Vivo Miles
Encyclopedia
Vivo Miles is a web-based rewards system for schools launched in the UK in late 2007. This rewards system has been developed by a privately held company
and was initially tested with pupils at Westminster Academy in London
.
towards the achievement of academic objectives..Vivo Miles is a system of extrinsic rewards based on the principles of the Token economy
and positive reinforcement. There have been a long debate about the use of extrinsic rewards and the way the affect motivation. Recent studies and academic experiments carried out at schools have concluded that extrinsic rewards are a vehicle for active engagement and self-regulation.
Extrinsic rewards and token economies can be used in a classroom to regulate behaviour as well as a mechanism to inform students about the quality of their work.
where the currency are electronic points called Vivos . School teachers award their students Vivos for their achievements and positive actions according to the reward criteria set by their tutors and school management. Every school customises the rewards platform in line with their own goals based upon their academic initiatives, objectives and ethos.
Teachers have access to an online platform where they can manage the amount of points or Vivos awarded to every student. The system promotes fairness and transparency in rewarding behaviour as it records every reward issued by teachers. It provides a powerful tracking tool to enable schools to ensure that all teachers reward in a common format. Fairness and transparency is a common expectation in school inspection reports
.
Each pupil gets a private online profile where they can check how many points they have earned and know the exact actions they were rewarded for as well as the teacher or member of the school staff that concede those points. Pupils receive a personalised plastic card which they can use to access their accounts and manage their credits. Students can redeem their points in an online catalogue where they can choose from a range of products approved by the school management and partly selected by them in consensus. In this way students are also part of the process, encouraging a major grade of engagement and adherence to the rules.
in a context that emulates the socio-political system in which they are immersed which helps prepare them for real-life situations such as the planning and control of their own finances.
Students have a currency
(Vivos points) and a plastic card similar to a bank account card
. Students decide how to manage the points they have earned. They can save their points and earn interest, accumulate or trade them for products. Students can only carry out transactions with the card within the Vivo platform. Students can also chose to donate their points to designated charities or to partner schools in developing countries, all at the discretion of the school leadership team.
In adolescence
, teens are structuring their sense of autonomy; they are preparing to face life situations in which they will act by their own judgement and criteria as independent individuals. Through the establishment of a simulated currency system, teens are introduced to an environment that mirrors the real world involving scenarios where they take decisions as they would do in their adult lives. They can also find the value and correlation between earning and spending.
Vivo Miles has a platform for parents to monitor their child’s activity online and be aware of their achievements, sanctions and the way they have spent their points. Parents can back up teachers’ targets by adding additional rewards or privileges given at home if the students achieve their goals at school.
Vivo Miles was shortlisted for the EducationInvestor Awards 2011, for "Use of Educational Technology".
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...
and was initially tested with pupils at Westminster Academy in London
Westminster Academy (London)
Westminster Academy, is an Academy located in London, England.It is a co-educational school for 11+ years that specialized in International Business and Enterprise...
.
Rewards in Schools
Rewards systems are implemented in schools to praise students for positive actions, stimulating a voluntary and progressive improvement in their behaviour and increasing their motivationMotivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
towards the achievement of academic objectives..Vivo Miles is a system of extrinsic rewards based on the principles of the Token economy
Token economy
A token economy is a system of behavior modification based on the systematic positive reinforcement of target behavior. The reinforcers are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers. Token economy is based on the principles of operant conditioning and can be situated within...
and positive reinforcement. There have been a long debate about the use of extrinsic rewards and the way the affect motivation. Recent studies and academic experiments carried out at schools have concluded that extrinsic rewards are a vehicle for active engagement and self-regulation.
Extrinsic rewards and token economies can be used in a classroom to regulate behaviour as well as a mechanism to inform students about the quality of their work.
Mechanism
Vivo Miles uses a simulated economic systemEconomic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
where the currency are electronic points called Vivos . School teachers award their students Vivos for their achievements and positive actions according to the reward criteria set by their tutors and school management. Every school customises the rewards platform in line with their own goals based upon their academic initiatives, objectives and ethos.
Teachers have access to an online platform where they can manage the amount of points or Vivos awarded to every student. The system promotes fairness and transparency in rewarding behaviour as it records every reward issued by teachers. It provides a powerful tracking tool to enable schools to ensure that all teachers reward in a common format. Fairness and transparency is a common expectation in school inspection reports
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
.
Each pupil gets a private online profile where they can check how many points they have earned and know the exact actions they were rewarded for as well as the teacher or member of the school staff that concede those points. Pupils receive a personalised plastic card which they can use to access their accounts and manage their credits. Students can redeem their points in an online catalogue where they can choose from a range of products approved by the school management and partly selected by them in consensus. In this way students are also part of the process, encouraging a major grade of engagement and adherence to the rules.
Financial Learning
Young students are introduced to the concepts of economy and personal financePersonal finance
Personal finance is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit. It addresses the ways in which individuals or families obtain, budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future...
in a context that emulates the socio-political system in which they are immersed which helps prepare them for real-life situations such as the planning and control of their own finances.
Students have a currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
(Vivos points) and a plastic card similar to a bank account card
Bank card
A bank card is a plastic card issued by a bank to its clients that may perform one or more of the following services:* ATM card, card used for transactions at automatic teller machines* Debit card, card linked to a bank account and used for making purchases...
. Students decide how to manage the points they have earned. They can save their points and earn interest, accumulate or trade them for products. Students can only carry out transactions with the card within the Vivo platform. Students can also chose to donate their points to designated charities or to partner schools in developing countries, all at the discretion of the school leadership team.
In adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, teens are structuring their sense of autonomy; they are preparing to face life situations in which they will act by their own judgement and criteria as independent individuals. Through the establishment of a simulated currency system, teens are introduced to an environment that mirrors the real world involving scenarios where they take decisions as they would do in their adult lives. They can also find the value and correlation between earning and spending.
Parent’s involvement
It is an important part of the Vivo Miles system that parents give back-up to the rewards initiatives implemented at schools. Involvement and reinforcement from the family is essential to give a sense of legitimization to the rewards system - reinforcing and promoting behavioural goals outside school.Vivo Miles has a platform for parents to monitor their child’s activity online and be aware of their achievements, sanctions and the way they have spent their points. Parents can back up teachers’ targets by adding additional rewards or privileges given at home if the students achieve their goals at school.
Awards and Nominations
In 2010 Vivo Miles was the winner at BETT Awards in the Leadership and Management Solutions category.Vivo Miles was shortlisted for the EducationInvestor Awards 2011, for "Use of Educational Technology".