BlikBook explained

BlikBook is an online platform used in higher education to enable improved student engagement.^[1] As of October 2013 is estimated to be used in more than a third of universities in the UK and all Irish universities.^[2] Founded in 2010,^[3] BlikBook is a platform which connects students and their lecturers in Higher Education based on what they are learning.^[4]

History

BlikBook was co-founded in 2010 ^[5] by Cheyne Tan, Barnaby Voss, Deepak Colluru and Ben Hall.^[6] It emerged from a research project at London Business School (LBS) and University College London (UCL) which focused on how students learn and engage with content. The concept for BlikBook was developed whilst the founders were studying some difficult lecture material. Unable to get the answers to their questions without contacting a number of their peers and eventually the lecturer, they became motivated to create a more efficient process for students and lecturers to interact outside of the lecture theatre .^[7] In 2011, Rene Olivieri, former CEO of Blackwell Publishing, COO of Wiley Blackwell and current Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) board member, joined as Chairman of BlikBook. BlikBook is a multinational business with offices in Dublin and London. It was founded in the UK,^[8] but relocated its head office to Dublin in August 2013. The move followed a €1 million funding round from mainly Irish investors, Leaf Investments, Delta Partners and Enterprise Ireland.^[9] This was the second round of investment for BlikBook, having received initial funding from investors, including Forward Investment Partners and Rene Olivieri, in 2011.

Features

BlikBook provides students and lecturers with a platform for more efficient interaction outside of the lecture theatre. BlikBook's design and features are aimed at maximising the engagement of students ^[10]

• asking questions ^[11] – anonymously ^[12] or directly, to the lecturer or to the whole class;
• sharing web articles and discussing them;
• announcements posted by lecturers;
• following answers/questions ^[11] -user receives updates when there are any other answers or comments to it;
• lecturer recommendations – highlighting specific questions/answers;^[12]
• links to course books;
• eliminating duplicate questions;^[13]
• customised personal email digests on the important activity from a course;
• analytics to help lecturers monitor class engagement and performance;
• user-centric design;
• design that works on mobile, tablet and desktop;
• integration with other VLEs (virtual learning platforms).

Service

BlikBook is a service aimed at solving problems for the three prominent groups of the academic community – students, lecturers and universities. BlikBook facilitates questions and discussion amongst the students and lecturers from specific modules.^[14] BlikBook's philosophy is that by helping students to interact more with one another it will improve their educational experience and reduce lecturers’ workloads. This type of online learning can help lecturers to monitor the progression of students ^[15] and advise them when needed. The belief is that this then assists the university by increasing student satisfaction, student academic performance, lecturer teaching marks and freeing up academic resources.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tech company Blikbook to relocate to Dublin. Ciarán. Hancock. The Irish Times Technology. The Irish Times. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
2. Web site: London's BlikBook moves HQ to Dublin. The Daily Business Post. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
3. Web site: BlikBook: Addressing the UK Market for Higher Ed E-Textbooks. Outsell. Outsell Inc.. 25 November 2010. 7 December 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131213053912/http://outsellinc.net/Headline.aspx?ID=455070. 13 December 2013.
4. Web site: UK's BlikBook moves HQ to Dublin. Irish Independent. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
5. Web site: Rebooting Ireland: Dublin's booming tech scene is slowly but surely getting Irish eyes smiling again. Pescod. Adam. Elite Business Magazine. 2 October 2013. 9 December 2013.
6. Starting up: BlikBook. EducationInvestor. September 2013.
7. Web site: BlikBook: The Latest in a Series of Pivoting E&T Companies. Kate. Worlock. Outsell. Outsell Inc.. 16 September 2013. 9 December 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131213054200/http://outsellinc.net/Insights.aspx?ID=12179. 13 December 2013.
8. Web site: UK education start-up moves to Dublin after raising €1.3m. John. Kennedy. SiliconRepublic. 8 July 2013. 7 December 2013.
9. Web site: London-based BlikBook secures investment from Irish VCs ahead of move to Dublin. GrowthBusiness. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
10. Web site: BlikBook Raises $1.3M to be 'Quora' for Higher Education. EdSurge. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
11. Web site: Social learning platform BlikBook announces $1.3 million investment. Tomas. Jivanda. ITProPortal. 4 July 2013. 7 December 2013.
12. Web site: BlikBook, a 'Quora for higher education' focused on boosting student engagement, raises $1.3m. Martin. Bryant. The Next Web. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
13. Web site: UK's BlikBook Secures Growth Funding Led by Leaf Investments. PeHub. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
14. Web site: Tech Company BlikBook To Relocate In Dublin. Rte-ie. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.
15. Web site: Leaf leads €1m Round for BlikBook. Unquote. 8 July 2013. 9 December 2013.