Caddo Magnet graduate creates web-based study tool
Justin Martin is out to make the world a smarter place.
At 18 years of age, one might question his ability to do that just yet, but when he starts explaining how technology is changing the way we learn, shows you the new online educational tool he developed, and quotes Steve Jobs, you have to wonder if Martin just might make good on his mission.
The Shreveport native’s entrance into the business world began during the summer when after graduating from Caddo Magnet High School, he launched Juma Labs, a software development company.
His introductory product – released Nov. 11 – is FlipQuiz, a free online study tool that enables students to create a quiz and have flashcards texted over a specified time-frame.
“When students create a quiz, they select a set of flashcards from Quizlet [an online flashcard website used seven to eight million times per day],” Martin said. “They also tell us how long they want to study this set of flashcards and what hours they want to receive text messages from us. During the specified timeframe, we send one of their flashcard questions every 15 to 30 minutes, which allows the student to learn at a steady pace, retain the information more effectively and bypass the stress of a last-minute cram session.”
How does an 18-year-old conceive such an idea much less have the ability to produce it?
Six years ago, while other children were riding bikes and playing ball, Martin was deconstructing computers and reading computer program books. His recreation consisted of searching for security vulnerabilities in websites and software and then alerting the company to the problem. At 16, he interned for Synapse Development Group, assisting with website development. And in high school, he developed a program that used a barcode scanner to catalog his personal library of books and wrote a program that enabled him to trace the geographic path his computer took to get to a website.
Transferring his programming skills to educational applications was a natural progression.
In American history at Caddo Magnet, Martin built a webpage (in 45 minutes) that used the midterm study guide to randomly generate multiple-choice tests. He shared the webpage with classmates and was pleased to find they preferred his page to other study tools.
Martin also noticed some of his friends would study for several hours the night before tests, go to bed late and fail the test.
“I could rewrite the notes by hand or read them aloud three or four times, go to bed early and get at least an 85 percent every time – with only 30 to 45 minutes of studying. I knew my memory might be better than others, but the thing that I really hit on was that learning material slowly while you are in a calm, mental state is key. FlipQuiz was the product of this realization and the knowledge that most of my classmates use Quizlet to study.”
Martin said he has always been interested in helping people, whether it was tutoring other students in elementary school during recess or volunteering at a hospital. But reading about entrepreneurship and philosophy convinced him to create work to make the world a better place.
“Education is something that is important to me because it can change lives in dramatic ways and it is the most important building block that we have in society, next to compassion,” Martin said. “Education is also one of the fields that can most benefit from technological innovations.“ One of the most memorable things Martin learned in elementary school was the definition of technology, which he said is “the application of science to everyday life.” “I’ve always been a thinker, a tinkerer and interested in technology. Applying technological know-how to everyday life crystallizes my goal perfectly: to build and apply new technology to improve education.”
FlipQuiz is free. For now, Martin is asking for donations through a secure payment processing website. In the future, he hopes to generate revenue through advertising.
Although Martin launched the company by himself, he invited high school friend Ron De Benedetti to partner with him so Juma Labs could benefit from their collaborative skill set including Martin’s vision, their combined technical knowledge and De Benedetti’s knowledge of what makes apps or games interesting.
“One of the quirks about software development is that when you build large applications and bring a new developer in to work on them, it can take weeks for that developer to learn how all of your computer code is organized and how your systems are set-up. I wanted to jump that hurdle, so I brought Ron on as soon as I started writing code,” Martin said.
As for the future of Juma Labs, Martin and De Benedetti have some other projects in development but for now are working to make FlipQuiz known. When asked about his future, Martin said he’s trying to follow advice given by Steve Jobs at a Stanford commencement address: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
–Jeff Slaughter
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More information about FlipQuiz can be found at www.jumalabs.com.
