Growing up with Off2Class: Year Seven

“Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.” 

Aristotle

Let’s be clear, I know Off2Class is not a child.

However, as we marked seven years since Off2Class.com went live and we started rolling out our teaching tools, I am reminded of that quote by Aristotle. Birthing a startup is a delicate and fragile process. Growth (or failure) is not certain. As we’ve taken this child through seven productive and prosperous years, I feel as though we can see what this child will mature into. 

If you’ll indulge the extended metaphor, here’s what excites me about the future of Off2Class (and what gives me pride in what’s already been achieved). 

Start with the future.

I predict that Off2Class will grow into a confident, well-rounded adult. A person that engages in healthy debate and can view multiple perspectives. I’d hint that the all-grown-up Off2Class will be the kind of colleague that teachers will want around permanently; the kind of person that helps make your day run more smoothly, that is always ready to lend a hand, and that is the kind of teacher that students love to have. 

As we look back at the last twelve months (well, actually, all months since March 2020!), it has been eventful.

• We grew as a team. More and more people are helping us to raise Off2Class. If you haven’t seen the Off2Class team, it might be time to take a look at the village that’s raising the child.
• We’ve started attending conferences allowing us to take our product into the exciting US K-12 market. The number of teacherpreneurs exploded. We have become well-known as an ESL teaching tool that works seamlessly in the growing world of online education.
• The first of our Teaching Tools went live, helping teachers more easily navigate the 1,000-lesson library. We ramped up the search function, increasing the number of grammatical and thematic search terms. As a result, teachers can more easily find the teaching tools they are looking for.

Our aim has always been to save teachers time.

We recognise the importance of automated features. The Homework Release Auto Key feature allows students to receive the answer key as soon as they submit their homework. For teachers under time constraints, we think this teaching tool has been a welcome addition to Off2Class.

Along with this, we released a series of 66 Unit Checks – all autocorrected – to test students’ understanding of the 66 Units of the Step-by-Step Curriculum. Their assignment can also be automated; again, saving teachers time.

More important for our users, what’s in store for the next twelve months?

First, we’re going to be better dressed. We believe that it’s more important to have a product that works than a product that looks good. We know that people choose functionality over features. As a small company, we have spent almost all of our resources on ensuring that substance has taken precedence over style. However, it’s time for a refresh, and that includes improving our user experience.

At seven, we’re a company full of youthful energy. We take pride in our diversity. We have a great team dedicated to bringing teachers and students the best ESL experience. As a co-founder, I look forward to watching Off2Class grow and mature into the civius totius mundi that Erasmus wrote about centuries ago.

Finally, I hope you’ll stay with us on our journey into the future. Your feedback helps our child to stay on the right path. It is only by working with you that we can ensure Off2Class grows into an adult we can all be proud of.