AFTER just two years in business, Dalgety Bay-based learning company Do Be Limited has been named as regional finalist in the John Logie Baird Awards for Innovation 2008.
Do Be director Louise McDonough said: "Being named regional finalist for such a prestigious award is a wonderful endorsement of the work we have been doing in the learning field these past two years. Winning overall would give our team such encoura
gement and spur us on to even bigger and better things."
Nominated in the Impact Through Innovation category, the Do Be team will have to wait until next month to hear if they have won the ultimate award which will be presented at Glasgow Science Centre on December 10. During the same day, there will be an exhibition highlighting the innovative products and services of all the finalists.
Founded two years ago by Louise McDonough, Do Be Limited provides MP3 and MP4 players, pre-loaded with content ranging from study skills and cognitive techniques to sporting motivational tools.
It also provides downloadable pod casts for the education, sports and corporate markets.
Do Be is currently working with 34 local authorities to help children improve their learning.
In one project Do Be is working with ScottishPower and North Lanarkshire schools.
Do Be will not only be supplying 300 MP4 players to 10 schools in the area but also specialised staff training, and a parents initiation evening.
Founder-director Louise McDonough (32) said: "These days, teachers are facing a generation of 'digital natives,' pupils who are wholly conversant with blogs, Bebo and the like. So teachers need to be familiar with the technology.
"At Do Be, we believe that how you engage young adults is central to how much they actually take in. Pupils need to learn in a way they want to learn, to empower them and encourage them."
The aim of the project is to encourage the development of skills relevant for life in the 21st century. Do Be will convert existing ScottishPower materials on CV preparation, employability skills and interviewing techniques into pod casts and video casts.
Phil Duffield, Head of ScottishPower Learning said: "The Do Be learning tools are innovative and will engage both children and their teachers."
