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{{Short description|Education technology company based in London, England.}}

{{EngvarB|date=May 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Firefly Learning Ltd

| logo = File:Firefly Learning Logo.svg

| type = [[Private Limited Company]]

| genre =

| foundation = [[2005]]

| founder =

| location_city = [[London]]

| location_country = [[United Kingdom]]

| location =

| locations =

| area_served =

| key_people = Joe Mathewson <small><br>Founding Partner</small> <br>Simon Hay<small><br>Founding Partner</small>

| industry = [[Educational Software]]

| products = Firefly<br>Student Planner<br>Teacher Planner<br>Parent Portal

| services =

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| owner =

| num_employees =

| parent =

| divisions =

| subsid =

| homepage = [http://fireflylearning.com/ Firefly Learning]

| footnotes =

}}

'''Firefly Learning''' is an educational technology company based in [[London]], [[England]]<ref name=":0"/> with offices in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]] that provides virtual learning platforms to hundreds of schools around the world. The Firefly platform allows teachers, students and parents to publish and access information from anywhere with an internet connection.<ref>{{cite news|title=Transforming Education Through Technology|url=http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-08-22/transforming-education-through-technology|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140823134345/http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-08-22/transforming-education-through-technology|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 August 2014|accessdate=22 August 2014|publisher=Bloomberg TV}}</ref>

==Background==

Firefly Learning was started in 2000 by Joe Mathewson and Simon Hay,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.uktech.news/need-to-know-2/joe-mathewson-co-founder-of-firefly-learning-on-how-he-turned-his-school-hobby-into-a-tech-startup-20170213|title=Joe Mathewson, co-founder of Firefly Learning, on turning his teenage hobby into an EdTech startup|date=2017-02-13|work=UKTN (formerly Tech City News)|access-date=2017-10-09|language=en-GB}}</ref> two 15-year-old students, at [[St Paul’s School (London)|St. Paul’s School]] in London, who developed it during school holidays, after they became frustrated with the school’s antiquated internet system.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cole|first=George|title=Web whiz-kids|url=https://www.theguardian.com/classroom-innovation-bett/latest-developments-in-ict|accessdate=23 March 2011|newspaper=Guardian|date=11 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Dann|first=Kitty|title=Small business in the spotlight ... Firefly|url=https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/dec/13/small-business-spotlight-firefly?CMP=share_btn_tw|accessdate=6 July 2015|newspaper=Guardian|date=13 December 2013}}</ref> They developed the concept during lunch breaks at the physics labs and teachers at St. Paul's began using the system.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.techworld.com/startups/firefly-founder-simon-hay-urges-schools-let-pupils-open-up-pcs-3594191/| publisher=Tech World| title=Don't be scared: Firefly founder Simon Hay urges schools to let pupils open up PCs| author=Sam Shead| date=16 January 2015| access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref> Soon afterward, [[Forest School (Walthamstow)|Forest School]] expressed interest in the new system.<ref>{{cite web|title=After St. Paul's|url=http://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/academic/ict|publisher=St. Paul's School|accessdate=23 March 2011}}</ref>

In 2010, students at [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]] stranded due to ash cloud grounding thousands of flights were able to continue with their lessons via an e-learning platform provided by Firefly Learning.<ref>{{cite news|last=Woolcock|first=Nicola|title=No 'volcanic ash holiday' as schools set exiled pupils work online|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article7102320.ece|accessdate=23 March 2011|newspaper=The Times|date=20 April 2010}}</ref> In 2012 [[BETT]] nominated Firefly for an Innovation in ICT award for its development of the Student Planner iPad app that automatically updated students' planners with assignments assigned by the teacher.<ref>{{cite news|title=BETT 2013 Finalists|url=http://www.bettawards.com/522212|accessdate=25 November 2012|publisher=BETT}}</ref>

Firefly has been named a [[BETT]] finalist every year since, and in 2014 won an innovation award in London.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sparkle like Firefly, and sound like Music House|url=http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Sparkle_like_Firefly_and_sound_like_Music_House.asp|accessdate=6 July 2015|publisher=Hammersmith and Fulham|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707034028/http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Sparkle_like_Firefly_and_sound_like_Music_House.asp|archive-date=7 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2016, Firefly raised $5.6 million (£4.5 million) Series A funding round from BGF Ventures and Beringea.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/15/firefly-takes-5-6m-series-a-for-its-learning-support-platform-for-schools/|title=Firefly takes $5.6M Series A for its online learning tool for schools|last=Lomas|first=Natasha|work=TechCrunch|access-date=2017-10-09|language=en}}</ref><ref name=growth/> By that time, Firefly learning was used by 480 schools in 32 countries.<ref name=growth>{{cite web| url=http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/edtech-business-firefly-learning-raises-4-5m-2548832/ |publisher=Growth Business| title='Edtech' business Firefly Learning raises £4.5m| date=16 November 2016| access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref>

== Services ==

The cloud-based support platform used by Firefly allows teachers to set homework assignments, track students' progress, provide feedback and share learning resources, on it. The platform has desktop and mobile apps, it also has its own API for education software providers allowing the users to plug in their content.<ref name=":0" />

== Issues ==

On 23 March 2020, high demand from schools and pupils working remotely due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] resulted in a severe Firefly overload, with many users experiencing slowdowns or complete outages.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/show-my-homework-firefly-down-not-working-lag-slow-homework-school-app-coronavirus-a9418006.html|title=Show My Homework and Firefly down: Homework apps not working as children forced to study remotely|newspaper=The Independent|first=Andrew|last=Griffin|date=23 March 2020|accessdate=25 May 2021}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://fireflylearning.com/ Firefly Learning]

* [https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/student-planner/id554504006?mt=8/ Student Planner available on iTunes]

[[Category:Educational software]]

[[Category:Virtual learning environments]]

[[Category:Educational technology companies of the United Kingdom]]