Australian kids using new AI tool to help them learn school subjects

When Paul Richards’ sporty son Mason began falling behind in maths, a new tool changed everything — using footy and cricket to make studying finally click.

Melbourne dad Paul Richards with son Mason, who loves using the TeachingBlox program. Photo by Luis Enrique Ascui

Like many parents, Paul Richards and his wife found themselves in need of help when their sporty son Mason found himself struggling with maths and science.

They initially considered a private tutor for him before a colleague recommended TeachingBlox, an AI-powered teaching program that taps into a student’s interests to boost engagement and help them with their studies.

Mr Richards said the program had been “life-changing” for his 12-year-old son, a student at Melbourne’s Yarra Valley Grammar.

The learning platform initially asks the participant a series of questions to gauge their interests and then keeps students engaged by offering personalised lessons, games and challenges that tie in with their hobbies — in Mason’s case, a passion for AFL and cricket.

Mr Richards has been stunned by how quickly his son’s maths skills have improved, particularly his ability to work out equations without a calculator.

“I got the shock of my life the other day,” Mr Richards said.

“One of the questions was about cricket - in four innings, he hit 110, 135, 127 and 240.

“He just starts working it out in front of me on the screen and then the program said ‘Mason you’re amazing’.

“It relates everything to what he’s interested in, he’s a very sporty boy,” Mr Richards said. “Mason said to me ‘I know most of my maths questions now’, which is what he was struggling with before we got him on to this.

“I don’t think a home tutor would actually do a better job than what this has done for him.”

Emily Segal and her son Elliot using the learning platform. Picture: Supplied.

Melbourne mother Emily Segal said it has improved the maths skills of her son, Elliot, 11, a student at Bialik College, by offering challenges and questions that tie in with his love of cars.

“I got my son to start playing the games on the website and he absolutely loved it because it’s all about games and getting points,” she said.

“His teachers told me three months later in his parent-teacher interview that he’s improved in his maths.”

The program is being used by students all over Australia and is the brainchild of founder and AI expert Ross Paraskevas, a father of two who is a board member of Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar in Melbourne’s northeast.

Several major global tech giants have shown significant interest in partnering with TeachingBlox to incorporate it into their platforms.

“TeachingBlox doesn’t just teach content—it learns the child first. Every lesson adapts to who they are, how they feel, and how they learn best,” Mr Paraskevas said.

“It gamifies the journey — as you’re levelling up, you’re earning points, you’re making mistakes and failing.

“And all of a sudden you get to level two, but to get to the level two and tackle level two, you need the knowledge and the skill sets, the confidence.

Ross Paraskevas, Creator and Founder of TeachingBlox. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Marc Zigame uses TeachingBlox. Picture: Supplied

“Through that process, you are earning points. But it’s doing something even more special. As you’re learning, it’s identifying knowledge gaps. It’s identifying skills gaps.”

The learning platform has attracted huge interest in India as well as the United Arab Emirates, where a study is looking at 200 students across five schools over a three-month period.

“Half of the students will engage with TeachingBlox, while the other half will form a control group, enabling comparative insights,” the UAE’s Department of Education said.

“The study will explore how personalisation and gamification affect student motivation, enjoyment, and engagement in learning, while also observing early indications of knowledge and skills gained.”

And it’s not just for kids — adults seeking self-improvement are also using the platform to up their skills and enhance their learning.

Engineer Alex El-Kazzi, 32, from Sydney’s southwest, uses TeachingBlox to help with language learning and marketing skills.

He said the platform helped him retain knowledge and he wished there had been a similar program when he was growing up.

“I feel like it would have saved a lot of time and money — my parents put me in tutoring at a very young age and I just watched how much they struggled to pay the tutor for an hour session,” he said.

Originally published as Australian kids using new AI tool to help them learn school subjects