Two students of the Master in Sport Management launched Moofy, an initiative to let an entire class move at certain moments without any specific preparation
Recent studies show that there is a relationship between concentration, learning and physical activity. Former school director Michiel de Bruijn is also convinced that this is true. Together with Neda Mutabdzija, who has a financial background, they have founded Moofy – an online platform with a wide range of videos with physical activities for primary schoolchildren.
“The idea for Moofy emerged last year and comes from my teaching heart and my passion for sport,” says De Bruijn. “I was able to go ahead with this idea because we had to create a business plan for the Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute. The strength of the Master is that you can put theory into practice relatively easily. The practical and in-depth knowledge we gained, from strategic management to marketing and finance, helped us to start up Moofy.”
“Since primary schools tend to focus above all on assignments for Dutch language, math and reading, the teachers focus mainly on these skills as well. But we shouldn’t forget to create a balance between moments for concentrated learning and moments for relaxation and motion. The Moofy videos can be started very easily via a digital smartboard. By showing 3 to 4 minutes of instructional videos, Moofy gives children an opportunity to switch off and relax after a lesson. That stimulates their ability to concentrate for the next lesson, and it is also fun to do! Moreover, the teacher is able to let the entire class move at certain moments without any specific preparation.
“Our movies are connected to sport. For example, we made a video with a professional kickboxer in which he uses boxing moves. He serves as a role model and we can conclude from our tests that, by showing a sport in this particular way, the sport is more attractive for children.”
“A year ago we never thought that we would go down this path together, but we got along so well and we complement each other. We had the chance to pitch our ideas to fellow students and to our teachers, which further strengthened the Moofy plan. Moreover, we have found a partner in the education consultancy CEDIN, who believes in our concept, gives us financial support, and is involved in the start-up phase. CEDIN is supporting several innovative ideas at the moment. This new way of working creates wonderful opportunities and products which fit in with CEDIN’S and Moofy’s aim to make education more fun and varied.”
To conclude, we have also experienced that it is useful to have a backup plan in the start-up phase. We encourage other entrepreneurs to have side activities as well. If your plan fails, then you will always have other options to fall back on. The basic version of Moofy will come on the market soon and we feel confident because the concept is rock solid. It will be an exciting moment and obviously we hope that it will turn out to be a big success. For us, nothing stands in the way of getting children moving at school or of creating a healthy balance between effort and relaxation!
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