use? Seen something on social networks you’d like to try out in the classroom? Let us know in the form below and help us to build a Lessonlane that’s perfect for you. Get your friends and colleagues in on the act by sharing this blog post.

Because we think happy teachers equal improved learning for everyone. 

Happy learning,

Claire, the Lessonlane team. (claire@lessonlane.com)

It’s a cliche but it’s true; learning is a journey. And yet we don’t think of that journey in the same way that we used to.

Learning is no longer something that we do in those years before we’re old enough to drive; going from kindergarten to primary and high school and then on to university. Instead, education is a lifelong process that gets you from A to B, with some pitstops in C, S and in my case even Z. It’s something that we return to again and again to master new skills, develop our minds and for the pure joy of exploring something new. Education is no longer linear and we should not treat it as such.

Lessonlane Co-Founder, Troels Hauch Tornmark

It’s in this spirit that we are developing Lessonlane. We believe that education is an experience you share with a bunch of like-minded people at a certain point in time, drawing on the knowledge and expertise of your teacher, facilitated and inspired by your classmates. Then you move on to something else, before revisiting the process again. As a teenager that education experience might be your history class, as a young adult (or old adult) it could be a tutorial group at a university and later in life it might be a corporate masterclass, a local community college or a MOOC.

However they’re engaged in education, students need to reorient themselves from the tasks of everyday life towards the process of learning. Teachers need to be able to effectively engage students. Technology is already facilitating our learning, but we can’t hope to optimise the process with a hotchpotch of loosely interconnected systems that are often messy and at odds with each other. Lessonlane is an integrated platform for teachers to provide dynamic content directly to their students, keeping them on track to learn collaboratively.

Lessonlane Co- Founder, Mads Viktor

With Lessonlane, teachers can prepare student for the classroom; drawing content from books and journals, YouTube and podcasts. They can share lesson plans and content with other teachers and then track student engagement at home to optimise content for the best learning outcomes the next time they meet face to face. And students can engage with learning online the same way they do in the classroom, socially. Lessonlane brings social interaction to online learning, allowing students to comment, ask questions and draw conclusions on lesson material with their classmates.          

Naturally, we can’t wait for you to try it out. I hope you one day you will think of Lessonlane as the compass that led you along your learning journey. As a student and as a teacher.

Troels Hauch Tornmark

Founder, Lessonlane  

troels@lessonlane.com

We did a quick test of some CSS animations on the site. And then had some fun on Google Hangouts while waiting for a call..

Lessonlane is disrupting the global education industry, building the social learning platform for the 21st century. We are right now building a team that can build for take-off, and be an integral part of designing the future of education. And we are having a blast doing this.

Currently we are looking for the following superstars for our Copenhagen based office:

Developers needed - Technical co-founder opportunity

You can apply for the positions here: lessonlane.com/hiring.html

Lessonlane is disrupting the global education industry, one lesson at the time. We are right now building a team that can build for take-off, and be an integral part of designing the future of education. And we are having fun doing this.

We are looking for a passionate web developer, focused on backend - confident in Node.js to join our tech-lead building our product for launch.

People interested in internships are also welcome to drop us a note. Please be aware that we do not have have a huge training bandwidth, but specific problems to solved aplenty and lots of responsibility.

You understand modern web development, and have experience with creating RESTful API’s, plus have excellent architecture, testing and programming skills.

Data analysis and visualization insight would be an advantage.

The most important thing is that you’re a fast learner and constantly seek new knowledge - because you love this field. (Can’t stop checking smashingmagazine/mashable/twitter/stackoverflow/techcrunch ect. ?)

Required skills:

• Experience with Node.js required
• +3 year of JavaScript experience
• Fluent english communication skills

Desired skills:

• Experience interacting with and designing APIs.
• Passion for superior UX
• Experience in handling high traffic loads.

We want to conquer the world, so do you. So expect to have a big say in how the product is designed and deployed.

For the right person we will offer a competitive salary when funded, and a chunk of the company. 

Please write a short “Why am I the right person”, attach your CV, portfolio and/or GitHub portfolio to lessonlane.com/hiring.html

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Any questions please call or write one of the founders:

Mads +45 6127 7123 (mads@lessonlane.com) or

Troels +45 2282 5933 (troels@lessonlane.com).

Update: We are no longer accepting applications for this position.

Lessonlane is disrupting the global education industry, building the social learning platform for the 21st century. We are right now building a team that can build for take-off, and be an integral part of designing the future of education. And we are having a blast doing this.

We are now offering an unpaid internship in Global marketing and communications that could lead to an executive position after your graduation.

We offer great influence on both the nature of the internship, the projects and the Lessonlane product. We crave your input and 

Responsibilities:

• Work on strategic or operational project(s) from scoping to execution and delivery
• Projects could both be in PR, marketing planning, execution or partnership management.
• Conduct research and analyse data to derive meaningful insights
• Work closely with the founders on transforming insights into great products and features.
• Communicate findings in a compelling and implementable way
• Copy writing, PR and community management

Desired profile:

• Bachelor degree; or equivalent marketing degree.
• Experience in technology or digital media strongly preferred
• Experience with SEM & PPC, Facebook and twitter marketing execution.
• Highly analytical with strong problem-solving capability
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in English
• Fluency in other major languages a big plus
• Responsible, driven and to the point

We want to conquer the world, so do you. So expect to have a big say in how the product is designed and deployed.

Please write a short “Why am I the right person”, attach your CV and/or portfolio to lessonlane.com/hiring.html

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Any questions please call one of the founders Troels (CEO) +45 2282 5933 or Mads (CTO) +45 6127 7123.